The Bees PDF

SUMMARY The Bees is a personification of a beehive. The beehive is like a metaphor for a totalitarian society. In real life, a bee goes through 6-7 stages within their lives. The author of this bee transitioned each of these stages into a class of bees. Themes: Male/Female Relations...

SUMMARY The Bees is a personification of a beehive. The beehive is like a metaphor for a totalitarian society. In real life, a bee goes through 6-7 stages within their lives. The author of this bee transitioned each of these stages into a class of bees. Themes: Male/Female Relationships, Classism, Racism Flora: Lowest cast system, based on wild flowers Sage: Highest cast system, generally in charge of the religion Flora717 is larger than other bees, especially among her cast (sanitation workers). She speaks, unlike many other bees, and so a Sage takes interest in her. Instead of working as a sanitation worker, she ends up working in the nursery giving flow (vomit-like) into the larvae (baby bees). After the flow dries up, as it does not last forever, she goes back to being a sanitation worker and her memory is wiped and she cannot speak for some time. Eventually, a wasp attacks the nest, which Flora helps defend and so she receives honors from the Queen and she begins to gain some of her memory back. After this, she becomes a forager (bees who leave the hive to get pollen). Despite working her way up, she is still considered as an outcast (Flora). The male bees are extremely demanding, they do not care about the lack of resources and only seem to care about the honey. Flora develops a relationship with one of them, while holding onto a secret. Flora can bear eggs (which is supposed to only be done by the queen). She lays a total of 3 eggs total, and one of them ends up replacing the Queen Bee, as she was slowly dying at the time. Their religion is based on the devotions to the mother of the hive, the Queen Bee. All of the drones are called Sir and they are named after trees Thousands of bees died during the cluster, at leats half of the hive dies CHAPTER ONE (Introduction) Birth: Flora717 in Arrivals Hall Her task was as a sanitation worker Many cells were still empty for the new arrivals A young bee ran away in the middle of inspection and when the police caught her, her wing was shriveled. They said that, Deformity is evil and it is not permitted. They pressed her head down until there was a crack; she died. The officers noticed Flora’s abnormal height and size; the officers told Sister Sage that, Flora was obscenely ugly and excessively large Sister Sage was surprised to hear Flora speak, as sanitation workers typically do not Sister Sage put a drop of honey in Flora’s mouth, which encouraged her to follow in silence and do whatever sister asked  Sister Sage introduced Flora to her kin-sisters who were all mute and then told Flora to follow her to complete an experiment CHAPTER TWO (Flora Was Asked If She Wanted To Do An Experiment; Nursery Worker) Sister Sage took Flora into the Arival’s Hall for the more favored bees, and as Sister Sage was receiving an ovation, Flora could smell the pollen pastry and fresh water A male bee (His Maleness) appears to be highly honored within the beehive. When he appeared in front of the favored bees, many scrambled to offer him pastries and water after his entrance. The bees can communicate though antennas; Sister Sage took away Flora’s confusion and told her she was loved, which would rise as a new fragrance that rushed to the brain. Flora felt a very small portion of the Queen Bee’s scent, thanks to Sister Sage Sister Sage could understand the bees without actually speaking to them. She understood Flora was hungry and told her “Soon,” while bringing her towards a door CHAPTER THREE (Flora Starting Her Experiment as a Nursery Worker) Hard and shiny bands indicate that a bee is a senior A new bee has wet fur SIster Sage took Flora to the nursery, and Sister Teasel’s character is introduced SIster Teasel shared that they had lost 6 nurses since the last inspection Foragers have been falling from the sky and no one knows why, which could cause the baby bees to die as they are without pollen Melissae: Carries all fears so the hive is free (Sister Sage) Flora made a comment and Sister Teasel was shook and judgemental of a sanitation worker speaking Sister Teasel makes a remark as to how large Flora is and with recommendation from Sister Sage, she looked a Flora’s long tongue. Sister Sage said that this would only be an experiment, and Flora will lose the use of her tongue when the time comes. She will also have her memory wiped. Flora would be moved back to her kin, when the time came. “Accept, obey, and serve” Sister Teasel thinks Flora is ugly CHAPTER FOUR (Flora Working in the Nursery) In the nursery, liquid from the nurses is dropped into the baby bees There were no male babies: Late in the season Holy Mother stops making them There were two pulses in Flora’s cheeks and the liquid began coming up (Flow), which was redirected to the larvae’s mouth Sister Teasel was surprised to see a sanitation worker come up wit flow and Flora was very tired after giving it to the baby bee  Flow was considered the Queen’s Love and the sacrament of devotion Chiming bells would indicate whether a larvae would need more flow or not After six rotations, Flora was still feeding the larvae The cribs were always being rotated and once the nurses were done, a small group of sanitation workers would come by to clean. The nurses would then empty the cribs in the cleaned area and the supervising sisters would say purification prayers before the Queen laid new eggs No matter how hungry the larvae still were after the strict feeding time had passed, the Nurses had to stop feeding so the larvae could go to Category 2 (Ceremony of Transition) In Category 2, the nurses would sing and play with the larvae Flora mostly admired Category 2 kins of Violet, Primrose, and Vetch Flora desired to be moved to Category 2 and started including this in her Devotion prayer Sister