Chapter 2: Flik
"Look out!" Mr. Soil called. Suddenly, a stock flew in out of nowhere and landed on Atta. "Atta!" The Queen cried. "What the?!" Peyton exclaimed in shock. "Princess Atta!" Thorny and Dr. Flora cried as they, Mr. Soil and elderly Cornelius ran over to help Atta. "Where did that stalk come from?!" Jemima asked.
Meanwhile, another ant, named Flik, was using an unusual harvesting machine on one of the stalks. He grabbed it with a grip and sawed through the bottom. He wore a safety mask made from a walnut shell to protect his face from the sawdust. Once he sawed through, he gently lowered the stalk onto a leaf and moved it along, removing the grain from the stalk and dropping it into a carrier in the back. Once it was done, he catapulted the stalk away.
Just as Thorny, Cornelius, Mr. Soil and Dr. Flora moved the one stalk off of Atta, that stalk landed on top of her, surprising everyone. "Another one?!" Sarah asked in shock. "Hey!" Dr. Flora called. "Look out!" Mr. Soil shouted. "Stop that!" Dr. Flora exclaimed. "What do you think you're doing?!" Mr. Soil asked. Flik heard their shouts and turned around, flipping up his safety mask. "You could've killed somebody over here!" Dr. Flora exclaimed as Thorny, Cornelius and Mr. Soil proceeded to move the stalk off of Atta. Flik gasped at what he did. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" He called as he ran over. "Oh, it's Flik." Thorny groaned as Cornelius grumbled and Mr. Soil shook his head. "Oh, that's Flik." Kaz said. "The unusual one, they called him." Tangath said.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! Please forgive me! I'm sorry!" Flik apologized as he ran over. Atta coughed as the others moved the stalk off of her. "Princess Atta!" Flik cried in shock. "Flik, what're you doing?" Atta asked as she got up. "Oh… Oh, this! This is my new idea for harvesting grain. No more picking individual kernels. You can just cut down the entire stalk!" Flik explained. "That's…actually quite fascinating." Ron said. "Brilliant." Hermione agreed. "Flik, we don't have time for this." Atta argued. "Exactly! We never have time to collect food for ourselves, 'cause we spend all summer harvesting for the offering. But my invention will speed up production." Flik explained as Thorny and Cornelius glare at each other in disbelief. "Another invention?" Atta asked with a groan. "Yeah, and I've got something for you too." Flik said as he picked up a blade of grass. "Flik!" Atta exclaimed. "Since you're gonna be queen soon, you could use this to oversee production." Flik said as he folded the blade into a circular cone before running over to Dr. Flora. "Dr. Flora, if I may." He said, taking a dew drop from her flower, surprising her. "This is all very nice, but…" Atta tried to say. "What?" Thorny asked in confusion. "I wonder he's gonna do with those." Tugger said with curiosity.
"Just an ordinary blade of grass and a bead of dew, right?" Flik asked. "Flik, please." Atta begged. "Wrong! It is, in fact…" Flik placed the dew inside the cone "…a telescope." He said. Dot, the Queen and the heroes chuckled at this. "I like this kid. He's quite the ant." Najarin said. "I should say so. He's quite the genius." Victoria said. "It's very clever, Flik, but…" Atta tried to say. "Hello, Princess! My, aren't you looking lovely this morning!" Flik said as he demonstrated the use of his invention. "Not, of course, you would need a telescope to see that."
Just then, Thorny and Cornelius walked over. "Alright, listen! The princess doesn't have time for this!" Thorny exclaimed as he took the telescope and tossed it over by Dot. "Well, that felt unnecessary." Neville said. "You want to help us build this thing?" Thorny asked. Flik nodded nervously. "Then get rid of that machine, get back in line and pick grain like everybody else!" Thorny exclaimed. "Like everybody else!" Cornelius repeated. "Please, Flik. Just go." Atta said. "I'm sorry. I was…I was really just trying…" Flik tried to say, but Thorny, Cornelius and Atta just motioned him to go. "Trying to help." Flik walked away, feeling dejected as the others watched him leave with disapproving glares. Dot looked at Flik's telescope, feeling sad for him. The heroes watched Flik as he walked into the grass. "Harvester. Why, we harvested the same way since I was a pupa." Cornelius said as they walked away with the Queen. Atta sighed in frustration.
"What a bunch of bullies." Tom said. "Yeah, why do they treat Flik like that? It's disgusting!" Parvati exclaimed. "Royalties. They always preferred the old-fashioned ways over newer ways. It's quite despicable actually." Najarin said. "Still, that's no way to treat someone who's trying to help the colony." Harry said. "Ugh, it reminds me of how we used to treat Grizabella." Demeter said. "Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about it. Otherwise, we risk turning the colony against us." Maxxor said.
"Where were we?" Atta asked as they walked past Dot. "The food pile, your Highness." Mr. Soil said. "Oh, yes. Yes." Atta said. As they left, Dot picked up the telescope and ran after Flik. "Where's Dot going?" Tangath asked. "I think she's going after Flik." Angelina said. "Come on. Let's follow her and see if Flik's alright." Harry said. The heroes agreed and followed Dot into the grass.