"I'll have you know that if and when I start hallucinating," said Val, "I can think of something better than seeing your face looking pukish."
"What a great commercial idea," said Peter, almost by reflex now. "Choose Your Own Hallucination! Oh, wait, they have that one—they call it 'illegal drugs.' "
"Don't sneer at us needy ones," said Val. "Those who are addicted to ego don't need drugs."
"Children," said Mother. "Is this what Ender will find when he comes home?"
"Yes," said Val and Peter simultaneously.
Father spoke up. "I'd like to think he might find you a bit more mature."
But by now Peter and Val were laughing uproariously. They couldn't stop, so Father sent them from the table.
Peter glanced through Val's essay on Russian nukes. "This is so boring."
"I don't think so," said Valentine. "They have the nukes and that keeps other countries from slapping them down when they need it—which is often."
"What's this thing you've got against Russia?"
"It's Demosthenes who has something against Russia," said Val with fake nonchalance.
"Good," said Peter. "So Demosthenes will not be worried about Russian nuclear weapons, he'll be worried about Russia getting its hands on the most valuable weapon of them all."
"The Molecular Disruption Device?" asked Val. "The I.F. will never bring it within firing range of Earth."
"Not the M.D. Device, you poor sap. I'm referring to our brother. Our civilization-destroying junior sib."
"Don't you dare talk about him with scorn!"
Peter's expression turned into a mocking simper. But behind his visage there was anger and hurt. She still had the power to get to him, just by making it clear how much more she loved Ender.
"Demosthenes is going to write an essay pointing out that America must get Andrew Wiggin back to Earth immediately. No more delays. The world is too dangerous a place for America not to have the immediate services of the greatest military leader the world has ever known."
Immediately a fresh wave of hatred for Peter swept over Valentine. Partly because she realized his approach would work far better than the essay she had already written. She hadn't internalized Demosthenes as well as she thought. Demosthenes would absolutely call for Ender's immediate return and enlistment in the American military.
And that would be as destabilizing, in its own way, as a call for forward deployment of nukes. Demosthenes' essays were watched very carefully by the rivals and enemies of the United States. If he called for Ender to come home at once, they would all start maneuvering to keep Ender in space; and some, at least, would openly accuse America of having aggressive intentions.
It would then be Locke's place, in a few days or weeks, to come up with a compromise, a statesmanlike solution: Leave the kid in space.
Valentine knew exactly why Peter had changed his mind. It was that stupid remark of Father's at dinner—his reminder that Peter would be in Ender's shadow, no matter what he did.
Well, even political sheep sometimes said something that had a good result. Now Val wouldn't even have to persuade Peter of the need to keep Ender away from Earth. It would be all his idea instead of hers.
Theresa once again sat on the bed, crying. Strewn about her were printouts of the Demosthenes and Locke essays that she knew would keep Ender from returning home.
"I can't help it," she said to her husband. "I know it's the right thing—just as Graff wanted us to understand it. But I thought I'd see him again. I really did."
John Paul sat beside her on the bed and put his arms around her. "It's the hardest thing we ever did."
"Not giving him up in the first place?"
"That was hard," said John Paul, "but we didn't have a choice. They were going to take him anyway. This time, though. You know that if we went on the nets and put up vids of us pleading for our son to come home—we'd have a pretty good chance."
"And our little boy is going to wonder why we don't do it."
"No he's not."
"Oh, you think he's so smart he'll figure out what we're doing? Why we're doing nothing?"
"Why wouldn't he?"
"Because he doesn't know us," said Theresa. "He doesn't know what we think or feel. As far as he can tell, we've forgotten all about him."
"One thing I feel good about, in this whole mess," said John Paul. "We're still good at manipulating our genius children."
"Oh, that," said Theresa dismissively. "It's easy to manipulate your children when they're absolutely sure you're stupid."
"What makes me saddest," said John Paul, "is that Locke is getting credit for caring about Ender more than anybody. So when his identity does come out, it'll look as though he loyally stepped in to protect his brother."
"He's our boy, that Peter," said Theresa. "Oh, what a piece of work he is."
"I have a philosophical question. I wonder if what we call 'goodness' is actually a maladaptive trait. As long as most people have it, and the rules of society promote it as a virtue, then the natural rulers have a clear field of action. It's because of Ender's goodness that it's Peter we'll have at home on Earth."
"Oh, Peter's good," said Theresa bitterly.
"Yes, I forgot," said John Paul. "It's for the good of the human race that he'll become ruler of the world. An altruistic sacrifice."
"When I read his simpering essays I want to claw his eyes out."
"He's our son, too," said John Paul. "As much a product of our genes as Ender or Val. And we did goad him into this."
Theresa knew he was right. But it didn't help. "He didn't have to enjoy himself so much, did he?"
CHAPTER
2
To: hgraff%educadmin@ifcom.gov
From: demosthenes@LastBestHopeOfEarth.pol
Subj: You know the truth
You know who decides what to write. No doubt you can even guess why. I'm not going to try to defend my essay, or how it's being used by others.
You once used the sister of Andrew Wiggin to persuade him to go back into space and win that little war you were fighting. She did her job, didn't she? Such a good girl, fulfills all her assignments.
Well I have an assignment for her. You once sent her brother to her, for comfort and company. He'll need her again, more than ever, only he can't come to her. No house by the lake this time. But there's no reason she can't go out into space to be with him. Enlist her in the I.F., pay her as a consultant, whatever it takes. But she and her brother need each other. More than either of them needs Life On Earth.
Don't second-guess her on this. Remember that she's smarter than you are, and she loves her younger brother more than you do, and besides, you're a decent man. You know this is right and good. You always try to bring about what's right and good, don't you?