The Colony's Judgement

Ant 9389 watched as his coworkers, Ant 7483 and Ant 2784 went to work dragging the carcass of a dead beetle back to home, back to the colony. He considered lending a hand, but a realization stopped him. He didn't want to.

"Ant 9389, why aren't you helping us?" asked Ant 2784.
"I don't want to."

The other two ants dropped their load and exchanged looks before shaking their antennas with amusement. "So? You're a part of our society. Conform and obey, that's our colony's motto. What are you waiting for? Conform and obey. Help us out."

Ant 9389 moved to help, his pincers open to seize a dangling grasshopper leg, but he stopped. What was he doing? This wasn't the life he wanted to lead. "No. I'm sorry, but I can no longer support this colony. Look at what we call ourselves. We're nothing but numbers, slaving away at the whims of our Queen. I believe we are worth more than this. Just look at our ability to talk, to express emotion! That alone is reason to carve our own way through life, not blindly follow the norm or the commands of a leader who doesn't give a damn about us."

The other two ants tensed up. "You speak madness," said Ant 7483.

"Perhaps. But I'd rather be mad and unique than sane and oppressed." Ant 9389 left the grasshopper behind, venturing further into the forest, past the stream marking the border of his Colony's kingdom, journeying to lands unknown. 

Proudly, Ant 9389 declared his new name to the sky. "World, you may call me Innovator."

            One day, as Innovator gazed contently from the home he had crafted from brown oak leaves, white veins coursing across their surfaces, he noticed something curious on the horizon. A lone ant, marching forward with its head turned down and its back slumped.

            “State your business,” said Innovator.

            “Don’t you recognize me? It’s me, Ant 7483. I came to warn you. The Queen is furious. I tried to convince her not too seek vengeance for leaving, but she banished me. I know that if I hope to survive, I’ll need your help. So, will you give it?”

            Innovator tilted his head. “What is your name?”

            “What? I already told you.”

            “Not your number. Your name. What is it?”

            “I, I don’t know.”

            “Look inside yourself. It’s in there.”

            A spark entered Ant 7483’s eyes. “Resistance. I am Resistance. The Queen is sending an army to eradicate you, and now, me. I don’t see how we can survive, but I am willing to die by your side, if you’ll have me.”

            “Together then, we shall both resist the Queen, till death take us.”