by Yusuke Kishi
“Shouldn’t you get rid of that?” I asked, panting.
Satoru was still holding on to the spear as if it were the most precious thing in the world.
“It might come in handy again,” he answered shortly.
I couldn’t help but think about all the bad situations in which a spear would be handy. Especially for two kids who had just lost their cantus and only had this lousy spear for a weapon.
The next forty or fifty minutes passed without event. Even though we were exhausted, we somehow managed to keep going. Fortunately, it didn’t seem like anyone was chasing us, but that just made us more nervous.
A mournful melody suddenly came to my mind, along with a verse we had learned in Harmony School.
Home gets farther away. Farther away.
Turn back along the road. Turn back.
“How long are we going to go this way?” I was almost at my limit.
“We just have to get away from their nest.”
The only thing Satoru was thinking about were queerats coming after us.
“We’re heading west, right? If we keep going, we’ll be going farther and farther from Kasumiga Inlet.”
“But we can’t go back. Until we find a detour that’ll take us around, we’ll have to keep going this way.”
“But all these paths are straight. Why don’t we go off the path and head back?”
“If you go into the forest in the middle of the night, you’re just going to get lost. You can’t tell which way you’re going and you might end up where you started,” Satoru shivered.
“But if we keep going down these paths, it’ll be easy for them to find us.”
“That’s why I’m trying to put as much distance between us as possible.”
Our ideas were completely opposite to each other. Satoru showed no sign slackening his pace, so I had no choice but to follow.
But he suddenly came to a halt.
“What’s wrong?”
Satoru put a hand to his lips and motioned for me to be quiet. He crouched down and looked intensely ahead.
I followed his gaze. I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.
I was just about to say something when I heard a rustling sound in the thickets ahead.
We froze.
Twenty, thirty meters ahead, on both sides of the path were shadows that resembled small humans. Some of them held what looked like spears or swords.
“Queerats…”
The despair was overwhelming. Grasping his crude spear firmly, Satoru took a step forward.
Chapter 3
There were six queerats in all. They came forward slowly.
“Satoru, get rid of the spear,” I whispered in as normal a voice as possible. “They’ll kill us if we resist.”
Satoru shook his head, “They’ll kill us anyway. Listen, run into the forest while I fight them.”
“That’s ridiculous. It’s impossible to get away, but if we go quietly, they might not kill us right away. We can wait for help.”
“No. They won’t make it,” Satoru replied stubbornly. “And I don’t want to be locked up in a cage again.”
“Satoru! Please, don’t be rash.”
The six queerats stopped four or five meters away. Were they still on guard against us? That’s kind of strange.
“…wait a second,” I said, holding back Satoru’s spear-arm.
“Don’t get in my way.”
“I’m not…look, they’re not the same ones as before.”
“Huh?” Satoru replied dubiously.
Just when I thought the queerats would drop their spears, they suddenly all fell to their knees before us.
“What?” Satoru shouted.
I just stared with my mouth agape.
“Kikikiki grrr…k-gods,” the queerat in the center raised its head and let out strange sounds that resembled speech. “sssh…Robber☆Flyy colony…∈∂Å. Ground Spider…★brrr…danger!”
I have no clue what it’s saying. But I saw something that looked like tattoos on their foreheads.
“We’re saved! It’s a colony that obeys humans!” I said, my knees going weak with relief.
Satoru still looked doubtful, but approached the queerats resolutely, if somewhat nervously, stopping about three meters away and looking at their tattoos.
“‘Salt 604’, huh. Does that mean ‘Robber Fly’ colony?”6
“Kikikikiki…Robber☆Flyy! Robber☆Flyy!” the queerat who could somewhat speak replied to Satoru’s words, nodding exaggeratedly like a longheaded locust. “Gro☆Spider★…danger…Ground Spider★danger!”
We learned later that at that time, the Department of Health had already acknowledged the existence of the foreign colony and had named it “Ground Spider”. But compared to another foreign colony that had come over from the peninsula, called “Millipede”, the Ground Spiders were considered a mild group and not much trouble. This turned out to be an underestimation.
Incidentally, during the Yamato period in ancient Japan (different from the New Yamato period during the Holy Cherry Blossom Empire), “ground spider” was a derogatory term that referred to the indigenous Jomon people. After all this time, the fact that it’s now used as a name for a queerat colony, and a foreign colony at that, speaks to the ironic nature of history.
Anyway, we were led through the dark forest by the six queerats from the Robber Fly colony.
“We’re in a bad situation again,” Satoru sighed, looking grave.
“How come? We’ve been rescued. And these guys definitely won’t take us captive.”
“True, but I’m talking about now.”
“Now?”
Satoru gave me a pitiful look, “Why do you think queerats worship humans as gods? Isn’t it because we have cantus? They’re only being subservient right now because they believe we have that power, but what do you think they’ll do if they find out we’ve lost it?”
Satoru talked quietly, hanging back. Maybe he was afraid of the queerats ahead overhearing.
