I was stepped on by a deer once.

Its hoof crushed me into the dirt, walked away, and definitely didn't even notice that I'd ever been there.

It had felt as exactly as you might imagine you'd feel if you were stepped on by a giant deer.

It was the most painful thing that had ever happened to me.

It's a distant second now.

Every fiber of my body strains against my carapace, and a silent scream rips from my twitching mandibles. Every part is on fire, from the shell to the muscle straight to the few organs I have.

Please, Joule. Say something. Talk endlessly if you want. Just distract me from this pain!

It lasts far too long.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Forever.

It's been absolutely forever since the agony started and it finally stopped.

My small consolation is that I only have the memory of it now - there's no pain at all anymore.

[Joule?]

Yes, I started the conversation. I dislike Joule immensely (and after that experience, I pretty much hate her), but she seems incredibly helpful. If anything, she did warn me about the cost of the upgrade.

[NOTICE: V.E.A.U. has been temporarily rendered inactive due to a lack of Void energy. Passive mode engaged.]

So... she won't talk for a while?

The one time I want her to talk and she doesn't?

[JOULE. WAKE UP.]

[NOTICE: V.E.A.U. has been temporarily-]

I cut the connection off. No need to hear that again.

A lack of Void energy... Didn't she say I just had to eat things in order to gain it?

I start eating grass. A lot of grass.

Some of the ants watching pause their work to look at me, probably wondering why the freakish ant was eating grass.

They go back after a short time and eventually ignore me.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I'm getting really tired of the taste of grass.

Thankfully, it doesn't really have much taste to start with. It's thin and watery.

How much grass do I have to eat for it to start counting?

Finally, I get a message.

[V.E.A.U. booting up... loading... loading... done.]

[Good morning!]

There she is. The first thing she does is ask,

[How did it go?]

I respond with some resentment.

[It hurt. A lot.]

She sounds smug.

[I did tell you.]

Shut up.

[All right, I'll bring up your quantification.]

The board appears again. All of the bars seem to be unchanged.

[Is there even a difference?]

Joule highlighted two of the bars, one linked to an outline surrounding my general body, and another linked to my interior.

[This is their current level...]

The bars rapidly grow larger so I can see them more clearly.

[And this is their previous level.]

...

Are you kidding?

The difference is tiny. It's so tiny I can barely see it at all.

[Is that it? All that agony, for such a long time... for that?]

[Pretty much. Like I said, you've absorbed barely anything.]

I'm severely annoyed. A day ago, I was living happily in my hill, serving my queen without a second thought to anything or anyone else, and now I am outside the hill, not recognizable by my own queen, a different color, a different species even, with a voice that does nothing except talk constantly, and the only thing I have to show for it is a tiny, tiny difference in size.

I remember something.

[I just ate a lot of grass. How much Void energy is that worth?]

She's quiet, thinking it through.

[Not much. Barely enough to get me up and running.]

[But I ate so much of it!]

She responds quickly and without disdain.

[Volume isn't everything. It helps, but Void energy is mostly about potential. For example, that spider you ate earlier. It could have gotten stronger over time, smarter, more powerful. As it was, you ate it at about the middle of its life. Therefore, you gained a small amount of energy - it's just a spider after all - which I used to familiarize myself to your personality.]

It's the most she's talked thus far, and it takes a second to process.

[So if I eat more spiders, I'll gain energy faster?]

[Exactly.]

Now that is helpful.