Teasel recognized that Flora wanted to be moved and they got into a heated argument in the nursery about how Flora is very ignorant and as a sanitation worker, she should be more grateful of her position. Sister Teasel bashed Flora for also practicing her curtsy “Desire is sin, Vanity is sin and Idleness is sin” - Sister Teasel, which Flora continued, “Discord is sin, Greed is sin” Sister Teasel made sure SIster Sage wasn’t around and told Flora that as for the rest of her kin, she was greedy, ugly, and obstinate On the way tp feed more larvae, Flora crossed paths with a sanitation worker who held their wings up to avoid accidentally touching one of a higher group. Flora and the worker made eye contact and the worker smiled. Flora rushed off but this interaction stayed with her for some time Flora could not bring herself to produce more flow, so a young new nurse did so for her. Sister Sage showed up and told Flora that if her job bored her, then she’d be willing to give her something more exciting and it would be considered another test CHAPTER FIVE (Flora Working in Category Two; Fertility Police Killed Flora’s First Baby) Sister Sage took Flora to Category 2, she was not upset that Flora could not produce more flow and considered the first experiment, a success Flora explained to Sister Sage (priestess) that Identical Care (Category Two) bored her Sister Sage said she heard Flora is very devout and hard-working Sister Sage asked Flora if she knew anything about feeding times and Flora explained that she did not, all she knew was that they were important and that you could not give a drop more  Sister Sage continued by asking why it was important to not give any more drops to the children and Flora explained to Sister that she didn’t know the reason why, which Sister Sage was very happy about: It seems to be very important that no extra drops are given to the children, why? Sister Sage also asked Flora if the Category 1 nurses were having meetings, and if they ever did, then Flora must notify Sister Sage The next set of doors at the end of the Category 2 ward speak of Holy Time, when all the bees have slept in prayer and each devotion recalled something of that state The Sister Inspector and the Fertility Police came. They had reason to believe that a Nurse was carrying a baby, which was not allowed. Only the Queen Bee could breed and it was a sin for anyone else to. They found no guilty. Although, they found a baby with a strange smell. The Sister Inspector pierced the child with a hook and was about to kill it until Sister Sage told Flora to do so. Flora caught the baby, and comments telling her to destroy it and rip it apart were moving through her antenna but she gripped and shield the baby Flora wouldn’t hurt the baby and so the Fertility Police took the baby, tore it apart and ate it Flora told Sister Sage that she had asked her for too much and Sister Sage told her that, the experiment was over CHAPTER SIX (Clover Died, Flora in Detention Centre, Groups of Sanitation Workers) Flora woke up in a small chamber next to, Clover Sister Sage and the other priestess were there questioning Clover about why she laid eggs, to spread her disease and sin through the hive or to be the next Queen Bee? Clover explained multiple times that she never laid any eggs and eventually, gave up. She made a rude comment to Sister Sage about the Queen, as if she was indeed guilty of laying unwarranted eggs. Sister Sage used her venom to kill Clover from all sides The priestesses discussed how Sister Sage would kill Flora after they were done using her The priestesses touched both of Flora’s antennas and filmed them with complete numbness and said that from now on, she would only be motivated by dirt (related to sanitation workers) and fear. Without thought, Flora lifted Clover’s body and took it to the Detention Chamber A sanitation worker showed Flora where to put the body and almost instantly, it was taken away and as she walked out of the chamber, she ran into more sanitation workers, which made her feel some relief from the pain she had been feeling Collecting the dead was a common job for sanitation workers  There were three groups of sanitation workers: (1) The floras that collected waste from difficult areas, and made short-disposal flights with corpses or foul-smelling loads, and dropping them a hygienic distance behind, (2) Flora717 group; suffered severe agony in their antennae if they diverged but one step from their ordained track that the outer limit of their roaming was down to the morgue or the holding area, both at the lowest level of the hive Sister Bindweed: Long, narrow bee who was supervisor from a higher kin Flora would clean soiled chunks of wax, which caused her last feeling of Queen’s Love to disappear After entering the corridor, Flora jumped onto the soiled wax of chunk, rolling around in it getting the last bit of the Queens Love. Sister Bindweed took Flora and told her to wait for the police Flora ended up in the lobby and she had an overwhelming feeling telling her to “BEWARE OF SAGE” CHAPTER SEVEN (Spring Starting and Sir Linden) Nectar is coming (Likely spring starting) The foragers came from different kins and ages Pale tiles with flowers were considered prayer tiles (preparing those who walked on them for the sacred mysteries beyond) Each forager disposed the nectar into an open wax chalice Flora was not supposed to be in this sacred environment, as she was a sanitation worker and she could face serious consequences Flora hid in the shadows but something compelled her to step out and bow in the center of the atrium, somehow she also used her wings to fly up once and back down before anyone (The Holy Chords) saw her. It was one thing for a sanitation worker to be in the presence of the atrium but also to ever use her wings was very unauthorized Flora’s wings kept trying to fly and the smell of the nectar was making her very hungry; she kept reminding herself that, Desire and Greed were sin One of the young bees had spilled some nectar down her wax