He refused the wasp. (pause) Colonel Six is dangerous. He thinks.

A discarded smartphone, screen cracked, lies half-buried in mud. Next to it: a dead wasp.

The screen SPLITS: Left side shows the Reds’ colony under the rock. Right side shows the Blacks’ colony inside the fence post. Both colonies are watching this standoff via relay ants.

The BLACK QUEEN, ancient, one antenna missing, sits on a woven root.

Silence.

It does now. The vibrations have patterns. Not wind. Not worms. Language.

The dead wasp. And the leg of the one who carries it.

How do they know about the tunnel?

Architect One offered peace through horror. (long pause) Copy him.

We see from 1cm above ground. TWO RED FIRE ANTS (COLONEL SIX and PRIVATE THREE) drag the wasp leg.

He taps the mercury. It reforms into a blade.