Here is a little adventure I observed while traveling through timelines, dimensions, and whatnot. We open in the warship of a veritable leader receiving updates from a minuscule soldier. Let’s join them now …
Ai-generated image of a blue beetle wearing a pink crown and sitting in a pink throne. Made with Dream.ai [https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:4800/format:webp/1*Aig88s7rhDsugx4H2F_vrg.jpeg]
“That’s the last of them, sir.”
“Then let’s be on our way.”
“Very good, sir.”
The soldier exited the room. The commander sat down on a gooey throne of pink bubblegum. He was the Bug King.
Looking out the ship's windshield, the Bug King considered all that he saw. A vast forest of equal opportunity and satisfied customers. I don’t know why the Bug Kingdom is built on capitalism, but it is.
However, not all bugs agreed with the economic system. Some of the old ones and some of the young ones held meetings discussing other ways of dispersing labor, wealth, and money, just other ways of structuring society. One rainbow-colored beetle suggested a currency of bug hugs, but most of the others were uncomfortable with this suggestion.
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It was a dragonfly who came up with the winning solution. The concept is difficult to understand unless you’re a bug. I didn’t understand it, and I was there — shrunk to the size of a bug. That was fun! Although, my poop was weird for a week after I came back.
The Great Field of Desire was so named because it had the brightest flowers with the most nectar. It had been managed by the Bee Firm for some time, but Commander Bug was determined to win it back in his lifetime. (Which isn’t very long, because he’s a bug.)
With bottle cap shields and toothpick swords, the bugs battled. Catapults made from sticks hurled pebbles. The war was finally ended during a torrential downpour. One of those freak summer storms that blows through. The casualties were surprisingly low. I mean, toothpicks don’t do much against the sturdy exoskeleton of a bug. The rain seemed to cool everyone’s tempers down, and they laughed off their disagreements.
The Field of Desire became the Field of Friendship.
Later, the Bug King was looking up at the stars. He was drifting off to an insectoid sleep. One day, he dreamed, his exploration would extend beyond this kingdom.