chalice and onto the tiles beneath, which Flora licked up. While doing so, she heard the maleness yell about how he needed honey, and the other bees told him to stop The Maleness came in with others; Sir Poplar, Sir Rowan, Sir Linden, and Sir Quercus. They were very large, handsome, with thick fur and sun visors over their eyes, along with a great smell. They demanded for honey, especially from Sister Prunus (Fanning Hall) Sir Linden was pushed into the honey and had it all over him including his fur  Sister Pruness noticed Flora trying to get to the door and she made note of how they hadn’t called the Sanitation Workers up. Before Flora could answer her, Sister Pruness asked her if housekeeping had left the scent gate down. Flora nodded, and Pruness called her stupid and slow for not knowing where each kin should be and because of the shortages, abominable asks take place. But then Sister looked at Flora suspiciously and suggested that Flora mya have been stealing, Flora shook her head and backed herself into someone and Sister Pruness smacked her in between the antenna. Sister Pruness apologized the Maleness (Sir Linden, the only one unattended) for Flora’s behavior and he said he didn’t mind. He suggested that he wanted Flora to groom him. The Sage like to be informed on all the immigrants due to possible disease and nectar Flora tried leaving the Fanning Hall, but Sir Linden stopped Flora and told her that she has to groom his bottom area Flora shoved him away and he followed, he called himself a “Prince of the Realm” and he told her that she must obey him Sir Linden was cursing her out and she ran away She fell through a door onto a stairway (The lowest level of the hive, where the staircase led to another door) The door stepped into the morgue and she realized that she was with the highest level of sanitation workers, the ones that fly the bodies out from the landing board Flora took one of the heaviest bodies with her and went out to the landing board with the other workers, looking up at the ongoing sky CHAPTER EIGHT (Hive Under Attack) A large crowd blocked the landing board, as the foragers came rushing through, who smelled like the wild air They ran into the atrium (near the lobby) and the sanitation workers moved nearer to the landing board and stayed in a corner Flora watched water gatherers with gulped throat throats Flora looked down beneath the landing board, she saw grass, which made her believe that other animals lived there A Thistle guard told her to stop looking down as it was not allowed for anyone As the foragers were going to take off again, Flora saw Sir Linden in the back with his fur still sticky. She went to hide behind a Thistle guard who told her that she shouldn’t dare disobey him and she was told to lick his feet clean A forager (Lily500) landed on the board and pushed past him. The forager stood up for Flora against the guard. Lily500 stretched out Flora’s wings and went near her antennas stating that the higher groups have wrecked Flora so bad that she’s surprised she can even function (ie, See)  A clover ran out and kneeled to receive the nectar from Lily500. The guards were appalled that that’s what they were drinking Lily500 pushed Flora off the board and for some time, she was falling until her flight instinct kicked in and she began to fly but she never looked beneath her Flora followed Lily500 through the trails and she lost Lily Flora felt very hungry and she could no longer smell the hive or the Queen Bee or anything she was familiar with There was a crow above Flora and she repeated “Devotion” and she scanned down below her to reorient where she was so she could go home. She finally found the orchard and then the hive’s scent This made her realize how much she loved the hive and her kin-sisters She could smell that something was wrong as she saw the foragers rushing back to the landing board and her pointer came out The hive was under attack CHAPTER NINE (Wasp Attacking the Hive) The alarm pheromone was on All of the bees rushed inside the hive and yelled at Flora to get in, but the wasps refocused their attention to her and she proceeded to knock one over A bee can only sting once in their life (Only female bees have stingers) Flora got to the hive but a wasp got to the landing board and the female wasp killed all of the guards she could and she peered into the hive looking at the bees Flora kept her gaze locked with the wasp and she realized that she would likely be the first to die. Flora unlatched her wings and all of the bees behind her did the same The wasp lunged into the hive and killed the Sister but Flora tried ripping out the wasps antennas and the other bees came to hold her down, which killed her There were lots of casualties or mutilated bees The sanitation workers (with encouragement from Flora) ripped the wasp into pieces to remove her from the hive Sister Sage told Flora that her kin doesn’t fight but Flora did so bravely and she explained that the voice in her head told her what to do Sister Sage touched Flora’s antenna and filled her with the Queen’s love Six bees came to walk Flora to meet the Queen CHAPTER TEN (Introduction of Flora to the Panels) The air was filled with the Queen’s love and the room only had some pitchers in the room  The bees poured ceremonial water on Flora to make sure she was clean when meeting the Queen The bees tried to teach Flora how to curtsey with special help from Lady Bernet who was extremely nice. The bees were surprised Flora was a part of the sanitation kin and she was everything her kin wasn’t; verbal and brave The bees taught Flora how to drink and eat properly and they created pretty shapes in her fur and polished her legs After the dinner, the bees took Flora to “run errands” There were many threats to bees, even flies The first two panels were positive and the other 5 held terrors (touching a panel with the antenna makes the bee feel the story of that panel, 1st panel smelled like flowers and felt like the outside world) Second Panel (The Kindness): Flora saw herself