For the Love of a Child
By Ma Anders
Disclaimer: All characters belong to the respective owners.
Author's Note: This story is undergoing a judicious editing 1Jan17.
Author's Note: This story is indebted to "Opposite of Logic" by Kristen Elizabeth. It is a follow on tale, a thought exercise as it were, that asks the questions "What does evolution really look like and would we sentient beings *really* know it when we saw it"? This story also hints at a subject that worries me greatly: the use of children with astonishing talent by adults for personal, governmental or military advantage. Enders' Game started long before the birth of Andrew Wiggin. Enjoy!
Author's Note: All italicized text represents telepathic communications. Like this author's note. Exception is characters known to be psi-mutes. Like the author.
Radiation Isolation Chamber for Nacelle Testing
McCoy took the ancient device from his pocket. Turning it over in his hand, he allowed himself to marvel at its elegance. This thing had once ruled the techworld, so to speak. With one button. That sentimental thought was all McCoy allowed himself. Moving to the control panel, he engaged the testing overrides and locked the chamber. He had something important to do but he didn't want to die of radiation poisoning accidently either.
The doctor pressed the single operator button, tapped the screen, thought back to the start of it and began speaking...
...of a time before...