Disclaimer: Ender's story, the Ender Quartet and any characters, places, or ideas native to it
belong to Orson Scott Card.
A/N: My story is a continuation from "Children of the Mind", the last book of the Ender Quartet
by Orson Scott Card. Four books of philosophical theories, ethical questions, and extensive
character relationships have passed before my story. I'm not one to repeat things that have been
already said, but I felt it was necessary to write a brief summary of what's happened in
"Children of the Mind" so that those new to the quartet are not totally lost. Anyway, on with the
show.
--Prologue--
Jane. He, she, it...lives among the philotic connections, the lines that always were and that will
always will be. Among these shifting, changing lines that mold into and interconnect all things is
where Jane resides. The ansibles, the only human method of instantaneous communication
across the vast distances of space, are at her whim. Using them and the immense volumes of
knowledge stored in the computers of the Hundred Worlds, Jane is a force to be reckoned with.
She could even perform faster-than-light travel by moving across the philotic lines to the
Outside, a space of philotes, and then back Inside to a destination. That is, until the ansibles
were shut down. The philotic connections between ansibles was slowly shut down by the all-
powerful Starways Congress. Jane was dying.
Elsewhere, Ender the Xenocide, the Speaker for the Dead, Andrew Wiggin was also dying. On
one of his trips to the Outside, his aiua, his inner self or soul, fashioned two children out of the
philotes. His sister, Valentine, at a younger age...compassionate, virtuous, perfect. And his
brother, Peter...heartless, sadistic, manipulative. The two sides of him that made up his life
force. With two young bodies, Ender was able to perform tasks that his aging body could no
longer perform. Unfortunately, spreading himself so thin has taken a toll on his body.
Out in space, a fleet equipped with the Little Doctor, a weapon capable of destroying a planet,
precedented only by the Xenocide's slaughter of the bugger homeworld, approached the colony
of Lusitania. Co-existing there were the humans, the Hive Queen and her workers, the
pequininos, and a life-destroying virus known as the descolada. Interaction between these
species forced the Starways Congress into the decision that could cost the lives of four sentient
species.
And then Jane died. Her aiua fled into the pequenino Mother Trees and finally made a home in
the tiny body of young Val. Ender's body failed, but his aiua fled into Peter's body. With the aid
of her friends on the planet Pacifica, small networks of ansibles and computers were restored,
and Jane was granted some of her previous abilities. She was back amongst the philotes...she had finally come home.
But something else came back with her.
Andrew Wiggin is dead. Young Val's body belongs to Jane and is married to Miro, step-son to
Ender. Peter, inhabited by Ender's aiua, is married to Si Wang Mu, former servant to Qing-jao
on the planet Path. Novinha, Ender's widow still resides with the religious group Children of the
Mind. Her living children, with the exception of Miro, remain on Lusitania to deal with the
current problem of the descolada's home planet. Old Valentine remains on Lusitania with her
family. The Hive Queen continues to dwell within her caverns on Lusitania with the pequeninos.
--Then They'd Be Sorry--
"Something is being hidden from us. The events surrounding the Lusitania Fleet are proof
enough of that. The Starways Congress shut down ansible connections, an unprecedented action.
The Fleet, whose objective was the obliteration of the rogue colony and of the baneful,
destructive parasite that threatened our very existence, is turned around while the colony still
stands unopposed. Corruption is run rampant amongst the Congress. They put the lives of few
before the lives of all sentient life. Can we keep living like this?"
-Web entry, signed "Locke"
Old Valentine let out a small sigh, and leaned back into her chair.
"Something wrong?" Jakt asked from across the bedroom. He slid up behind her and laid his
hands tenderly on her shoulders. Valentine gestured to the report hovering above her terminal.
After a few minutes, Jakt let out a low whistle.
"They're just trying to stir up trouble."
"No, Jakt, it something more. Look." The report scrolled down to the bottom where the
document was signed.
