The spiderlings that had returned empty-handed showed relatively stable signals, appearing as calm greens or blues on the black map.
Those that had clearly sensed something amiss, however, lit up in warmer colors on the ground. Ranked from lower to higher intensity, their emotional fluctuations shifted neatly from yellow to orange to red.
It felt as though the little spiders were especially eager to share something with Albert.
Unfortunately, the distance was too great for him to discern their exact emotions or mental states. He could only make a rough guess.
After hesitating for a moment, Albert started down the path marked by the deepest color.
Please let it be Hayes, he thought. The ant nest looked like it was on the verge of collapse—they were running out of time.
Despite his mounting exhaustion, Albert broke into a run through the twisting, labyrinthine tunnels of the nest.
