Bugs have long feeler-arms on the side of their heads with sensing filaments and smallish hands. The hands are somewhat small, but strong. They are above the mandibles but below the horns and eyes. Well, you’ve seen plenty of pictures. I suppose they’re close to where the antennae would be on an Earth ant. But on bugs they are more like thin but strong arms with feathery sensory filaments culminating in small hands with appendages. Fingers. They can hold things well. Fine motor control and such. I, for sure, didn’t want it to grab my hand, which made my movements tentative, cautious.
It appeared he could sense my ... caution. The bug gently took the calendar and very slowly raised a claw and punched a hole on September 29th. Next, he pointed to the clock, and I handed it to him. He moved the hands to show 3:05. He had to slice through the plastic covering with his claw to do it. And, you know, he looked like he was sorry for having to do that. Seriously.
Bugs have that patch of fine hair, well it’s actually chitin, above each eye. Those impart expression, just like with people. I could tell from his bug expression that he was sorry for the damage. Well, that’s what I thought. I’ve said it before and I’m sticking to it.
Next, he pointed a claw at a light fixture. 3:05 and light. Smart bug. September 29th, daytime, so 3:05 P.M. He looked around, spotted an old globe, the kind that revolves on a spindle. He pointed to it. I fetched it and handed it to him. He touched London, England. September 29th, 3:05 P.M. Greenwich Time. I cross checked with my device and found that to be September 29th, 8:00 A.M., Pacific Standard Time. Mr. T probed a little further. I think he was able to confirm all of that. And I think he was able to make sure the bug was not lying. He did say as much.
I guess the bugs were paying real close attention to us. This one had direct knowledge of Earth calendars and timekeeping. Our bug even gave us the code-key for the airlock doors. And Mr. T didn’t have to ask. They rotate the codes, but they aren’t too worried about intruders and use the same codes over and again depending on the day. So, we had the code for September 29th.
We had finished with our bug friend. Mr. T made a point of thanking him for the information. Rock ported him, or her, to the bug POW camp. No, I can tell the difference now, it was a male. With that experience I decided that I truly liked the idea of a POW camp. It’s better than just killing them.
What if the bug queens have some kind of evil hold over the other bugs, and the bugs themselves don’t have control over their actions? The evidence seems to be pointing to that. Let’s not kill them when we don’t have too. Sure, we have to lock them up. But we can treat them decently. Then figure it all out after this thing is done.
That’s what I was thinking when Mr. T jumped up after finishing with his notes.
“This bug was very cooperative. And he is intelligent. He helped me piece together what I’ve learned from my various bug interviews. The worker bugs and soldier bugs don’t seem to have a lot of choice in their actions. Well, that’s the case with regular bugs, as this bug understands the situation.
“It’s not the same for the queens. They are totally evil. The other bugs are controlled by the queens. A pheromone, a bug chemical, allows the queens to control the regular bugs. And the pheromones have been biochemically altered to enhance the effect. That’s not a secret in bug world. They know they’re controlled. Some even resent it.
“Pheromones and the chemical effect with respect to Earthly creatures has received a good bit of study. Pheromones are pervasive on Earth. It is the case with Earth insects. And some would say, even people to a limited extent. A bug queen has complete control of those in her nest. Queens can influence bugs from other nests too. But it’s more limited. For example, a bug queen from one nest can’t make a bug attack its own nest. That’s true even if the queen of that nest is dead.
“The influence of the pheromones lessens over time and distance. Away from a queen’s influence, a bug would tend do what it was told by someone in authority. Why would it do otherwise? Even before the age of enhanced pheromones, queens had extensive control over their nests. It was the way of their culture. But an individual bug can resist. There have even been bug uprisings against extra wicked queens.
“There is also a battle drug used to dose soldiers. It stimulates the aggression centers of their brains and deadens the reasoning and decision-making centers. As we’ve seen, it turns them into raging monsters. The High Queen became angry early on in the invasion, troubled with the amount of resistance humans were managing. This bug says she has been overdosing the soldiers. Some bugs have even died because of that.
“It is also no secret among the bugs that the High Queen is addicted to the battle drug herself, which she mixes in with some other potent pharmaceutical compounds. She is dazed much of the time. She is making mistakes. But as we can see from our new bug friend, regular bugs can make up their own minds when away from the influence of the queens.
“The High Queen has a lieutenant-queen stationed at Darkside. But the High Queen has primary control. She also has control of her own nest ship. It seems as though that would be
