The next day, every bee was a busy one. Even more than usual.
Since there were not enough smart bees in the subjugated hives to purge them, the Great Purge had to be done in stages. At least parasites were much easier to stop than viruses and bacteria.
The Material Foragers and Hunters sent to search for mites inside larvae cells quickly returned with the first results.
Fat and disgusting varroa mites were hiding at the bottom of several larvae cells, hiding under the larvae themselves and the stores of their food.
Mites were found on sick bees in the quarantine village, too. Like I guessed, they hid on bees' tails, usually at the bottom. With their small size, they could crawl between chitin plates, and their back fur blended with that of bees.
At most, the bee felt slight discomfort there, but it wasn't out of the ordinary. Like a creak in your neck after sleeping on the wrong side of a pillow.
Varroa mites were unnoticeable until you knew what to look for. Even if you did, you had to search for them by touch.
But after their hiding places were found, my Advisers rapidly spread the news of that through the Hive Supremo and sent messengers to Hive Hornets' Nest with instructions.
By noon, Nurse Bees in both hives scoured every larvae cell, finding and killing countless mites. Some were taken to Tabletina for research, but most were disposed of like the garbage they were.
By evening, I came to visit the quarantine village again. Both to check the progress in dealing with the mites, and to see Worriesgone again.
Jellia-14 met me outside my poor girl's room.
"Father! Are you here to see Worriesgone again? She's asleep now, but you can still visit her, if you want," she whispered, smiling at me.
"Oh, she has been doing a little better than yesterday, Father! One of Lieutenant Tabletina's people found a medicinal herb in the archives, one that helps with coughs like hers. I've been giving it to her with honey, as instructed, and it already seems to work."
I exhaled with great relief.
The 'Medicinal Plants' research wasn't done too late!
"This is amazing. Let me just peek at her, alright?.."
I raised the leather "door" in the room and looked through. Although the overall picture didn't change since my last visit, the difference was clear to my system-enhanced eye.
〔Nurse Bee〕 〔Ally〕 〔Progeny〕
Indeed, her health and stamina were already higher than yesterday, even if just by 1 point. I hoped this meant she would make a full recovery soon.
"Tell her I wished her well when she wakes up, Jellia-14," I said, letting the curtain-door fall back and stepping away from the door.
Jellia-14 nodded, following me down the hallway.
"Yes, Father. It's so unfair that she got sick now, when you discovered the cure for the Paleness! The varroa destructors, I mean. Those vile things…" Jellia-14 clenched her fists. "I want to spend my entire life killing them, and it won't be enough!"
'Oh no, now even Nurse Bees, my most gentle daughters, are feeling murderous?! Where is this society going like that?'
To my relief, Jellia-14 quickly calmed down and returned to being a model picture of a Nurse Bee—gentle, caring, smiling. A moment later, she looked away from me sheepishly.
"But watching all those sick bees made me think, Father… I don't want to leave them in the care of some other Nurse Bees who don't know them as well as I do, or know the healing procedures taught to me by Researcher Bees."
"Is that a problem? Don't leave them, then. Even after we deal with varroa mites, there are always sick bees in the hospital to care for. As sad as it is, you won't be out of job opportunities, Jellia-14."
She gasped, flailing her arms.
"But Father! I'm almost old enough to become a builder bee! Soon, my body will stop making royal jelly! How can I be a Nurse Bee, then?"
I eyed her thoughtfully.
Jellia-14 just pointed out a major flaw of bee society as it was.
Specialist bees, who had to go through training to get their positions, carried their titles and jobs until the end of their lives. That, or until they were given an order to change their jobs. There wasn't much horizontal mobility, but nobody complained so far…
'And if nobody complains, I can leave spreading liberal values and individualism to later. Much, much later!'
However, non-specialists, which included Cleaning Bees, Nurse Bees, Queen Attendants, Builder Bees and Forager Bees, mostly just followed their instincts. They needed no education and changed their position as their instincts and maturity dictated.
But as Jellia-14 pointed out, as the Bee Empire developed, even non-specialists needed education now.
'The entire system will have to be revamped. The general workers pool, then the jobs for both specialists and non-specialists… It's against their instincts, but bees go through the school already. I can even change the curriculum, add job orientation to it…'
Brainpower requirement: 500
Increases the effectiveness of population that picked a job through job orientation by 5%.
"Father? Are you alright?.. You've been staring at nothing for… a lot of time." Jellia-14 was looking at me strangely.
"Ah! No, no, everything is fine. I just had an idea… Look, Jellia-14, if you want to stay a Nurse Bee—stay. You can do your duties even without royal jelly, I'm sure. If anyone has troubles with that, tell them your position is Father-approved!"
Jellia-14 smiled broadly.
"Thank you, Father! You are the best! Um… And… Can I have a headpat?" She batted her eyelashes.
I almost died inside.
"Of course you can, my dear!"
I patted Jellia-14's head rigorously.
Even in the darkest moments of the Bee Empire, there were moments of cuteness like that.
I was going to remind myself about them tomorrow when my daughters prepared to open the pupae brood cells.
'Please, let it all work out without anyone dying!'