The Journey of Ant Norn Subject Myrmica 4
Before long, it appeared that the Myrmica group was about to become rather fractured. Their home was in the starting position with the greatest possible area, which pointed to a group that would fan out quite a bit. Yet Myrmica 4 took it one step further and was the first to use the lift within the old, giant tree trunk. He was quite the brave Norn: Even uncharted territory was not about to take away from his nap! His group stood the greatest chance of quickly growing into the largest colony, but his sudden departure meant a possible mixing of groups. Myrmica 3 was also still battling an illness.
The ride up the lift easily could have been a short diversion from the Myrmica colony, but Myrmica 4 decided to take it a step further by pressing the button for another lift. This placed him within easy reach of the Allomerus group. Incidentally, this group’s two females were the first to lay eggs, each from different males. The mixing of the groups was not expected to take place for at least a few generations… This Ant Norn was one brave adventurer! I noticed that another male member of the Myrmica colony attempted to follow in his footsteps, so it seemed like this tendency to travel and explore was not simply an odd occurrence. It would make for an interesting world, but documenting everything seemed a little more difficult than planned!
Unfortunately, not all were free to happily roam about Colony Twelve. I discovered Ectatomma 3 within the ocean, apparently in the grasp of a murderous Puffer Fish. For some reason, it seemed unable to bring the Norn to the surface, and had clearly failed in its ability to provide air and oxygen. I did make an effort to try to save him, since this was likely a mistake on my part when setting up the world. This Puffer Fish was banished, and a new one placed in each ocean. Sadly, there was no way to save Ectatomma 3. He perished beneath the waters, courtesy of that terrible Puffer Fish. The Ectatomma group was cut to two female members.
As it so happened with Myrmica 4, two members of the Allomerus group met him in the lift and descended down one level together. Part of this troop was Allomerus 2, who had been the first to lay an egg, along with the father of that egg. It looked like Myrmica 4 had walked into a competitive portion of this smaller colony, though he seemed ready for any challenge. Note that all Albian Ant Norns had grown to become fertile, as indicated by their aging appearances. Elsewhere, both females of the Tetramorium colony became pregnant by both males. The only group that had not started the next generation was, ironically, the Myrmica colony.
What happened to Ectatomma 3 is why I never use puffer fish. They’re simply not reliable enough to depend on saving drowning norns. A few times, I found the pests were tossing a norn around like dolphins do with fish! I always just put several electric gates on docks, which are usually able to keep norns from falling into water.
P.S. I figured out I could put a name! I’m honestly not very familiar with how Blogger works….
Poor little guy. I think I might try out the electric gates, or inject the bridges above the oceans. It’s nice to have some hazards in a world, but I feel like those Puffer Fish can create unnecessary deaths! I know one of the Ectatomma females successfully made it to the desert island, courtesy of the inflatable boat. If that group ends up dying off, I’ll basically have myself to blame! At least the other three groups seem to be in good shape.
If you do go with gates, put at least 2. One time, a norn drowned because she somehow turned off the single gate I put up. No idea how, but she did.
Thanks for the tip! I’ve had to use a double gate whenever I’ve tried setting up a barrier in C3/DS. Those pesky Norns seem to know just how to outwit one of them. I’m leaning more towards the bridge option so that exploration is still possible, but it’s good to know there is another option!
I’ve had similar problems with the puffer fish. Don’t think they’ve ever trapped a Norn, but they can toss them about for such a long time the Norn still drowns anyway.
I’m also not a big fan of the electric gates, both because Norns can get past them occassionally, but also because the Norns don’t seem to ‘see’ them. They appear to be invisible walls, which just confuses the poor things. Either that or my C2 Norns were particularly dumb.
Personally I’d go with the bridges. Once installed I’ve found them fantastic. Although I have had trouble installing them on occassion. From memory you MUST install them in the particular order or it can break your world.
I’ve made a couple of copies of this world, just in case the bridges end up causing a problem. Might have to go with another method if it doesn’t work, but I’m hopeful that this can work! If so, the bridge across the deep blue ocean will certainly be named after Ectatomma 3. A dedication of sorts, since his death was the reason for me attempting to make things safer for everyone else!