Deep inside the anthills near the well, there was an outrage among the black ants and the red ants. It was about who among them was more hard-working and contributed more to their society. The media attended all the court sessions to cover the dispute between the two classes.
The first statement was read out by the Queen ant of the red colonies.
“We have colonized almost half of the earth. But we find ourselves in this conflict which has been affecting our work. Equality does not make any sense as our colonies work based on supremacy. There is the queen ant and then the others.”
It was followed by a statement from the Queen ant of the black colonies.
“We agree that equality does not make sense. We have our own colonies which are in no way inferior to you. But the problem lies in our relationship with each other. My workers are belittled and discriminated against because of their color. You say you cannot work with them or eat anything they bring in.”
The workers of both colonies started expressing their disgust over each other. The whole anthill started shaking.
The wise ant, listened patiently and replied with his sharp words.
“Peace, brothers, and sisters. We are here to solve this problem. We don’t want to create more conflicts. Now we shall ask the workers themselves what happened.”
The workers explained that there was a new area to be occupied which could supply them with large quantities of food. But the fungi living nearby can only provide it to the red colonies.
The black workers argued that it was just a cheap adjustment between the fungi and the red colonies, highlighting the discrimination even more intensely.
This disunity could mean chaos for all the organisms who formed relationships with the ant colonies. Their ego was more poisonous than the venom they produced.
The sleuth ants and the influencers slowly started their own private investigations about the issue. Some said the black ants were a bad omen to their society. Some believed in the red ant supremacy, taking inspiration from C.Darwant’s theories. The bright red ants explained how they worked efficiently and were more feared in the ecosystem. Some ants also started bringing in mindless blogging and hashtags, without even knowing the whole story.
The arguments went on in court. Some obnoxious demands such as different trails, different anthills were made by the red ants. The black ants responded by claiming that the red ants were arrogant in dubbing them as thieves and murderers.
Days and months passed. Thanks to the ant media, a small misunderstanding turned into a national riot. Both the parties were not ready to drop their egos for the greater good.
The ant communities had not noticed that the new area got ruined by the rains that came in the following month. The algae and fungi entered into an agreement. They enjoyed the food waste as well as the dandelions which produced honey. It was all ruined.
Seeing the sadness of his people, the oldest black ant stood up to speak.
“It is really disheartening to see all this, my brother. Colour does not give a person any sort of entitlement over the other. We are all ants. We need each other to survive. I do not want some red ant knocking at my door tomorrow, telling me that I murdered his family. This issue is out of order. So I pray, brother, that you make a decision, as we continue to suffer through the evil that is spread through the malicious tongues of our own people”
The wise ant, who grew blind in his senile old age, started to give a verdict.
“All the queens and workers gathered here, I am too blind and too old to remember my color. But you can see my color. Sunlight falls into your eyes, and you can see the color of my body. I remember seeing my friend who was black in color. I can hear his cries. He wants peace for his people. You cut my body in half and blood of the same color falls!”
“We outsmarted many grasshoppers in our life. But now we find ourselves in one of the most stupid conflicts of all time. Colour… color you say. A newborn red ant dons both red and black. Will you forsake your children for their color? I believe none of us deserve that area. I hope our children will pay heed to my statement here today and tomorrow lead us, the blind ones, into that land of everlasting peace.”
The wise ant placed a red ant and a black ant to balance out his weighing scales. The echoes of the colonies put a smile on the blind ant’s face. He knew he had started something remarkable.
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