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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/darkPrince010 on 2024-04-09 21:49:46.
Despite all of her searching, when Mira got back to The Apiary, the files she could find on the insignia she saw were frustratingly slim. The group the strange boarder was affiliated with were apparently called the “Wandering Empire,” but apart from a single thin entry on the intergalactic heraldry page she couldn't find anything outside of hypotheses and rumor mongering. Even the heraldry page simply said that the Wandering Empire were a migratory group of zealots, operating off of a single planet-sized spacecraft and raiding vulnerable and outlying settlements for both the occasional supplies, but primarily for further clues and artifacts related to their “holy mission.”
They apparently believed that the gods themselves spoke through some of the earliest cultures to roam the galaxy, and that they too could piece together and rebirth such a divine mandate by collecting the fragments of long-dead civilizations and their writings and inscriptions. The name had sounded vaguely familiar, the sort of echoes she had heard around corners. She had a distinct impression her parents had discussed this band of precursor-obsessed bandits, but had fallen silent regarding them whenever Mira had entered the room.
Part of her remembered the queen's advice, that perhaps her parents had not told her of their mission in detail for fear of a greater danger of some sort that they might face. But apart from the heraldry website, her other leads continue to spiral into chat nodes and conspiracy nets which ascribed all manner of impossible, improbable, and downright-stupid attributes and behaviors to the Wandering Empire.
She leaned back with a heavy whuff of breath, her eyes starting to feel like they were going cross from reading so much, as she heard the buzz of a cluster of Queen and Kin fly in, carrying a plump strawberry and a small handful of roasted peanuts.
“Oh man,” she started to say before stopping herself, but the closest bees looked up at her in concern.
“What is the matter, caretaker? These foods are sufficient and appropriate, are they not?”
“Yeah, well, I appreciate you bringing me a snack, but I kind of feel like strawberries and peanuts have outlasted their welcome as my top choice on our first years-long flight together.”
“Ah, but caretaker, you have not tasted these particular strawberries and peanuts before. Please give them a try.”
Mira did as requested, and her face then lit up as she stared in marvel at the fruit in her hand. “That tastes like…like candy,” she said. Then a memory of a bright pink taffy that her parents had once given her surfaced, and she continued “That almost tastes like ‘cotton candy,’ I think?”
“Yes, it's a specially-bred varietal intended to indeed mimic that flavor. Human gardeners and horticulturists once managed to replicate the flavor in grapes, and have since expand it to other eligible fruit as well.”
Still enjoying the new flavor in her mouth, Mira grabbed a pair of the peanuts, noticing they had a sort of dark flakes of something mixed with them. Popping them into her mouth, she instinctively puckered and winced before her mouth got used to the intense combination of chili and sour citrus. The heat was noticeable and made her eyes water somewhat, but was nothing compared to the scorched earth level of intensity that the chorwit skewer had presented, so she happily chowed down on the remaining nuts as the swarm spoke, a clearly-pleased tone in their voice.
“We also were not only running low on basic spices and cooking supplements, but we thought it might be enjoyable to broaden our flavor options for spicing as well.”
Mira nodded vigorously and quickly finished the food the bees had brought for her. As she did, the cluster landed and lay down on the screen she had open, and began reading through a. A single bee delegating herself to the corner of the screen at the scroll bar, and bumping her abdomen every few seconds to help scroll the page down as they read.
“This name, and more importantly this insignia, seems familiar. We have not encountered them in recent memory, but given this partial recollection we may need to consult with the Diutinus, as they may have records of when our swarm last met this ‘Wandering Empire.’”
“Dia-what?” Mira asked. She had heard the swarm mention that phrase once or twice in the past, almost referring to it in the way one spoke of a library, but now something about the way they spoke of “them” made Mira suspect this might not be a place, but rather a person or people.
The swarm buzzed for a long moment, discordant voices in discussion lasting far longer than the normally in-sync collective needed to take. Finally the cluster nearest her spoke, but there was again that odd, almost-echoing to the tone that she had last heard when Hybris had dissented and split with the swarm.
“The Diutinus are the record keepers for us. A sort of multifaceted role analogous to what humans would call scribes, librarians, teachers, and advisors.”
“Wow,” Mira said. “I had no idea.”
“Generally we prefer to keep the Diutinus out of the public eye. They are valuable, and while not as long-lived as the queens, their lifespans are such that one Diutinus can teach many generations of workers and drones within the scope of their year, and help guide new queens into maturation confidence of their power.”
Mira knew she knew she would have remembered if the Queen and Kin had spoken of a hidden scholar class before, but something else the swarm said captured her attention.
“Wait, you mean every bee in the hive learns from these Diutinus?”
“That's correct, caretaker. The queens receive the most comprehensive education, as well as direct support from a cadre of experts, but every bee is taught to some degree. The Diutinus read lectures to the grubs and pupae in their cells, and then after emergence the newly-mature bees attend regular lessons in the evening, when the sun has set but before slumber is required.”
Mira marveled with new found respect and amazement for the workers crawling along her finger. “Do you all learn the same things, or is it up to the bee in question?”
“There are some broad and general lessons, such as our history, the operations and needs of the hive, and a set of essential knowledge needed for starship operations given the maintenance needs for our home. But beyond that, it is indeed up to the individual worker or drone in question. Some pursue the arts, others mathematics and physics, and yet others become experts in clusters of knowledge, studying intensely under the Diutinus almost as much as the queen's do and becoming sources of introspection and stand-ins for the Diutinus when the swarm is away from The Apiary.”
“So when you have a question, you can just ask the members of the swarm who have the knowledge to help answer?”
“It is more…direct than that most of the time, but from the perspective of one who is not part of a collective intelligence, we presume it is accurate enough to understand us better.”
Mira nodded, sitting up from where she was reclined in the lone mess-hall chair, and checking on a small readout panel that was linked to the bridge. It was just showing almost half a dozen hours before they were due to hit orbit around the other moon; Plenty of time for her to follow up with her line of investigation.
Turning to Queen and Kin, she said “I don't suppose any of your members are experts on the heraldry of this ‘Wandering Empire?’”
“Unfortunately not. The few that have focused on specific species and civilizations have focused their attentions elsewhere, so it is a gap within our active knowledge. But we likely do have records of it, if the name carries this much familiarity and resonance for us.”
“Oh, I can find a record!” Mira said, starting to pull up a new window on the display panel.
“No, our records nearly predate electronic storage, and we have found over the years that it is easier and preferable for us to carry our wisdom with us, rather than rely on the whims of electricity and the electromagnetic decay of storage mediums.”
“I suppose that makes sense,” she said, “But I'm still amazed that you have scholars like that. What exactly did they record?”
The cluster of Queen and Kin near her did not answer, but instead parted allowing her to see a single bee that had been mostly-obscured in the midst of the cluster of insects. It plodded forward, and Mira could see that it was missing quite a few hairs and bristles from its legs and abdomen, a sign of old age for the worker bees and queens she had seen. The bee was also, for lack of a better term, slightly portly: not so much so that she would have picked out from the swarm, but enough that she could see a slight thickening of the abdomen and thorax at this close of distance and in comparison to the regular workers nearby.
“I am one of the Diutinus,” they buzzed quietly and singularly. ”If you wish, I can show you my records for observations for the day.”
Mira nodded in hushed fascination, and she could see that the bee carried a tiny scroll of some sort of paper or malleable wax under one leg. This scroll was passed up to its main front limbs and quickly unscrawled, nearly an inch long but only a quart...
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