"Locke?" It took a few moments before it clicked. "I still don't see the worry. Peter...the real
Peter is long dead. Don't people still sign under 'Demosthenes'?"
"Of course, but..." Jakt began to massage her shoulders.
"When Peter had me writing papers as Demosthenes when we were younger, I was to take a
similar approach...harsh, cunning, powerful. He taught me how to write like him, while I taught
him to be more like me. This Locke...this is how Demosthenes was supposed to be."
"Young Peter?"
"I thought about that, but he is Ender too. Ender spent his life bearing the burdens of others and
saving them. Why would he, in his new life, bring down so much trouble on everyone?"
A familiar face appeared over the terminal.
"Good morning, Jane"
"From the look of things, I can't see how this a good morning, Jakt. Read this" Another
document appeared; a scathing report from 'Thucydides'. Jane read aloud, "...has released
documents written by one Admiral Lands that the descolada had been neutralized. Starways
Congress was on the verge of a SECOND Xenocide, destroying sentient species without even
trying to communicate with them. I can't see how Congress differs from a varelse (A/N: Varelse
is a species who cannot be communicated with and is a threat to sentient life) species...."
"Are Locke and Thucydides the same author, Jane?"
"Yes. Whoever it is tried to hide their tracks well. Human analysts would be turned in circles...."
Jakt stared at the papers hovering above the terminal.
"They're trying to win both sides of the argument." Valentine nodded absent-mindedly.
"I can't pinpoint the source but I think that I can block any more of their ideas from reaching the
public." Valentine stared at the papers, reading them over again. Someone was indeed playing
both sides. These ideas couldn't be allowed to gain ground on the public's minds.
"I will write my own report in the meantime..." She stood up and quickly left the room leaving
Jakt behind.
"I've lost her again, haven't I? Ender is gone but she still carries his burdens..."
"You haven't lost her. She's losing herself."
~~~~~~~~
"So what do we know about these people?" Grego was watching messages of cellular
information flash passed the screen.
"Nothing." Quara answered. "Not a god damned thing." She typed at her terminal, piecing
together the cell parts. The descoladores, the creators of the virus, were trying to communicate
with them.
"If they tried to drug you, can't we consider them hostile?" Ela turned toward him.
"Not until we know for sure..."
"This communication is useless, they just keep making cells that either will put us into a stupor
or will eat as like the descolada. They call that "hostile" in many circles."
"Not in this one. Now shut up and make yourself useful."
"Listen, Quara, I'm the physicist, not a xenobiologist..."
"Then start studying their probes! Let's find out how advanced they've gotten." Quara huffed.
She was done with this conversation.
~~~~~~~~
Quara recorded her findings into the terminal. The descoladores, as far as she could tell,
had no other means of communicating, except, perhaps, biologically. They sent cell information
that, when put together, could then be ingested and th effects of the cell would follow as their
message. So far, all they've gotten were intoxicants, unidentified cells, or bits and pieces of
descolada viruses. She did come to the conclusion that they were sentient, because they could
communicate, but we just couldn't understand it yet. She had suggested "borrowing" the Little
Doctor in case the descoladore really did turn hostile, but she had been giving hell for that one
and she would keep her mouth shut and then they'd be sorry. Quara choked back a small sob.
'Then they'd be sorry.'
~~~~~~~~
Grego, amongst his analsysis on the descoladore probes and planet, he recorded his
thoughts on the descoladores themselves. There was no real use for a physicist in this situation,
he figured, so he would make his opinion matter, maybe even print it on the webs. Just upon the
basis that they had tried to use toxic cells to attack his family with, was justification enough for
his claim that they were evil. Add to that, the fact that they're little virus had the power to alter
entire ecosystems and they had heartlessly allowed it to spread. 'We're supposed to wait while
they hold the knife to our throats?'
~~~~~~~~
A/N: And the plot thickens...or at least it will. This was just an introduction and a reminder of where all our main characters are. But many more surprises are still to come...
belong to Orson Scott Card.
