“Aha!” I said aloud, triumphantly holding a B-box in my imaginary hands. It had taken quite some time and effort, but manually digging through the ‘important’ memories contained in my now enormous memory B-box had actually gone much more smoothly than I expected. It really was like having a photographic memory I could summon at will, simply asking for something and having the B-boxes provide it to me. Man, what I would have given for something so useful in my old life. Within this precious box were all the memories I could find containing Mind Collapse, but one particular person had everything I needed. Hopefully.

Looking inside, I saw an image of Rette and Vlugh laying down on comfy cots. The Hayrey & Sons’ little hospital. When the merc team first arrived in Yiwi, those two had been rushed off to the hospital immediately for their severe injuries and, crucially, Vlugh’s Mind Collapse. The memory I was currently looking at belonged to the doctor who had taken care of them, a woman who got Linked when we invaded the hospital to finally re-Link Rette.

“…her condition is much more concerning. Just give Vlugh some Antithought medication and he’ll be fine.”

And there was the very simple key. Something called Antithought medication. It made sense that a condition as common as Mind Collapse had resulted in some sort of medicine, but dang. It was basically a non-issue for these guys. Can always count on humans to figure stuff out! Whether that’s a good or bad thing… well, it remained to be seen.

Now hopefully, that medicine would work on bees.

“Bella, I need some supplies. Antithought medication. Maybe get them from the Hayrey & Sons’ clinic, or just get Mesne to acquire some,” I said. It took concentration to contact her, unlike usual, but I sensed she got the message.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have the luxury of waiting. I had to figure something out quickly, before the Link went through any more weirdness. It would take a drone a few days to reach the hive, and by then, the Mind Collapse would either heal naturally or… not. Either way, I needed a more immediate solution.

No problem! I expected as much. How many times had I found a solution only for it to be less than ideal, or even terrible? No, there existed other solutions. Surely. The doctor who was Linked had knowledge. Maybe she understood how the Antithought medicine worked and we could replicate it for bee use.

“Or just rest.”

Oh! Good of you to join me, my intertwined friend. As for your suggestion, I resent it. I already think that waiting and recovering isn’t the ideal solution when the Link is involved. It’s become a massive… liability isn’t right. But it is a weakness in a way. If we don’t protect it with secondary measures, issues will probably definitely happen. Anyway, I was wondering when you were going to come back. Have fun watching tv without me?

“Truly a unique perception. Shall we count the not insignificant number of times you have shirked your duties to binge entertainment of dubious quality? And I’m not just talking about your time on Earth.”

Touche. Actually, how many times are you going to one-up me like that? Can’t I get a win for once?

“If there is a pattern, there is likely a cause. When we have resolved this Mind Collapse issue, then maybe you can learn a way to get better at these little chats. I’ve found Bella and Belle have razor-sharp tongues. It’s not that I am good - your capabilities for speech simply leave much to be desired.”

Jeez, I get it. Let’s just solve this issue.

The simplest solution is just to ask. It would take concentration, enough to be a risk, but a risk well worth it. The doctor is the only one we know for certain who has knowledge related to the more scientific side of the condition. There are plenty of others who might know, but if I can only connect deeply to one, then the doctor is our best bet.

Not that I was going to go through with a risk like that immediately. There had to be other options.

“If I were to guess, one of our only ways to solve this dilemma is to understand Mind Collapse ourselves and figure out a cure.”

Pretty much. But I don’t think we can rely on that option. I also thought of using the healing Ability, but I already know how bad of an idea it is to use anything related to Mind during Mind Collapse. Using Mind at all isn’t just a risk, it’s a definite ticket to permanent damage-ville.

“We have another option. Rely on our family. They can get the medicine to us more quickly, or ideate a way to figure out a cure. They exist not only to serve you, but to help you. Speaking with them will not be the easiest under these conditions, but it should be easier than with humans.”

Queen was right. I needed my bees.

