The representatives from the Gondwanan Empire and the Republic of Laurasia rose from the roundtable and filed out. The hefty thud of their footsteps made the ground judder, stirring up the dust from the floor and the members of the ant delegation along with it. But the dinosaurs were soon gone, disappeared into the distance, leaving the ants to face the long trek across the smooth, shiny marble surface. Its glossy patina reflected the white light of the suns that studded the domed sky and seemed to stretch into infinity, just like the unknowable future in Kachika’s mind.

10

The Strike

In the capital of the Gondwanan Empire, in the Great Blue Hall of the imperial palace, Emperor Dadaeus lay on a sofa, one claw covering his left eye, emitting the occa­sional groan of pain. Several dinosaurs stood around him: Interior Minister Babat, Defence Minister Field Marshal Lologa, Science Minister Professor Niniken, and Health Minister Dr Vivek.

Rising from his seat with a slight bow, Dr Vivek addressed the emperor. ‘Your Majesty, the eye that Dodomi injured has become inflamed and requires immediate attention, but we currently cannot find any ant doctors to perform ophthal­mic surgery. Our only option is to keep the inflammation under control with antibiotics. If this continues, however, you are at risk of losing your sight in that eye.’

‘I could skin Dodomi,’ said the emperor through gritted teeth. ‘Is there not a single hospital in the entire country with an ant doctor still at work?’

Vivek lowered his head. ‘I’m afraid not, Your Majesty. There are many patients waiting in vain for urgent surgical procedures. The situation is causing a great deal of unrest.’

‘And I presume that’s not the only reason our dinosaurs are panicking,’ said the emperor gloomily, turning to the interior minister.

Babat gave a brief nod. ‘That’s correct, Your Majesty. At present, two-thirds of our factories have stopped production, and several cities have lost power. The situation in the Laurasian Republic is no better.’

‘The dinosaur-operated machines and production lines have also stopped?’

‘Yes, Your Majesty. In manufacturing sectors such as the automobile industry it is impossible to assemble the large dinosaur-made components into usable finished products without small precision parts, so production has had to be halted.’ Babat rocked back and forward nervously on his scaly heels before continuing with the bad news. ‘In other sectors like the chemical and energy industries, the ants’ strike had little impact at first, but because the ants are responsible for maintenance, whenever a piece of equipment fails, there is now nothing we can do, so more and more factories are becoming paralysed.’

The emperor stamped with rage. ‘You useless idiot! Did I not order you to have our dinosaur workforce undergo emergency training in delicate antwork, ready for this exact bastard scenario?’

‘Your Majesty, what you requested is, ah, well… impossible.’