walking with a Thistle guard who killed her in a corridor. Every sister sees her own end “No use for the hive, no use for life” Third Panel (the Visitation): Intense bouquet of the hive (smelled like sunshine and sisters), then came smoke. It tells the terror and the survival of the bees The Queen came to speak with Flora, who bowed on the floor. She raised Flora to her feet and took the bees to her chambers CHAPTER ELEVEN (Flora Feeling the Panels) The bees showed Flora to her bed, which was behind the nursery Flora was only supposed to be there for one day The bees called Flora to go with her to the nursery and they took her to the most sacred place in the hive, the Laying area (where the Queen lays the larvae) Flora was asked to clean the nursery and she saw the Queen, for what she thought would be the last time, but Flora was informed that she would see the Queen again Flora was instructed to go into the chambers to chat with the Queen while she rested Flora kept her position as an attendant for a second day On the third day, she started her knew job, protecting the hive Flora went back to the panels: (1) The Honey Flow, (2) The Kindness , and (3) The Visitation, (4) The Exhibition, and (5) The Golden Leaf The Queen said the 3 panels were enough but Flora believed that knowing the last 3 panels could save the hive Fourth Panel (The Exhibition) : 10,000 sisters singing Fifth Panel (The Golden Leaf): Golden roots spreading through the hive, which created a knot in the middle of the library that exploded  Sixth Panel: No scents, no images, no sounds. She smelled the nursery and one crib pulled her close. The crib broke apart and a twisting black comet screamed into her brain The bees came in and told Flora that she wasn’t supposed to touch the panels, as they were only meant for the Priestesses Flora went back into the chambers and she cried about what she had done The Queen was feeling extreme pain and wouldn’t let Flora get help; the Queen treated her pain like it wasn’t anything serious. The Queen asked Flora to promise to not tell anyone about what she saw Lady Bernet announced that Flora’s time with the Queen ended and she must go back to working as a sanitation worker As Flora717 walked back to her level, everything began to fade (ie, The Bees Names). The scent of the Queen disappeared from Flora CHAPTER TWELVE (Flora Was Supposed to Groom Sir Linden) The Queen came to speak with some of the bees and they were overwhelmed with her love, yet Flora and a few other bees, despite standing still, they were very conscious of their surroundings and she realized that they were all foragers Flora flew out with the foragers and was told by Lily500 that she can be a forager if she’d like There were 2 male salons in the hive: One on the top level near the fanning hall and the other on the lowest level near the landing board. These were places of rest with refreshments The Willow and Flora Flora noticed Sir Linden, and tried hiding but the Sister Cowslip noticed her and told her that Sir Linden needs to be groomed Flora apologized to Sir Linden and told him that he would serve him. The other maleness bees laughed at him for having such an ugly bee helping him. He considered Flora as disobedient Sir Linden was rarely the center of attention Sir Linden had Flora stand behind him and he told her that she cannot leave and has to continue serving him until he said no more. She was furious that she hadn’t gone with Lily500 When Sir Linden was sleeping, Flora went to Sister Cowslip and told her the truth about how Flora participated in foraging Flora was about to demonstrate her flying to Sister Cowslip but the Thistle guards said that Sister Sage said no more foragers were meant to leave CHAPTER THIRTEEN (The Death of Lily500) The Thistle guards brought out Lily500 to show to the other bees who wronged the hive. Lily500 had gone out to a poisonous field and instructed the other foragers to do so. This caused some of the foragers to experience injuries and the nectar was contaminated Lily500 demonstrated blasphemy; she kept saying how believed the area was clear Sister Sage stated that the hive had to be cleansed due to Lily500 mistake Sister Sage thanked Lily500 for all the work she had done and the Thistle guards took her away “From death comes life eternal” Sister Sage that they would have to prepare for a health inspection. Due to the poisoned bodies, some of the bees were instructed to take the bodies and never come back to the hive Lily500 begged to attend her sisters. The guards broke her wings and took her to the landing board. A guard said that she would be sentenced to death. Lily500 touched Flora’s antenna and gave her images and scents CHAPTER FOURTEEN (Flora Layed Her 2nd Egg) Flora felt pressure in her stomach, which was only soothed by swaying it. Flora was considered she was spreading disease to her sisters Flora laid an egg and she was so stressed, concerned as only the Queen can lay eggs. She searched for the Fertility Police who would not show mercy to her The egg grew brighter and the smell was much sweeter Flow began coming up from Flora, but forced it down Sister Teasel was sleeping and Flora was trying to wake her up. Sister Teasel woke up and told Flora to not say anything about her sleeping. She saw the egg and assumed it was on of the Queen’s. Flora was instructed to put the egg in Category one. Flora felt no guilt but love for her egg CHAPTER FIFTEEN (Flora Becoming a Forager) Sister Elix (the kin below the Teasel), Flora assumed the Sister knew about the egg and Flora told her that she was ready for the Kindness (to die). Sister Elix did not know what Flora was talking about Sister Elix wanted Flora to repeat what Lily500 told her and so she was suspended from her sanitation duties Sister Elix took Flora out to the landing board and told her to fly up to where Lily500’s data permitted her The hive and orchard tree was in between an industrial complex  Flora lowered herself to a flower for the first time and she tasted the nectar and gathered pollen Flora