The Amazing Beehive

The Amazing Beehive (slightly revised and updated)

Klein gathered himself, and then looked straight ahead, to see for the first time what the copse had been concealing: his whole vision had suddenly been transformed: what became visible over and above a thick veil of mist was a huge beehive-shaped structure. Around the periphery of the beehive were situated a multitude of dark-coloured smaller buildings, rendered insignificant due to the imposing nature of the main construction. The beehive fulminated with energy, each layer a coagulation of distinctly coloured segments, starting from darker glowing hot reds at the bottom, ascending towards lighter blues and then pellucid shades towards the top. The giant beehive overwhelmed Klein, as its sheer size made it virtually impossible for him to absorb all of its features at a glance. Each level of the beehive was highly co-ordinated with the rest, and, as Klein looked through an assortment of windows that had made themselves visible, he saw that there were tight clusters of individuals packed into certain segments, each cluster betraying a certain type of activity very different to the next. The individuals Klein beheld at each level of the beehive formed an organized collective, rather like carefully packaged bundles of particles fused together by some unknown bond; the ferocity of the behaviour of those placed at the bottommost layers was in stark contrast to the almost stationary locations of those placed at the highest regions. Klein looked at the lower regions again, and as he concentrated his stare to the degree required to observe the details of the events unfolding, he could just about make out the grimaces and scowls etched on the faces of those nearest the windows. The lower placed individuals were very industrious, busily handling lots of heavy loads of coal-like objects and other fuel-stuff, presumably in order to maintain the necessary power that kept the beehive functioning. Slightly higher up, the grimaces were less apparent, the tasks less demanding, and the activity less charged with the passionate forces of those from lower down in the beehive. Every individual that Klein could see at the apex of the beehive was less haphazard in his demeanour than those lower down. What was clear was the virtual lack of movement of those at the apex; the movements of those Klein could see here were slow, purposeful, mechanical, and almost ghost-like. Strangely, no peace was evident at this level – it was efficient, clear, precise, and always orderly, but it was bereft of peace … but not in any sense familiar to Klein.