“You’re over thinking it.” I was a little uneasy, but still felt like I should refute him somehow. “The Robber Fly colony is under our control, right? If they were to do something to us, and other people found out, the colony would be exterminated. They know that well. So they shouldn’t have any incentive to hurt us.”
“You can never tell what their motives are. Queerats may think like us sometimes, but they’re still rodents after all,” Satoru said, suddenly sounding much older than his years. “Anyway, we can’t be careless. I definitely won’t let them know we can’t use our cantus. You be careful too, Saki.”
How in the world am I supposed to be careful, I wanted to ask, but this wasn’t the time to argue.
But as we walked through the pathless forest, my uneasiness increased.
Would we be able to fool the Robber Fly colony? This new worry replaced my previous fear of the Ground Spiders, growing exponentially as time wore on.
How much more do I have to walk? Suddenly, one queerat turned around and shouted something, but I was so exhausted my mind was too hazy to comprehend anything.
“What did it say?”
“I didn’t really hear, but it was probably something about having arrived.”
Satoru’s words caused a ripple of anxiety to run through me.
Through a gap in the bushes ahead, a new queerat appeared. Its appearance was distinctively different from the six that we had been traveling with. A good size bigger than the others, it was wearing a helmet with a hoe-shaped crest and scaled metal ring mail. It was probably the same rank as Captain Pinecone from the Ground Spiders, or maybe even higher.
For a few moments, Helmet stood listening to the report from one of the queerats, then approached us carefully.
“Gods, welcome,” it said in astonishingly fluent Japanese, sweeping off its helmet. “I am a messenger for the Robber Fly Colony. Èî%∞★∀∂ is my name.”
Its name was a series of complicated, high pitched noises.
<
br /> “But Squealer is probably easier, so please call me that.”
“Then, Squealer,” Satoru says calmly, “We’ve lost our way back to camp. We would be thankful if you would take us to the shore of Kasumiga Bay. After that we’ll be fine.”
“I understand,” Squealer responded quickly, and we went weak with relief. “However, it will be difficult to do so immediately.”
“Why’s that?” I asked without thinking. “Because it’s dark? Or…”
“My sense of smell is quite developed; I could move through the forest at night without any impediments. If you are not tired and wish to leave now, I will gladly show you the way,” Squealer answered respectfully. “However, this area is currently very dangerous. Because the foreign Ground Spider colony invaded our lands, we’ve been on high alert. A few days ago, they declared war on us, a native colony. Perhaps you’ve encountered them on the way here?”
I was about to reply when I saw Satoru’s expression.
“Nope, haven’t seen them,” he said with a straight face.
I thought I saw Squealer glance at the wound on Satoru’s forehead, but it was probably just my imagination.
“That’s fortunate. The Ground Spiders are a lawless group who would probably attempt to capture the gods out of ignorance of their own positions. Of course, to the gods dealing with them with cantus is nothing more than child’s play, but they’re not past doing cowardly things like ambushing others with poisoned arrows.”
He scrunched up his already wrinkled snout, spitting in anger.
“I apologize for my outburst. We’ve put enormous effort into our defense, but we are not a strong group to begin with, so that is how we ended up in this position.”
“You mean, you’re losing?” I asked.
As if he had been waiting for the question, Squealer went on, “The situation is not so simple. I don’t know about a big colony like the Giant Hornets, but the Robber Flies only have seven hundred members. In comparison, the Ground Spiders have an estimated population of at least four thousand.”
I shuddered. Before he died, Rijin had “exterminated” at most a thousand of them. It had been overly optimistic to think of that as an annihilation of their group. There could possibly still be three thousand queerats remaining.
“Yesterday, we dispatched special envoys to three neighboring colonies requesting assistance, but it will take some time before they arrive.”
“Then, you’ll be defenseless if you’re attacked right now?” I blurted out without thinking.
Squealer looked at me suspiciously and I realized my mistake. A human with cantus wouldn’t be worried no matter how many queerats came after them.
“Yeah, what would you have done if we hadn’t arrived?” Satoru added without a moment’s delay, a skill he had perfected from having to dig himself out of his bluffs all the time.
“I am deeply touched by your concern,” Squealer bowed deeply. “However, our battles among colonies are unique, and even though the difference between our powers is considerable, it’s too early to jump to conclusions.”
“What do you mean?”
“Seeing is believing, as the saying goes. I will show you right now, so please follow me,” Squealer backed away with his head bowed. It seemed to be the sort of behavior queerats do when facing another queerat of higher status.
As we left the thickets, our surroundings opened up. The moon had already set, but I could see all the way across the clearing by starlight. It was dotted with towers that looked like anthills.
“Is this the Robber Fly colony’s nest?” I asked.
Squealer shook his head, “Our nest is where the queen lives, still quite a ways from here. This is one of our lines of defense against the Ground Spider’s assault.”
“Lines of defense?”
“Bunkers, trenches, slurry walls, tunnels, all used for defense. …Gods, could you possibly be interested in strategy board games like Shogi and Go?”
The question caught me off guard, “Well, I suppose. We learned both in school.”
