I wake up to someone flicking me on the head.

"Null? How ya doing there, bud?"

I jump to my feet and stagger backward, mandibles lighting up with void.

[I don't care if you kill me, just don't multiply any -]

There's only one Noah standing in front of me, thank the Cosmics. He looks a little abashed.

"Yeah... sorry about that. I can get a little excited when I travel through time. Makes my atom vision go fuzzy."

[I don't care.] I repeat myself again, in case he didn't hear me the first two times. [I don't care what you do, or what weird stuff you do when you're not messing with me. But never do that again.]

He rubbed his hair nervously, clearly regretting it.

"You're still, uh... sane, right?"

[I don't even know at the moment. Joule?]

We both wait for a moment as she doesn't respond.

[I think you broke her.]

"I designed her to be unbreakable."

[Did you design the universe to be able to handle whatever you were doing?]

"Fair point, and no, I didn't."

[Booting up... finished.]

[Joule? Are you all right?]

Joule's voice sounds groggy, as though she just rammed her head into a stone wall. I know what that feels like.

[Whhh... what happened?]

Noah says cheerfully, "Hey, Joule. Just one of me now."

[Good. I think I'd rather die before my quantifier goes overload like that again.]

His face pales for a moment, and I'm stunned. I didn't know his face could do that.

"Oh, your quantifying matrix. I didn't think of that."

[Joule? Is everything running all right?]

[Yeah, I'm back to normal, for the most part. Do you want to know your current reserves level?]

[Honestly, I just wanted to make sure you were okay.]

[Oh! Um... yes, I'm doing fine. Thank you for asking.]

Noah snapped his fingers.

"That's what it was! I was trying to find out what changed in Null's biology. I figured it out, by the way."

[Yes, and all the other yous.]

He looks apologetic before continuing.

"Yeah, all the other versions of me. Anyway, my point is, I should congratulate you, Null."

[Congratulate me? I passed out after six versions of you!]

"That might be the case, but I congratulate you regardless. You developed two very important things, things that can be manipulated to destroy you, or improved to make you the best version of you that you can be. You gained a conscience and a sense of empathy."

[WHAT?!]

Joule's shout startles me.

[How is that possible?! He doesn't even have the right parts of the brain for that to be possible! All Null has is a recently developed limbic system, a heightened frontal cortex, a...]

She trails off as she does the math.

[Holy moly, you did it.]

[Did what?]

[You actually... well, I hate to use this word, but you basically mutated into a whole different species of ant. Again.]

That's frustrating. Isn't it?

For the first time, I feel like I actually want to get to know Joule and Noah better, even if Noah does drive me to the verge of sanity. I can literally feel my brain moving faster, noticing body language and interpreting it, comprehending Joule's tones and word choices, and creating a fuller picture of their personalities as a whole.

This might be the most worthwhile ability I've gained from this whole experience.

[Hey, Noah?]

"Yeah?"

[Thank you for changing me. It hasn't been easy, and you didn't really make it easy in the beginning, but I'd trade a mindless colony for you two crazy people in a snap.]

I clack my mandibles to emphasize the point.

Noah grins hugely. "Anytime, Null. You might want to get some rest, though. Your brain just went through some pretty massive changes, not to mention how thoroughly I broke time a few hours ago."

[Wait, that was a few hours ago?]

His smile freezes, and he starts turning. "Might as well end on a high note. See you later!"

And he's gone.

I sit there for a moment, thinking about the unexpected directions my life has gone in. I went from an expendable male ant headed for death to a creature that others want to know better.

[Joule?]

[Yes?]

[Thank you, too.]

She laughs in my head, a genuine and clear laugh with no sarcasm or irony behind it.

[It's been my pleasure.]

As I crawl into my hole, I hear Joule begin humming.

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

Late that night, as I lay in full torpor, a small green object rolled into my hole...