Aris held the glass jar steady. Inside, the last honeybee sat on a piece of dead leaf, twitching its wings.
'Say something,' Aris said, leaning closer. 'Are you the one?'
The bee stopped moving. Its tiny mouth parts clicked together before it released a dry, rasping sound. 'Radar,' it said. 'Radar.'
Aris fell back, hitting the wall. The sound was flat and plain, devoid of emotion.
Dr. Vane rushed from the lab corner, shoving a tablet into Aris's face. 'It is a fluke,' Vane snapped. 'A sound mimicry loop triggered by your voice frequency.'
'It spoke on its own,' Aris said. He pointed at the jar.
Vane looked at the bee with . 'It is an insect, not a genius. I need to dissect it before the board tears my grant apart.'
'No,' Aris said. He snatched the jar away. 'This thing knows more about our extinction than your books do.'
'Give it to me,' Vane said. He lunged forward, knocking over a row of test tubes. The liquid pooled on the concrete floor. Outside, the storm sirens hummed to life.