To be honest, I thought they were fun at first, but quickly lost interest, so I’m still a basic level. The biggest reason I gave up was that there was always a couple people I couldn’t win against. One of them was Shun, which was understandable, but every time I saw Satoru’s triumphant face, I couldn’t keep going.
“Then this explanation may be better. We â★ë◎Å, I mean, queerat colonies fight each other in a style closer to that used in Go than in Shogi.”
I wondered vaguely why he used the word “queerat”.
Squealer began explaining the power struggles between queerats in a style reminiscent of the false minoshiro.
Queerats are descendants of the troglodytic naked mole rats from East Africa, living mainly in narrow underground tunnels. Even after humans helped to change their physique and raised their intelligence so that they could build their own culture, their basic societal structures are still the same. The dwellings are more or less vertical pits, with numerous branches to provide escape to the surface in case of floods. There are also horizontal tunnels running between the pits for transportation without having to go to the surface.
“For us, fighting above ground is a relatively new development. It’s obvious that being aboveground provides better maneuverability than being underground does, no matter how much armor you are wearing. That said, I don’t know how the other aboveground fighters feel, but I believe that in terms of discerning the opponent’s position, advancing aboveground is pointless.”
“Why?” asked Satoru.
“The â★ë◎Å…our comrades underground can use sounds and vibrations to detect the position of the armies aboveground. At the same time, those aboveground can not detect enemies beneath them. Therefore, if we collapse the ground from underneath, they will fall onto our spears and be killed without any means to retaliate.”
Perhaps they’ve already used that tactic many times. Humans and queerats alike do not learn their lessons unless a sufficient amount of blood is shed in the process.
“In other words, it’s always more advantageous to be on the defensive,” Satoru said, looking self-satisfied.
“Precisely. The attackers have no choice but to travel underground, but even then the defense can still ascertain their positions beforehand and build up blockades, dig tunnels from above and drop heavy stones down on their heads, and set other traps. In other words, battling underground is more difficult for the offense.”
“Then what do you do?” I asked.
“{The usual pattern is that after an endless stalemate, the offense has to cut its losses and retreat.} But then the ingenious strategist, Æ◎∞Ó∴…Ioki appeared. Ioki received a book from the gods and was inspired; single-handedly creating a system for capturing entire colonies.”
“What book was it?” Satoru asked, his brows furrowed.
Why in the world was such a dangerous book not banned, but in the hands of the queerats of all things?
“Unfortunately, the holy book no longer exists. Only the title “Introduction to Go for Three Year-olds” is passed down to this day.”
We glanced at each other. We’ve both seen that book in the recreation room at Harmony School.
“Ioki’s strategies are based on Go. First, aboveground troops are dispatched to the desired locations to dig a ditch and hold their position. Then communication lines are set up between bases and a vantage point.7 Underground tunnels are created connecting the bases and the front line. In this way, the bases connect to the front lines which connect to the surface, increasing the territory under our control. The final goal is to trap the enemy in a small area, and for the defense to have a secure escape route. Once the enemy is locked in, we can cut off their food and water supply. In order to do that, we have to build bases in between the enemy’s bases, intercept their communication and set up our own. This is all, according to Go, things you must do in order to effectively trap the enemy, and then you can begin close-combat.�
��
I looked out over the clearing again. This time, the anthill-like towers appeared to be arranged purposefully.
“Ioki brought about a tactical revolution that spread amongst the colonies in the blink of an eye. Colonies that were thought to be impregnable fell one after the other, largely reducing their influence. Colonies that adopted this new way of thinking quickly rose to power while those that held on to the old ways were eliminated.”
“What happened to Ioki after?”
I was surprised at myself for being so interested in the tale of the queerat hero. Could Ioki, praised as the most influential figure, be the cornerstone of the Giant Hornet colony’s prosperity? Or maybe Squealer’s passionate tale was because Ioki is the ancestor who rebuilt the Robber Fly colony.
“Ioki lost his life in battle,” Squealer said sadly. “He was born in the Mayfly colony, a weak colony with around four hundred members. Because of this, he often had to be in the front lines to lead the battle. During a fight with a neighboring colony, the front line reached the enemy’s bridgehead and a fierce battle broke out. Whose communication lines would be preserved and whose would be cut off depended on the outcome of the battle. Ioki was well aware of this, and realized that by sacrificing one of his bases he would be able to destroy the enemy’s lines. But there was one problem. The base that had to be sacrificed was the one he was currently in.”
Satoru sighed.
“Ioki sacrificed his own troop. They were surrounded by the enemy, but Ioki and six of his comrades fought bravely until, as he predicted, they were killed. Drunk on their victory, the enemy tried to turn on the rest of the troops only to realize that their group had been divided in two, cutting off all communications. They were trapped in their own vantage point and all their escape routes were lost. For half the troop, the supply line was cut off so they would die under siege. The Mayfly colony achieved a glorious victory.”
We were mesmerized by Squealer’s story. It felt like we were listening to the False Minoshiro telling us about history, even though the two of them sounded nothing alike.