lowered herself to get a ball of pollen and when she got to the ground, she saw all of the dead bodies; wasps, bees, flies, ants Flora found a bee body that was being dragged by ants and they told her it was from two days ago, meaning that when Lily500 was foraging nectar, it was clean. But now it was not, which Flora had just eaten from Flora knew that bees would die and her egg could die if she wouldn’t go back to the hive and provide the bees with nectar Flora tried getting to the hive and during her attempt, she ran into Sir Linden Flora saw the Princess, while searching for the hive Crows blocked the path to the hive CHAPTER SIXTEEN (Flora Longing Her Egg) Flora was trying to get to the hive, passing the Crows Flora was permitted to forage Flora had a longing to be close to her egg; as a Sanitation worker, they would regularly clean the nursery, but as a forager, she lacked even more access. She decided that eventually, she would go to Sister Teasel and ask her for a tour Flora was calculating how long it would be before her larvae hatched and went passed Category One She would need to go to Category One, before six days passed or else she would never see her child again CHAPTER SEVENTEEN (Flora’s First Days As A Forager) Flora kept longing her baby Flora went on many missions over two days as a Forager Flora went to the Category One floor. The Sisters were found crying, and Flora smelled the Fertility Police. They had found Flora’s egg (a baby boy), and he was in the wrong crib, which they assumed a nurse put into a wrong spot. He had hatched and starved to death Sister Speedwell died as they thought she was the mother of the egg (She came in late to the Nursery one night and Sister Teasel saw her) Sir Linden made fun of Flora, but then he told her that he was very fond of her Flora found Sir Linden’s smell comforting Sir Linden touched Flora’s antennas and filled her with the Queen’s love, but instead of being euphoric, she was more numb She felt the Queen’s love and believed the Queen still loved her, despite her mistakes CHAPTER EIGHTEEN (Flora Birthed Her 2nd Egg) On the third day, the bees were locked in at the hive due to the rain The bees collectively sat together and compared who was the most loved by the Queen. They always concluded the conversation by stating, “Obey and Serve” Flora had a tear in her membrane within the wing Flora felt pain in her abdomen again Flora had another egg, and this egg was even brighter than the last She knew her egg needed a pure wax crib, but it could not be in the nursery Flora was searching for the Chapel of Wax CHAPTER NINETEEN (Flora Hid Her 2nd Egg) Flora entered the Chapel of Wax and told them that she was there to learn the form of wax Sister Siclina told her that when she prayed, the wax would either come or it wouldn’t Flora was instructed to put the tips or her antenna on the honeycomb Flora poured out her wax and was told that she could do so until her body would let her Flora kept repeating that, “The Queen could only breed” Flora’s egg grew larger and she stopped feeling shame about how much she loved her egg Flora had to cross the lobby and ran into Sister Sage, who almost kept her too long Flora was in a corridor (the same one she used to run away from Sir Linden) and she was being called She found three small cacoons and each was a coffin, which held a Sage Here Flora gave birth and this egg was more golden and sweeter than devotion In three days, Flora was going to go back to the egg and hold it and feed it CHAPTER TWENTY (Sister Teasel Found Flora Guilty of Laying Eggs and Flora Killed Her) In the dance hall, in front of many bees, they stated how mistakes were made in the nursery Flora looked younger and better (Holy Mother’s love was youthful), Flora had a glow to her, only the Queen has Sister Teasel noticed how nervous Flora looked and so she touched her antenna to Flora’s, where she felt Flora’s love for her child Sister Teasel pointed to Flora and yelled out loud saying that Flora is the laying mother Sister Teasel told the Fertility Police to kill Flora’s egg Flora pushed Sister Teasel into the honeycomb and broke her neck, all awhile many bees were collectively praying  Flora’s antennas were bruised from Sister Teasel and she had protected her secret CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE (Flora Thought the Wasp Was Being Friendly) Flora believed that it wasn’t the Queens desire to punish her, or everyone would have heard Sister Teasel Flora told herself that she would never leave her channels open for the other bees to hear When Flora was foraging, she continuously heard Lily500’s voice about how and where to fly Flora ran into a wasp (The Vespa) and claimed that she was more beautiful and intelligent than the bees, despite not being able to make honey The wasp gripped Flora and told her that Flora had to say that the wasps were better, in order to potentially be let go Flora curtsied to the wasp and asked her how she can leave. The wasp told her that Flora should’ve never crossed the road to their side A cellphone tower was in the area Flora followed the wasp, as she believed that if the wasp hadn’t left her to perish then she must be trusted CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO (Flora Got Trapped in Sugar By the Wasp) The wasp showed Flora the way back to the orchard tree The wasp told Flora that they have sugar, which is much better than the nectar The wasp told Flora that maybe she would share with the bees Flora hoped that the feud with the Vespa would end Flora followed the Vespa (the wasp) and the flowers had oil poured over them The wasp directed Flora to the sugar (hard like wax that later melted in the mouth) Flora wanted to ask where she could find more, but she couldn’t stop feeding on the sugar The wasp kept encouraging Flora to eat until Flora realized that the sugar beneath her hardened and below the sugar were wasp larvae Quickly, Flora was pulling her feet free by biting the sugar and she fooled the wasp to keep spinning to show how beautiful