A/N: My story is a continuation from "Children of the Mind", the last book of the Ender Quartet
by Orson Scott Card. Four books of philosophical theories, ethical questions, and extensive
character relationships have passed before my story. I'm not one to repeat things that have been
already said, but I felt it was necessary to write a brief summary of what's happened in
"Children of the Mind" so that those new to the quartet are not totally lost. Anyway, on with the
show.
--Prologue--
Jane. He, she, it...lives among the philotic connections, the lines that always were and that will
always will be. Among these shifting, changing lines that mold into and interconnect all things is
where Jane resides. The ansibles, the only human method of instantaneous communication
across the vast distances of space, are at her whim. Using them and the immense volumes of
knowledge stored in the computers of the Hundred Worlds, Jane is a force to be reckoned with.
She could even perform faster-than-light travel by moving across the philotic lines to the
Outside, a space of philotes, and then back Inside to a destination. That is, until the ansibles
were shut down. The philotic connections between ansibles was slowly shut down by the all-
powerful Starways Congress. Jane was dying.
Elsewhere, Ender the Xenocide, the Speaker for the Dead, Andrew Wiggin was also dying. On
one of his trips to the Outside, his aiua, his inner self or soul, fashioned two children out of the
philotes. His sister, Valentine, at a younger age...compassionate, virtuous, perfect. And his
brother, Peter...heartless, sadistic, manipulative. The two sides of him that made up his life
force. With two young bodies, Ender was able to perform tasks that his aging body could no
longer perform. Unfortunately, spreading himself so thin has taken a toll on his body.
Out in space, a fleet equipped with the Little Doctor, a weapon capable of destroying a planet,
precedented only by the Xenocide's slaughter of the bugger homeworld, approached the colony
of Lusitania. Co-existing there were the humans, the Hive Queen and her workers, the
pequininos, and a life-destroying virus known as the descolada. Interaction between these
species forced the Starways Congress into the decision that could cost the lives of four sentient
species.
And then Jane died. Her aiua fled into the pequenino Mother Trees and finally made a home in
the tiny body of young Val. Ender's body failed, but his aiua fled into Peter's body. With the aid
of her friends on the planet Pacifica, small networks of ansibles and computers were restored,
and Jane was granted some of her previous abilities. She was back amongst the philotes...she had finally come home.
But something else came back with her.
Andrew Wiggin is dead. Young Val's body belongs to Jane and is married to Miro, step-son to
Ender. Peter, inhabited by Ender's aiua, is married to Si Wang Mu, former servant to Qing-jao
on the planet Path. Novinha, Ender's widow still resides with the religious group Children of the
Mind. Her living children, with the exception of Miro, remain on Lusitania to deal with the
current problem of the descolada's home planet. Old Valentine remains on Lusitania with her
family. The Hive Queen continues to dwell within her caverns on Lusitania with the pequeninos.
--Then They'd Be Sorry--
"Something is being hidden from us. The events surrounding the Lusitania Fleet are proof
enough of that. The Starways Congress shut down ansible connections, an unprecedented action.
The Fleet, whose objective was the obliteration of the rogue colony and of the baneful,
destructive parasite that threatened our very existence, is turned around while the colony still
stands unopposed. Corruption is run rampant amongst the Congress. They put the lives of few
before the lives of all sentient life. Can we keep living like this?"
-Web entry, signed "Locke"
Old Valentine let out a small sigh, and leaned back into her chair.
"Something wrong?" Jakt asked from across the bedroom. He slid up behind her and laid his
hands tenderly on her shoulders. Valentine gestured to the report hovering above her terminal.
After a few minutes, Jakt let out a low whistle.
"They're just trying to stir up trouble."
"No, Jakt, it something more. Look." The report scrolled down to the bottom where the
document was signed.
