The Ardent Swarm

by Yamen Manai

What was easier to hijack than democracy? Like most things in the world of men, democracy was principally a question of money, and the prince had plenty.

The villagers were completely discombobulated. Most of them hadn’t even chosen their spouses, and now they were meant to choose who would govern them.

“So the Handsome One is gone, gone?” “Absolutely. He’s gone and we’ll never see him again.” “Like the Old One before him?” “Not entirely. Remember the Handsome One chased away the Old One and took his place. Now that the people have chased away the Handsome One, it’s up to the people to decide who to put in his place.” “And we’re the people?” “Absolutely. Who else would you be?”

In their fight against the Varroa, many beekeepers converted to pesticides to save their colonies, preserving life with the right dose of poison. Except that with poison, there is no right dose.

“What you lose in strength, you gain in clear-sightedness. The trick is to reach the age of wisdom while you’re still strong enough to do things.”

Once again, man, in search of land, gave the plague to his fellow man in the folds of his offerings.

She felt like they were worshipping a God of hate and punishment, while hers was one of love and mercy.

Within the dream of prosperity and tolerance, nothing remained of fragile democracy but the illusory right to talk shit.

Now they’re telling us how to talk and dress, but soon they’ll tell us how to think. What will be on the agenda for tomorrow?

“Like our bees that have to coexist with the giant hornets, we are a people who must coexist with the flaws in the earth—earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions—and with war, the flaw of human nature. We know that our archipelago is fragile, that our existence is fragile, and that the survivors must always rebuild. We are a people well versed in catastrophes, Professor. The ‘other’ is none other than ourselves, a survivor and a partner.