The Swarm

They were crawling on top of each other. With little regard for the convenience of their kin. Insects made their way across passages of dirt and dust. This was their daily grind. Carrying huge loads from one corner to the other. For the advancement of their species.

On a cursory look, they look like any other colony. Thousands upon thousands making their way in confined, often overcrowded spaces not because they liked it, or because their genome demanded it. Simply because 'option' wasn't something that existed in abundance.

One fine morning, one traffic ridden tube, one slip of the leg, and a weak one perished. Nothing out of the ordinary. Workers had come to expect and accept it. This was the hand dealt to them.

However, this species was special. Not because of these tireless workers. That existed in every insect community. Only in this one, there were multiple queens. With varied agendas. 

Each queen expected something different from its workers. One demanded work. One demanded sex. And one demanded more resources. To the worker, it all sounded the same. Because for the worker, no matter what the demand was, it wouldn't make life much easier.

Researchers had studied this colony for eons. They tried to understand its motives, its beliefs, its values and functions. But a colony with many queens would certainly not function in the exact same way at every given moment. And that's exactly what they uncovered.

But they deduced one thing for certain. The worker worked. Worked till his breath gave out. Worked till he couldn't anymore. Worked as long as it could say, "Bhai, thoda adjust karo na...". 

And the rest would understand.