she was (to distract herself from what Flora was doing) Flora got into a cab, which stung the driver on every side by the wasps Flora released the sugar and was embarrassed about how she failed to forage She was trying to pick up the scent of the orchard but raindrops knocked her over and almost broke one of her wings  Flora met with a brown slug as she was trying to hide away from the rain, and to avoid possibly being eaten, she kept flying up (likely in a tree) CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE (A Crow Tried Attacking Flora) Flora’s wing hit something and her claw got caught and held her up Flora pressed herself into an old crevasse of a tree The latches of Flora’s wings were smashed and her membranes were torn A crow came by the tree and it pecked at Flora to get her out of the tree. It couldn’t get her out of the bark, so it waited for her a few branches above her Flora was away from the Queen’s love, so whatever liquid she had left, she had used it on herself Flora kept thinking about her baby hatching by the cacoons Flora smelt the hive but she didn’t want to go back with nothing, so she was going to search for nectar There was smoke CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR (The Sisters Find Out About A Laying Bee) The roof of the hive was completely open (the top floor open to the air) A man was trying to take the honeycomb and put smoke by the hive to do brutal damage This man was part of the “Visitation” panel The Sage took charge and told the Sanitation workers to go to the top floor to bring the bodies down Holy mother stepped out looking radiant wearing wax lace. She waited in the lobby so all of the bees could smell the Queens love Flora told the Queen that she has sinned and the Queen had told her that she loves her nonetheless. Flora tried explaining to the Queen but she wouldn’t let her Flora found her egg in the Dance Hall The Fanning Hall was now a construction site and they were trying to rebuild it with whatever they could The Priestesses (Sage) were helping with the construction site, which was very unusual for their kin Sister Sage told all of the bees that there was a bee who was laying eggs and there would be searches done, day and night CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE (Flora’s Second Egg Was Killed/Flora Was Searched For Laying) Flora717 lost her second egg Flora flew harder and longer missions, which she was very proud of  Flora was dancing and told the officers that it is a place of freedom and an officer got offended so he tried grabbing her, but her reflexes were to quick. More bees joined Sister Sage told the Fertility Police to measure Flora and she was asked to repeat, “Only the Queen may breed” The police said Flora smelled and they said her stomach was swollen. She claimed that because she is a Sanitation worker and a forager, she smells and her stomach was swollen because of how much nectar she collects daily Flora locked her antenna from everyone and resisted but Sister Sage broke in and found Flora thinking and prioritizing nature Many bees came to protect Flora, standing by her wing to wing CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX (Flora Talking With a Spider/Found Out About Her Last Egg) Flora could not find a full crop of nectar and the officers would not let her in with only a half crop Madame Dogwood gave nectar to Flora, and the other foragers did so too to let flora inside the hive Spiders introduced in this chapter The spiders said that the Sage trade with the spiders; she questioned why the Sages would trade if the spiders did not have any honey to give The spiders asked for Madame Dogwood, as she was old and smelled like she would die soon. The spider simple asked for a bite Flora argued with the spider and told her that she would not get Madame Dogwood “One bee, one answer” repeated the spider; the Spider explained that the hive could still save themselves The spider bit Madame Dogwood and rolled her into the spider netting As the spider got food, the spider provided an answer about the visitation Flora aimed herself to the middle of the web and Flora asked her how the hive could protect themselves in the winter The spider could smell Flora’s secret and she whispered into Flora’s ear and told her that Flora would have one last egg Flora did not want this answer and she asked the spider to answer the question about winter. All the spider said was that there would be two winters and the hive would suffer. Flora explained this to Sister Sage, back on the landing board SPIDERS NEVER LIE CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN (The Deaths of the Drones) By the end of the summer, Flora still had not had her last egg “Accept, Obey, and Serve”  In the Dance Hall, the sisters were not obeying the Maleness and they circled him saying that his time would come Flora hit the maleness All of the sister began kicking all of the drones They tried to pump their male fragrance to keep the females docile Flora tried clawing at the maleness The drones fought to escape but the sisters would not let them The bee from Woodbine, she ripped Sir Polar’s abdomen, tore out his penis and ate it repeating that only the Queen could breed All other drones (males) were eaten alive or killed CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT (Flora Was Told to Send the Sanitation Workers to the Spiders) Flora choked as she threw up blood The Queen stood in the bees midst and she told them to rest and let her give her love to them Each bee felt the Queen’s forgiveness Flora felt someone watching her; they were the sanitation workers Flora told the sanitation workers that she was the laying bee and the workers covered her, not telling anyone Sister Sage told Flora that she was no back to being a sanitation worker; cleaning the morgue and its debris Sister Sage told Flora to send the sanitation workers to the spiders They felt her sadness and touched her with concern CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE (Dead Sage Larvae and the Death of