________

“Since it’s called Mind Collapse, maybe we can fix it by expanding the Mind? I don’t know, some sort of Mind Stretch? It’s very a very effective practice for the humans who exert themselves.”

Stolen novel; please report.

“Stop bumbling, Beryl, such an idea is simply foolish.”

“Perhaps it has something to do with the physical brain then, Beatrice?”

“That may be true, but in that case, we are in trouble. None of the bees have knowledge of bee biology. We must think of a way. Mind is our most capable tool, so one of us must be capable of doing something. Otherwise… Bella, have you been able to contact the doctor?”

“She doesn’t understand my dancing! I thought you said this would work, Ben!”

“It works with the fernen! Maybe humans are just stupid?”

“They are, but this is beside the point, you two. Bella, continue trying. Oh, why does the Linker connection cause us such pain? If we strain the Link nothing good will come, but speaking with the doctor directly is still appearing to be our only option.”

“…Maybe she just needs some food?”

“”Shut up Bella!””

My bees were being quite rowdy in their discussion, but boy was it fun to watch. Not that the situation was fun, but they were a nice distraction. When I decided that I needed to get the bees involved, every one was ready to drop whatever they were doing and help me out. They were surprised, to be sure, since I usually tried to solve my own problems. But they didn’t really care about that. They just wanted to help.

Granted, they had a direct interest in making sure the Link didn’t collapse as hard as my Mind, but I chose to disregard that.

Just outside the central hive, a veritable council of bees sat on the ground and discussed my condition. Beatrice led the discussion, insisting that I sit back and relax to speed up my recovery. All of the Hive Five presently at the hive were involved, which included Beck, Belle, and Bess. Some other stragglers also found a way in: Beau, Belphegora, and Beryl.

Up to now, we hadn’t come up with much. One of the first things they decided was that the Antithought medication should be brought faster, so Beelzebub, as the fastest bee we have, was sent to pick it up from the three drones who were struggling along. Bella was trying to communicate with the doctor, but that was probably going to fall through. Beau hadn’t really contributed, just thinking about her experiments. Belphegora had stayed silent, only grunting occasionally. She had some ideas, but none of them were ones she approved of, so I didn’t make her share them.

Beatrice tapped her stinger on the ground a few times, prompting silence. “Our issues, at their core, stem from a lack of understanding. We do not understand Mind Collapse. We do not know how humans treat it. We are not aware of the details of our biologies and how that might affect any treatment. I propose that we bolster our understanding.”

“Oh? And how will we do that?” Belle asked.

Beatrice didn’t respond, just grimly tapped her head with a single claw. The implication was quite clear: Beatrice wanted more bees to undergo Mind Collapse in order to study it. By understanding Mind Collapse as it specifically related to bees, then maybe there was a chance.

Beau, for the first time, came out of her daze and glanced at Beatrice. “Finally. I was waiting for someone to say it. We’ll never come to a solution without more data; I’ve learned as much from my own research.”

The circle began muttering and buzzing, confused. I’ll give ‘em this: I never even considered that as an option. Of freaking course I wouldn’t think of an idea like this! Some of the other bees weren’t down to clown with the idea either, like Belphegora who shook her head before commenting.

“And exactly which bees will we be forcing to undergo this condition? We’re just as likely to cause permanent damage by accident as to find a potential cure. Though Collapse is a common enough condition that the humans have found a cure, it is still known that there can be permanent effects.”

“Is that right, Belphegora?” Belle asked. “Are you not just concerned that you will have to be on one of the test subjects?”

“Of course I am, caretaker. But is that so wrong? As I said, there can be permanent afflictions resulting from Mind Collapse. But I am more concerned about the hive itself, as you all should be. If we could experiment on the humans, or even the fernen, this would be an acceptable plan. But using bees? Preposterous.”

That’s what I’m saying! There was no chance I’d risk my bees directly just to cure myself. I’d call that selfishness itself. Beau turned, glancing this time at Belphegora.