"Locke?" It took a few moments before it clicked. "I still don't see the worry. Peter...the real
Peter is long dead. Don't people still sign under 'Demosthenes'?"
"Of course, but..." Jakt began to massage her shoulders.
"When Peter had me writing papers as Demosthenes when we were younger, I was to take a
similar approach...harsh, cunning, powerful. He taught me how to write like him, while I taught
him to be more like me. This Locke...this is how Demosthenes was supposed to be."
"Young Peter?"
"I thought about that, but he is Ender too. Ender spent his life bearing the burdens of others and
saving them. Why would he, in his new life, bring down so much trouble on everyone?"
A familiar face appeared over the terminal.
"Good morning, Jane"
"From the look of things, I can't see how this a good morning, Jakt. Read this" Another
document appeared; a scathing report from 'Thucydides'. Jane read aloud, "...has released
documents written by one Admiral Lands that the descolada had been neutralized. Starways
Congress was on the verge of a SECOND Xenocide, destroying sentient species without even
trying to communicate with them. I can't see how Congress differs from a varelse (A/N: Varelse
is a species who cannot be communicated with and is a threat to sentient life) species...."
"Are Locke and Thucydides the same author, Jane?"
"Yes. Whoever it is tried to hide their tracks well. Human analysts would be turned in circles...."
Jakt stared at the papers hovering above the terminal.
"They're trying to win both sides of the argument." Valentine nodded absent-mindedly.
"I can't pinpoint the source but I think that I can block any more of their ideas from reaching the
public." Valentine stared at the papers, reading them over again. Someone was indeed playing
both sides. These ideas couldn't be allowed to gain ground on the public's minds.
"I will write my own report in the meantime..." She stood up and quickly left the room leaving
Jakt behind.
"I've lost her again, haven't I? Ender is gone but she still carries his burdens..."
"You haven't lost her. She's losing herself."
~~~~~~~~
"So what do we know about these people?" Grego was watching messages of cellular
information flash passed the screen.
"Nothing." Quara answered. "Not a god damned thing." She typed at her terminal, piecing
together the cell parts. The descoladores, the creators of the virus, were trying to communicate
with them.
"If they tried to drug you, can't we consider them hostile?" Ela turned toward him.
"Not until we know for sure..."
"This communication is useless, they just keep making cells that either will put us into a stupor
or will eat as like the descolada. They call that "hostile" in many circles."
"Not in this one. Now shut up and make yourself useful."
"Listen, Quara, I'm the physicist, not a xenobiologist..."
"Then start studying their probes! Let's find out how advanced they've gotten." Quara huffed.
She was done with this conversation.
~~~~~~~~
Quara recorded her findings into the terminal. The descoladores, as far as she could tell,
had no other means of communicating, except, perhaps, biologically. They sent cell information
that, when put together, could then be ingested and th effects of the cell would follow as their
message. So far, all they've gotten were intoxicants, unidentified cells, or bits and pieces of
descolada viruses. She did come to the conclusion that they were sentient, because they could
communicate, but we just couldn't understand it yet. She had suggested "borrowing" the Little
Doctor in case the descoladore really did turn hostile, but she had been giving hell for that one
and she would keep her mouth shut and then they'd be sorry. Quara choked back a small sob.
'Then they'd be sorry.'
~~~~~~~~
Grego, amongst his analsysis on the descoladore probes and planet, he recorded his
thoughts on the descoladores themselves. There was no real use for a physicist in this situation,
he figured, so he would make his opinion matter, maybe even print it on the webs. Just upon the
basis that they had tried to use toxic cells to attack his family with, was justification enough for
his claim that they were evil. Add to that, the fact that they're little virus had the power to alter
entire ecosystems and they had heartlessly allowed it to spread. 'We're supposed to wait while
they hold the knife to our throats?'
~~~~~~~~
A/N: And the plot thickens...or at least it will. This was just an introduction and a reminder of where all our main characters are. But many more surprises are still to come...