Sanitation Workers) Flora separated the sanitation workers into two groups; one went to the landing board and the others went to the morgue Flora felt a secret; the morgue was always dry but she felt wetness under her Flora saw dead larvae and babies in a corner Flora used her antenna to touch the corpse, they were Sage’s Flora tried telling the Priestess about the corpse The Flora’s touched Flora’s abdomen; they knew. She told the sanitation workers to find another job and leave. She could not send them to their death The dead in the corner began moving; it was Sir Linden. He told Flora to kill him; as he should have died with the rest of the drone Sir Linden understood why the bees did what they did but he told Flora to kill him, as he’d prefer that more than the police killing him  Six by six (the sanitation workers) walked out onto the landing board with Flora and one by one, they set their engines and flew, while the spiders attacked them quickly CHAPTER THIRTY (Hibernation) Within two days, it felt like none of the maleness had ever existed Many bees had died during night and foragers during the day and winter was coming and it was becoming cold The Sage were good and the Priestesses cared for them There was a last feast before winter came The Sage let the bees up to the Treasury and they smelled their Queen, standing in the middle The Priestesses took kin-by-kin, attempting to hide the queen. All of them felt the Queens love The sanitation workers were on the outside; Flora could have gone closer to the Queen but chose to stay with her kin Many bees fell asleep but Flora could not; if she released her antennas, she could fall asleep but this would release images of her egg The cluster regularly moved; the Queen would always be fed first and it would be day by day before the sanitation kin would eat Madame Rosebay saw a tear in her wings and so she ran down the cluster crying out in pain, calling out to Flora asking for help to get her to the landing board Many bees below the cluster laid dead Madame Rosebay said that the Willows had the flowers with the best nectar A familiar voice told Flora that she was very kind CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE (Spider Tried Killing Flora While Foraging) Flora saw Sir Linden and told him that he could join the cluster, he was nervous as the bees could attack him but Flora told him that it wouldn’t happen Flora used her scent to cover Sir Linden’s Flora finally fell asleep, though she was very hungry Other Foragers woke up with Flora, the air was dryer Flora went to forage nectar, while Lily500 (Cage of Glass) was speaking in Flora’s mind, giving her coordinates to a place with nectar Flora knew that if she touched the ground, then she would never fly back up again Inside the Cage of Glass (Conservatory/Green House), there were flowers calling at her. It was a conservatory The virgin bloom of a small orange tree called Flora; it had a citrus flavor  There was a spider called to Flora and Flora told her that she had already seen her kind before and that she would not be going anywhere near the spider The spider called Flora as the, “Bee with secrets” The spider caught a fly and Flora tried flying away The spider told Flora that the Queen would soon die and it would be better for Flora to die with her than going back to the hive because she would cause “unimaginable horrors” Flora stayed on a nail with some flies, while the spider tried finding a way to climb up to them The fly helped Flora to get out of the conservatory and the fly was likely killed by the spider Flora returned to the hive CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO (Animal Scratching at the Hive) Flora was paranoid that the spiders could be right and her presence would destroy the hive The sanitation workers barley moved and it would be days before they would eat Flora shared some nectar and was surprised that Sir Linden didn’t ask her for any, but she still gave him some Flora tried looking for the Queen and when she found her, the Queen touched Flora’s antenna and told her to stop worrying The Priestess told Flora that when she brings nectar, she cannot wake the Queen Something was scratching the hive and it woke Flora up, she yelled at the cluster to wake up It was somewhere near the nursery on the middle floor, and it sounded like it had four arms and legs CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE (Flora told Sage About the Queen’s Health) The “intruder” was a mouse The bees bit at it and as the mouse was weak and old, they easily killed it and tore it apart until no hair or whisker was seen Sister Sage spoke with Flora and was told that the bees knew that she had a secret. Flora told the sister that she promised the Queen not to say and Flora ended up telling Sister that the Queen was sick, betraying the Queen Other bees overheard the conversation and said that if there is disease in the hive, it is of the best interest of the colony to know CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR (Spring Was Coming)  Spring was coming The bees began leaving the cluster Flora asked one of the sisters if the spiders were being honest about saying that there would be two winters. The Priestess did not answer Flora’s question Flora was still working as a forager and it was clear she had aged The Clover was questioned by Flora and asked what had happened to the sanitation workers; the Clover wept and told Flora that the babies starved and plagued, the babies flesh was coming off Sir Linden protected Flora away from new young drones CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE (The Death of the Queen Bee) In the floors, Flora felt the sickness The Queens scent had changed and everyone now knew that the Queen had a disease There was a dead baby cradled in the Queen’s arms The bees asked the Queen to do with them The dead baby fell apart when the Queen passed it on to another bee They went into the dance hall, and the ‘Golden Leaf,” the fifth panel/story was about to occur Everyone kneeled around the Queen