“Isn’t that selfishness itself? Everything revolves around Mother. Sacrificing ourselves to find a cure for Mother is the reasonable thing to do. Doing that allows the Link to continue working. If the Link continues working, the bees that remain stay strong. The humans won’t be freed.”

“And you would be willing to make the sacrifice? Sacrifice your work? Your ideas?” Belphegora fired back. Her emotions were rising, much more than usual. I always saw her as being more comfortable on the sidelines, overshadowed by her more boisterous siblings. Emotion was something she controlled directly; not something she allowed to control her.

So looking at her fume towards the otherwise blank and pensive Beau was pretty silly.

“…”

It only got worse as Beau didn’t respond. I think Beau has some sort of inherent quality to her that makes others frustrated, cause now Beatrice wasn’t the only one bothered by her. Hey… wasn’t this a complete reversal of the conversation from before? Now Beau and Belphegora were the ones doing the talking, while the rest just thought and didn’t say a word. Well, now was as good a time as any to get involved.

“Um. If I can interrupt?”

Immediate silence.

“Sooo…. None of that. I won’t allow any bees to come to harm, even if it’s to find a potential solution. We’ve got some great minds here! Minds of both kinds! I’m sure we can figure out something more reasonable.”

Pondering. The little circle pondered, trying to think of a solution. At this point, I was getting frustrated. Not with my bees, of course. More so with the whole situation. I desperately wanted to try the first thing that came to mind, but how had that gone for me in the past? I needed to be more careful now that the hive was growing. Beck’s humming suddenly stopped, only to become more and more animated.

“You know, Beck, you’re right. A Mind oriented solution is essentially our only way out of this mess. And presumably, it will have to be our Minds that are used, not Mother’s. Though to say I am uncomfortable with interfering in Mother’s Mind is an… understatement,” Beatrice finally said.

The other bees were equally uncomfortable, subtly buzzing their discontent. Even ones who would normally disagree with each other simply hated the idea of doing things to my Mind, but I agreed with Beck. Mind was the only tool for the job, and mine was strained. Beatrice buzzed for another moment before continuing to speak.

“Regardless, it must be done. And if we are careful, me may be able to study Mother’s current state instead of resorting to inducing Mind Collapse in other bees.”

“Now THAT is not something I’d like to do,” Belle said with a huff. “For what it’s worth, testing Mind Collapse on the Minds of other bees is much safer than to pick apart Mother. I mean, experimenting on HER? Have you entirely lost your senses?”

“If only. Then perhaps you could experiment on me. No, it is not ideal for Mother to be our subject, but then, one must consider making use of what we have. Inducing Mind Collapse will be an important option if we cannot glean sufficient information from Mother’s condition, but there is plenty we can gather from her without performing invasive studies.”

The bees buzzed in agreement, cementing my fate as a guinea pig. Well, that wasn’t giving them enough credit. Beatrice was pretty much right; why waste the fact that I was here, conscious and well, to find information about Mind Collapse? Sure, maybe developing a cure wasn’t going to happen, but it could lead them on the right track. I had to admit, the thought that they even considered an invasive Mind check on me was a bit spooky. If the situation called for it, they might not hesitate to do just that, huh? In a way, I was grateful there were ‘people’ who cared enough to go through with something so icky. But at the same time?

Well. Icky.

“Rich, coming from us.”

I have no idea what you mean.

“About that,” Belphegora said slowly. “I have actually been thinking. Based on what we do know, something Beryl said earlier touched a certain thing in my thoughts. The basic premise of Mind Collapse is just that - a collapse of the Mind due to overexertion and strain. In that sense, would alleviating the Mind’s processes not be helpful? As a cure, it may prove dubious, but it may relieve the strain enough to improve or even speed up recovery.”

“Wait, really? My idea might work?”

Beatrice looked like she wanted to say something, but she paused, cupping her chin with a claw. “…I see what you mean, Belphegora. It is worth a try. Now we must only think of a way to ‘stretch’ Mother’s Mind…. Safely, of course.”