and she was the only one standing. The bees told the Queen that her reign has ended and the Queen laughed Flora cried and told the Queen that she apologies and she betrayed her The Sage signaled and the Fertility Police took the Queen away, without protest The Queen pointed at a Thistle, choosing her to kill and the Thistle killed the Queen The odor of sickness was gone. The air was now clean and it smelled of the Sage In three days, the Priestess would pick a new Queen. They said that only the Sage can rule The Thistle asked to be killed, as she said that she could not live with her self. She was killed There was a complaint about how anyone could choose a new Queen in 3 days Flora was gasping for air and she heard the spider saying, “unimaginable terrors” Flora realized that there was still a sixth panel that was never heard Golden Leaf: A fresh leaf was carried in with fresh gold pollen on it Used a bier with the golden leaf to carry out the queen bees body parts CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX (Flora Gave Birth to the Queen Bee) Flora kept thinking about the sixth story Flora repeated, winter comes twice and she realized that her egg would, in fact, come Flora was feeling pain and she felt nauseous  The egg in Flora grew so quickly, she was unprepared for it The third egg came and it balanced itself, very large and of a pearly color The plan was to smuggle the baby into the nursery, this time putting it into the right section CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN (Arrival of Queen Pushed Back) The arrival of the Queen was pushed back Flora was stressed as if the Queen came late, the nurses wouldn’t be working and her baby would starve Flora’s baby was about to hatch and a Sister Teasel said that it wouldn’t come from a Sage, as they must be sick too if they haven’t yet produced a Queen. This was considered as blasphemy and treason A wasp approached the hive but almost right away, the wasp flew away CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT (Flora Taking Care of the Queen Bee) Flora gave birth to a maleness. She fed him and he fell asleep in her arms Until Flora ate, she could not feed her baby Flora prayed she didn’t smell of flow Sister Teasel gave Flora food, stating that she saw her coming from the nursery A Sister Teasel was killed by the police for speaking out Another bee was killed by the police for speaking out The floor combs sent messages to the bees Flora flew on top of the hives roof and she started walking on the side of the hive CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE (Sister Sage’s Death) One of the guards had told the Priestesses that they smelled flow The Priestesses saw Flora trying to keep Flow down The Priestesses found Flora with her baby and asked her how many times she had laid eggs Sister Sage told Flora that her baby was, in fact, a girl Flora claimed to love her child; only the Queen is supposed to feel love Sister Sage tried to take the baby away and Flora attacked Sister Sage, saving the baby and placing it back into the crib Flora had to get rid of the body but could not do so the normal way because it was to large and warm Flora tossed the body into the grass and her head had caught on a spike of grass Sir Linden found Flora and he called Sister Sage’s death as a “terrible accident” Flora told Linden that she had more work to do and he asked her if she could help CHAPTER FORTY (Flora’s Baby in Holy Time) The new drones met the sisters. The sisters were excited to welcome them and the new drones loved the attention Flora’s baby was entering Holy Time, but it seemed like this time came too soon Flora had to cover the baby for Holy Time, especially as she did not know what happened after Category Two. All she remembered is that the little ones had to be cleaned Flora realized that there was no palace to go during Holy Time. After Category Two, they would go to the Arrival Hall Flora was very grateful to Sir Linden for helping her Flora used a broken lid of wax to cover her baby in the morgue, and she sealed the baby CHAPTER FORTY-ONE (Sage Princes Won RIval With Flora’s Daughter) For the first time, Flora had no desire to fly The hive lost its beauty and structure Many sisters did not want to lay near Sister Sage or Sister Teasel Some bees claimed that the hive still remained plagued and the Thistle guards came out asking who said such a thing, nobody admitted to it Flora went with other foragers and gathered crop Flora’s daughter had woken The Teasel Princess and the Sage Princess went into rival The Sage Princess won the rival Flora’s daughter came out and told Sister Sage that she was the princess. They had a rival and Flora’s daughter won Then wasps came near the hive “Strength and Sage” Flora forced all of her knowledge into her daughters mind, despite the pulsing pain Flora told her daughter to save everyone Flora watched the black cloud take over the hive CHAPTER FORTY-TWO (Princesses in Rival for Queen Bee Position) Flora ran into the morgue The Teasel Princess was hissing and and the Sage Princess were still in a rival The Princesses tried daggering each other The Teasel Princess was brutally injured but she was stabbed in between the antennas The black cloud descended on the hive CHAPTER FORTY-THREE (Flora Loved Linden and the Bees Found a New Tree) The Bees wanted to disperse Flora could see that her daughter was too young to lead due to how many injuries she suffered Flora became to dance on a cluster of bees, using the rhythm to spread the information Flora’s daughter told Flora that she must know that Flora loves Sir Linden Flora’s daughter went to look for Sir Linden The swarm of bees found a beach tree in the forest where they would start a new hive in the tree CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR (Epilogue) A man addresses the hive that their beekeeper (his father had died) He sold the Orchard Tree They kneeled to the tree and heard nothing, all of these bees went with him; the family believed that they went with their beekeeper