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This Book Reader was distributed solely for the reading of classic books which are out of copyright. Program extends to address offset 0x10000. No responsibilty can be accepted for any breach of copyright nor for any other matter involved with material above this address. This material will have been added by a user of this program and not the author of this program. Please address any enquiries concerning breach of copyright or any other concerns, to that third party.Additionally this program is supplied without any Logo data which may be copyright by Nintendo. 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x)j,P3gY!F#6 :  q^n>kT "$&^)u+-/13579;=?ATCE>HJMOPRTVXZq\^Z`bde,gPiok!m5opstvyzx}GlɅw։ ҏ+ȚΜ7?JsCЭ̰c^ؾ]G"yX\*lx/_OLDx2 2 (KB~Gfk v"8$%(s*,//0G36579;= @ACgEGIMLNPRTyWY[E^=`Qbcegh_kmo rhtvx{}n҂`GN9ؕ}:mP )u tbOP@7`zYK[)oFl4e  u ~!s#$ '') +-.083468;=?ACEGILSNPRNTBVWPYW[2] _`adfgiAlnprQt&v(xy{}tcNԒ8Avlyuh*UĿguUQv|BV =W\NLg8l 2   s7IA'!#X&x(w*,-e/1n4~68;=5@BDvGIKMtPRTVQY[^[`c:eg\jlnprsuwyO|~0΁Ņc_2<Ӕ֚1yJШ))+̺n|jNMBpR].< wG)& R &`dr).!I$4&(+n-/246g9 <y>^@jBtDzFHJ;MOQBS9UWY[]2`bd^giknypr?tuxz,|s~$7N ڙOFH/rҰAٷ*(<4pMd#/ K  "$&(V*,./p114668S:<=@A:CEGIKLO!QRTVWY=[] _XaceehGjlmoq}szuw yuz|}|mAOiÙc E62ӭ c#*1&mT>#/TF G!B$*l/w3^7]:=CD    GROWN  % From: NoAddress@Untraceable.com# 1 4hPccO/SIGN  UP NOW AND STAY ANONYMOUS! + To: Trireme%Solamis@Aftico-vs-Sporta.hst  Re: Find decision    Wiggin:  , Subject not to be killed. Subject will be -transported according to plan 2, route 1 Dep *Tue. 0400, checkpoint #3 @ 0600, which is 'First light. Please be smart enough to +remember the international dateline. He is yours if you want him.   * Ii your intelligence is vice versa, you +advice, but I have outweighs your ambition -you will try to use him. You did seen him in action: Kill him.   - True, without on antagonist to frighten the,world you will never retrieve the power the ,office of Hegemon once had. It would be the 1end of your career. will kill him. not ask my Let.him live, and it is the end of your life, and .you will leave the world in his power when you-die. Who is the monster? Or at least monster #2?  + And I have told you how to get him. Am I monster #3? Or merely fool #1?  # Your faithful servant in motley.   / Bean kind of liked being tall, even though itwas going to kill him.  - And at the rate he was growing, it would be*sooner rather than later. How long did he +have? A year? Three? Five? The ends of his -bones were still like a child's, blossoming, +lengthening; even his head was growing, so (that like a baby he had a soft patch of .cartilage and new bone along the crest of his skull.  + It meant constant adjustment, as week by ,week his arms reached farther when he flung -them out, his feet were longer and caught on 2stairs and sills, his legs were longer so that as *he walked he covered ground more quickly, (and companions had to hurry to keep up. -When he trained with his soldiers, the elite +company of men that constituted the entire -military force of the Hegemony, he could now *run ahead of them, his stride longer than theirs.  - He had long since earned the respect of his)men. But now, thanks to his height, they &finally, literally, looked up to him.  , Bean stood on the grass where two assault ,choppers were waiting for his men to board. )Today the mission was a dangerous one-to ,penetrate Chinese air space and intercept a *small convoy transporting a prisoner from (Beijing toward the interior. Everything 'depended on secrecy, surprise, and the )extraordinarily accurate information the *Hegemon, Peter Wiggin, had been receiving *from inside China in the past few months.  ( Bean wished he knew the source of the 0intelligence, because his life and the lives of +his men depended on it. The accuracy up to )now could easily have been a setup. Even *though "Hegemon" was essentially an empty /title now, since most of the world's population.resided in countries that had withdrawn their ,recognition of the authority of the office. ,Peter Wiggin had been using Bean's soldiers +well. They were a constant irritant to the .newly expansionist China, inserting themselves*here and there at exactly the moment most ,calculated to disrupt the confidence of the Chinese leadership.  , The patrol boat that suddenly disappears, 'the helicopter that goes down, the spy /operation that is abruptly rolled up, blinding /the Chinese intelligence service in yet another+country-officially the Chinese hadn't even *accused the Hegemon of any involvement in -such incidents, but that only meant that they)didn't want to give any publicity to the -Hegemon, didn't want to boost his reputation ,or prestige among those who feared China in ,these years since the conquest of India and -Indochina. They almost certainly knew who wasthe source of their woes.  + Indeed, they probably gave Bean's little (force the credit for problems that were -actually the ordinary accidents of life. The )death of the foreign minister of a heart (attack in Washington, D.C. only minutes ,before meeting with the U.S. president-they ,might really think Peter Wiggin's reach was *that long, or that he thought the Chinese *foreign minister, a party hack, was worth assassinating.  * And the fact that a devastating drought -was in its second year in India, forcing the 'Chinese either to buy food on the open .market or allow relief workers from Europe and/the Americas into the newly captured and still (rebellious subcontinent-maybe they even -imagined that Peter Wiggin could control the monsoon rains.  . Bean had no such illusions. Peter Wiggin had.all kinds of contacts throughout the world, a ,collection of informants that was gradually /turning into a serious network of spies, but as-far as Bean could tell, Peter was still just .playing a game. Oh, Peter thought it was real #enough, but he had never seen what .happened in the real world. He had never seen &people die as a result of his orders.  # Bean had, and it was not a game.  ( He heard his men approaching. He knew .without looking that they were very close, for+even here, in supposedly safe territory-an )advance staging area in the mountains of +Mindanao in the Philippines- they moved as /silently as possible. But he also knew that he ,had heard them before they expected him to, .for his senses had always been unusually keen.,Not the physical sense organs-his ears were /quite ordinary-but the ability of his brain to ,recognize even the slightest variation from *the ambient sound. That's why he raised a +hand in greeting to men who were only just %emerging from the forest behind him.  % He could hear the changes in their -breathing-sighs, almost-silent chuckles-that ,told him they recognized that he had caught -them again. As if it were a grown-up game of (Mother-May-I, and Bean always seemed to #have eyes in the back of his head.  + Suriyawong came up beside him as the men .filed by in two columns to board the choppers,%heavily laden for the mission ahead.   "Sir," said Suriyawong.  ( That made Bean turn. Suriyawong never called him sir  + His second-in-command, a Thai only a few +years older than Bean, was now half a head *shorter. He saluted Bean, and then turned )toward the forest he had just come from.  $ When Bean turned to face the same ,direction, he saw Peter Wiggin, the Hegemon *of Earth, the brother of Ender Wiggin who .saved the world from the Formic invasion only %a few years before-Peter Wiggin, the +conniver and gamesman. What was he playing at now? ) "I hope you aren't insane enough to be *coming along on this mission," said Bean.  . "What a cheery greeting," said Peter. "That /is a gun in your pocket, so I guess you aren't happy to see me."  , Bean hated Peter most when Peter tried to #banter so he said nothing. Waited.  - "Julian Delphiki, there's been a change of plans," said Peter  . Calling him by his full name, as if he were .Bean's father. Well, Bean had a father-even if.he didn't know he had one until after the war )was over, and they told him that Nikolai ,Delphiki wasn't just his friend, he was his -brother. But having a father and mother show (up when you're eleven isn't the same as -growing up with them. No one had called Bean 0"Julian Delphiki" when he was little. No one had1called him anything at all, until they tauntingly-called him Bean on the streets of Rotterdam.  , Peter never seemed to see the absurdity of.it, talking down to Bean. I fought in the war +against the Buggers. Bean wanted to say. I ,fought beside your brother Ender, while you $were playing your little games with -rabble-rousing on the nets. And while you've 0been filling your empty little role as Hegemon, -I've been leading these men into combat that -actually made a difference in the world. And ,you tell me there's been a change of plans?  ( "Let's scrub the mission." said Bean. %"Last-minute changes in plan lead to unnecessary losses in battle." ) "Actually, this one won't," said Peter ,"Because the only change is that you're not going." . "And you're going in my place?" Bean did not/have to show scorn in his voice or on his face.)Peter was bright enough to know that the .idea was a joke. Peter was trained for nothing&except writing essays, shmoozing with %politicians, playing at geopolitics. . "Suriyawong will command this mission," saidPeter  + Suriyawong took the sealed envelope that *Peter handed him, but then turned to Bean for confirmation.  , Peter no doubt noticed that Suriyawong did/not intend to follow Peter's orders unless Bean*said he should. Being mostly human, Peter -could not resist the temptation to jab back. '"Unless," said Peter, "you don't think .Suriyawong is ready to lead the mission. Bean -looked at Suriyawong, who smiled back at him. , "Your Excellency, the troops are yours to -command," said Bean. "Suriyawong always leads/the men in battle, so nothing important will be different."  $ Which was not quite true-Bean and ,Suriyawong often had to change plans at the *last minute, and Bean ended up commanding *all or part of a mission as often as not, ,depending on which of them had to deal with 1the emergency. Still, difficult as this operation,was, it was not too complicated. Either the ,convoy would be where it was supposed to be,.or it would not. If it was there, the mission /would probably succeed. If it was not there, or*if it was an ambush, the mission would be $aborted and they would return home. .Suriyawong and the other officers and soldiers-could deal with any minor changes routinely.  + Unless, of course, the change in mission ,was because Peter Wiggin knew that it would 0fail and he didn't want to risk losing Bean. Or *because Peter was betraying them for some arcane reason of his own.  / "Please don't open that," said Peter, "until you're airborne."  / Suriyawong saluted. "Time to leave," he said. - "This mission," said Peter, "will bring us -significantly closer to breaking the back of Chinese expansionism."  , Bean did not even sigh. But this tendency *of Peter's to make laims about what would 'happen always made him a little tired.  ' "Godspeed," said Bean to Suriyawong. "Sometimes when he said that, Bean +remembered Sister Carlotta and wondered if +she was actually with God now, and perhaps +heard Bean say the closest thing to prayer that ever passed his lips.  + Suriyawong jogged to the chopper. Unlike *the men, he carried no equipment beyond a -small daypack and his sidearm. He had no need'heavy weaponry, because he expected to .remain with the choppers along this operation.*There were times when the commander had to.be in combat, but not on a mission like this, *where communication was everything and he .had to be able to make instant decisions that +would be communicated to everyone at once. &So he would stay with the e-maps that .monitored the positions of every soldier, and .talk with them by scrambled satellite uplink.  - He would not be safe, there in the chopper.-Quite the contrary. If the Chinese were aware,of what was coming, or if they were able to -respond in time, Suriyawong would be sitting *inside one of the two biggest and easiest targets to hit. & That's my place, thought Bean as he %watched Suriyawong bound up into the ,chopper, helped by the outstretched hand of one of the men.  * The door of the chopper closed. The two ,aircraft rose from the ground in a storm of .wind and dust and leaves, flattening the grass below them.  + Only then did another figure emerge from "the forest. A young woman. Petra.  , Bean saw her and immediately erupted with .anger. What are you thinking?" he shouted at/Peter over the diminishing sound of the rising +choppers. "Where are her bodyguards? Don't ,you know she's in danger whenever she leavesthe safety of the compound?"  - "Actually," said Peter-and now the choppers-were high enough up that normal voices could -be heard-"she's probably never been safer in her life."  - "If you think that," said Bean, "you're an idiot."  - "Actually, I do think that, and I'm not an #idiot." Peter grinned. "You always underestimate me."  & "You always overestimate yourself."   "Ho, Bean."  , Bean turned to Petra. "Ho, Petra." He had *seen her only three days ago, just before .they left on this mission. She had helped him -plan it; she knew it backward and forward as /well as he did. "What's this eemo doing to our *mission?" Bean asked her. Petra shrugged. "Haven't you figured it out?"  + Bean thought for a moment. As usual, his %unconscious mind had been processing +information in the background, well behind )what he was aware of. On the surface, he +was thinking about Peter and Petra and the /mission that had just left. But underneath, his+mind had already noticed the anomalies and was ready to list them.  + Peter had taken Bean off the mission and .given sealed orders to Suriyawong. Obviously, +then, there was some change in the mission -that he didn't want Bean to know about. Peter-had also brought Petra out of hiding and yet ,claimed she had never been safer. That must &mean that for some reason he was sure )Achilles was not able to reach her here.  - Achilles was the only person on earth whose1personal network rivaled Peter's for its ability /to stretch across national boundaries. The only,way Peter could be sure that Achilles could ,not reach Petra, even here, was if Achilles .was not free to act. Achilles was a prisoner, and had been for some time.  + Which meant that the Chinese, having used.him to set up their conquest of India, Burma, +Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, and .to arrange their alliance with Russia and the +Warsaw Pact, finally noticed that he was a psychopath and locked him up.  ( Achilles was a prisoner in China. The +message contained in Suriyawong's envelope )undoubtedly told him the identity of the +prisoner that they were supposed to rescue -from Chinese custody. That information could ¬ have been communicated before the )mission departed, because Bean would not -have allowed the mission to go forward if he /had known it would lead to Achilles's release.  - Bean turned to Peter, "You're as stupid as .the German politicians who conspired to bring /Hitler to power, thinking they could use him."  . "I knew you'd be upset," said Peter calmly.  , "Unless the new orders you gave Suriyawong&were to kill the prisoner after all."  . "You realize that you're way too predictable.when it comes to this guy. Just mentioning his,name sets you off. It's your Achilles heel. Pardon the jest."  + Bean ignored him. Instead he reached out ,and took Petra's hand. "If you already knew )what he was doing, why did you come with him?"  ( "Because I wouldn't be safe in Brazil ,anymore," said Petra, "and so I'd rather be with you."  + "Both of us together only gives Achilles "twice the motivation," said Bean.  - "But you're the one who survives no matter *what Achilles throws at you," said Petra. "That's where I want to be."  + Bean shook his head. "People close to me die."  . "On the contrary," said Petra. "People only die when they aren't with you."  . Well, that was true enough, but irrelevant. /In the long run, Poke and Sister Carlotta both ,died because of Bean. Because they made the .mistake of loving him and being loyal to him.  + "I'm not leaving your side," said Petra.   "Ever?" asked Bean.  . Before she could answer, Peter interrupted. ."All this is very touching, but we need to go -over what we're doing with Achilles after we get him back."  ' Petra looked at him as if he were an 0annoying child. "You really are dim," she said. / "I know he's dangerous,' said Peter. "That's &why we have to be very careful how we handle this."  . "Listen to him," said Petra. "Saying 'we.'"  . "There's no 'we,' " said Bean. "Good luck." 0Still holding Petra's hand, Bean started for the(forest. Petra had only a moment to wave *cheerily at Peter and then she was beside Bean, jogging toward the trees.  . "You're going to quit?" shouted Peter after 0them. "Just like that? When we're finally close -to being able to get things moving our way?" )They didn't stop to argue. Later, on the )private plane Bean chartered to get them &from Mmdanao to Celebes, Petra mocked .Peter's words. " 'When we're finally close to *being able to get things moving our way?' Bean laughed.  + "When was it ever our way?" she went on, -not laughing now. "It's all about increasing *Peter's influence, boosting his power and prestige. Our way."  & "I don't want him dead," said Bean.   "Who, Achilles?"  0 "No!" said Bean. "Him I want dead. It's Peter /we have to keep alive. He's the only balance."  / "He's lost his balance now," said Petra. "How*long before Achilles arranges to have him killed?"  ' "What worries me is, how long before +Achilles penetrates and co-opts his entire network?"  / "Maybe we're assigning Achilles supernatural /powers," said Petra. "He isn't a god. Not even a hero. Just a sick kid."  - "No," said Bean. "I'm a sick kid. He's the devil."  / "Well, so," said Petra, "maybe the devil's a sick kid."  0 "So you're saying we should still try to help Peter."  . "I'm saying that if Peter lives through his -little brush with Achilles, he might be more prone to listen to us.  * "Not likely," said Bean. "Because if he 1survives, he'll think it proves he's smarter than1we are, so he'll be even less likely to hear us.  0 "Yeah," said Petra. "It's not like he's going to learn anything."  . "First thing we need to do," said Bean, "is split up."   "No," said Petra.  , "I've done this before, Petra. Going into &hiding. Keeping from getting caught."  # "And if we're together we're too #identifiable, Ia Ia Ia," she said.  2 "Saying 'Ia la Ia' doesn't mean it isn't true."  . "But I don't care," said Petra. "That's the /part you're leaving out of your calculations."  , "And I do care," said Bean, "which is the #part you're leaving out of yours."  / "Let me put it this way," said Petra. "If we -separate, and Achilles finds me and kills me -first, then you'll just have one more female (you love deeply who is dead because you didn't protect her."   "You fight dirty."   "I fight like a girl."  / "And if you stay with me, we'll probably end up dying together."   "No we won't," said Petra.  ( "I'm not immortal, as you well know."  * "But you are smarter than Achilles. And !luckier. And taller. And nicer."   "The new improved human."  - She looked at him thoughtfully. "You know, /now that you're tall, we could probably travel as man and wife."  , Bean sighed. "I'm not going to marry you.   "Just as camouflage."  - It had begun as hints but now it was quite .open, her desire to marry him. "I'm not going -to have children," he said. "My species ends with me."  0 "I think that's pretty selfish of you. What if*the first homo sapiens had felt that way? -We'd all still be Neanderthals, and when the ,Buggers came they would have blasted us all !to bits and that would be that."  - "We didn't evolve from Neanderthals," said Bean.  / "Well, it's a good thing we have that little fact squared away," said Petra.  % "And I didn't evolve at all. I was $manufactured. Genetically created."  + "Still in the image of God," said Petra.  / "Sister Carlotta could say those things, but !it's not funny coming from you."  "Yes it is," said Petra.   "Not to me."  0 "I don't think I want to have your babies, if )they might inherit your sense of humor."  0 "That's a relief." Only it wasn't. Because he +was attracted to her and she knew it. More +than that. He truly cared about her, liked *being with her. She was his friend. If he -weren't going to die, if he wanted to have a /family, if he had any interest in marrying, she(was the only female human that he would -even consider. But that was the trouble- she was human, and he was not.  - After a few moments of silence, she leaned ,her head on his shoulder and held his hand. "Thank you," she murmured.   "For what I don't know."  # "For letting me save your life."  & "When did that happen?" asked Bean.  , "As long as you have to look out for me," said Petra, "you won't die."  . "So you're coming along with me, increasing *our risk of being identified and allowing +Achilles to get his two worst nemeses with *one well-placed bomb, in order to save my life?"  * "That's right, genius boy," said Petra.  - "I don't even like you, you know." At this 'moment, he was annoyed enough that the statement was almost true.  * "As long as you love me, I don't mind."  * And he suspected that her lie, too, was almost true.   SURIYAWONG'S KNIFE  & From: Salaom%Spaceboy@Inshallab.com ' To: Watcber%GnDuty@International.net  Re: What you asked   My Dear Mr. Wiggin/Locke,  , Philosophically speaking, all guests in a +Muslim home are treated as sacred visitors -sent by God and under his care. In practice, (for two extremely talented, famous, and +unpredictable persons who are hated by one (powerful non-Muslim figure and aided by .another, this is a very dangerous part of the /world, particularly if they seek to remain both/hidden and free. I do not believe they will be *foolish enough to seek refuge in a Muslim county.  + I regret to tell you, however, that your *interest and mine do not coincide on this .matter, so despite our occasional cooperation 0in the past, I most certainly will not tell you )whether I encounter them or hear news of them.  , Your accomplishments are many, and I have /helped you in the past and will in the Future. .But when Ender led us in Fighting the Formics )these Friends were beside me. Where were you?   Respectfully yours,   Aloi   + Suriyawong opened his orders and was not ,surprised. He had led missions inside China &before, but always for the purpose of 'sabotage or intelligence gathering, or ,"involuntary high officer force reduction," $Peter's mostly-ironic euphemism for -assassination. The fact that this assignment .had been to capture rather than kill suggested*that it was a person who was not Chinese. ,Suriyawong had rather hoped it might be one *of the leaders of a conquered country-the /deposed prime minister of India, for instance, /or the captive prime minister of Suriyawongs native Thailand.  ( He had even entertained, briefly, the (thought that it might be one of his own family.  * But it made sense that Peter was taking 0this risk, not for someone of mere political or *symbolic value, but for the enemy who had .put the world into this strange and desperate situation.  + Achilles. Erstwhile gimp-legged cripple, +frequent murderer, fulltime psychotic, and )warmonger extraordinaire, Achilles had a .knack for finding out just what the leaders of-nations aspired for and promising them a way /to get it. So far he had convinced a faction in)the Russian government, the heads of the -Indian and Pakistani governments, and various/leaders in other lands to do his bidding. When -Russia found him a liability, he had fled to /India where he already had friends waiting for -him. When India and Pakistan were both doing ,exactly what he had arranged for them to do,-he betrayed them using his connections insideChina.  + The next move, of course, would have been.to betray his friends in China and jump ahead -of them to a position of even greater power. .But the ruling coterie in China was every bit *as cynical as Achilles and recognized his 0pattern of behavior, so not all that long after -he had made China the world's only effective superpower, they arrested him.  + If the Chinese were so smart, why wasn't (Peter? Hadn't Peter himself said, "When 1Achilles is most useful and loyal to you, that is-when he has most certainly betrayed you? So&why was he thinking he could use this monstrous boy?  - Or had Achilles managed to convince Peter, ,despite all the proof that Achilles kept no /promises, that this time he would remain loyal to an ally'?  , I should kill him, thought Suriyawong. In 3fact, I will. I will report to Peter that Achilles *died in the chaos of the rescue. Then the world will be a safer place.  * It's not as if Suriyawong hadn't killed (dangerous enemies before. And from what -Bean and Petra had told him, Achilles was by ,definition a dangerous enemy, especially to &anyone who had ever been kind to him.  - "If you've ever seen him in a condition of -weakness or helplessness or defeat," Bean had.said, "he can't bear for you to stay alive. I 2don't think it's personal. He doesn't have to kill+you with his own hands or watch you die or -anything like that. He just has to know that /you no longer live in the same world with him." , "So the most dangerous thing you can do," -Petra had said, "is to save him, because the ,very fact that you saw that he needed saving%is your death sentence in his mind."  * Had they never explained this to Peter?  $ Of course they had. So in sending *Suriyawong to rescue Achilles, Peter knew -that he was, in effect, signing Suriyawong's death warrant.  , No doubt Peter imagined that he was going .to control Achilles, and therefore Suriyawong would be in no danger  * But Achilles had killed the surgeon who ,repaired his gimp leg, and the girl who had -once declined to kill him when he was at her -mercy. He had killed the nun who found him on(the streets of Rotterdam and got him an )education and a chance at Battle School.  - To have Achilles's gratitude was clearly a -terminal disease. Peter had no power to make .Suriyawong immune. Achilles never left a good -deed unpunished, however long it might take, )however convoluted the path to vengeance might be.  / I should kill him, thought Suriyawong, or he will surely kill me.  2 He's not a soldier, he's a prisoner. To kill him would be murder, even in a war.  2 But if I don't kill him, he's bound to kill me. May a man not defend himself?  , Besides, he's the one who masterminded the,plan that put my people into subjugation to *the Chinese, destroying a nation that had *never been conquered, not by the Burmese, (not by colonizing Europeans, not by the ,Japanese in the Second World War, not by the.Communists in their day. For Thailand alone he.deserves to die, not to mention all his other murders and betrayals.  1 But if a soldier does not obey orders, killing /only as he is ordered to kill, then what is he +worth to his commander? What cause does he .serve? Not even his own survival, for in such -an army no officer would be able to count on 'his men, no soldier on his companions.  1 Maybe I'll be lucky, and his vehicle will blow up with him inside.  + Those were the thoughts he wrestled with .as they flew below radar, brushing the crests of the waves of the China Sea.  ) They skimmed over the beach so quickly /there was barely time to register the fact, as ,the onboard computers made the assault craft/jog left and right, jerk upward and then drift -down again, avoiding obstacles on the ground (while trying to stay below radar. Their )choppers were thoroughly masked, and the +onboard dis-info pretended to all watching .satellites that they were anything other than *what they actually were. Before long they -reached a certain road and turned north, then-west, zipping over what Peter's intelligence (sources had tagged as checkpoint number -three. The men at that checkpoint would radio.a warning to the convoy transporting Achilles,.of course, but they wouldn't have finished the)first sentence before Suriyawong's pilot spotted the convoy.  , "Armor and troop transport fore and aft," *he said. "Take out all support vehicles."  , "What if the prisoner has been put in one of the support vehicles?"  ( "Then there will be a tragic death by !friendly fire," said Suriyawong.  . The soldiers understood, or at least thought&they understood- Suriyawong was going .through the motions of rescuing the prisoner, ,but if the prisoner died he would not mind.  / This was not, strictly speaking, true, or at ,least not at this moment. Suriyawong simply .trusted the Chinese soldiers to go absolutely ,by the book. The convoy was merely a show of,force to keep any local crowds or rebels or )rogue military groups from attempting to )interfere. They had not contemplated the .possibility of-or even a motive for- a rescue ,from some outside force. Certainly not from (the tiny commando force of the Hegemon.  . Only a half dozen Chinese soldiers were able&to get out of the vehicles before the -Hegemony missiles blew them up. Suriyawong's /soldiers were already firing before they leapt -from the settling choppers, and he knew that )in moments all resistance would be over.  + But the prison van carrying Achilles was -undisturbed. No one had emerged from it, not even the drivers.  , Violating protocol, Suriyawong jumped down*from the command chopper and walked toward.the back of the prison van. He stood close as .the soldier assigned to blow the door slapped *on the unlocking charge and detonated it. /There was a loud pop, but no back blast at all &as the explosive tore open the latch.  # The door jogged open a couple of centimeters.  ) Suriyawong extended an arm to stop the *other soldiers from going into the van to +rescue the prisoner, Instead he opened the ,door only far enough to toss his own combat )knife onto the floor of the van. Then he *pushed the door back into place and stood back, waving his men back also.  ' The van rocked and lurched from some /violent activity inside it. Two guns went off. 'The door flew open as a body collapsed &backward into the dirt at their feet.  + Be Achilles, thought Suriyawong, looking +down at the Chinese officer who was trying 'to gather his entrails with his hands. +Suriyawong had the irrational thought that (the man ought really to wash his organs -before jamming them back into his abdomen. Itwas so unsanitary.  - A tall young man in prison pajamas appeared.in the van door, holding a bloody combat knife in his hand.  . You don't look like much, Achilles, thought -Suriyawong. But then, you don't have to look 0all that impressive when you've just killed your&guards with a knife you didn't expect ,someone to throw on the floor at your feet.  ' "All dead inside?" asked Suriyawong.  + A soldier would have answered yes or no, /along with a count of the living and dead. But 0Achilles hadn't been a soldier in Battle School -for more than a few days. He didn't have the !reflexes of military discipline.  . "Very nearly." said Achilles. "Whose stupid +idea was it to throw me a knife instead of /opening the mossin' door and blasting the hell out of those guys?"  - "Check to see if they're dead," Suriyawong +said to his nearby men. Moments later they ,reported that all convoy personnel had been .killed. That was essential if the Hegemon was /to be able to preserve the fiction that it was *not a Hegemony force that had carried out this raid.  * "Choppers, in twenty," said Suriyawong.  - At once his men scrambled to the choppers.  % Suriyawong turned to Achilles. "My .commander respectfully invites you to allow us to transport you out of China."   "And if I refuse?"  - "If you have your own resources in country,%then I will bid you good-bye with my commander's compliments."  / This was not at all what Peter's orders said,'but Suriyawong knew what he was doing.  + "Very well," said Achilles ."Go away and leave me here."  + Suriyawong immediately jogged toward his command chopper.   "Wait," called Achilles.  , "Ten seconds," Suriyawong called over his .shoulder. He jumped inside and turned around. (Sure enough, Achilles was close behind, ,reaching out a hand to be taken up into the bird.  - "I'm glad you chose to come with us," said Suriyawong.  - Achilles found a seat and strapped himself .into it. "I assume your commander is Bean and #you're Suriyawong," said Achilles.  - The chopper lifted off and began to fly by $a different route toward the coast.  & "My commander is the Hegemon," said !Suriyawong. "You are his guest."  / Achilles smiled placidly and silently looked ,around at the soldiers who had just carried out his rescue.  * "What if I had been in one of the other 2vehicles?" said Achilles. "If I had been in charge.of this convoy, there's no chance the prisoner'would have been in the obvious place."  + "But you were not commanding the convoy,"said Suriyawong.  0 Achilles's smile broadened a little. "So what +was that business with tossing in a knife? (How did you know my hands would even be free to get the thing?"  , "I assumed that you would have arranged to#have free hands," said Suriyawong.  ( "Why? I didn't know you were coming."  / "Begging your pardon, sir," said Suriyawong. ("But whatever was or wasn't coming, you !would have had your hands free,"  % "Those were your orders from Peter Wiggin?"  , "No sir, that was my judgment in battle," *said Suriyawong. It galled him to address 2Achilles as "sir," but if this little play was to +have a happy ending, this was Suriyawong's role for the moment.  * "What kind of rescue is this, where you -toss the prisoner a knife and stand and wait to see what happens?"  - "There were too many variables if we flung .open the door," said Suriyawong. "Too great a /danger of your being killed in the crossfire."  , Achilles said nothing, just looked at the opposite wall of the chopper.  . "Besides," said Suriyawong. "This was not a rescue operation."  ) "What was it, target practice? Chinese skeet?"  , "An offer of transportation to an invited -guest of the Hegemon," said Suriyawong. "And the loan of a knife."  0 Achilles held up the bloody thing, dangling it#from the point. "Yours?" he asked.  & "Unless you want to clean it," said Suriyawong.  - Achilles handed it to him. Suriyawong took .out his cleaning kit and wiped down the blade,then began to polish it.  ( "You wanted me to die," said Achilles quietly.  $ "I expected you to solve your own -problems," said Suriyawong, "without getting $any of my men killed. And since you +accomplished it, I believe my decision has (proven to be, if not the best course of action, at least a valid one."  - "I never thought I'd be rescued by Thais," -said Achilles. "Killed by them, yes, but not saved."  ( "You saved yourself," said Suriyawong -coldly. "No one here saved you. We opened the/door for you and I lent you my knife. I assumed,you might not have a knife, and the loan of (mine might speed up your victory so you $would not delay our return flight."  0 "You're a strange kind of boy," said Achilles. / "I was not tested for normality before I was /entrusted with this mission," said Suriyawong. ."But I have no doubt that I would fail such a test."  / Achilles laughed. Suriyawong allowed himself a slight smile.  * He tried not to guess what thoughts the +inscrutable faces of his soldiers might be /hiding. Their families, too, had been caught up+in the Chinese conquest of Thailand. They, /too, had cause to hate Achilles, and it had to ,gall them to watch Suriyawong sucking up to him.  - For a good cause, men-I'm saving our lives /as best I can by keeping Achilles from thinking)of us as his rescuers, by making sure he -believes that none of us ever saw him or eventhought of him as helpless.  - "Well?" said Achilles. "Don't you have any questions?"  + "Yes," said Suriyawong. "Did you already #have breakfast or are you hungry?"  * "I never eat breakfast," said Achilles.  ) "Killing people makes me hungry," said -Suriyawong. "I thought you might want a snackof some kind."  $ Now he caught a couple of the men /glancing at him, only their eyes barely moving,+but it was enough that Suriyawong knew they-were reacting to what he said. Killing makes +him hungry? Absurd. Now they must know that.he was lying to Achilles. It was important to *Suriyawong that his men know he was lying .without him having to tell them. Otherwise he .might lose their trust. They might believe he 0had really given himself to the service of this monster.  1 Achilles did eat, after a while. Then he slept. / Suriyawong did not trust his sleep. Achilles ,no doubt had mastered the art of seeming to -be asleep so he could hear the conversations -of others. So Suriyawong talked no more than +was necessary to debrief his men and get a ,full count of the personnel from the convoy that they had killed.  , Only when Achilles got off the chopper to +pee at the airfield on Guam did Suriyawong /risk sending a quick message to Ribeiro Preto.  ' There was one person who had to know *that Achilles was coming to stay with the -Hegemon: Virlomi, the lndian Battle-Schooler +who had escaped from Achilles in Hyderabad &and had become the goddess guarding a -bridge in eastern India until Suriyawong had /rescued her. If she was in Ribeirao Preto when 1Achilles got there, her life would be in danger.  ( And that was very sad for Suriyawong, 'because it would mean he would not see -Virlomi for a long time, and he had recently (decided that he loved her and wanted to "marry her when they both grew up.   MOMMIES AND DADDIES   encrypt key  decrypt key  " To: Graff%pilgrimage@colmin.gov  From Locke%erasmus@polnet.gov  Re: Unofficial request  . I appreciate your warning, but I assure you *that I do not underestimate the danger of /having X in RP. In fact, that is a matter with 0which I could use your help, if you are inclined,to give it. With 3D and PA in hiding, and S )compromised by having rescued X, persons 0close to them ore in danger, either directly or ,through being used as hostages by X. We need+to have them out of X's reach, and you are /uniquely able to accomplish this. 3D's parents *are used to being in hiding, and have had .some near misses; PA's parents, having already/suffered one kidnapping, will also be inclined to cooperate.  , The difficulty will come from my parents. .There is no chance they will accept protective.concealment if I propose it. If it comes from *you, they might. I do not need to have my ,parents here, exposed to danger, where they -might be used for leverage or to distract me from what must be accomplished.  ( Can you come yourself to RP to gather *them up before I return with X? You would *have about 30 hours to accomplish this. I )apologize for the inconvenience, but you 'would once again have my gratitude and -continue to have my support, both of which, I-hope, will someday be more valuable than they,are under present circumstances. Theres a *Wiggin knew Graff was coming, since Elena /Delphiki gave her a hurried call as soon as he .had left her house. But she did not change her.plans in the slightest. Not because she hoped 'to deceive him, but because there were +papayas on the trees in the back yard that +had to be harvested before they dropped to ,the ground. She had no intention of letting &Graff interfere with something really important.  , So when she heard Graff politely clapping -his hands at the front gate, she was up on a ,ladder clipping off papayas and laying them /into the bag at her side. Aparecida, the maid, *had her instructions, and so Theresa soon *heard Graff's footsteps coming across the tiles of the terrace.   "Mrs. Wiggin," he said.  - "You've already taken two of my children," /said Theresa without looking at him. "I supposeyou want my firstborn, now?  / "No," said Graff. "It's you and your husband I'm after this time."  + "Taking us to join Ender and Valentine?" 'Even though she was being deliberately $obtuse, the idea nevertheless had a *momentary appeal. Ender and Valentine had left all this business behind.  . "I'm afraid we can't spare a follow-up ship .to visit their colony for several years yet," said Graff.  - "Then I'm afraid you have nothing to offer us that we want," said Theresa.  1 "I'm sure that's true," said Graff. "It's what Peter needs. A free hand."  $ "We don't interfere in his work."  + "He's bringing a dangerous person here," )said Graff. "But I think you know that."  + "Gossip flies around here, since there's .nothing else for the parents of geniuses to do-but twitter to each other about the doings of1their brilliant boys and girls. The Arkanians and.Delphikis have their children all but married .off. And we get such fascinating visitors fromouter space. Like you."  + "My, but we're testy today," said Graff.  - "I'm sure Bean's and Petra's families have ,agreed to leave Ribeiro Preto so that their ,children don't have to worry about Achilles )taking them hostage. And someday Nikolai /Delphiki and Stefan Arkanian will recover from 0having been mere bit players in their siblings' /lives. But John Paul's and my situation is not *at all the same. Our son is the idiot who !decided to bring Achilles here."  ) "Yes, it must hurt you to have the one 0child who simply isn't at the same intellectual "level as the others," said Graff.  , Theresa looked at him, saw the twinkle in /his eye, and laughed in spite of herself. "All /right, he isn't stupid, he's so cocky he can't .conceive of any of his plans failing. But the /result is the same. And I have no intention of +hearing about his death through some awful +little email message. Or-worse-from a news -report talking about how 'the brother of the ,great Ender Wiggin has failed in his bid to ,revive the office of Hegemon' and then watch&how even in death Peter's obituary is +accompanied by more footage of Ender after his victory over the Formics."  - "You seem to have a very clear view of all 'the future possibilities," said Graff.  . "No, just the unbearable ones. I'm staying, .Mr. Colonization Minister You'll have to find *your completely inappropriate middle-aged recruits somewhere else."  . "Actually, you're not inappropriate. You're still of childbearing age."  - "Having children has brought me such joy," -said Theresa, "that it's really marvelous to "contemplate having more of them."  ) "I know perfectly well how much you've +sacrificed for your children, and how much +you love them. And I knew coming here that you wouldn't want to go."  + "So you have soldiers waiting to take me 'with you by force? You already have my husband in custody?"  1 "No, no," said Graft. "I think you're right notto go."   "Eh."  + "But Peter asked me to protect you, so I 0had to offer. No, I think it's a good thing for you to stay."   "And why is that?"  / "Peter has many allies," said Graft. "But no friends."   "Not even you?"  / "I'm afraid I studied him too closely in his .childhood to take any of his present charisma at face value."  , "He does have that, doesn't he. Charisma. Or at least charm."  & "At least as much as Ender, when he chooses to use it."  + Hearing Graff speak of Ender-of the kind (of young man Ender had become before he )was pitched out of the solar system in a .colony ship after saving the human race-filled+Theresa with familiar, but no less bitter, (regrets. Graft knew Ender Wiggin at age %seven and ten and twelve, years when +Theresa's only links to her youngest, most ,vulnerable child were a few photographs and )fading memories and the ache in her arms *where she could remember holding him, and 0the last lingering sensation of his little arms flung around her neck.  , "Even when you brought him back to Earth,".said Theresa to Graft, "you didn't let us see .him. You took Val to him, but not his father, not me.  - "I'm sorry," said Graft. "I didn't know he +would never come home at war's end. Seeing +you would have reminded him that there was )someone in the world who was supposed to #protect him and take care of him."  * "And that would have been a bad thing?"  * "The toughness we needed from Ender was *not the person he wanted to be. We had to *protect it. Letting him see Valentine was dangerous enough."  ) "Are you so sure that you were right?"  . "Not sure at all. But Ender won the war, and,we can never go back and try it another way )to see if it would have worked as well."  + "And I can never go back and try to find .some way through all of this that doesn't end (up filling me with resentment and grief *whenever I see you or even think of you."  + Graff said nothing for the longest time.  + "If you're waiting for me to apologize," began Theresa.  / "No, no," said Graft. "I was trying to think -of any apology I could make that wouldn't be -laughably inadequate. I never fired a gun in /the war, but I still caused casualties, and if .it's any consolation, whenever I think of you 0and your husband I am also filled with regret."   "Not enough."  1 "No, I'm sure not," said Graff. "But I'm afraid*my deepest regrets are for the parents of (Bonzo Madrid, who put their son into my "hands and got him back in a box."  * Theresa wanted to fling a papaya at him .and smear it all over his face. "Reminding me "that I'm the mother of a killer?"  - "Bonzo was the killer, ma'am," said Graft. ."Ender defended himself. You entirely mistook -my meaning. I'm the one who allowed Bonzo to .be alone with Ender. I, not Ender, am the one -responsible for his death. That's why I feel *more regret toward the Madrid family than /toward you. I've made a lot of mistakes. And I ,can never be sure which ones were necessary 0or harmless or even left us better off than if Ihadn't made them."  ' "How do you know you're not making a -mistake now, letting me and John Paul stay?"  $ "As I said, Peter needs friends."  ) "But does the world need Peter?" asked Theresa.  * "We don't always get the leader that we ,want," said Graff. "But sometimes we get to (choose among the leaders that we have."  + "And how will the choice be made?" asked 0Theresa. "On the battlefield or the ballot box?" . "Maybe," said Graft, "by the poisoned fig orthe sabotaged car."  , Theresa took his meaning at once. "You may.be sure we'll keep an eye on Peter's food and his transportation."  1 "What," said Graff, "you'll carry all his food )on your person, buying it from different .grocers every day, and your husband will live in his car, never sleeping?"  . "We retired young. One has to fill the emptyhours."  , Graft laughed. "Good luck, then. I'm sure +you'll do all that needs doing. Thanks for talking with me."  . "Let's do it again in another ten or twenty years," said Theresa.  ! "I'll mark it on my calendar."  * And with a salute-which was rather more 'solemn than she would have expected-he ,walked back into the house and, presumably, -on out through the front garden and into the street.  , Theresa seethed for a while at what Graft ,and the International fleet and the Formics )and fate and God had done to her and her *family. And then she thought of Ender and (Valentine and wept a few tears onto the -papayas. And then she thought of herself and +John Paul, waiting and watching, trying to +protect Peter. Graft was right. They could never watch him perfectly.  $ They would sleep. They would miss "something. Achilles would have an (opportunity-many opportunities-and just (when they were most complacent he would -strike and Peter would be dead and the world .would be at Achilles's mercy because who else -was clever and ruthless enough to fight him? -Bean? Petra? Suriyawong? Nikolai? One of the ,other Battle School children scattered over +the surface of Earth? If there was any who *was ambitious enough to stop Achilles, he would have surfaced by now.  , She was carrying the heavy bag of papayas )into the house-sidling through the door, -trying not to bump and bruise the fruit when )it dawned on her what Graft's errand had really been about.  + Peter needs a friend, he said. The issue -between Peter and Achilles might be resolved ,by poison or sabotage, he said. But she and .John Paul could not possibly watch over Peter .well enough to protect him from assassination,.he said. Therefore, in what way could she and -John Paul possibly be the friends that Peter needed?  ) The contest between Achilles and Peter /would be just as easily resolved by Achilles's death as by Peter's.  , At once there flashed into her memory the *stories of some of the great poisoners of ,history, by rumor if not by proof. Lucretia 'Borgia. Cleopatra. What's-her-name who &poisoned everybody around the Emperor -Claudius and probably got him in the end, as well.  . In olden days, there were no chemical tests -to determine conclusively whether poison had (been used. Poisoners gathered their own )herbs, leaving no trail of purchases, no -co-conspirators who might confess or accuse. .If anything happened to Achilles before Peter ,had decided the monster boy had to go, Peter.would launch an investigation.., and when the 2trail led to his parents, as it inevitably would, +how would Peter respond? Make an example of,them, letting them go on trial? Or would he .protect them, trying to cover up the result of(the investigation, leaving his reign as *Hegemon to be tainted by the rumors about *Achilles's untimely death. No doubt every /opponent of Peter's would resurrect Achilles as+a martyr, a much-slandered boy who offered ,the brightest hope to mankind, slain in his .youth by the crawlingly vile Peter Wiggin, or .his mother the witch or his father the snake.  0 It was not enough to kill Achilles. It had to *be done properly, in a way that would not harm Peter in the long run.  ) Though it would be better for Peter to .endure the rumors and legends about Achilles's-death than for Peter himself to be the slain !one. She dare not wait too long.  $ My assignment from Graff, thought .Theresa, is to become an assassin in order to protect my son.  0 And the truly horrifying thing is that I'm not+questioning whether to do it, but how. And when.    CHOPIN   encrypt key ********  decrypt key *****   To: &Rythian%Iegume@nowyouseeitnovtyou.com $ From: Graff%pilgrimage@colmin.gov  Re: Aren't we cute  . I suppose you can be allowed to indulge your"adolescent humor by using obvious +pseudonyms like pythian%Iegume, and I know ,this is a use-once identify, but really, it .smocks of a careless insouciance that worries (me. We can't afford to lose you or your +traveling companion because you had to makea joke.  . Enough of imagining could possibly influence.your decisions. The first few weeks since the +Belgian arrived in RP have been eventless. )Your and your companion's parents are in .training and quarantine, preparatory to going *up to one of the colony ships. I will not +actually take them off planet without your )approval unless some emergency comes up. +However, the moment I keep them past their (training group's embarkation date, they /become unusual and rumors will start to travel,.it's dangerous to keep them Earthside for too -long. And yet once we get them off world, it 0will be even more difficult to get them back. I /don't wish to pressure you, but your families' -futures are at stoke, and so far you haven't #even consulted with them directly.  ) As for the Belgian, PW has given him a ,job-Assistant to the Hegemon. He has his own)letterhead and email identity, a sort of $minister without portfolio, with no 'bureaucracy to command and no money to ,disburse. Yet he keeps busy all day long. I wonder what be does.  - I should have said that the Belgian has no 1official staff. Unofficially, Sun seems to be at +his beck and call. I've heard from several *observers that the change in him is quite "astonishing. He never showed such ,exaggerated respect to you or PW as he does .to the Belgian. They dine together often, and -while the Belgian has never actually visited ,the barracks and training ground or gone on *assignments or maneuvers with your little (army, the inference that the Belgian is -cultivating some degree of influence or even ,control over the Hegemonys small fighting .force is inescapable. Are you in contact with -Sun? When I tried to broach the subject with #him, he never so much as answered.  0 As far you, my brilliant young friend, I hope 0you realize that all of Sister Carlotta's false -identities were provided by the Vatican, and .your use of them blares like a trumpet within ,Vatican walls. They have asked me to assure .you that Achilles has no support within their *ranks, and never did have, even before he -murdered Carlotta, but if they can track you /so easily, perhaps someone else can as well. As/they say, a word to the wise is sufficient. And,here I've gone and written five paragraphs.   -Graff   ) Petra and Bean traveled together for a -month before things came to a head. At first +Petra was content to let Bean make all the )decisions. After all, she had never gone ,underground like this, traveling with false +identities. He seemed to have all sorts of +papers, some of which had been with him in 0the Philippines, and the rest in various hiding 'places scattered throughout the world.  + The trouble was, all her identities were (designed for a sixty-year old woman who -spoke languages that Petra had never learned.("This is absurd," she told Bean when he -handed her the fourth such identity. "No one #will believe this for an instant."   "And yet they do," said Bean.  / "And I'd like to know why," she retorted. "I .think there's more to this than the paperwork..I think we're getting help every time we pass through an identity check."  , "Sometimes yes, sometimes no," said Bean.  , "But every time you use some connection of,yours to get a security guard to ignore the .fact that I do not look old enough to be this )person- "Sometimes, when you haven't had /enough sleep-" "You're too tall to be cute. So give it up." 0 "Petra. I agree with you," said Bean at last. -"These were all for Sister Carlotta, and you 0don't look like her, and we are leaving a trail +of favors asked for and favors done. So we need to separate."  , "Two reasons why that won't happen," said Petra.  , "You mean besides the fact that traveling +together was your idea from the beginning? )Which you blackmailed me into because we -both know you'd get killed without me?-which .hasn't stopped you from criticizing the way I 'go about keeping you alive, I notice."  , "The second reason," Petra said, ignoring 1his effort to pick a fight, "is that while we're /on the run you can't do anything. And it drivesyou crazy not to do anything."  * "I'm doing a lot of things," said Bean.  . "Besides arranging for us to get past stupidsecurity guards with bad ID?"  . "Already I've started two wars, cured three +diseases, and written an epic poem. If you (weren't so self-centered you would have noticed."  . "You're such a jack of all trades, Julian."  ' "Staying alive isn't doing nothing."  . "But it isn't doing what you want to do withyour life," said Petra.  / "Staying alive is all I've ever wanted to do with my life, dear child."  + "But in the end, you're going to fail at that," said Petra.  . "Most of us do. All of us, actually, unless /Sister Carlotta and the Christians turn out to be right."  + "You want to accomplish something before you die."  + Bean sighed. "Because you want that, you think everyone does."  ( "The human need to leave something of yourself behind is universal."   "But I'm not human."  / "No, you're superhuman," she said in disgust.#"There's no talking to you, Bean."   "And yet you persist."  . But Petra knew perfectly well that Bean felt.just as she did-that it wasn't enough to stay /in hiding, going from place to place, taking a )bus here, a train there, a plane to some /far-off city, only to start over again in a fewdays.  - The only reason it mattered that they stay #alive was so they could keep their )independence long enough to work against +Achilles. Except Bean kept denying that he -had any such motive, and so they did nothing. + Bean had been maddening ever since Petra +first met him in Battle School. He was the *most incredibly tiny little runt then, so )precocious he seemed snotty even when he .said good morning, and even after they had all*worked with him for years and had got the ,true measure of him at Command School, Petra-was still the only one of Ender's jeesh that actually liked Bean.  / She did like him, and not in the patronizing ,way that older kids take younger ones under .their wing. There was never any illusion that ,Bean needed protection anyway. He arrived at,Battle School as a consummate survivor, and )within days-perhaps within hours-he knew ,more about the inner workings of the school 'than anyone else. The same was true at (Tactical School and Command School, and (during those crucial weeks before Ender )joined them on Eros, when Bean commanded 'the jeesh in their practice maneuvers.  ) The others resented Bean then, for the (fact that the youngest of them had been ,chosen to lead in Ender's place and because ,they feared that he would be their commander)always. They were so relieved when Ender .arrived, and didn't try to hide it. It had to +hurt Bean, but Petra seemed to be the only )one who even thought about his feelings. *Much good that it did him. The person who .seemed to think about Bean's feelings least ofthem all was Bean himself.  - Yet he did value her friendship, though he (only rarely showed it. And when she was ,overtaken by exhaustion during a battle, he ,was the one who covered for her, and he was .the only one who showed that he still believed+in her as firmly as ever. Even Ender never )quite trusted her with the same level of ,assignment that she had had before. But Bean'remained her friend, even as he obeyed /Ender's orders and watched over her in all the -remaining battles, ready to cover for her if she collapsed again.  * Bean was the one she counted on when the)Russians kidnapped her, the one she knew *would get the message she hid in an email /graphic. And when she was in Achilles's power, -it was Bean who was her only hope of rescue. )And he got her message, and he saved her from the beast.  , Bean might pretend, even to himself, that /all he cared about was his own survival, but in(fact he was the most perfectly loyal of +friends. Far from acting selfishly, he was )reckless with his own life when he had a /cause he believed in. But he didn't understand -this about himself. Since he thought himself -completely unworthy of love, it took him the -longest time to know that someone loved him. /He had finally caught on about Sister Carlotta,.long before she died. But he gave little sign +that he recognized Petra's feelings toward .him. Indeed, now that he was taller than her, +he acted as though he thought of her as an annoying little sister  " And that really pissed her off.  & Yet she was determined not to leave +him-and not because she depended on him for.her own survival, either. She feared that the (moment he was completely on his own, he &would embark on some reckless plan to (sacrifice his own life to put an end to ,Achilles's, and that would be an unbearable outcome, at least to Petra.  , Because she had already decided that Bean -was wrong in his belief that he should never ,have children, that the genetic alterations +that had made him such a genius should die .with him when his uncontrolled growth finally killed him.  - On the contrary, Petra had every intention !of bearing his children herself.  ( Being in a holding pattern like this, *watching him drive himself crazy with his ,constant busyness that accomplished nothing )important while making him irritable and 0irritating, Petra was not so self-controlled as .not to snap back at him. They genuinely liked +each other, and so far they had kept their .sniping at a level that both could pretend was-only joking, but something had to change, and-soon, or they really would have a fight that -made it impossible to stay together and what ,would happen to her plans for making Bean's -babies then? What finally got Bean to make a 'change was when Petra brought up Ender Wiggin.  , "What did he save the human race for?" she/said in exasperation one day in the airport at -Darwin. "So he could stop playing the stupid game.  & "It wasn't so Achilles could rule."  - "Someday Achilles will die. Caligula did."  . "With help from his friends," Petra pointed out.  + "And when he dies, maybe somebody better *will succeed him. After Stalin, there was -Khrushchev. After Caligula, there was Marcus Aurelius."  1 "Not right after. And thirty million died whileStalin ruled."  . "So that made thirty million he didn't rule over any more," said Bean.  + Sometimes he could say the most terrible ,things. But she knew him well enough by now ,to know that he spoke with such callousness -only when he was feeling depressed. At times ,like that he brooded about how he was not a $member of the human species and the .difference was killing him. It was not how he .truly felt. "You're not that cold," she said.  % He used to argue when she tried to .reassure him about his humanity. She liked to ,think maybe she was accomplishing something,,but she feared that he had stopped answering,because he no longer cared what she thought. - "If I settle into one place," he said, "my "chance of staying alive is nil.  * It irked her that he still spoke of "my chance" instead of "ours.  , "You hate Achilles and you don't want him .to rule the world and if you're going to have (any chance of stopping him, you have to &settle in one place and get to work."  1 "All right, you're so smart, tell me where I'd be safe."   "The Vatican," said Petra.  % "How many acres in that particular .kingdom? How eager are all those cardinals to listen to an altar boy?"  ( "All right then, somewhere within the borders of the Muslim League."   "We're infidels," said Bean.  - "And they're people who are determined not .to fall under the domination of the Chinese orthe Hegemon or anybody else."  * "My point is that they won't want us.  , "My point is that whether they want us or ¬, we're the enemy of their enemy."  + "We're two children, with no army and no *information to sell, no leverage at all."  * That was so laughable that Petra didn't +bother answering. Besides, she had finally ,won-he was finally talking about where, not +whether, he'd settle down and get to work.   - They found themselves in Poland, and after *taking the train from Katowice to Warsaw, +they walked together through the Lazienki, 'one of the great parks of Europe, with -centuries-old paths winding among giant trees,and the saplings already planted to someday replace them.  , "Did you come here with Sister Carlotta?" Petra asked him.  0 "Once," said Bean. "Ender is part Polish, did you know that?"  . "Must be on his mother's side," said Petra. "Wiggin isn't a Polish name.  - "It is when you change it from Wieczorek," -said Bean. "Don't you think Mr. Wiggin looks *Polish? Wouldn't he fit in here? Not that 'nationality means that much any more."  + Petra laughed at that. "Nationality? The /thing people die for and kill for and have for centuries?"  , "No, I meant ancestry, I suppose. So many /people are part this and part that. Supposedly -I'm Greek, but my mother's mother was an Ibo 1diplomat, so... when I go to Africa I look quite -Greek, and when I go to Greece 1 look rather 0African. In my heart I couldn't care less about either."  - "You're a special case, Bean," said Petra. "You never had a homeland."  * "Or a childhood. I suppose," said Bean.  , "None of us in Battle School actually had (much experience of either," said Petra.  ) "Which is, perhaps, why so many Battle ,School kids are so desperate to prove their loyalty to their birth nation."  , That made sense. "Since we have few roots,,the ones we have, we cling to." She thought -of Vlad, who was so fanatically Russian. and )Hot Soup-Han Tzu-so fanatically Chinese, 0that both of them had willingly helped Achilles 'when he seemed to be working for their nation's cause.  * "And no one completely trusts us," said .Bean, "because they know our real nationality /is up in space. Our strongest loyalties are to our fellow soldiers."  - "Or to ourselves," said Petra, thinking of Achilles.  - "But I've never pretended otherwise," said *Bean. Apparently he thought she had meant him.  ' "You're so proud of being completely /self-centered," said Petra. "And it isn't even true."  ( He just laughed at her and walked on.  - Families and businessmen and old people and/young couples in love all strolled through the $park on this unusually sunny autumn .afternoon, and in the concert stand a pianist -played a work of Chopin. as had been going on.every day for centuries. As they walked, Petra+boldly reached out and took hold of Bean's /hand as if they, too, were lovers, or at least *friends who liked to stay close enough to 0touch. To her surprise, he did not pull his hand-away. Indeed, he gripped her hand in return, -but if she harbored any notion that Bean was /capable of romance, he instantly dispelled it. ,"Race you around the pond," he said, and so they did.  . But what kind of race is it, when the racers,never let go of each other's hands, and the 0winner pulls the loser laughing over the finish line?  , No, Bean was being childish because he had,no idea how to go about being manly, and so .it was Petra's job to help him figure it out. *She reached out and caught his other hand .and pulled his arms around her, then stood on +tiptoe and kissed him. Mostly on the chin, 0because he recoiled a little, but it was a kiss #nonetheless, and after a moment of /consternation, Bean's arms pulled her a little /closer and his lips managed to find hers while ,suffering only a few minor nose collisions.  % Neither of them being particularly .experienced at this, it wasn't as though Petra0could say whether they kissed particularly well.)The only other kiss she'd known was with /Achilles, and that kiss had taken place with a ,gun pressed into her abdomen. All she could *say with certainty was that any kiss from -Bean was better than any kiss from Achilles.  . "So you love me," said Petra softly when the kiss ended.  . "I'm a raging mass of hormones that I'm too +young to understand," said Bean. "You're a /female of a closely related species. According 1to all the best primatologists, I really have no choice."  - "That's nice," she said, reaching her arms around his back.  0 "It's not nice at all," said Bean. "I have no business kissing anybody."   "I asked for it," she said.   "I'm not having children."  / "That's the best plan," she said. "I'll have them for you."  & "You know what I meant," said Bean.  / "It isn't done by kissing, so you're safe so far."  ) He groaned impatiently and pulled away 0from her, paced irritably in a circle, and then -came right back to her and kissed her again. ."I've wanted to do that practically the whole $time we've been traveling together"  . "I could tell," she said. "From the way you *never gave even the tiniest sign that you )knew I existed, except as an annoyance."  , "I've always had a problem with being too /emotionally demonstrative." He held her again. ,An elderly couple passed by. The man looked -disapproving, as if he thought these foolish .young people should find a more private place +for their kissing and hugging. But the old -woman, her white hair held severely by a head.scarf gave him a wink, as if to say, Good for /you, young fellow, young girls should be kissedthoroughly and often.  , In fact, he was so sure that was what she )meant to say that he quoted the words to Petra.  * "So you're actually performing a public service," said Petra.  * "To the great amusement of the public," said Bean.  ( A voice came from behind them. "And I "assure you the public is amused."  + Petra and Bean both turned to see who it was.  . A young man, but most definitely not Polish.-From the look of him, he should be Burmese or'perhaps Thai, certainly from somewhere )around the South China Sea. He had to be ,younger than Petra, even taking into account(the way that people from Southeast Asia -seemed always to look far younger than their *years. Yet he wore the suit and tie of an old-fashioned businessman.  * There was something about him-something +in the cockiness of his stance, the amused +way that he took for granted that he had a ,ringlet to stand within the circle of their #companionship and tease them about /something as private as a public kiss-that told,Petra that he had to be from Battle School.  * But Bean knew more about him than that. "Ambul," he said.  % Ambul saluted in that half-sloppy, *half-exaggerated style of a Battle School brat, and answered, "Sir."  . "I gave you an assignment once," said Bean. )"To take a certain launchie and help him 'figure out how to use his flash suit."  / "Which I carried out perfectly," said Ambul. /"He was so funny the first time I froze him in "the battle room, I had to laugh."  0 "I can't believe he hasn't killed you by now," said Bean.  ) "My uselessness to the Thai government saved me.  ! "My fault, I fear," said Bean.  ( "Saved my life, I think," said Ambul.  ) "Hi, I'm Petra," said Petra irritably.  - Ambul laughed and shook her hand. "Sorry," +he said. "Ambul. I know who you are, and I ,assumed Bean would have told you who I was.  / "I didn't think you were coming," said Bean.  / "I don't answer emails," said Ambul. "Except *by showing up and seeing if the email was +really from the person it's supposed to be from."  - "Oh," said Petra, putting things together. ,"You must be the soldier in Bean's army who 'was assigned to show Achilles around."  - "Only he didn't have the foresight to push .Achilles out an airlock without a suit," said -Bean. "Which 1 think shows a shameful lack ofinitiative on his part."  , "Bean notified me as soon as he found out /Achilles was on the loose. He figured there was1no chance I wasn't on Achilles's hit list. Saved my life."  ( "So Achilles made a try?" asked Bean.  + They were away from the path now, out in %the open, standing on the broad lawn (stretching away from the lake where the /pianist played. Only the faintest sound of the $amplified Chopin reached them here.  ( "Let's just say that I've had to keep moving," said Ambul.  , "Is that why you weren't in Thailand when #the Chinese invaded?" asked Petra.  0 "No," said Ambul. "No, I left Thailand almost +as soon as I came home. You see, I was not 0like most Battle School graduates. I was in the /worst army in the history of the battle room."   "My army," said Bean.  . "Oh, come on," said Petra. "You only played,what, five games?"  - "We never won a single one," said Bean. "I #was working on training my men and %experimenting with combat techniques ,and-oh, yes, staying alive with Achilles in Battle School with us."  , "So they discontinued Battle School, Bean /got promoted to Ender's jeesh, and his soldiers-got sent back to Earth with the only perfect /no-win record in the history of Battle School. ,All the other Thais from Battle School were 'given important places in the military ,establishment. But, oddly enough, they just -couldn't find a thing for me to do except go to public school."  / "But that's simply stupid," said Petra. "Whatwere they thinking?"  - "It kept me nice and obscure," said Ambul. -"It gave my family the freedom to travel out ,of the country and take me with them- there +are advantages to not being perceived as a valuable national resource.  . "So you werent in Thailand when it fell."  + "Studying in London," said Ambul. "Which *made it almost convenient to hop over the 'North Sea and zip over to Warsaw for a clandestine meeting."  - "Sorry," said Bean. "I offered to pay your way."  - "The letter might not have been from you," 0said Ambul. "And whoever sent it, if I let them +buy my tickets, they'd know which planes I was on.  * "He sounds as paranoid as we are," said Petra.  . "Same enemy, said Ambul. "So, Bean, sir; you.sent for me, and here I am. Need a witness for-your wedding? Or an adult to sign permission forms for you?"  . "What I need," said Bean, "is a secure base ,of operations, independent of any nation or bloc or alliance."  & "I suggest you find a nice asteroid -somewhere," said Ambul. "The world is pretty well divvied up these days."  / "I need people I can trust absolutely," said 'Bean. "Because at any time we may find *ourselves fighting against the Hegemony."  . Ambul looked at him in surprise. "I thought ,you were commander of Peter Wiggin's little army."  , "I was. Now I don't even command a decent hand of pinochle," said Bean.  ' "He does have a first-rate executive officer," said Petra. "Me."  - "Ah," said Ambul. "Now I understand why you,called on me. You two officers need somebodywho'll salute you."  ( Bean sighed. "I'd appoint you king of 1Caledonia if I could, but the only position I can,actually offer anybody is friend. And I'm a 'dangerous friend to have, these days."  . "So the rumors are true," said Ambul. Petra -figured it was about time he put together the&information he was gleaning from this /conversation. "Achilles is with the Hegemony."  - "Peter hoisted him out of China, on his wayto prison camp." said Bean.  . "Got to give the Chinese credit, they're no *eemos, they knew when to get rid of him."  , "Not really," said Petra. "They were only *sending him into internal exile, and in a *low-security caravan at that. Practically invited rescue.  ) "And you wouldn't do it,' asked Ambul. "That's how you got fired?"  - "No," said Bean. "Wiggin pulled me off the /mission at the last minute. Gave sealed orders +to Suriyawong and didn't tell me what they +were till he had already left. Whereupon I resigned and went into hiding."  / "Taking your girl toy with you." said Ambul.  - "Actually, Peter sent me along to keep him ,under very close surveillance," said Petra.  + "You seem to be the right person for the job," said Ambul.  / "She's not that good," said Bean. "I've come &close to noticing her several times."  ( "So," said Ambul. "Sun went ahead and hoisted Achilles out of China."  / "Of all the missions to execute flawlessly," 'said Bean, "Sun had to pick that one."  + "I, on the other hand," said Ambul, "was .never one to obey an order if I thought it was stupid."  $ "That's why I want you to join my /completely hopeless operation," said Bean. "If 2you get killed, I'll know it's your own fault, and)not because you were obeying my orders."  2 "I'll need fedda," said Ambul. "My family isn't 3rich. And technically I'm still a kid. Speaking of /which, how the hell did you get so much taller than me?"   "Steroids," said Bean.  - "And I stretch him on a rack every night," said Petra.  , "For his own good, I'm sure," said Ambul.  - "My mother told me," said Petra, "that Bean,is the kind of boy who has to grow on you."  , Bean playfully covered her mouth. "Pay no +attention to the girl, she's besotted with love."  , "You two should get married," said Ambul.  # "When I turn thirty," said Bean.  " Which, Petra knew, meant never.  ( They had already been out in the open .longer than Bean had ever allowed since they'd0gone into hiding. As Bean started telling Ambul (what he wanted him to do, they began to ,walk toward the nearest exit from the park.  * It was a simple enough assignment-go to )Damascus, the headquarters of the Muslim ,League, and get a meeting with Alai, one of (Ender's closest friends and a member of Ender's jeesh.  - "Oh," said Ambul. "I thought you wanted me to do something possible."  - "I can't get any email to him," said Bean.  & "Because as far as I know he's been (completely incommunicado ever since the /Russians released him, that time when Achilles "kidnapped everybody," said Ambul.  ( Bean seemed surprised. "You know this because  . "Since my parents took me into hiding," said-Ambul, "I've been tapping every connection I +could get, trying to get information about ,what was happening. I'm good at networking, .bean. Making and keeping friends. I would have&been a good commander, if they hadn't *canceled Battle School out from under me.  * "So you already know Alai?" said Petra. "Toguro."  + "But like I said," Ambul repeated, "he's completely incommunicado."  / "Ambul, I need his help," said Bean. "1 need .the shelter of the Muslim League. It's one of /the few places on Earth that isn't susceptible 'to either Chinese pressure or Hegemony wheedling."  - "I," said Ambul, "and they achieve that by 0not letting any non-Muslims within the circle."  1 "I don't want to be in the circle. I don't wantto know their secrets."  , "Yes you do," said Ambul. "Because if you 0aren't, if you don't have their complete trust, +you'll have no power to do anything at all 0within their borders. Non-Muslims are officially.completely free, but in practical terms, they .can't do anything but shop and play tourist."  " "Then I'll convert," said Bean.  / "Don't even joke about it," said Ambul. "They0take their religion very seriously, and to speakof converting as a joke-"  , "Ambul, we know that," said Petra. "I'm a +friend of Alai's, too, but you notice Bean didn't send me."  * Ambul laughed. "You can't mean that the 0Muslims would lose respect for Alai if he let a .woman influence him! The full equality of the .sexes is one of the six points that ended the Third Great Jihad."  ( "You mean the Fifth World War?" asked Bean.  / "The War for Universal Liberty," said Petra. ("That's what they called it in Armenian schools."  - "That's because Armenia is bigoted against Muslims," said Ambul.  - "The only nation of bigots left on Earth," said Petra ruefully.  / "Listen, Ambul, if it's impossible to get to 3Alai," said Bean, "I'll just find something else."  0 "I didn't say it was impossible," said Ambul.  , "Actually, that's exactly what you said," Petra said.  / "But I'm a Battle Schooler," said Ambul. "We 1had classes in doing the impossible. I got A's."  . Bean grinned. "Yes, but you didn't graduate ,from Battle School, did you, so what chance do you have?"  ( "Who knew that being assigned to your 0army in school would ruin my entire life?" said Ambul.  , "Oh, stop whining," said Petra. "If you'd (been a top graduate, now youd be in a Chinese reeducation camp.  1 "See?" said Ambul. "I'm missing out on all the !character-building experiences."  - Bean handed him a slip of paper. "Go there .and you'll find the identity stuff you need."  - "Complete with holographic ID?" asked Ambul doubtfully.  2 "It'll adjust to you the first time you use it. *Instructions are with it. I've used these before."  + "Who does stuff like that?" asked Ambul. "The Hegemony?"  ' "The Vatican," said Bean. "These are )leftovers from my days with one of their operatives."   "All right," said Ambul.  / "It'll get you to Damascus, but it won't get 0you to Alai. You'll need your real identity for that."  / "No, I'll need an angel walking before me and'a letter of introduction from Mohammed himself."  , "The Vatican has those," said Petra. "But *they only give them to their top people."  . Ambul laughed, and so did Bean, but the air was thick with tension.  ) "I'm asking you for a lot," said Bean.  * "And I don't owe you much," said Ambul.  * "You don't owe me anything," said Bean, /"and if you did, I wouldn't try to collect it. )You know why I asked you, and I know why you're doing it."  * Petra knew, too. Bean asked him because .he knew Ambul could do it if anyone could. And+Ambul was doing it because he knew that if .there was to be any hope of stopping Achilles 0from uniting the world under his rule, it would probably depend on Bean.  + "I'm so glad we came to this park," said Petra to Bean. "So romantic."  ( "Bean knows how to show a girl a good ,time," said Ambul. He spread his arms wide. "Take a good look. I'm it."   And then he was gone.  ) Petra reached out and took Bean's hand again.   "Satisfied?" asked Bean.  0 "More or less," said Petra. "At least you did something."  ) "I've been doing something all along."   "I know," said Petra.  , "In fact," said Bean, "you're the one who just goes online to shop."  / She chuckled. "Here we are in this beautiful ,park. Where they keep alive the memory of a (great man. A man who gave unforgettable ,music to the world. What will your memorial be?"  . "Maybe two statues. Before and after. Little-Bean who fought in Ender's jeesh. Big Julian who brought down Achilles."  1 "I like that," said Petra. "But I have a betteridea."  # "Name a colony planet after me?"  + "How about this-they have a whole planet populated by your descendants."  , Bean's expression soured and he shook his (head. "Why? To make war against them? A .race of brilliant people who breed as fast as -they can because they're going to die before -they're twenty. And every one of them curses -the name of their ancestor because he didn't 'end this travesty with his own death."  / "It's not a travesty," said Petra. "And what .makes you think your... difference will breed true?"  + "You're right," said Bean, "if I marry a *long-lived stupid short girl like you, my )progeny should average out to a bunch of )average minds who live to be seventy and grow to be six feet tall."  & "Do you want to know what I've been doing?" said Petra.   "Not shopping."  * "I've been talking to Sister Carlotta."  & He stiffened, looked away from her.  + "I've been walking down the paths of her 0life," said Petra. "Talking to people she knew. 'Seeing what she saw. Learning what she learned."  % "I don't want to know," said Bean.  * "Why not? She loved you. Once she found you, she lived for you.  . "I know that," said Bean. "And she died for 0me. Because I was stupid and careless. I didn't ,even need her to come, I just thought I did 0for a little while and by the time I found out 1,didn't, she was already in the air, already *heading for the missile that killed her."  , "There's somewhere I want us to go," said .Petra. "While we're waiting for Ambul to pull off his miracle."  0 "Listen," said Bean, "Sister Carlotta already %told me how to get in touch with the +scientists who were studying me. Every now -and then I write to them and they tell me how*soon they estimate my death will come and -how exciting it is, all the progress they're *making in understanding human development *and all kinds of other kuso because of my .body and all the little cultures they've got, *keeping my tissues alive. Petra. when you 1think about it, I'm immortal. Those tissues will *be alive in labs all over the world for a -thousand years after I'm dead. That's one of )the benefits of being completely weird."  , "I'm not talking about them," said Petra.  ) "What, then? Where do you want to go?"  , "Anton," she said. "The one who found the *key, Anton's Key. The genetic change that resulted in you."   "He's still alive?"  / "He's not only alive, he's free. War's over. /Not that he's able to do serious research now. 'The psychological blocks aren't really 0removable. He has a hard time talking about. . ..well, at least writing about what happened to you."   "So why bother him?"   "Got anything better to do?"  * "I've always got something better to do than go to Romania."  1 "But he doesn't live there," said Petra. "He's in Catalunya."   "You're kidding."  + "Sister Carlotta's homeland. The town of Matard."  % "Why did he go there?" asked Bean.  . "Excellent weather," said Petra. "Nights on /the rambla. Tapas with friends. The gentle sea -lapping the shore. The hot African wind. The *breakers of the winter sea. The memory of .Columbus coming to visit the king of Aragon."   "That was Barcelona."  . "Well, he talked about seeing the place. And.a garden designed by Gaudi. Things he loves to0look at. I think he goes from place to place. I $think he's very curious about you."   "So is Achilles," said Bean.  . "I think that even though he's no longer on .the cuffing edge of science, there are things *he knows that he was never able to tell."   "And still can't."  , "It hurts him to say it. But that doesn't -mean he couldn't say it, once, to the person who most needs to know."   "And that is?"   "Me," said Petra.   Bean laughed. "Not me?"  ( "You don't need to know," said Petra. ,"You've decided to die. But I need to know, &because I want our children to live."  - "Petra," said Bean. "I'm not going to have any children. Ever."  , "Fortunately," said Petra, "the man never does."  + She doubted she could ever persuade Bean +to change his mind. With luck, though, the .uncontrollable desires of the adolescent male ,might accomplish what reasonable discussion +never could. Despite what he thought, Bean )was human; and no matter what species he -belonged to, he was definitely a mammal. His ,mind might say no, but his body would shout yes much louder  - Of course, if there was any adolescent male*who could resist his need to mate, it was .Bean. It was one of the reasons she loved him,)because he was the strongest man she had +ever known. With the possible exception of (Ender Wiggin, and Ender Wiggin was gone forever.  , She kissed Bean again, and this time they !were both somewhat better at it.   STONES IN THE ROAD    From: PW  To: TV'!  Re: What are you doing?  , What is this housekeeper thing about? I'm ,not letting you take a job in the Hegemony, .certainly not as a housekeeper. Are you tying +to shame me, making it look like I have my .mother on the payroll and (b) I have my mother(working for me as a menial? You already -refused the opportunity I wanted you to take.  From: TV'!  To: PW  Re: a serpent's tooth  * You are always so thoughtful, giving me +such interesting things to do. Touring the 0colony worlds. Staring at the walls of my nicely+air-conditioned apartment. You do remember -that your birth was not parthenogenetic. You -are the only person on God's green earth who +thinks I'm too stupid to be anything but a *burden around your neck. But please don't 0imagine that I'm criticizing you. I am the image-of a perfect, dating mother. I know how well )that plays on the vids. When Virlomi got ,Suriyawong's message, she understood at once*the danger she was in. But she was almost %glad of having a reason to leave the Hegemon's compound.  , She had been thinking about going for some-time, and Suriyawong himself was the reason. ,His infatuation with her had become too sad for her to stay much longer.  - She liked him, of course, and was grateful $to him-he was the one who had truly ,understood, without being told, how to play -the scene so that she could escape from India*under the guns of soldiers who would most &certainly have shot down the Hegemony -helicopters. He was smart and funny and good,+and she admired the way he worked with Bean+in commanding their fiercely loyal troops, .conducting raid after raid with few casualtiesand, so far, no loss of life.  * Suriyawong had everything Battle School *was designed to give its students. He was 0bold, resourceful, quick, brave, smart, ruthless,and yet compassionate. And he saw the world &through similar eyes, compared to the +westerners who otherwise seemed to have theHegemon's ear.  . But somehow he had also fallen in love with ,her. She liked him too well to shame him by *rebuffing advances he had never made, yet -she could not love him. He was too young for 0her, too ... what? Too intense about his tasks. #Too eager to please. Too Annoying.  0 There it was. His devotion irritated her. His *constant attention. His eyes on her every (move. His praise for her mostly trivial achievements.  - No, she had to be fair. She was annoyed at ,everyone, and not because they did anything -wrong, but because she was out of her place. /She was not a soldier. A strategist, yes, even -a leader, but not in combat. There was no one/in Ribeiro Preto who was likely to follow her, *and nowhere that she wanted to lead them.  . How could she fall in love with Suriyawong? -He was happy in the life he had, and she was *miserable. Anything that made her happier +would make him less happy. What future was there in that?  , He loved her, and so he thought of her on *the way back from China with Achilles and -warned her to be gone before he returned. It ,was a noble gesture on his part, and so she -was grateful to him all over again. Grateful +that he had quite possibly saved her life.  - And grateful that she wouldn't have to see him again.  / By the time Graff arrived to pull people out *of Ribeiro Preto, she was gone. She never -heard the offer to go into the protection of .the Ministry of Colonization. But even if she had, she would not have gone.  ) There was, in fact, only one place she ,would even think of going. It was where she 'had been longing to go for months. The %Hegemony was fighting China from the .outside, but had no use for her. So she would .go to India, and do what she could from insideher occupied country.  / Her path was a fairly direct one. From Brazil-to Indonesia, where she connected with Indian,expatriates and obtained a new identity and ,Sri Lankan papers. Then to Sri Lanka itself -where she persuaded a fishing boat captain to,put her ashore on the southeastern coast of -India. The Chinese simply didn't have enough 0of a fleet to patrol the shores of India, so the"coasts leaked in both directions.  % Virlomi was of Dravidian ancestry, -darker-skinned than the Aryans of the north. .She fit in well in this countryside. She wore +clothing that was simple and poor, because /everyone's was; but she also kept it clean, so .she would not look like a vagabond or beggar. ,In fact, however, she was a beggar, for she -had no vast reserves of funds and they would )not have helped her anyway. In the great 'cities of India there were millions of -connections to the nets, thousands of kiosks +where bank accounts could be accessed. But -in the countryside, in the villages-in other 0words, in India-such things were rare. For this +simple-looking girl to use them would call *attention to her, and soon there would be *Chinese soldiers looking for her, full of questions.  + So she went to the well or the market of $each village she entered, struck up )conversations with other women, and soon .found herself befriended and taken in. In the )cities, she would have had to be wary of /quislings and informers, but she freely trusted+the common people, for they knew noting of (strategic importance, and therefore the )Chinese did not bother to scatter bribes among them.  * Nor, however, did they have the kind of 'hatred of the Chinese that Virlomi had /expected. Here in the south of India, at least,*the Chinese ruled lightly over the common )people. It was not like Tibet, where the (Chinese had tried to expunge a national *identity and the persecutions had reached *down to every level of society. India was 1simply too large to digest all at once, and like .the British before them, the Chinese found it 'easier to rule India by dominating the *bureaucratic class and leaving the common folk alone.  + Within a few days, Virlomi realized that ,this was precisely the situation she had to change.  ) In Thailand, in Burma, in Vietnam, the /Chinese were dealing ruthlessly with insurgent (groups, and still the guerrilla warfare *continued. But India slumbered, as if the /people didn't care who ruled them. In fact, of ,course, the Chinese were even more ruthless ,in India than elsewhere-but since all their +victims were of the urban elite, the rural -areas felt only the ordinary pain of corrupt government, unreliable weather, *untrustworthy markets, and too much labor for too little reward.  + There were guerrillas and insurgents, of ,course, and the people did not betray them. -But they also did not join them, and did not ,willingly feed them out of their scant food .supply, and the insurgents remained timid and (ineffective. And those that resorted to &brigandage found that the people grew ,instantly hostile and turned them in to the Chinese at once.  - There was no solidarity. As always before, .the conquerors were able to rule India because+most Indians did not know what it meant to 1live in "India." They thought they lived in this 0village or that one, and cared little about the .great issues that kept the cities in turmoil.  - I have no army, thought Virlomi. But I had (no army when I fled Hyderabad to escape /Achilles and wandered eastward. I had no plan, -except a need to get word to Petra's friends ,about where Petra was. Yet when I came to a ,place where there was an opportunity, I saw 2it, I took it, and I won. That is the plan I have "now. To watch, to notice, to act.  $ For days, for weeks she wandered, *watching everything, loving the people in ,every village she stopped at, for they were )kind to this stranger, generous with the -next-to-nothing that they had. How can I plot1to bring the war to their level, to disrupt their0lives? Is it not enough that they're content? If-the Chinese are leaving them alone, why can'tI?  ) Because she knew the Chinese would not -leave them alone forever. The Middle Kingdom ,did not believe in tolerance. Whatever they (possessed, they made it Chinese or they -destroyed it. Right now they were too busy to*bother with the common people. But if the )Chinese were victorious everywhere, then .they would be free to turn their attention to .India. Then the boot would press heavily upon )the necks of the common folk. Then there /would be revolt after revolt, riot after riot, )but none of them would succeed. Gandhi's +peaceful resistance only worked against an -oppressor with a free press. No, India would -revolt with blood and terror, and with blood -and horror China would suppress the revolts, one at a time.  * The Indian people had to be roused from 1their slumber now, while there were still allies +outside their borders who might help them, .while the Chinese were still overextended and +dared not devote too many resources to the occupation.  / I will bring war down on their heads to save /them as a nation, as a people, as a culture. I *will bring war upon them while there is a )chance of victory, to save them from war .when there is no possible outcome but despair. , It was pointless, though, to wonder about )the morality of what she intended to do, +when she had not yet thought of a way to doit.  ( It was a child who gave her the idea.  - She saw him with a bunch of other children,,playing at dusk in the bed of a dry stream. ,During monsoon season, this stream would be .a torrent; now it was just a streak of stones in a ditch.  . This one child, this boy of perhaps seven or,eight, though he might have been older, his +growth stunted by hunger, was not like the /other children. He did not join them in running'and shouting, shoving and chasing, and (tossing back and forth whatever came to *hand. Virlomi thought at first he must be *crippled, but no, his staggering gait was 'because he was walking right among the +stones of the streambed, and had to adjust his steps to keep his footing.  & Every now and then he bent over and .picked up something. A little later, he would set it back down.  ( She came closer, and saw that what he *picked up was a stone, and when he set it ,back down it was only a stone among stones.  ' What was the meaning of his task, on +which he worked so intently, and which had so little result?  , She walked to the stream, but well behind ,his path, and watched his back as he receded.into the gathering gloom, bending and rising, bending and rising.  , He is acting out my life, she thought. He -works at his task, concentrating, giving his /all, missing out on the games of his playmates.,And yet he makes no difference in the world at all.  , Then, as she looked at the streambed where-he had already walked, she saw that she could*easily find his path, not because he left -footprints, but because the stones he picked (up were lighter than the others, and by *leaving them on the top, he was marking a -wavering line of light through the middle of the streambed.  / It did not really change her view of his work+as meaningless-if anything, it was further 'proof. What could such a line possibly .accomplish? The fact that there was a visible -result made his labor all the more pathetic, ,because when the rains came it would all be +swept away, the stones re-tumbled upon each)other, and what difference would it make /that for a while, at least, there was a dotted /line of lighter stones along the middle of the streambed?  - Then, suddenly, her view of it changed. He *was not marking a line. He was building a stone wall.  + No, that was absurd. A wall whose stones +were as much as a meter apart? A wall that $was never more than one stone high?  . A wall, made of the stones of India. Picked +up and set down almost where they had been ,found. But the stream was different because the wall had been built.  * Is this how the Great Wall of China had -begun? A child marking off the boundaries of his world?  - She walked back to the village and returned(to the house where she had been fed and +where she would be spending the night. She -did not speak of the child and the stones to *anyone; indeed, she soon thought of other -things and did not think to ask anyone about -the strange boy. Nor did she dream of stones that night.  * But in the morning, when she awoke with +the mother and took her two water pitchers -to the public spigot, so she did not have to ,do that task today, she saw the stones that -had been brushed to the sides of the road andremembered the boy.  + She set down the pitchers at the side of -the road, picked up a few stones, and carried.them to the middle of the road. There she set -them and returned for more, arranging them in%broken a line right across the road.  ( Only a few dozen stones, when she was /done. Not a barrier of any kind. And yet it was-a wall. It was as obvious as a monument. She ,picked up her pitchers and walked on to the spigot.  . As she waited her turn, she talked with the )other women, and a few men, who had come -for the day's water. "1 added to your wall," she said after a while.   "What wall?" they asked her   "Across the road," she said.  . "Who would build a wall across a road?" theyasked.  / "Like the ones I've seen in other towns. Not 0a real wall. Just a line of stones. Haven't you seen it?"  . "I saw you putting stones out into the road.(Do you know how hard we work to keep it clear?" said one of the men.  * "Of course. If you didn't keep it clear .everywhere else," said Virlomi, "no one would -see where the wall was." She spoke as though ,what she said were obvious, as though he had)surely had this explained to him before.  - "Walls keep things out," said a woman. "Or /they keep things in. Roads let things pass. If 1you build a wall across, it isn't a road anymore. / "Yes, you at least understand," said Virlomi,(though she knew perfectly well that the )woman understood nothing. Virlomi barely .understood it herself, though she knew that it,felt right to her, that at some level below sense it made perfect sense.   "I do?" said the woman.  - Virlomi looked around at the others. "It's *what they told me in the other towns that 2had a wall. It's the Great Wall of India. Too late+to keep the barbarian invaders out. But in .every village, they drop stones, one or two at-a time, to make the wall that says, We don't .want you here, this is our land, we are free. &Because we can still build our wall."  . "But ...it' s only a few stones!" cried the -exasperated man who had seen her building it.-"I kicked a few out of my way, but even if I )hadn't, the wall wouldn't have stopped a .beetle, let alone one of the Chinese trucks!"  3 "It's not the wall," said Virlomi. "It's not the -stones. It's who dropped them, who built it, 3and why. It's a message. It's ...it's the new flag of India."  * She was seeing comprehension in some of the eyes around her  , "Who can build such a wall?" asked one of the women.  2 "Don't all of you add to it? It's built a stone +or two at a time. Every time you pass, you +bring a stone, you drop it there." She was 0filling her pitchers now. "Before I carry these /pitchers back, I pick up a small stone in each ,hand. When I pass over the wall, I drop the ,stones. That's how I've seen it done in the other villages with walls."  , "Which other villages?" demanded the man.  0 "I don't remember their names," said Virlomi. 0"I only know that they had Walls of India. But I+can see that none of you knew about it, so )perhaps it was only some child playing a "prank, and not a wall after all."  * "No," said one of the women. "I've seen -people add to it before." She nodded firmly. .Even though Virlomi had made up this wall only*this morning, and no one but her had ever &added to one, she understood what the )woman meant by the lie. She wanted to be .part of it. She wanted to help create this newflag of India.  . "It's all right, then, for women to do it?" #asked one of the women doubtfully.  * "Oh. of course," said Virlomi. "Men are "fighters. Women build the walls."  , She picked up her stones and gripped them .between her palms and the jar handles. She did/not look back to see if any of the others also 'picked up stones. She knew, from their -footfalls, that many of them-perhaps all-were.following her, but she did not look back. When.she reached what was left of her wall, she did-not try to restore any of the stones the man ,had kicked away. Instead she simply dropped ,her two stones in the middle of the largest +gap in the line. Then she walked on, still without looking back.  - But she heard a few plunks of stones being dropped into the dusty road.  + She found occasion twice more during the *day to walk back for more water, and each ,time found more women at the well, and went through the same little drama.  , The next day, when she left the town, she -saw that the wall was no longer a few stones *making a broken line. It crossed the road .solidly from side to side, and it was as much +as two hands high in places. People made a )point of stepping over it, never walking -around, never kicking it. And most dropped a stone or two as they passed.  - Virlomi went from village to village, each *time pretending that she was only passing -along a custom she had seen in other places. *In a few places, angry men swept away the -stones, too proud of their well-kept road to +catch the vision she offered. But in those /places she simply made, not a wall, hut a pile -of stones on both sides of the road, and soon.the village women began to add to her piles so'they grew into sizable heaps of stone, ,narrowing the road, the stones too numerous &to be kicked or swept out of the way. *Eventually they, too, would become walls.  + In the third week she came for the first 0time to a village that really did already have a/wall. She did not explain anything to them, for)they already knew-the word was spreading ,without her intervention. She only added to the wall and moved quickly on.  0 It was still only one small corner of southern0India, she knew. But it was spreading. It had a /life of its own. Soon the Chinese would notice.-Soon they would begin tearing down the walls,(sending bulldozers to clear the road-or (conscripting Indians to move the stones themselves.  - And when their walls were torn down, or the.people were forced to remove their walls, the .real struggle would begin. For now the Chinese+would be reaching down into every village, ,destroying something that the people wanted .to have. Something that meant "India" to them.+That's what the secret meaning of the wall %had been from the moment she started 'dropping stones to make the first one.  ) The wall existed precisely so that the *Chinese would tear it down. And she named /the wall the "flag of India" precisely so that +when the people saw their walls destroyed, +they would See and feel the destruction of 0India. Their nation. A nation of wall-builders.  - And so, as soon as the Chinese turned their.backs, the Indians walking from place to place-would carry stones and drop them in the road,and the wall would grow again.  , What would the Chinese do about it? Arrest)everyone who carried stones? Make stones 0illegal? Stones were not a riot. Stones did not -threaten soldiers. Stones were not sabotage. *Stones were not a boycott. The walls were /easily bypassed or pushed aside. It caused the Chinese no harm at all.  , Yet it would provoke them into making the .Indian people feel the boot of the oppressor.  . The walls were like a mosquito bite, making )the Chinese itch but never bleed. Not an /injury, just an annoyance. But it infected the +new Chinese Empire with a disease. A fatal one, Virlomi hoped.  , On she walked through the heat of the dry (season, working her way back and forth, (avoiding big cities and major highways, *zigzagging her way northward. Nowhere did +anyone identify her as the inventor of the +walls. She did not even hear rumors of her 'existence. All the stoles spoke of the .wall-building as having begun somewhere else.  ( They were called by many names, these 1walls. The Flag of India. The Great Indian Wall. +The Wall of Women. Even names that Virlomi +had never imagined. The Wall of Peace. Thc -Taj Mahal. The Children of India. The Indian Harvest.  , All the names were poetry to her. All the names said freedom.   HOSPITALITY   From: Ftandres%A-Heg@idl.gov ( To: mpp%administrator@prison . hs. ru  Re: Funds for HI prisoners  ( The office of the Hegemon appreciates -your continuing to hold prisoners for crimes *against the International Defense League, .despite the lack of funding. Dangerous persons+need to continue in detention for the full .term of their sentences. Since IDE policy was /to allocate prisoners according to the size and,means of the guardian countries, as well as .the national origin of the prisoners, you may (be sure that Romania does not have more 0than its fair share of such prisoners. As funds (become available, the costs incurred in -prisoner maintenance will be reimbursed on a pro rata basis.  # However, given that the original &international emergency is over, each 0guardian nations courts or prison supervisors -may determine whether the international laws -which each IDE prisoner violated is still in .force and conforms with local laws. Prisoners +should not be held for crimes which are no -longer crimes, even if the original sentence has not been fully served.  ( Categories of laws that may not apply ,include research restrictions whose purpose (was political rather than defensive. In ,particular, the restriction against genetic *modification of human embryos was devised +to hold the league together in the face of ,opposition from Muslim, Catholic, and other .respect-for-life nations, and as quid pro -quo for accepting the restrictions on family *size. Prisoners convicted under such laws &should be released without prejudice. "However, they are not entitled to )compensation for time served, since they /were lawfully found guilty of crimes and their $conviction is not being overturned.  / If you have any questions, feel free to ask.   Sincerely, ) Achilles de Flandres, Assistant to the Hegemon  * When Suriyawong brought Achilles out of +China, Peter knew exactly what he meant to do with Achilles.  ' He would study him for as long as he +considered him harmless, and then turn him "over to, say, Pakistan for trial.  ( Peter had prepared very carefully for 0Achilless arrival. Every computer terminal in -the Hegemony already had shepherds installed,%recording every keystroke and taking )snapshots of every text page and picture .displayed. Most of this was discarded after a -fairly short time, but anything Achilles did 'would be kept and studied, as a way of 0tracing all his connections and identifying his networks.  # Meanwhile, Peter would offer him +assignments and see what he did with them. -There was no chance that Achilles would, even)for a moment, act in the interest of the *Hegemony, but he might be useful if Peter -kept him on a short enough tether. The trick *would be to get as much use out of him as .possible, learn as much as possible, but then +neutralize him before he could dish up the (betrayal he would, without question, be cooking up.  + Peter had toyed with the idea of keeping /Achilles locked up for a while before actually /letting him take part in the operations of the *Hegemony. But that sort of thing was only ,effective if the subject was susceptible to -such human emotions as fear or gratitude. It would be wasted on Achilles.  - So as soon as Achilles had had a chance to .clean up after his flights across the Pacific )and over the Andes, Peter invited him to lunch.  ' Achilles came, of course, and rather -surprised Peter by not seeming to do anything/at all. He thanked him for rescuing him and for/lunch in virtually the same tone-sincerely but -not extravagantly grateful. His conversation ,was informal, pleasant, sometimes funny but +never seeming to try for humor. He did not +bring up anything about world affairs, the )recent wars, why he had been arrested in +China, or even a single question about why ,Peter had rescued him or what he planned to do with him now.  - He did not ask Peter if there was going to be a war crimes trial.  ( And yet he did not seem to be evading /anything at all. It seemed as though Peter had -only to ask what it had been like, betraying .India and subverting Thailand so all of south /Asia dropped into his hands like a ripe papaya,,and Achilles would tell several interesting 'anecdotes about it and then move on to ,discuss the kidnapping of the children from "Enders group at Command School.  ) But because Peter did not bring it up, /Achilles modestly refrained from talking about his achievements.  0 I wondered, said Peter, if you wanted to-take a break from working for world peace, or-if youd like to lend a hand around here.  , Achilles did not bat an eye at the bitter .irony, but instead he seemed to take Peters 2words at face value. I dont know that Id be /much use, he said. Ive been something of 1an orientalist lately, but Id have to say that -the position your soldiers found me in shows "that I wasnt a very good one.  - Nonsense, said Peter, everyone makes +an error now and then. I suspect your only ,error was too much success. Is it Buddhism, -Taoism, or Confucianism that teaches that it (is a mistake to do something perfectly? )Because it would provoke resentment, and ,therefore wouldnt be perfect after all?  0 I think it was the Greeks, said Achilles. -Perfection arouses the envy of the gods.  0 Or the Communists, said Peter. Snick off+the heads of any blades of grass that rise $higher than the rest of the lawn.  * If you think I have any value, said 2Achilles, Id be glad to do whatever is within my abilities.  ' Thank you for not saying my poor 3abilities, said Peter. We both know youre a*master of the great game, and I, for one, )never intend to try to play head-to-head against you.  3 Im sure youd win handily, said Achilles.  , Why would you think that? said Peter, +disappointed at what seemed, for the first time, like flattery.  2 Because, said Achilles, its hard to win *when your opponent holds all the cards.  & Not flattery, then, but a realistic assessment of the situation.  / Or. . . maybe flattery after all, because of 1course Peter did not hold all the cards. Achilles.almost certainly had plenty of them left, once%he was in a position to get to them.  * Peter found that Achilles could be very +charming. He had a sort of reticence about -him. He walked rather slowly-perhaps a habit .that originated before the surgery that fixed ,his gimp leg-and made no effort to dominate "a conversation, though he was not ,uncomfortably silent, either. He was almost -nondescript. Charmingly nondescript- was sucha thing possible?  ) Peter had lunch with him three times a $week and each time gave him various -assignments. Peter gave him letterhead and a .net identity that anointed him Assistant to -the Hegemon, but of course that only meant ,that, in a world where the Hegemons power -consisted of the fading remnants of the unity-that had been forced on the world during the +Formic Wars, Achilles had been granted the shadow of a shadow of power  . Our authority, Peter remarked to him at /their second lunch, lies very lightly on the reins of world government.  / The horses seem so comfortable its almost/as though they were not being guided at all, 0said Achilles, entering into the joke without a smile.  / We govern so skillfully that we never need to use spurs.  , Which is a good thing, said Achilles. /Spurs being in short supply around here thesedays.  ) But just because the Hegemony was very .nearly an empty shell in terms of actual power+did not mean there was no real work to do. +Quite the contrary. When one has no power, ,Peter knew, then the only influence one has #comes, not from fear, but from the )perception that one has useful favors to -offer. There were plenty of institutions and ,customs left over from the decades when the 'Triumvirate of Hegemon, Polemarch, and 'Strategos had governed the human race.  & Newly formed governments in various -countries were formed on shaky legal ground; .a visit from Peter was often quite helpful in .giving the illusion of legitimacy. There were +countries that owed money to the Hegemony, ,and since there was no chance of collecting ,it, the Hegemon could win favor by making a ,big deal of forgiving the accruing interest -because of various noble actions on the part -of a government. Thus when Slovenia, Croatia,0and Bosnia rushed aid to Italy, sending a fleet ,when Venice was plagued with a flood and an +earthquake at the same time, they were all +given amnesty on interest. Your generous *assistance helps bind the world together, (which is all that the Hegemony hopes to ,achieve. It was a chance for the heads of *government to get their positive coverage and face time in the vids.  / And they also knew that as long as it didnt(cost them much, keeping the Hegemony in .play was a good idea, since it and the Muslims.were the only groups openly opposing Chinas *expansionism. What if China turned out to (have ambitions beyond the empire it had ,already conquered? What if the world beyond -the Great Wall suddenly had to unite just to /survive? Wouldnt it be good to have a viable ,Hegemon ready to assume leadership? And the 'Hegemon, young as he might be, was the .brother of the great Ender Wiggin, wasnt he? - There were lesser tasks to be accomplished,.too. Hegemony libraries that needed to try to .secure local funding. Hegemony police stations/all over the world whose archives from the old +days needed to stay under Hegemony control ,even though all the funding came from local ,sources. Some nasty things had been done as -part of the war effort, and there were still (plenty of people alive who wanted those .archives sealed. Yet there were also powerful ,people who wanted to make sure the archives +were not destroyed. Peter was very careful *not to let anything uncomfortable come to +light from any of the archives-but was not *above letting an uncooperative government *know that even if they seized the archive -within their own boundaries, there were other*archives with duplicate records that were $under the control of rival nations.  " Ah, the balancing act. And each -negotiation, each trade-off, each favor done (and favor asked for, Peter treated very /carefully, for it was vital that he always get ,more than he gave, creating the illusion in *other nations of more influence and power than he actually had.  ( For the more influence and power they -believed he had, the more influence and power/he actually had. The reality lagged far behind 0the illusion, but thats why it became all the (more important to maintain the illusion perfectly.  * Achilles could be very helpful at that.  , And because he would almost certainly use )his opportunities for his own advantage, )letting him have a broad range of action -would invite him to expose his plans in ways .that Peters spy systems would surely catch. /You wont catch a fish if you hold the hook +in one hand and the bait in the other. You +need to put them together, and give them a 0lot of string. Peters father had said this, ,and more than once, too, which implied that -the poor fellow thought it was clever rather ,than obvious. But it was obvious because it 0was true. To get Achilles to reveal his secrets,%Peter had to give him the ability to ,communicate with the outside world at will.  / But he couldnt make it too easy, either, or/Achilles would guess what Peter really wanted. &Therefore Peter, with a great show of *embarrassment, put severe restrictions on -Achilless access to the nets. I hope you .realize that theres too much history for me 'simply to give you carte blanche, he 'explained. In time, of course, these .restrictions might be lifted, but for now you .may write only messages that pertain directly .to your assigned tasks, and all your requests -to send emails will need to he cleared by my office.  0 Achilles smiled. Im sure your added sense ,of safety will more than compensate for the delays in what I accomplish.  / I hope well all stay safe, said Peter.  ' This was about as close as Peter and &Achilles came to admitting that their 0relationship was that of jailer to prisoner, or perhaps that of a monarch to a thrice-traitorous courtier.  + But to Peters chagrin, his spy systems /turned up. . . nothing. If Achilles sent coded -messages to old confederates, Peter could not*detect how. The Hegemony compound was in a(broadcast bubble, so that no electronic *transmissions could enter or leave except 'through the instruments controlled and monitored by Peter.  - Was it possible that Achilles was not even %attempting to contact the network of &contacts he had been using during his )astonishing (and, with luck, permanently terminated) career?  , Maybe all his contacts had been burned by /one betrayal or another. Certainly Achilless ,Russian network had to have given up on him .in disgust. His Indian and Thai contacts were .obviously useless now. But wouldnt he still -have some kind of network in place in Europe and the Americas?  ) Did he already have someone within the *Hegemony who was his ally? Someone who was'sending messages for him, bringing him 'information, carrying out his errands?  ) At that point Peter could not help but )remember his mothers actions back when 1Achilles first arrived. It began during Peters &first meeting with him, when the head (custodian of all the compound buildings %reported to him that Mrs. Wiggin had +attempted at first simply to take a key to -Achilless room, and when she was caught at *it, to ask for and finally demand it. Her +excuse, she said, was that she had to make *sure the empregadas had done a better job -cleaning the room of such an important guest than they did on her house.  + When Peter emailed her a query about her *behavior, she got snippy. Mother had long )been frustrated by the fact that she was .unable to do any meaningful work. In vain did )he point out that she could continue her )researches and writing, and consult with .colleagues by email, as many in her field did +by preference. She kept insisting that she +wanted to be involved in Hegemony affairs. *Everyone else is, she said. Peter had -interpreted this housekeeping venture as more of the same.  & Now her actions offered a different ,possible meaning. Was she trying to leave a (message for Achilles? Was she on a more ,definite errand, like sweeping the room for +bugs? That was absurd-what did Mother know of electronic surveillance?  - Peter watched the vid of Mothers attempt .to steal the key, and her attitude during the +confrontation with the empregada who caught.her and, after a short time, the housekeeper. ,Mother was imperious, demanding, impatient.  & He had never seen this side of her.  ( The second time he watched the scene, ,though, he realized that from the beginning 'she was tense. Upset. Whatever she was /doing, she wasnt used to it. Was reluctant to,do it. And when she was confronted, she was *not reacting honestly, as Mother normally +would. She instead seemed to become someone1else. The clich of the mother of a ruler, vain ,about her close association with his power.   She was acting.  # And acting quite well, since the 'housekeeper and empregada believed the -performance, and Peter had believed it, too, on the first viewing.  + It had never occurred to him that Mother might be good at acting.  , So good that the only way he knew that it +was an act was because she had never shown -him the slightest sign of being impressed by -his power, or of enjoying it in any way. She -had always been irritated by the things that ,his position required her and Father to do.  - What if the Theresa Wiggin on this vid was ,the real Theresa Wiggin, and the one he had -seen at home for all these years was the act-+the performance, literally, of a lifetime?  * Was it possible that Mother was somehow -involved with Achilles? Had he corrupted her +somehow? It might have happened a year ago,1or even earlier. It certainly wouldnt have been+a bribe. But perhaps it was extortion that /turned her. A threat from Achilles: I can kill 'your son at any time, so youd better cooperate with me.  . But that was absurd, too. Now that Achilles .was in Peters power, why would she continue .to fear such a threat? It was something else.  + Or nothing else. It was unthinkable that .Mother could be betraying him for any reason. +She would have told him. Mother was like a child that way, showing &everything-excitement, dismay, anger, -disappointment, surprise-the moment she felt ,it, saying whatever came to mind. She could ,never sustain a secret like that. Peter and *Valentine used to laugh about how obvious *Mother was in everything she did-they had .never yet been surprised by their birthday and'Christmas gifts, not by the main gift, -anyway, because Mother just couldnt keep a )secret, she kept letting hints slip out.   Or was that, too, an act?  , No, no, that would be madness, that would ,imply that Mother had been acting his whole !life, and why would she do that?  , It made no sense, and he had to make sense/of it. So he invited his father to his office.  ' What did you want to see me about, /Peter? asked Father, standing near the door.  / Sit down, Dad, for heavens sake, youre &standing there like a junior employee expecting to be sacked.  / Laid off, anyway, said Father with a thin/smile. Your budget shrinks month by month.  / I thought wed solve that by printing our own money, said Peter.  * Good idea, said Father. A sort of *international money that could be equally 'worthless in every country, so that it (becomes the benchmark against which all ,other currencies are weighed. The dollar is 2worth a hundred billion hedges-thats a good #name for it, dont you think? The 1hedge?-and the yen is worth twenty trillion, and so on.  , Thats assuming that we could keep the )value just above zero, said Peter. The ,computers would all crash if it ever became truly worthless.  1 But heres the danger, said Father. What.if it accidentally became worth something? It -might cause a depression as other currencies #actually fell against the hedge.   Peter laughed.  0 Were both busy, said Father. What did you want to see me about?   Peter showed him the vid.  , Father shook his head through most of it. .Theresa, Theresa, he murmured at the end.  - What is she trying to do? asked Peter.  0 Well, obviously, shes figured out a way to/kill Achilles and it requires getting into his +room. Now shell have to think of another way.  , Peter was astounded. Kill Achilles? You cant be serious.  1 Well, I cant think of any other reason for +her to be doing this. You dont think she -actually cares if his room is clean, do you? 0More likely shed carry a basketful of roaches +and disease-carrying lice into the room.  + She hates him? She never said anything about that.   To you, said Father  0 So shes told you she wants to kill him?  0 Of course not. If she had, I wouldnt have )mentioned it to you. I dont betray her /confidences. But since she hasnt seen fit to 1tell me whats going on, Im perfectly free to -give you my best guess, and my best guess is .that Theresa has decided that Achilles poses a'danger to you-not to mention the whole 0human race-and so shes decided to kill him. It+really makes sense, once you know how your mother thinks.  ) Mother doesnt even kill spiders.  / Oh, she kills them just fine when you and I.arent there. You dont think she stands in +the middle of the room and goes eek-eekeek until we come home, do you?  ) Youre telling me that my mother is capable of murder?  - Preemptive assassination, said Father. 4And no, I dont think shes capable of it. But I,think she thinks shes capable of it. He )thought for a moment. And she might be /right. The female of the species is more deadlythan the male, as they say.  ' That makes no sense, said Peter.  - Well, then, I guess you wasted your time .and mine bringing me down here. Im probably ,wrong anyway. Theres probably a much more /rational explanation. Like.., she really cares /how well the maids do their work. Or... shes 1hoping to have a love affair with a serial killerwho wants to rule the world.  1 Thanks, Father, said Peter. Youve been .very helpful. Now I know that I was raised by 'an insane woman and I never knew it.  - Peter, my boy, you dont know either of us.  % Whats that supposed to mean?  ' You study everybody else, but your +mother and I are like air to you: you just .breathe us without noticing were there. But +thats all right, thats how parents are +supposed to be in their childrens lives. .Unconditional love, right? Dont you suppose ,thats the difference between Achilles and ,you? That you had parents who loved you, andhe didnt?  * You loved Ender and Valentine, said .Peter. It slipped out before he realized what he was saying.  ) And not you? said Father. Oh. My (mistake. I guess there is no difference -between your upbringing and Achilless. Too %bad, really. Have a nice day, son!  + Peter tried to call him back, but Father +pretended not to have heard him and went on,his way, whistling the Marseillaise, of all things.  . All right, so his suspicions of Mother were +absurd, though Father had a twisted way of (saying so. What a clever family he had, ,everybody always making a puzzle or a drama -out of everything. Or a comedy. Thats what /hed just played out with his father, wasnt it? A farce. An absurdity.  . If Achilles had a collaborator here, it was /probably not Peters parents. Who else, then? -Should he make something of the way Achilles ,and Suriyawong consulted? But hed watched .the vids of their occasional lunches and they ,said nothing beyond ordinary chat about the ,things they were working on. If there was a .code it was a very subtle one. Its not even ,like they were friends-the conversation was /always rather stiff and formal, and if anything*bothered Peter about them, it was the way -Suriyawong always seemed to phrase things in a subservient way.  * He certainly never acted subservient to Bean or to Peter.  * That was something to think about, too. 'What had really passed between Sun and -Achilles during the rescue and the return to Brazil?  2 What silliness, Peter told himself. If Achilles "has a confederate, they doubtless )communicate through dead drops and coded /messages in emails or something like that. Spy stuff.  . Not dumb attempts to break into Achilless 0room-Achilles surely would not stake his life on,confederates as dumb as that. And Suriyawong,how could Achilles possibly hope to corrupt 2him? Its not as if Achilles had influence in the+Chinese empire now, so he could use Suns family as hostages.  - No, Peter would have to keep looking, keep ,the electronic surveillance going, until he -found out what Achilles was doing to subvert Peters work-or take it over.  - What was not possible was that Achilles had-simply given up on his ambitions and was now *trying to make a place for himself in the /bright future of a world united under the rule of Peter Wiggin.  & But wouldnt it be nice if he had.  + Maybe it was time to give up on learning .anything from Achilles, and start setting him up for destruction.   THE HUMAN RACE    % From: unreody%cincinnotus@anon.set ' To: Demosthenes%Tecumseh@freeamerica org  Re: Ill help you   & So, Mr. Wonderboy Hegemon, now that !youre no longer Demosthenes of .freeamerica.org, is there any good reason +why my telling you what I see from the sky wouldnt be treason?   From: %Demosthenes%Tecumseh@freeamerica.org # To: unready%cincinnatus@anon.set  Re: Because . .  ( Because only the Hegemony is actually .doing anything about China, or actively trying,to get Russia and the Warsaw Pact out of bedwith Beijing.  % From: unready%cincinnatus@anon.set ' To: Demosthenes%Tecumseh@freeamerica org  Re: Bullshit  , We saw your little army pull somebody out /of a prisoner convoy on a highway in China. If ,that was who we think it was no way are you ,ever seeing anything from me again. My info ,doesnt go to psycho megalomaniacs. Except you, of course.   ( From Demosthenes%Tecumseb@freeamerica .org # To: unready%cincinnatus@anon.set  Re: Good call   1 Good call. Not safe. Heres what. If theres ,something you should know because you cant-act and I can, deaddrop it to my former cinc (at a weblink that will come to you from .IComeAnon. Hell know what to do with it. He ,isnt working for me any more for the same 3reason youre not helping. But hes still on our ,side-and, fyi, IM still on our side, too.   + Professor Anton had no laboratory and no 1library. There was no professional journal in his*house, nothing to show he had ever been a -scientist. Bean was not surprised. Back when %the DL was hunting down anyone doing )research into altering the human genome, +Anton was considered the most dangerous of )men. He had been served with an order of ,inhibition, which meant that for many years -he bore within his brain a device that, when .he tried to concentrate on his area of study, )he would have a panic attack. He had the /strength, once, to hint to Sister Carlotta more-than he should have about Beans condition. ,But otherwise, he had been shut down in the prime of his career.  . Now the order of inhibition had been lifted,,but too late. His brain had been trained to (avoid thinking deeply about his area of ,specialization. There was no going back for him.  0 Not a problem, said Anton. Science goes ,on without me. For instance, theres a new ,bacterium in my lung that undoes my cancer, ,bit by bit. I cant smoke any more, or the *cancer grows faster than the bacteria can +undo it. But Im getting better, and they ,didnt have to take out my lungs to do it. -Walk with me-I actually enjoy walking now.  * They followed him through the garden to /the front gate. In Brazil, the gardens were in +the front of the house, so passersby could -see over the front wall and the greenery and &flowers could decorate the street. In /Catalunya, as in Italy. the gardens were hidden,away in a central courtyard, and the street (got no gift but plaster walls and heavy (wooden doors. Bean had not realized how ,much he had come to regard Ribeirao Preto as-his home, but he missed it now, walking down 0the charming yet unrelentingly lifeless street.  * Soon they reached the rambla, the broad -central avenue that in all the coastal towns .led down the slope of the city toward the sea.-It was nearing noon, and the rambla was busy *with people on errands. Anton pointed out .shops and other buildings, telling them about (the people who owned them or who worked there or lived there.  / I see youve become quite involved in the !life of this city, said Petra.  3 Superficially, said Anton. An old Russian, /long exited in Romania, Im a curiosity. They -talk to me, but not about things that matter in their soul.  * So why not go back to Russia? asked Bean.  - Ah, Russia. So many things about Russia. &Just to remember them brings back the 'glorious days of my career, when I was )gambling about inside the nucleus of the -human cell like a happy little lamb. But you ,see, those thoughts make me start to panic a4little. So. . . I dont go where I get reminded.  0 Youre thinking about it now, said Bean.  1 No, Im saying words about it, said Anton.2And besides, if I didnt intend to think about -it, I wouldnt have consented to see you.  / And yet, said Bean, you seem unwilling to look at me.  2 Ah, well, said Anton. If I keep you in my +peripheral vision, if I dont think about ,thinking about you. . you are the one fruit that my tree of theory bore.  / There were more than a score of us, said (Bean. But the others were murdered.  - You survived, said Anton. The others 'didnt. Why was that, do you think?   I hid in a toilet tank.  0 Yes, yes, said Anton, so I gleaned from 0Sister Carlotta, God rest her soul. But why did *you, and you alone, sneak out of your bed ,and go into the bathroom and hide in such a /dangerous and difficult place? Scarcely a year )old, too. So precocious. So desperate to /survive. Yet genetically identical to all your brothers, da?  + Cloned, said Bean, so . . . Yes.  6 It is not all genetics, is it? said Anton. It 0is not all anything. So much left to learn. And you are the only teacher  . I dont know anything about that. Im a soldier.  - It is your body that would teach us. And every cell inside it.  3 Sorry, but Im still using them, said Bean.  / As Im still using my mind, said Anton, /even though it wont go where I most want itto take me.  * Bean turned to Petra. Is that why you -brought me here? So Professor Anton could seewhat a big boy Ive become?   No, said Petra.  / She brought you here, said Anton, so I 'can persuade you that you are human.  + Bean sighed, though what he wanted to do -was walk away, get a cab to the airport, fly *to another country, and be alone. Be away #from Petra and her demands on him.  / Professor Anton, said Bean, Im quite 'aware that the genetic alteration that +produced my talents and my defects is well ,within the range of normal variation of the .human species. I know that there is no reason +to suppose that I could not produce viable -offspring if I mated with a human woman. Nor .is my trait necessarily dominant-I might have 0children with it, I might have children without.)Now can we simply enjoy our walk down to the sea?  . Ignorance is not a tragedy, said Anton, )merely an opportunity. But to know and &refuse to know what you know, that is foolishness.  , Bean looked at Petra. She was not meeting &his gaze. Yes, she certainly knew how 'annoyed he was, and yet she refused to -cooperate with him in exiting the situation.  - I must love her, thought Bean. Otherwise I +would have nothing to do with her, the way .she thinks she knows better than I do whats +good for me. We have it on record-Im the ,smartest person in the world. So why are so +many other people eager to give me advice?  1 Your life is going to be short, said Anton./And at the end, there will be pain, physical 0and emotional. You will grow too large for this .world, too large for your heart. But you have .always been too large of mind for an ordinary (life, da? You have always been apart. A )stranger. Human by name, but not truly a )member of the species, excluded from all clubs.  ) Till now, Antons words had been mere 2irritants, floating past him like falling leaves. ,Now they struck him hard, with a sudden rush)of grief and regret that left him almost /gasping. He could not help the hesitation, the -change of stride that showed the others that )these words had suddenly begun to affect -him. What line had Anton crossed? Yet he had crossed it.  / You are lonely, said Anton. And humans 1are not designed to be alone. Its in our genes./Were social beings. Even the most introverted,person alive is constantly hungry for human *association. You are no exception Bean.  ) There were tears in his eyes, but Bean &refused to acknowledge them. He hated ,emotions. They took control of him, weakenedhim.  / Let me tell you what I know, said Anton. +Not as a scientist- that road may not be .utterly closed to me, but its mostly washed 2out, and full of ruts, and I dont use it. But my*life as a man, that door is still open.  ! Im listening, said Bean.  . I have always been as lonely as you, he .said. Never as intelligent, but not a fool, -either. I followed my mind into my work, and ,let it be my life. I was content with that, +partly because I was so successful that my ,work brought great satisfaction, and partly +because I was of a disposition not to look 0upon women with desire. He smiled wanly. In *that era, of my youth, the governments of )most countries were actively encouraging +those of us whose mating instinct had been -short-circuited to indulge those desires and ,take no mate, have no children. Part of the ,effort to funnel all of human endeavor into /the great struggle with the alien enemy. So it -was almost patriotic of me to indulge myself -in fleeting affairs that meant nothing, that &led nowhere. Where could they lead?  - This is more than I want to know about you,,thought Bean. It has nothing to do with me.  , I tell you this, said Anton, so you $understand that I know something of ,loneliness, too. Because all of a sudden my +work was taken away from me. From my mind, /not just from my daily activities. I could not .even think about it. And I quickly discovered /that my friendships were not. . . transcendent.+They were all tied to my work, and when my +work went away, so did these friends. They /were not unkind, they still inquired after me, +they made overtures, but there was nothing ,to say, our minds and hearts did not really 0touch at any point. I discovered that I did not "know anybody, and nobody knew me.  0 Again, that stab of anguish in Beans heart. *This time, though, he was not unprepared, .and he breathed a little more deeply and took it in stride.  - I was angry, of course, as who would not +be? said Anton. And do you know what I wanted?  # Bean did not want to say what he immediately thought of: death.  0 Not suicide, never that. My life wish is too0strong, and I was not depressed. I was furious. +Well, no, I was depressed, but I knew that .killing myself would only help my enemies-the )government-accomplish their real purpose /without having had to dirty their hands. No, I /did not wish to die. What I wanted, with all my$heart, was. . . to begin to live.  + Why do I feel a song coming on? said -Bean. The sarcastic words slipped out of him unbidden.  . To his surprise, Anton laughed. Yes, yes, 2its such a clich that it should be followed by/a love song, shouldnt it? A sentimental tune 0that tells of how I was not alive until I met my-beloved, and now the moon is new, the sea is -blue, the month is June, our love is true.  . Petra burst out laughing. You missed your #calling. The Russian Cole Porter  , But my point was serious, said Anton. 0When a mans life is bent so that his desire ,is not toward women, it does not change his 0longing for meaning in his life. A man searches .for something that will outlast his life. For .immortality of a kind. For a way to change the1world, to have his life matter. But it is all in /vain. I was swept away until I existed only in 0footnotes in other mens articles. It all came )down to this, as it always does. You can +change the world-as you have, Bean, Julian .Delphiki-you and Petra Arkanian, both of you, ,all those children who fought, and the ones -who did not fight, all of you-you changed the/world. You saved the world. All of humanity is 2your progeny. And yet. .. it is empty, isnt it? +They didnt take it away from you the way (they took my work from me. But time has .taken it away. Its in the past, and yet you -are still alive, so what is your life for?  , They were at the stone steps leading down *into the water Bean wanted simply to keep ,going, to walk into the Mediterranean, down -and down, until he found old Poseidon at the -bottom of the sea, and deeper, to the throne of Hades. What is my life for?  * You found purpose in Thailand, said +Anton. And then saving Petra, that was a ,purpose. But what did you save her for? You (have gone to the lair of the dragon and 0carried off the dragons daughter- for that is -what the myth always means, when it doesnt )mean the dragons wife-and now you have ,her, and. . you refuse to see what you must do, not to her, but with her  " Bean turned to Petra with weary .resignation. Petra, how many letters did it +take to make clear to Anton precisely what you wanted him to say to me?  / Dont leap to conclusions, foolish boy, -said Anton. She only wanted to find out if *there was any way to correct your genetic )problem. She did not speak to me of your /personal dilemma. Some of it I learned from my .old friend Hyrum Graff. Some of it I knew from0Sister Carlotta. And some of it I saw simply by -looking at the two of you together. You both ,give off enough pheromones to fertilize the eggs of passing birds.  3 I really dont tell our business to others, said Petra.  + Listen to me, both of you. Here is the ,meaning of life: for a man to find a woman, ,for a woman to find a man, the creature most-unlike you, and then to make babies with her,-with him, or to find them some other way, but,then to raise them up, and watch them do the,same thing, generation after generation, so #that when you die you know you are -permanently a part of the great web of life. /That you are not a loose thread, snipped off. 1 Thats not the only meaning of life, said 0Petra. sounding a little annoyed. Well, thought (Bean, you brought us here, so take your medicine, too.  . Yes it is, said Anton. Do you think I /havent had time to think about this? I am the+same man, with the same mind, I am the man *who found Antons Key, I have found many *other keys as well, but they took away my /work, and I had to find another. Well, here it 0is. I give it to you, the result of all my. . . 0study. Shallow as it had to be, it is still the +truest thing I ever found. Even men who do (not desire women, even women who do not +desire men, this does not exempt them from /the deepest desire of all, the desire to be an 'inextricable part of the human race.  , Were all part of it no matter what we 0do, said Bean. Even those of us who arent actually human.  3 Its hardwired into all of us. Not just sexual*desire-that can be twisted any which way, /and it often is. And not just a desire to have -children, because many people never get that,)and yet they can still he woven into the 0fabric. No, its a deep hunger to find a person.from that strange, terrifyingly other sex and -make a life together. Even old people beyond )mating, even people who know they cant 1have children, theres still a hunger for this. *For actual marriage, two unlike creatures #becoming, as best they can, one.  * I know a few exceptions, said Petra )wryly. Ive known a few people of the never-again persuasion.  , Im not talking about politics or hurt /feelings, said Anton. Im talking about a ,trait that the human race absolutely needed ,to succeed. The thing that makes us neither .herd animals nor solitaries, but something in .between. The thing that makes us civilized or 0at least civilizable. And those who are cut off .from it by their own desires, by those twists -and bends that turn them in another way-like )you, Bean, so determined are you that no -more children will be born with your defect, .and that there will be no children orphaned by*your death- those who are cut off because -they think they want to be cut off, they are )still hungry for it, hungrier than ever, *especially if they deny it. It makes them .angry, bitter, sad, and they dont know why, .or if they know, they cant bear to face the knowledge.  * Bean did not know or care whether Anton /was right, that this desire was inescapable for-all human beings, though he suspected that he0was-that this life wish had to be present in all-living things for any species to continue as 2they all desperately struggled to do. It isnt a *will to survive-that is selfish, and such -selfishness would be meaningless, would lead ,to nothing. It is a will for the species to 2survive with the self inside it, part of it, tied )to it, forever one of the strands in the web-Bean could see that now.  / Even if youre right, Bean said, that *only makes me more determined to overcome ,that desire and never have a child. For the (reasons you just named. I grew up among 0orphans. Im not going to leave any behind me.  - They wouldnt be orphans, said Petra. Theyd still have me.  1 And when Achilles finds you and kills you? -said Bean harshly. Are you counting on him -being merciful enough to do what Volescu did -for my brothers? What I cheated myself out ofby being so damned smart?  . Tears leapt to Petras eyes and she turned away.  / Youre a liar when you speak like that, -said Anton softly. And a cruel one, to say such things to her.  # I told the truth, said Bean.  2 Youre a liar, said Anton, but you think /you need the lie so you wont let go of it. I -know what these lies are-I kept my sanity by .fencing myself about with lies, and believing +them. But you know the truth. If you leave 0this world without your children in it, without )having made that bond with such an alien .creature as a woman, then your life will have )meant nothing to you, and youll die in bitterness and alone.   Like you, said Bean.  ' No, said Anton. Not like me.  ) What, youre not going to die? Just *because they reversed the cancer doesnt *mean something else wont get you in the end.  2 No, you mistake me, he said. Im getting married.  . Bean laughed. Oh, I see. Youre so happy %that you want everyone to share your happiness.  , The woman Im going to marry is a good +woman, a kind one. With small children who 'have no father. I have a pension now-a -generous one-and with my help these children +will have a home. My proclivities have not ,changed, but she is still young enough, and -perhaps we will find a way for her to bear a /child that is truly my own. But if not, then I .will adopt her children into my heart. I will .rejoin the web. My loose thread will he woven .in, knotted to the human race. I will not die alone.  1 Im happy for you, said Bean, surprised at%how bitter and insincere he sounded.  / Yes said Anton, Im happy for myself. 1This will make me miserable, of course. I will be*worried about the children all the time-I -already am. And getting along with a woman is&hard even for men who desire them. Or -perhaps especially for them. But you see, it will all mean something.  . I have work of my own to do, said Bean. *The human race faces an enemy almost as .terrible, in his own way, as the Formics ever /were. And I dont think Peter Wiggin is up to 0stopping him. In fact it looks to me as if Peter.Wiggin is on the verge of losing everything to.him, and then who will be left to oppose him? +Thats my work. And if I were selfish and +stupid enough to marry my widow and father .orphans on her, it would only distract me from1that work. If I fail, welt, how many millions of *humans have already been born and died as ,loose threads with their lives snipped off? 0Given the historical rates of infant mortality, /it might be as many as halt certainly at least (a quarter of all humans born. All those 6meaningless lives. Ill be one of them. Ill just be-one who did his best to save the world before he died.  - To Beans surprise-and horror-Anton flung /his arms around him in one of those terrifying )Russian hugs from which the unsuspecting ,westerner thinks he may never emerge alive. .My boy, you are so noble! Anton let go of 0him, laughing. Listen to yourself! So full of (the romance of youth! You will save the world!  , I didnt mock your dream, said Bean.  1 But Im not mocking you! cried Anton. I ,celebrate you! Because you are, in a way, a -small way, my son. Or at least my nephew. And2look at you! Living a life entirely for others!  - Im completely selfish! cried Bean in protest.  0 Then sleep with this girl, you know shell *let you! Or marry her and then sleep with *anybody else, father children or not, why &should you care? Nothing that happens /outside your body matters. Your children dont-matter to you! Youre completely selfish!  % Bean was left with nothing to say.  2 Self-delusion dies hard, said Petra softly, slipping her hand into his.  ( I dont love anybody, said Bean.  * You keep breaking your heart with the 1people you love, said Petra. You just cant %ever admit it until theyre dead.  , Bean thought of Poke. Of Sister Carlotta.  , He thought of the children he never meant -to have. The children that he would make with.Petra, this girl who had been such a wise and +loyal friend to him, this woman whom, when -he thought he might lose her to Achilles, he -realized that he loved more than anyone else (on Earth. The children he kept denying, 'refusing to let them exist because ...  ' Because he loved them too much, even ,now, when they did not exist, he loved them *too much to cause them the pain of losing .their father, to risk them suffering the pain )of dying young when there was no one who could save them.  , The pain he could bear himself he refused )to let them bear, he loved them so much. + And now he had to stare the truth in the (face: What good would it do to love his /children as much as he already did, if he neverhad those children?  ) He was crying, and for a moment he let (himself go, shedding tears for the dead ,women he had loved so much, and for his own .death, so that he would never see his children-grow up, so he would never see Petra grow old+beside him, as women and men were meant to do.  + Then he got control of himself, and said ,what he had decided, not with his mind, but 1with his heart. If theres some way to be sure,that they dont have-that they wont have 3Antons Key. Then Ill have children. Then Ill marry Petra.  ( She felt her hand tighten in his. She understood. She had won.  4 Easy, said Anton. Still just the tiniest bitillegal, but it can be done. * Petra had won, but Bean understood that ,he had not lost. No, her victory was his as well.  2 It will hurt, said Petra. But lets make ,the most of what we have, and not let futurepain ruin present happiness.  . Youre such a poet, murmured Bean. But /then he flung one arm over Antons shoulders, .and another around Petras back, and held to -both of them as his blurring eyes looked out over the sparkling sea.    0 Hours later, after dinner in a little Italian +restaurant with an ancient garden, after a .walk along the rambla in the noisy frolicking %crowds of townspeople enjoying their ,membership in the human race and celebrating-or searching for their mates, Bean and Petra ,sat in the parlor of Antons old-fashioned 0home, his fiance shyly sifting beside him, her&children asleep in the back bedrooms.  0 You said it would he easy, said Bean. To,be sure my children wouldnt be like me. / Anton looked at him thoughtfully. Yes, he.finally said. There is one man who not only )knows the theory, but has done the work. -Nondestructive tests in newly formed embryos.(It would mean fertilization in vitro.  / Oh good, said Petra. A virgin birth.  ( It would mean embryos that could be /implanted even after the father is dead, saidAnton.  , You thought of everything, how sweet, said Bean.  / Im not sure you want to meet him, said Anton.  # We do, said Petra. Soon.  / You have a bit of history with him, Julian Delphiki. said Anton.  I do? asked Bean.  ) He kidnapped you once, said Anton. -Along with nearly two dozen of your twins. -Hes the one who turned that little genetic )key they named for me. Hes the one who .would have killed you if you hadnt hid in a toilet.  / Volescu, said Petra, as if the name were &a bullet to be pried out of her body.  . Bean laughed grimly. Hes still alive?  - Just released from prison, said Anton. /The laws have changed. Genetic alteration is &no longer a crime against humanity.  6 Infanticide still is, said Bean. Isnt it?  1 Technically, said Anton, under the law it.cant be murder when the victims had no legal)right to exist. I believe the charge was /tampering with evidence. Because the bodieswere burned.  3 Please tell me, said Petra, that it isnt "perfectly legal to murder Bean.  + You helped save the world between then 1and now, said Anton. I think the politics of 1the situation would be a little different now.   What a relief, said Bean.  - So this non-murderer, this tamperer with -evidence, said Petra. I didnt know you knew him.  4 I didnt-I dont, said Anton. Ive never -met him, but hes written to me. Just a day 0before Petra did, as a matter of fact. I dont -know where he is. But I can put you in touch 0with him. Youll have to take it from there.  0 So I finally get to meet the legendary Uncle0Constantine, said Bean. Or, as Father calls +him-when he wants to irritate Mother- My bastard brother.  0 How did he get out of jail, really? asked Petra.  / I only know what he told me. But as Sister 1Carlotta said, the mans a liar to the core. He /believes his own lies. In which ease, Bean, he 0might think hes your father. He told her that /he cloned you and your brothers from himself. ) And you think he should help us have children? asked Petra.  ) I think if you want to have children /without Beans little problem, hes the only &one who can help you. Of course, many -doctors can destroy the embryos and tell you ,whether they would have had your talents and.your curse. But since my little key has never #been turned by nature, theres no /nondestructive test for it. And in order to get,anyone to develop a test, you would have to +subject yourself to examination by doctors (who would regard you as a career-making /opportunity. Volescus biggest advantage is he)already knows about you, and hes in no &position to brag about finding you.  2 Then give us his email, said Bean. Well go from there.    TARGETS     From $Betterman%CroMagnon@HomeAddress.com FREE email! Sign up a friend!] ' To: Humble%Assistant@HomeAddress.com !UESUS loves you! ChosenOnes.0rg]  Re: Thanks for your help   Dear Anonymous Benefactor,  * I may have been in prison but I wasnt /biding under a rock. I know who you are, and I -know what youve done. So when you offer to 'help me continue the research that was +interrupted by my life sentence, and imply 'that you are responsible far having my +charges reduced and my sentence commuted, I!must suspect an ulterior motive.  & I think you plan to use my supposed +rendezvous with these supposed people as a 0means of killing them. Sort of like Herod asking+the Wise Men to tell him where the newborn .king was, so be could go and worship him also.  ) From: Humble%Assistant@HomeAddress.com [Dont go  home ALONEI LonelyHearts]  To: $Befterman%CroMagnon@HomeAddress.com "[Your ADS get seen! Free E-ma il]  Re: You have misjudged me    Dear Doctor,  , You hove misjudged me. I have no interest ,in anyones death. I want you to help them (make babies that dont have any of the .fathers gifts or problems. Make a dozen for them.  * But along the way, if you happen to get )any nice little embryos that do hove the .fathers gifts, dont discard them, please. .Keep them nice and safe. For me. For us. There.are people who would very much like to raise alittle garden full of beans.   * John Paul Wiggin had noticed some years .ago that the whole childrearing thing wasnt /really all it was cracked up to be. Supposedly ,somewhere there was such a thing as a normal*child, but none of them had come anywhere near his house.  - Not that he didnt love his kids. He did. )More than they would ever know; more, he ,suspected, than he knew himself. After all, *you never know how much you love somebody -until the real test comes. Would you die for -this person? Would you throw yourself on the ,grenade, step in front of the speeding car, /keep a secret under torture, to save his life? *Most people never know the answer to that .question. And even those who do know are still(not sure whether it was love or duty or -self-respect or cultural conditioning or any 'number of other possible explanations.  . John Paul Wiggin loved his kids. But either .he didnt have enough of them, or he had too )many. If he had more, then having two of +them take off for some faraway colony from /which they could never return in his lifetime, )that might not have been so bad, because 2thered still be several left at home for him to ,enjoy, to help, to admire as parents wanted to admire their children.  ) And if there had been one fewer If the .government had not requisitioned a third child*from them. If Andrew had never been born, +had never been accepted into a program for 'which Peter was rejected, then perhaps *Peters pathological ambition might have -stayed within normal bounds. Perhaps his envy*and resentment, his need to prove himself -worthy after all, would not have tainted his ,life, darkening even his brightest moments.  . Of course, if Andrew hadnt been born, the +world might now be honeycombed with Formic ,hives, and the human race nothing but a few 'ragged bands surviving in some hostile .environment like Tierra del Fuego or Greenland or the Moon.  0 It wasnt the government requisition, either.Little known fact: , Andrew had almost certainly been conceived.before the requisition came. John Paul Wiggin +wasnt all that good a Catholic, until he *realized that the population control laws *forbade him to be. Then, because he was a *stubborn Pole or a rebellious American or +simply because he was that peculiar mix of *genes and memory called John Paul Wiggin, ,there was nothing more important to him than,being a good Catholic, particularly when it (came to disobeying the population laws.  ( It was the basis of his marriage with ,Theresa. She wasnt Catholic herself-which *showed that John Paul wasnt that strict +about following all the rules-but she came +from a big-family tradition and she agreed +with him before they got married that they ,would have more than two children, no matterwhat it cost them.  / In the end, it cost them nothing. No loss of 0job. No loss of prestige. In fact, they ended up-greatly honored as the parents of the savior of the human race.  - Only they would never get to see Valentine -or Andrew get married, would never see their .children. Would probably not live long enough *to know when they arrived at their colony world.  + And now they were mere fixtures attached /to the life of the child they liked the least.  1 Though truth to tell, John Paul didnt dislike/Peter as much as his mother did. Peter didnt (get under his skin the way he irritated ,Theresa. Perhaps that was because John Paul ,was a good counterbalance to Peter-John Paul+could be useful to him. Where Peter kept a /hundred things going at once, juggling all his +projects and doing none of them perfectly, ,John Paul was a man who had to dot every i, *cross every t. So without exactly telling -anyone what his job was, John Paul kept close(watch on everything Peter was doing and ,followed through on things so they actually #got done. Where Peter assumed that ,underlings would understand his purpose and &adapt. John Paul knew that they would -misunderstand everything, and spelled it out (for them, followed through to make sure things happened just right.  , Of course, in order to do this, John Paul .had to pretend that he was acting as Peters *eyes and ears. Fortunately, the people he -straightened out had no reason to go to Peter*and explain the dumb things they had been *doing before John Paul showed up with his .questions, his checklists, his cheerful chats /that didnt quite come right out and admit to being tutorials.  ' But what could John Paul do when the *project Peter was advancing was so deeply .dangerous and, yes, stupid that the last thing-John Paul wanted to do was help him with it?  1 John Pauls position in this little community -of Hegemoniacs did not allow him to obstruct ,what Peter was doing. He was a facilitator, *not a bureaucrat; he cut the red tape, he 'didnt spin it out like a spider web.  * In the past, the most obstructive thing -John Paul could do was not to do anything at -all. Without him there, nudging, correcting, -things slowed down, and often a project died without his help.  , But with Achilles, there was no chance of *that. The Beast, as Theresa and John Paul 0called him, was as methodical as Peter wasnt. ,He seemed to leave nothing to chance. So if *John Paul simply left him alone, he would !accomplish everything he wanted.  0 Peter, youre not in a position to see what-the Beast is doing, John Paul said to him.  & Father, I know what Im doing.  . Hes got time for everybody, said John .Paul. Hes friends with every clerk, every ,janitor, every secretary, every bureaucrat. +People you breeze past with a wave or with -nothing at all, he sits and chats with them, makes them feel important.  ' Yes, hes a charmer, all right.   Peter-  . Its not a popularity contest, Father.  0 No, its a loyalty contest. You accomplish ,exactly as much as the people who serve you -decide youll accomplish, and nothing more. +They are your power, these public servants ,you employ, and hes winning their loyalty away from you.  * Superficially, perhaps, said Peter.  1 For most people, the superficial is all there,is. They act on the feelings of the moment. !They like him better than you.  . Theres always somebody that people like 2better, said Peter with a vicious little smile.  + John Paul restrained himself from making -the obvious one-word retort, because it would*devastate Peter. The single crushing word would have been yes.  . Peter, said John Paul, when the Beast .leaves here, who knows how many people hell .leave behind who like him well enough to slip -him a bit of gossip now and then? Or a secret document?  + Father, I appreciate your concern. And ,once again, I can only tell you that I have things under control.  . You seem to think that anything you dont-know isnt worth knowing, said John Paul, not for the first time.  - And you seem to think that anything Im ,doing is not being done well enough, said 'Peter for at least the hundredth time.  - Thats how these discussions always went. .John Paul did not push it farther than that-he(knew that if he became too annoying, if .Peter felt too oppressed by having his parents-around, theyd be moved out of any position of influence.  * That would be unbearable. It would mean #losing the last of their children.  - We really ought to have another child or 0two, said Theresa one day. Im still young )enough, and we always meant to have more -than the three the government allotted us.  " Not likely, said John Paul.  0 Why not? Arent you still a good Catholic, )or did that last only as long as being a Catholic meant being a rebel?  - John Paul didnt like the implications of .that, particularly because it might have some /truth in it. No, Theresa, darling. We cant -have more children because theyd never let us keep them.  * Who? The government doesnt care how /many children we have now. Theyre all future ,taxpayers or baby makers or cannon fodder tothem.  + Were the parents of Ender Wiggin, of *Demosthenes, of Locke. Our having another /child would be international news. I feared it -even before Andrews battle companions were +all kidnapped, but after that there was no doubt.  . Do you seriously think people would assume.that because our first three children were so--Darling. said John Paul-knowing that she .hated it when he called her darling because he,couldnt keep the sarcasm out of the term, -theyd have the babies out of the cradle, ,thats how fast theyd strike. Theyd be ,targets from the moment of conception, just ,waiting for somebody to come along and turn ,them into puppets of one regime or another. *And even if we were able to protect them, %every moment of their lives would be .deformed by the press of public curiosity. If +we thought Peter was messed up by being in .Andrews shadow, think what it would be like for them.  1 It might be easier for them, said Theresa. -They would never remember not being in the shadow of their brothers.  0 That only makes it worse, said John Paul. /Theyll have no idea of who they are, apart from being somebodys sib.   It was just a thought.  0 I wish we could do it, said John Paul. It ,was easy to be generous after she had given in.  . I just.. . miss having children around.  , So do I. And if I thought they could be children...  0 None of our kids was ever really a child, /said Theresa sadly. Never really carefree.  + John Paul laughed. The only people who )think children are carefree are the ones )whove forgotten their own childhood.  ( Theresa thought for a moment and then /laughed. Youre right. Everything is either +heaven on earth or the end of the world.  % That conversation had been back in -Greensboro, after Peter went public with his *real identity and before he was given the +nearly empty title of Hegemon. They rarely referred back to it.  + But the idea was looking more attractive +now. There were days when John Paul wanted ,to go home, sweep Theresa into his arms and .say, Darling-and he wouldnt be even the .tiniest bit sarcastic-I have our tickets to /space. Were joining a colony. Were leaving 0this world and all its cares behind, and well 'make new babies up in space where they 0cant save the world or take it over, either  - Then Theresa did this business with trying +to get into Achilless room and John Paul -honestly wondered if the stress she was under#had affected her mental processes.   ( Precisely because he was so concerned ,about what she did, he deliberately did not *discuss it with her for a couple of days, %waiting to see if she brought it up.  0 She did not. But he didnt really expect her to.  ) When he judged that the first blush of ,embarrassment was over and she could discuss-things without trying to protect herself, he -broached the subject over dessert one night.  * So you want to be a housekeeper, he said.  - I wondered how long it would take you to +bring that up, said Theresa with a grin.  ' And I wondered how long before you .would, said John Paul- with a grin as laced with irony as her own.  ( Now youll never know, she said. / I think, said John Paul, that you were planning to kill him.  0 Theresa laughed. Oh. definitely, I was under assignment from my controller   I assumed as much.  * I was joking, said Theresa at once.  . Im not. Was it something Graff said? Or just a spy novel?   I dont read spy novels.   I know.  . It wasnt an assignment, said Theresa. *But yes, he did put the thought into my -mind. That the best thing for everybody would.be for the Beast not to leave Brazil alive.  4 Actually, I dont think thats so, said JohnPaul.  , Why not? Surely you dont think he has any value to the world.  / He brought everybody out of hiding, didnt1he? said John Paul. Everybody showed their true colors.   Not everybody. Not yet.  - Things are out in the open. The world is .divided into camps. The ambitions are exposed.The traitors are revealed.  . So the job is done, said Theresa, and theres no more use for him.  ' I never really thought of you as a murderer  Im not.  ! But you had a plan, right?  ) I was testing to see if any plan was +possible-if I could get into his room. The answer was no.  + Ah. So the objective remains the same. $Only the method has been changed. - I probably wont do it, said Theresa.  * I wonder how many assassins have told +themselves that-right up to the moment when.they fired the gun or plunged in the knife or served the poisoned dates?  ( You can stop teasing me now, said /Theresa. I dont care about politics or the /repercussions. If killing the Beast cost Peter .the Hegemony, I wouldnt care. Im just not ,going to sit back and watch the Beast devourmy son.  1 But theres a better way, said John Paul.   Besides killing him?  + To get him away from where he can kill 0Peter. Thats our real goal, isnt it? Not to +save the world from the Beast, but to save Peter. If we kill Achilles-  . I dont recall inviting you into my evil conspiracy.  + Then yes, the Beast is dead, but so is /Peters credibility as Hegemon. Hes forever after as tainted as Macbeth.   I know, I know.  , What we need is to taint the Beast, not Peter.   Killing is more final.  0 Killing makes a martyr, a legend, a victim. +Killing gives you St. Thomas a Becket. The Canterbury pilgrims.  # So whats your better plan?  * We get the Beast to try to kill us.  % Theresa looked at him dumbfounded.  1 We dont let him succeed, said John Paul.  - And I thought Peter was the one who loved.brinksmanship. Good heavens. Johnny P, youve-just explained where his madness comes from. ,How in the world can you arrange for someone0to try to kill you in such a public way that it +becomes discovered-and at the same time be *absolutely sure that he wont succeed.  0 We dont actually let him fire a bullet, 2said John Paul, a little impatiently. All we do ,is gather evidence that hes preparing the .attempt. Peter will have no choice but to send*him away-and then we can make sure people ,know why. I may be resented a bit here, but -people really like you. They wont like the -Beast after he plotted to harm their Teresa.  * But nobody likes you, said Theresa. )What if its you he goes for first?  ! Whichever, said John Paul.  0 And how will we know what hes plotting?  , Because I put keyboard-reading programs )into all the computers on the system and ,software to analyze his actions and give me .reports on everything he does. Theres no way(for him to make a plan without emailing somebody about something.  * I can think of a hundred ways, one of -which is-he does it himself, without telling anybody.  . Hell have to look up our schedule then, /wont he? Or something. Something that will be.suspicious. Something that I can show to Peter'and force him to get rid of the boy.  - So the way to shoot down the Beast is to /paint big targets on our own foreheads. said Theresa.  . Isnt that a marvelous plan? said John /Paul, laughing at the absurdity of it. But I 0cant think of a better one. And its nowhere .near as bad as yours. Do you actually believe you could kill somebody?  ) Mother bear protects the cub, said Theresa.  + Are you with me? Promise not to slip a fatal laxative into his soup?  2 Ill see what your plan is, when you actually+come up with one that sounds like it might succeed.  / Well get the beast thrown out of here, ,said John Paul. One way or another That +was the plan-which, John Paul knew, was no ,plan at all, since Theresa hadnt actually +promised him shed give up on her plot to become a killer-by-stealth.  + The trouble was that when he accessed the*programs that were monitoring Achilless -computer use, the report said, No computer use.  * This was absurd. John Paul knew the boy +had used a computer because he had received+a few messages himself-innocent inquiries, ,but they bore the screen name that Peter hadgiven to the Beast.  + But he couldnt ask anybody outright to )help him figure out why his spy programs +werent catching Achilless sign-ons and +reading his keystrokes. The word would get *around, and then John Paul wouldnt seem /quite such an innocent victim when Achilless $plot-whatever it was-came to light.  . Even when he actually saw Achilles with his *own eyes, logging in and typing away on a %message, the report that night-which +affirmed that the keystroke monitor was at +work on that very machine- still showed no activity from Achilles.  * John Paul thought about this for a good 0long while, trying to imagine how Achilles could'have circumvented his software without logging on at least once.  , Until it finally dawned on him to ask his software a different question.  0 List all log-ons from that computer today,he typed into his desk.  + After a few moments, the report came up: No log-ons.  $ No log-ons from any of the nearby &computers. No log-ons from any of the -faraway computers. No log-ons, apparently, in%the entire Hegemony computer system.  + And since people were logging on all the /time, including John Paul himself, this result was impossible.  - He found Peter in a meeting with Ferreira, )the Brazilian computer expert who was in +charge of system security. Im sorry to 1interrupt, he said, but its even better to /tell you this when both of you are together.  - Peter was irritated, but answered politely enough. Go ahead.  - John Paul had tried to think of some benign,explanation for his having tried to mount a &spy operation throughout the Hegemony /computer network, but he couldnt. So he told (the truth, that he was trying to spy on (Achilles-but said nothing about what he %intended to do with the information.  - By the time he was done, Peter and Ferreira)were laughing- bitterly, ironically, but laughing.   Whats funny?  3 Father, said Peter. Didnt it occur to you)that we had software on the system doing exactly the same job?  ( Which software did you use? asked Ferreira.  * John Paul told him and Ferreira sighed. -Ordinarily my software would have detected ,his and wiped it out. he said. But your /father has a very privileged access to the net..So privileged that my snoopware had to let it by.  2 But didnt your software at least tell you?asked Peter, annoyed.  / His is interrupt-driven, mine is native in .the operating system, said Ferreira. Once /his snoopware got past the initial barrier and -was resident in the system, there was nothing.to report. Both programs do the same job, just,at different times in the machines cycle. $They read the keypress and pass the -information on to the operating system, which/passes it on to the program. They also pass it (on to their own keystroke log. But both &programs clear the buffer so that the %keystroke doesnt get read twice.  ) Peter and John Paul both made the same ,gesture-hands to the forehead, covering the *eyes. They understood at once, of course.  * Keystrokes came in and got processed by -Ferreiras snoopware or by John Pauls-but ,never by both. So both keystroke logs would )show nothing but random letters, none of +which would amount to anything meaningful. -None of which would ever look like a log-on- ,even though there were log-ons all over the system all the time.  * Can we combine the logs? asked John 1Paul. We have all the keystrokes, after all.  / We have the alphabet, too, said Ferreira,0and if we just find the right order to arrange1them in, those letters will spell out everything that was ever written.  / Its not as bad as that, said Peter. At 1least the letters are in order. It shouldnt be )that hard to meld them together in a way that makes sense.  / But we have to meld all of them in order tofind Achilless logons.  - Write a program, said Peter One that /will find everything that might be a log-on by +him, and then you can work on the material )immediately following those possibles.  * Write a program, murmured Ferreira.  - Or I will, said Peter. I dont have anything else to do.  - That sarcasm doesnt make people love you, Peter, said John Paul silently.  ) Then again, there was no chance. Given .Peters parents, that such sarcasm would not come readily to his lips.  ( Ill sort it out, said Ferreira.  " Im sorry, said John Paul.  3 Ferreira only sighed. Didnt it at least cross&your mind that we would have software 'already in place to do the same job?  * You mean you had snoopware that would -give me regular reports on what Achilles was /writing? asked John Paul. Oops. Peters not +the only sarcastic one. But then, Im not trying to unite the world.  / Theres no reason for you to know, said Peter.  1 Time to bite the bullet. I think Achilles is planning to kill your mother.  + Father, said Peter impatiently. He doesnt even know her.  - Do you think theres any chance that he ,didnt hear that she tried to get into his room.  ( But ... kill her? asked Ferreira.  # Achilles doesnt do things by 0half-measures, said John Paul. And nobody is#more loyal to Peter than she is.  ( Not even you, Father? asked Peter sweetly.  . She doesnt see your faults, lied John ,Paul. Her motherly instincts blind her.  % But you have no such handicap.  - Not being your mother, said John Paul.  ) My snoopware should have caught this 0anyway, said Ferreira. I blame only myself. ,The system shouldnt have had that kind of back door  ) Systems always do, said John Paul.  - After Ferreira left, Peter said a few cold -words. I know how to keep Mother completely/safe, he said. Take her away from here. Go 'to a colony world. Go somewhere and do *something, but stop trying to protect me.   Protect you?  3 Do you think Im so stupid that Ill believe ,this cockamamy story about Achilles wanting to kill Mother?  + Ah. Youre the only person here worth killing.  . Im the only one whose death would remove*a major obstacle from Achilless path.  ' John Paul could only shake his head.  & Who else, then? Peter demanded.  1 Nobody else, Peter, said John Paul. Not a-soul. Everybodys safe, because, after all, -Achilles has shown himself to be a perfectly (rational boy who would never, ever kill -somebody without a perfectly rational purpose in view.  2 Well, yes, of course, hes psychotic, said /Peter I didnt mean he wasnt psychotic.  & So many psychotics, so few really 0effective drugs, said John Paul as he left the+room. That night when he told Theresa, she 0groaned. So hes been getting a free ride.  1 Well put it all together soon enough, Im sure, said John Paul.  1 No, Johnny P. We arent sure that it will be0soon enough. For all we know, its already too late.   CONCEPTION  ! To: Stone%CoIdIComeAnon corn  ' From: Third%Party@MysteriousEast.org ! Re: Definitely not vicbyssoise  . I dont know who you are, dont know what this message / means, He is in China. I was a tourist there,walking along . a public sidewalk. He gave me a folded slip of paper and - asked me to post a message to this emailingsite, with the & subject shown above. So here it is:  . He thinks I told him where Caligulo would be but I did not.  ) I hope this means something to you and (that you get it, because be seemed very /intense about this. As for me, you dont know .who am, neither does he, and thats the way I like it.  * Its not the same city, said Bean.  1 Well, of course not, said Petra. Youre taller  + It was Beans first return to Rotterdam /since he left as a very young child to go into ,space and learn to be a soldier. In all his .wanderings with Sister Carlotta after the war,*she never once suggested coming here, and he never thought of it himself.  + But this was where Volescu was-he had had/the chutzpah to reestablish himself in the city,where he had been arrested. Now, of course, *he was not calling his work research-even +though it had been illegal for many years. ,other scientists had pursued it quietly and 'when, after the war, they were able to +publish again, they left all of Volescus achievements in the dust.  0 So his offices, in an old but lovely building (in the heart of the city, were modestly (labeled, in Common, REPRODUCTIVE SAFETY SERVICE S.  ) Safety, said Petra. An odd name, )considering how many babies he killed.  . Not babies, said Bean mildly. Illegal +experiments were terminated, but no actual #legal babies were ever involved.  0 That really stops your hogs, doesnt it, she said.  % You watch too many vids. Youre 'beginning to pick up American slang.  . What else can I do, with you spending all &your time online, saving the world?  . Im about to meet my maker, said Bean. )And youre complaining to me about my +spending too much time on pure altruism.  ( Hes not your maker, said Petra.  . Who is, then? My biological parents? They /made Nikolai. I was leftovers in the fridge.  * I was referring to God, said Petra.  0 1 know you were, said Bean, smiling. Me,0I cant help but think that I exist because God1blinked. If hed been paying attention, I could never have happened.  1 Dont goad me about religion, said Petra. I wont play.  ! You started it, said Bean.   Im not Sister Carlotta.  . I couldnt have married you if you were. +Was that your choice? Me or the nunnery?  - Petra laughed and gave him a little shove. .But it wasnt much of a shove. Mostly it was )just an excuse to touch him. To prove to .herself that he was hers, that she could touch/him when she liked, and it was all right. Even .with God, since they were legally married now..A necessity before in vitro fertilization, so &that there could be no question about -paternity or joint ownership of the embryos.  ) A necessity, but also what she wanted.  ( When had she started wanting this? In ,Battle School, if anyone had asked her whom +she would eventually marry, she would have /said, A fool, since no one smarter would have-me, but if pressed, and if she trusted her -inquisitor not to blab, she would have said, .Dink Meeker. He was her closest friend in Battle School.  ) Dink was even Dutch. He wasnt in the $Netherlands these days, however The /Netherlands had no military. Dink had been lent1to England, rather like a prize football player, and he was cooperating in joint *Anglo-American planning, which was such a .waste of his talent, since on neither side of /the Atlantic was there the slightest desire to -get involved in the turmoil that was rocking the rest of the world.  1 She didnt even regret his absence. She still &cared about him, had fond memories of "him-even, perhaps, loved him in a *vaguely-more than-platonic way. But after )Battle School, where he had been a brave *rebel challenging the system, refusing to 'command an army in the battle room and -joining her in helping Ender in his struggle .against the teachers-after Battle School, they,had worked together almost continuously, and*perhaps came to know each other too well. &The rebel pose was gone, and he stood -revealed as a brilliant but cocky commander. *And when she was shamed in front of Dink, *when she was overcome by fatigue during a -game that turned out to be real, it became a +barrier between her and the others, but it .was an unfaultable wall between her and Dink.  , Even when Enders jeesh was kidnapped and*confined together in Russia, she and Dink .bantered with each other just like old times, but she felt no spark.  ( Through all that time, she would have +laughed if anyone suggested that she would /fall in love with Bean, and a scant three years/later would be married to him. Because if Dink +had been the most likely candidate for her +heart in Battle School, Bean had to be the 0least likely. She had helped him a bit, yes, as +she had helped Ender when he first started ,out, but it was a patronizing kind of help, !giving a hand up to an underdog.  % In Command School, she had come to &respect Bean, to see something of his +struggle, how he never did anything to win (the approval of others, but always gave .whatever it took to help his friends. She came,to understand him as one of the most deeply )altruistic and loyal people she had ever *seen-even though he did not see either of .these traits in himself, but always found some.reason why everything he did was entirely for his own benefit.  + When Bean was the only one not kidnapped,,she knew at once that he would try anything -to save them. The others talked about trying -to contact him on the outside, but gave up at-once when they heard that he had been killed.*Petra never gave up on him. She knew that /Achilles could not possibly have killed him so -easily. She knew that he would find a way to set her free.   And he had done it.  , She didnt love him because he had saved +her. She loved him because, during all her .months in captivity, constantly having to bear.Achilless looming presence with his leering -threat of death entwined with his lust to own)her, Bean was her dream of freedom. When ,she imagined life outside of captivity, she -kept thinking of it as life with him. Not as /man and wife, but simply: When Im free, then 2well find some way to fight Achilles. We. Will. (And the we was always her and Bean.  % Then she learned about his genetic -difference. About the death that awaited him 0from overgrowing his bodys ability to nurture -itself. And she knew at once that she wanted -to bear his children. Not because she wanted (to have children who suffered from some -freakish affliction that made them brilliant ,ephemera, butterflies catching the sunlight /only for a single day, but because she did not 0want Beans life to leave no child behind. She ,could not bear to lose him, and desperately )wanted something of him to stay with her when he was gone.  + She could never explain this to him. She $could hardly explain it to herself.  ' But somehow things had come together -better than she hoped. Her gambit of getting ,him to see Anton had persuaded him far more &quickly than she had thought would be possible.  . It led her to believe that he, too, without +even realizing it, had come to love her in /return. That just as she wanted him to live on -in his children, he now wanted her to be the )mother who cared for them after he died.  % If that wasnt love, it would do.  , They married in Spain, with Anton and his .new bride looking on. It had been dangerous to,stay there as long as they did, though they *tried to take the curse off it by leaving (frequently with all their bags and then +returning to stay in a different town each /time. Their favorite city was Barcelona, which /was a fairyland of buildings that looked as if (they had all been designed by Gaudi-or, .perhaps, had sprung from Gaudis dreams. They-were married in the Cathedral of the Sagrada .Familia. it was one of the few genuine Gaudis )still standing, and the name made it the +perfect place for a wedding. Of course the /sagrada familia referred officially to the 0sacred family of Jesus. But that didnt mean it/couldnt also apply to all families. Resides, /werent her children going to be immaculately conceived?  ' The honeymoon, such as it was-a week %together, island-hopping through the -Balearics, enjoying the Mediterranean Sea and,the African breezes-was still a week longer .than she had hoped for. After knowing Beans +character about as well as one person ever ,gets to know another person, Petra had been +rather shy about getting to know his body, +and letting him know hers. But here Darwin (helped them, for the passions that made ,species survive helped them to forgive each )others awkwardness and foolishness and ignorance and hunger.  / She was already taking pills to regulate her .ovulation and more pills to stimulate as many ,eggs as possible to come to maturity. There .was no possibility of their conceiving a baby )naturally before they began the in vitro 1fertilization process. But she wished for it all ,the same, and twice she woke from dreams in 1which a kindly doctor told them, Im sorry, I /cant implant embryos, because youre already pregnant.  - But she refused to let it trouble her. She !would have his baby soon enough.  + Now they were here in Rotterdam, getting .down to business. Looking, not for the kindly &doctor of her dream, but for the mass )murderer who only spared Beans life by *accident to provide them with a child who 'would not die as a giant by the age of twenty.  ) If we wait long enough, said Bean, theyll close the office.  3 No, said Petra. Volescu will wait all night(to see you. Youre his experiment that #succeeded despite his cowardice.  , I thought it was my success, not his.  0 She pressed herself against his arm. It was my success, she said.   Yours? How?  . It must have been. Im the one who ended up with all the prizes.  - If you had ever said things like that in 'Battle School, you would have been the #laughingstock of all the armies.  ( Thats because the armies were all ,composed of prepubescent children. Grownups -dont think such things are embarrassing.  3 Actually, they do, said Bean. Theres only'this brief window of adolescence where -extravagantly romantic remarks are taken for poetry.  * Such is the power of hormones that we /absolutely understand the biological causes of ,our feelings, and yet we still feel them.  3 Lets not go inside, said Bean. Lets go .back to the inn and have some more feelings. 0 She kissed him. Lets go inside and make a baby.  - Try for a baby, said Bean. Because I 0wont let you have one in which Antons Key is turned on.   I know, she said.  - And I have your promise that embryos with&Antons Key will all be discarded.  / Of course, she said. That satisfied him, )though she was sure that he would notice ,that she had never actually said the words. *Maybe he did, unconsciously, and that was why he kept asking.  / It was hypocritical and dishonest of her, of )course, and she almost felt bad about it +sometimes, but what happened after he died would be none of his business.  All right then, he said.  1 All right then, she answered. Time to go meet the baby killer,   0 I dont suppose we should call him that to his face, though, right?  + Since when are you the one who worries about good manners?  + Volescu was a weasel, just as Petra knew .he would be. He was all business, playing the /role of Mr. Scientist, but Petra knew well what-lay behind the mask. She could see the way he-couldnt keep his eyes off Bean, the mental *measurements he was making. She wanted to (make some snide remark about how prison %seemed to have done him good, he was +carrying some extra weight, needed to walk .that off... but they were here to have the man*choose them a baby, and it would serve no purpose to irritate him.  , I couldnt believe I was going to meet /you, said Volescu. I knew from that nun who,visited me that one of you had lived, and I /was glad. I was already in prison by then, the ,very thing that destroying the evidence had /been designed to prevent. So I didnt need to 3destroy it after all. I wished I hadnt. Then here.she comes and tells me the lost one lived. It +was the one ray of hope in a long night of despair. And here you are.  ' Again he eyed Bean from head to toe.  1 Yes, said Bean, here I am, and very tall ,for my age, too, as you seem to keep trying to verify.  3 Im sorry, said Volescu. I know that other-business has brought you here. Very important business.  0 Youre sure, said Bean, that your test ,for Antons Key is absolutely accurate and nondestructive?  , You exist, dont you? You are what you (are, yes? We would not have kept any in ,which the gene did not take. We had a safe, reliable test.  ( Every one of the cloned embryos was 2brought to life. said Bean. It worked in everyone of them?  , I was very good with planter viruses in .those days. A skill that even now isnt much ,called for in procedures with humans, since .alterations are still illegal. He chuckled, 'because everyone knew that there was a ,lively business in tailored human babies in 0various places around the world, and that skill +in gene alteration was in more demand than 0ever. That was almost certainly Volescus real -business, and the Netherlands was one of the safest places to practice it.  + But as Petra listened to him, she became (more and more uneasy. Volescu was lying *about something. The change in his manner +had been slight, but after spending months +observing every tiny nuance in Achilless .demeanor, simply as a matter of survival, she 'had turned herself into a very precise 'observer of other people. The signs of (deception were there. Energized speech, ,overly rhythmic, too jovial. Eyes that kept /darting away from theirs. Hands that wouldnt $stop touching his coat, his pencil.   What would he be lying about?  - It was obvious, once she thought about it.  * There was no test. Back when he created (Bean, Volescu had simply introduced the -planter virus that was supposed to alter all -the cells of the embryos, and then waited to +see if any embryos lived, and which of the ,survivors had been successfully altered. It 0happened that they all survived. But not all of #them necessarily had Antons Key.  , Maybe that was why, of all the nearly two !dozen babies, only Bean escaped.  * Maybe Bean was the only one in whom the -alteration was successful. The only one with &Antons Key. The only one who was so 0preternaturally intelligent that he was able, at.one year of age, to realize there was danger, 0climb out of his bassinet, get himself inside a 1toilet tank, and actually stay alive there until the danger passed.  . That had to be Volescus lie. Maybe he had *developed a test since then, but that was .unlikely. Why would he imagine hed need it? *But he said that he had such a test so he could.., could do what?  ) Start his experiment again. Take their ,leftover embryos, and instead of discarding 0the ones with Antons Key, hed keep them all ,and raise them and study them. This time it +wouldnt be just one out of two dozen who &had the enhanced intelligence and the +shortened lifespan. This time, the genetic -odds suggested a fifty-fifty distribution of Antons Key among the embryos.  . So now Petra had a decision to make. If she ,said out loud what she was so certain of in .her mind, Bean would probably realize she was +right and the entire deal would be off. lf +Volescu had no way to test, it was certain +nobody else did. Bean would refuse to have children at all.  / So if she was to have Beans child, Volescu +had to be the one to do it, not because he .had a test for Antons Key, but because Bean believed he did.  ) But what about the other embryos? They .would be her children, too, growing up as the +slaves, the experimental subjects of a man &like this, completely without morals.  - Of course you know, said Petra, that )you wont do the actual implantation.  - Since Bean had never heard this wrinkle in ,their plans, he was no doubt surprised-but, -being Bean, he showed nothing, merely smiled -a bit to show that she was speaking for both 1of them. Such trust. She didnt even feel guilty(that he trusted her so much at a moment ,when she was working so hard to deceive him.*She may not be doing what he thought that +he wanted, but she knew she was doing what +he really desired, deep down in his genes.  / Volescu showed surprise, however. But. . . what do you mean?  1 Forgive me, said Petra, but we will stay *with you through the entire fertilization /process, and we will watch as every fertilized *embryo is taken to the Womens Hospital. +Where they will be under hospital security &until the implantation takes place.  * Volescus face reddened. What do you accuse me of?  , Of being the man you have already provenyourself to be.  * Many years ago, and I paid my debt.  + Bean understood now-enough, at least, to 0join in, his tone of voice as light and cheerful/as Petras. We have no doubt of that, but of+course we want to make sure we dont have ,any of our little embryos with Antons Key ,waking up to some unpleasant surprises in a (room full of children, as I did once.  0 Volescu rose to his feet. This interview is over.  0 Petras heart sank. She shouldnt have said 'anything at all. Now there would be no (implantation and Bean would discover...  ) So we proceed to extract the eggs? ,asked Bean. The time is right, I believe. -Thats why we made the appointment for this day.  - Volescu looked at him sharply. After you insulted me?  . Come now, Doctor, said Bean. You take &the eggs from her, and then I make my 1donation. Thats how salmon do it. Its really 1quite natural. Though Id like to skip the swim upstream, if I can.  + Volescu eyed him for a long moment, then +smiled his tight little smile. My little 'half-nephew Julian has such a sense of humor.  + Petra waited, hardly wanting to breathe, *definitely not wishing to speak, though a 'thousand words raced through her head.  . All right, yes, of course you can protect +the fertilized embryos however you want. I /understand your lack of trust. Even though I know it is misplaced.  . Then while you and Petra do whatever it is5youre going to do, said Bean, Ill call for a 0couple of couriers from the fertility center at (Womens Hospital to come and await the &embryos and take them to be frozen.  * It will be hours before we reach that stage, said Volescu.  / We can afford to pay for their time, said*Petra. And we dont want any chance of slipups or delays.  . I will have to have access to the embryos +again for several hours, of course, said .Volescu. In order to separate them and test them.  - In our presence, said Petra. And the 1fertility specialist who is going to implant the first one.  + Of course, said Volescu with a tight 2smile. I will sort them out for you, and discardthe-  . We will discard and destroy any that have Antons Key, said Bean.  - That goes without saying, said Volescu stiffly.  - He hates these rules weve sprung on him, -thought Petra. She could see it in his eyes, 0despite the calm demeanor. Hes furious. Hes .even... embarrassed, yes. Well, since thats 0probably as close as hes ever come to feeling shame, its good for him.   ( While Petra was examined by the staff +doctor who would do the implantation, Bean /saw to hiring a security service. A guard would-be on duty at the embryo nursery, as the .hospital staff charmingly called it, all day, -every day. Since youre the one who first /started being paranoid, Bean told Petra, I )have no choice but to outparanoid you.  , It was a relief actually. During the days "before the embryos were ready for )implantation, while Volescu was no doubt "trying frantically to devise some 'nondestructive procedure that he could +pretend was a genetic test, Petra was glad /not to have to stay in the hospital personally *watching over the embryos the whole time.  . It gave her a chance to explore the city of )Beans childhood. Bean, however, seemed /determined to visit only the tourist sites and ,then get back to his computer. She knew that.it made him nervous to stay in one city for so-long, especially because for the first time, (their whereabouts were known to another 'person whom they did not trust. It was ,doubtful Volescu knew any of their enemies. +But Bean insisted on changing hotels every ,day, and walking blocks from their hotel in -order to hail a taxi, so that no enemy could set an easy trap for them.  ( He was evading more than his enemies, -though. He was also evading his past in this +city. She scanned a city map and found the -area that Bean was clearly avoiding. And the -next morning, after Bean had chosen the first,cab of the day, she leaned forward and gave the taxi driver directions.  - It took Bean only a few moments to realize +where the cab was going. She saw him tense (up. But he did not refuse to go or even -complain about her having compelled him. How +could he? It would be an admission that he *was avoiding the places he had known as a &child. A confession of pain and fear.  , She was not going to let him pass the day -in silence, however I remember the stories ,youve told me, she said to him, gently. 0There arent many of them, but still I wanted0to see for myself. I hope its not too painful 4for you. But even if it is, I hope youll bear it. 0Because someday Ill want to tell our children +about their father. And how can I tell the )stories if I dont know where they took place?  ) After the briefest pause, Bean nodded.  , They left the cab and he took her through -the streets of his childhood, which had been /old and shabby even then. Its changed very +little, said Bean. Really just the one 'difference. There arent thousands of *abandoned children everywhere. Apparently +somebody found the budget to deal with the orphans.  * She kept asking questions, paying close )attention to the answers, and finally he ,understood how serious she was, how much it +meant to her Bean began taking her off the ,main streets. I lived in the alleys, he -explained. In the shadows. Like a vulture, .waiting for things to die. I had to watch for /scraps that other children didnt see. Things .discarded at night. Spills from garbage bins. 0Anything that might have a few calories in it. , He walked up to one dumpster and laid his 2hand against it. This one, he said. This one,saved my life. There was a restaurant then, &where that music shop is. I think the %restaurant employee who dumped their +garbage knew I was lurking. He always took ,out most of the cooking garbage in the late ,afternoon, in daylight. The older kids took )everything. And then the scraps from the (nights meals, those got dumped in the /morning, in daylight again, and the other kids +got that, too. But he usually came outside -once in the darkness. To smoke right here by -the garbage bin. And after his smoke, in the ,darkness, thered be a scrap of something, right here.  - Bean put his hand on a narrow shelf formed ,by the frame that allowed the garbage truck to lift the bin.  , Such a tiny dinner table, said Petra.  , I think he must have been a survivor of .the street himself, said Bean, because it +was never something so large as to attract 0attention. It was always something I could slip -into my mouth all at once, so no one ever saw.me holding food in my hand. I would have died ,without him. It was only a couple of months .and then he stopped- probably lost his job or )moved on to something else-and I have no )idea who he was. But it kept me alive.  ) What a lovely thing, to think such a -person could have come out of the streets, said Petra.  1 Well, yes, now I see that, said Bean. But1at the time I didnt think of that sort of thing2at all. I was ... focused. I knew he was doing it .deliberately, but I didnt bother to imagine .why, except to eliminate the possibility that ,it was a trap, or that he had drugged it or poisoned it somehow.  . How did you eliminate that possibility?  - I ate the first thing he put there and I .didnt die, and I didnt keel over and then +wake up in a child whorehouse somewhere.   They had such places?  ( There were rumors that thats what *happened to children who disappeared from ,the street. Along with the rumors that they $were cooked into spicy stews in the -immigrants section of town. Those I dont believe.  ) She wrapped her arms around his chest. $Oh, Bean, what a hellish place.  - Achilles came from here, too, he said.  ) He was never as small as you were.  . But he was crippled. That bad leg. He had *to be smart to stay alive. He had to keep .everyone else from crushing him for no better *reason than because they could. Maybe his +thing about having to eliminate anyone who 'sees his helplessness-maybe that was a (survival mechanism for him, under these circumstances.  1 Youre such a Christian, said Petra. So full of charity.  / Speaking of which, said Bean. I assume *youre going to raise our child Armenian Catholic, right?  0 It would make Sister Carlotta happy, dont you think?  / She was happy no matter what I did, said .Bean. God made her happy. Shes happy now, +if shes anything at all. She was a happy person.  & You make her sound-what?-mentally deficient?  , Yes. She was incapable of holding on to malice. A serious defect.  2 I wonder if theres a genetic test for it, /said Petra. Then she regretted it immediately. *The last thing she wanted was for Bean to (think too much about genetic tests, and ,realize what seemed so obvious to her, that Volescu had no test.  + They visited many other places, and more *and more of them made him tell her little +stories. Heres where Poke used to hide a +stash of food to reward kids who did well. -Heres where Sister Carlotta first sat down .with us to teach us to read. This was our best-sleeping place during the winter, until some 'bigger kids found us and drove us out.  / Heres where Poke stood over Achilles with0a cinderblock in her hands, said Bean, readyto dash his brains out.  # If only she had, said Petra.  , She was too good a person, said Bean. 1She couldnt imagine the evil that might be in4him. I didnt, either, until I saw him lying there,*what was in his eyes when he looked up at +that cinderblock. Ive never seen so much /hate. That was all-no fear. I saw her death in 1his eyes right then. I told her she had to do it.0Had to kill him. She couldnt. But it happened 0just the way I warned her. If you let him live, 'hell kill you, I said, and he did.  - Where was it? asked Petra. The place +where Achilles killed her? Can you take me there?  ) He thought about it for a few moments, ,then walked her to the waterfront among the +docks. They found a clear place where they *could see between the boats and ships and *barges out to where the great Rhine swept "past on its way to the North Sea.  ) What a powerful place, said Petra.   What do you mean?  / It just-the river, so strong. And yet human0beings were able to build this along its banks. +This harbor Nature is strong but the human mind is stronger  ( Except when it isnt, said Bean.  1 He gave her body to the river, didnt he?  ) He dumped her into the water, yes.  * But the way Achilles saw what he did. !Giving her to the water Maybe he romanticized it.  3 He strangled her, said Bean. I dont care .what he thought while he did it, or afterward.+He kissed her and then he strangled her.  / You didnt see the murder, I hope! said ,Petra. It would be too terrible if Bean bad ,been carrying such an image in his mind all these years.  - I saw the kiss, said Bean. I was too +selfish and stupid to see what it meant.  % Petra remembered her own kiss from ,Achilles, and shuddered. You thought what .anyone would have thought, said Petra. You-thought his kiss meant what mine does. And she kissed him.   He kissed her back. Hungrily.  ) But when the kiss ended, his face grew .wistful again. I would undo everything, all 0that Ive done with my life since then, said .Bean, if I could only go back and undo that one moment.  * What, you think you could have fought +him? Have you forgotten how small you were then?  - If Id been there, if hed known I was .watching, he wouldnt have done it. Achilles +never risks discovery if he can help it.  ( Or he might have killed you, too.  0 He couldnt kill us both at once. Not with -that gimp leg. Whichever one he went for, the,other would scream bloody murder and go for help.  $ Or hit him over the head with a cinderblock.  / Yes, well, Poke could have done that, but I/couldnt have lifted it higher than his head. /And I dont think dropping a stone on his toe would have done the job.  / They stayed by the dock for a little longer, -and then made the walk back to the hospital.  * The security guard was on duty. All was right with the world.  , Bean had gone back to his childhood range *and he hadnt cried much, hadnt turned ,away, hadnt fled back to some safe place.  ) Or so she thought, until they left the 0hospital, returned to their hotel, and he lay in/the bed, gasping for breath until she realized -that he was sobbing. Great dry wracking sobs .that shook his whole body. She lay beside him and held him until he slept.  + Volescus fakery was so good that for a 'few moments Petra wondered if he might -really have the ability to test the embryos. ,But no, it was flimflam-he was simply smart -enough, scientist enough, to find convincing +flimflam that was realistic enough to fool /extremely intelligent laypeople like them, and ,even the fertility doctor they brought with .them. He must have made it look like the tests/these doctors performed to test for a childs "sex or for major genetic defects.  , Or else the doctor knew perfectly well it -was a scam, but said nothing because all the ,baby-fixers played the same game, pretending/to check for defects that couldnt actually be*checked for, knowing that by the time the )fakery was discovered, the parents would ,already have bonded with the child-and even 0if they hadnt, how could they sue for failing 1to perform an illegal procedure like sorting for /athletic prowess or intellect? Maybe all these baby boutiques were fakers.  / The only reason Petra wasnt fooled is that -she didnt watch the procedure, she watched ,Volescu, and by the end of the procedure she*knew that he was way too relaxed. He knew )that nothing he was doing would make the +slightest difference. There was nothing at stake. The test meant nothing.  + There were nine embryos. He pretended to /identify three of them as having Antons Key. .He tried to hand the containers to one of his ,assistants to dispose of, but Bean insisted /that he give them to their doctor for disposal. * I dont want any of these embryos to .accidentally become a baby, said Bean with asmile. - But to Petra, they already were babies, and,it hurt her to watch as Bean supervised the .pouring out of the three embryos into a sink, ,the scouring of the containers to make sure ,an embryo hadnt managed to thrive in some remaining droplet. 1 Im imagining this, thought Petra. For all she*knew, the containers he flushed had never ,contained embryos at all. Why would Volescu -sacrifice any of them, when all he had to do ,was lie and merely say that these three had %contained embryos with Antons Key?  . So, self persuaded that no actual harm to a *child of hers was being done, she thanked -Volescu for his help and they waited for him (to leave before anything else was done. -Volescu carried nothing from the room that hehadnt come in with.  * Then Bean and Petra both watched as the )six remaining embryos were frozen, their +containers tagged, and all of them secured against tampering.   - The morning of the implantation, they both .awoke almost at first light, too excited, too 0nervous to sleep. She lay in bed reading, trying,to calm herself; he sat at the table in the +hotel room, working on email, scanning the nets.  . But his mind was obviously on the mornings/procedure. Its going to be expensive, he .said. Keeping guard over the ones we dont implant.  ) She knew what he was driving at. You -know weve got to keep them frozen until we -know if the first implant works. They dont always take.  , Bean nodded. But Im not an idiot, you .know. Im perfectly aware that you intend to -keep all the embryos and implant them one by -one until you have as many of my children as possible.  0 Well of course, said Petra. What if our )firstborn is as nasty as Peter Wiggin?  1 Impossible, said Bean. How could a child "of mine have any but the sweetest disposition?  1 Unthinkable, I know, said Petra. And yet somehow I thought of it.  - So this security, it has to continue for years.  * Why? said Petra. No one wants the ,babies that are left. We destroyed the ones with Antons Key.  . We know that, said Bean. But theyre .still the children of two members of Enders )jeesh. Even without my particular curse, $theyll still be worth stealing.  . But they wont be old enough to be of any)value for years and years, said Petra.  0 Not all that many years, said Bean. How +old were we? How old are we even now? There)are plenty of people willing to take the +children and invest not that many years of ,training and then put them to work. Playing games and winning wars.  . Ill never let any of them anywhere near !military training, said Petra.  , You wont be able to stop them, said Bean.  + We have plenty of money, thanks to the 1pensions Graff got for us, said Petra. Ill %make sure the security is intense.  1 No, I mean youll never be able to stop the -children. From seeking out military service.  + He was right, of course. The testing for 2Battle School included a childs predilection for-military command, for the contest of battle. 'For war. Bean and Petra had proven how -strong that passion was in them. It would be +unlikely that any child of theirs would be )happy without ever having a taste of the military life.  2 At least, said Petra, they wont have to *destroy an alien invader before they turn fifteen.  + But Bean wasnt listening. His body had ,suddenly grown alert as he scanned a message on his desk.   What is it? she asked.  . I think its from Hot Soup, said Bean.  $ She got up and came over to look.  % It was an email through one of the ,anonymous services, this one an Asian-based ,company called Mysterious East. The subject 2line was definitely not vichyssoise. Not cold (soup, then. Hot Soup. The Battle school -nickname of Han Thu. who had been in Enders'jeesh and was now assumed to be deeply .involved in the highest levels of strategy in China.  - A message from him to Bean, until recently )the military commander of the Hegemons ,forces, would be high treason. This message -had been handed to a stranger on a street in .China. Probably a European- or African-looking)tourist. And the message wasnt hard to understand:  / He thinks I told him where Coligula would be but I did not.   4 Caligula could only refer to Achilles. He had to refer to Peter.  + Han Thu was saying that Peter thought he (was the source of the information about ,where the prison convoy would be on the day Suriyawong liberated Achilles.  * No wonder Peter was sure his source was ,reliable-Han Tzu himself! Since Han Tzu had -been one of the group Achilles kidnapped, he )would have plenty of reason to hate him. ,Motive enough for Peter to believe that Han ,Tzu would tell him where Achilles would be.   But it wasnt Han Tzu.  + And if it wasnt Han Tzu, then who else -would send such a message, pretending that it,came from him? A message that turned out to be correct?  - We should have known it wasnt from Han Thu all along, said Bean.  , We didnt know Han Tzu was supposed to (be the source, said Petra reasonably.  - Han Tzu would never give information that(would lead to innocent Chinese soldiers 0getting killed. Peter should have known that.  / We would have known it, said Petra, but-Peter doesnt know Hot Soup. And he didnt #tell us Hot Soup was his source.  ( So of course we know who the source was, said Bean.  - Weve got to get word to him at once, said Petra.   Bean was already typing.  / Only this has to mean that Achilles went in2there completely prepared, said Petra. Id be,surprised if he hasnt found a way to read Peters mail.  , Im not writing to Peter, said Bean.   Who, then?  , Mr. and Mrs. Wiggin, said Bean. Two 'separate messages. Pieces of a puzzle. -Chances are that Achilles wont be watching .their mail, or at least not closely enough to (realize he should put these together.  1 No, said Petra. No puzzles. Whether hes1watching or not, theres no time to lose. Hes been there for months now. ( If he sees an open message it might ,precipitate action on his part. It might be Peters death warrant.  & Then notify Graff, send him in.  - Achilles undoubtedly knows Graff already .came once to get our parents out, said Bean.-Again, his arrival might trigger things.  . OK, said Petra, thinking. OK. Heres what. Suriyawong.   No, said Bean.  - Hell get a coded message instantly. He thinks that way.  . But I dont know if he can be trusted, said Bean.  1 Of course he can, said Petra. Hes only $pretending to be Achilless man.  0 Of course he is, said Bean. But what if he isnt just pretending?   But hes Suriyawong!  1 I know, said Bean. But I cant be sure.  1 All right, said Petra. Peters parents, #then. Only dont be too subtle.  1 Theyre not stupid, said Bean. I dont +know Mr. Wiggin that well, but Mrs. Wiggin 0is-well, shes very subtle. She knows more thanshe lets on.  ) That doesnt mean shes wary. That .doesnt mean shell get the code or talk it ,over with her husband right away so they canput the messages together.   Trust me, said Bean.  3 No, Ill proofread before you send it, said -Petra. First rule of survival, right? Just .because you trust someones motives doesnt *mean you can trust them to do it right.  - Youre a cold, cold woman, said Bean.  % Its one of my best features.  . A half hour later, they both agreed that the-messages should work. Bean sent them. It was /a few hours earlier in kibeirao Preto. Nothing 'would happen till the Wiggins woke up.  % Well have to be ready to leave +immediately after the implantation, said 1Petra. If Achilles had been in control of things ,from the start, then chances were good that ,his whole network was still in place and he +knew exactly where they were and what they were doing.  2 I wont be with you, said Bean. Ill be .getting our tickets. Have the guards right in the room with you.  , No, said Petra. But just outside.  $ Petra showered first, and she was +completely packed when Bean came out of the%bathroom. One thing, said Petra.  ) What? asked Bean as he put his few (belongings into the one bag he carried.  & Our tickets-should be to separate destinations.  , He stopped packing and looked at her. I -see, he said. You get what you want from me, and then you walk away.  1 She laughed nervously. Well, yes, she said./Youve been telling me this whole time that 1its more dangerous for us to travel together. . And now that youll have my baby in you, .you dont need to be with me any more, said.Bean. He was still smiling, but she knew that +beneath the jest there was true suspicion.  / Whatever the Wiggins do, all hell is going 3to break loose, said Petra. Ive memorized all-your dead drops and youve memorized all of mine.  * I gave you all of yours, said Bean.  0 Lets get back together in a week or so, 5said Petra. If Im like my mother, Ill be pukingmy guts out by then.  ) If the implantation is successful.  / Ill miss you every moment, said Petra.  + God help me, but Ill miss you too.  - She knew what a painful, frightening thing ,that was for Bean. To allow himself to love ,someone so much that he would actually miss .her, that was no small matter for him. And the*two other women he had allowed himself to +love with all his heart had been murdered.  . I wont let anybody hurt our baby, she said.  ( He thought for a moment, and then his +face softened. That baby is probably the "best protection you could have.  / She understood and smiled. No, they wont .kill me till they see what our baby turns out 2like, she said. But thats no protection from,being kidnapped and held until the child is born.  1 As long as you and the baby are alive, Ill come and get you.  0 Thats the thing that frightens me, said .Petra. That we might be the bait they use toset a trap for you.  / Were looking too far ahead, said Bean. -They arent going to catch us. You or me. /And if they do, well, well deal with that.  + They were packed. They both went over the*room one more time to make sure they were .leaving nothing behind, no sign they had ever (been there. Then they left for Womens +Hospital and the child who waited for them *there, a bundle of genes wrapped in a few )undifferentiated cells, eager to implant 'themselves in a womb, to start to draw .nutrients from a mothers blood, to begin to -divide and distinguish themselves into heart *and bowel, hands and feet, eyes and ears, mouth and brain.   LEFT AND RIGHT   From: PW  To: TW, jPW & Re: Reconciliation of keyboard cogs  . Youll be happy to learn that we were able *to sort out oil the cogs. We hove tracked &every computer entry by the person in .question. All his entries dealt with official -business and assignments he was carrying out -for me. Nothing that was in any way improper was done.  0 Personally, I find this disturbing. Either he +found a way to fool both our programs (not -likely), or he is actually doing nothing but ,what he should (even less likely), or he is (playing a very deep game about which we have no idea extremely likely).   Lets talk tomorrow.  + Theresa woke up when John Paul got out of.bed to pee at four AM. It worried her that he -couldnt make it through the night anymore. )He was still a little young to be having prostate problems.  + But it wasnt her husbands slackening -bladder capacity that kept her awake. It was (the memo from Peter informing them that .Achilles had done absolutely nothing but what he was supposed to do.  + This was impossible. Nobody does exactly ,what theyre supposed to and nothing else. +Achilles should have had some friend, some ,ally, some contact whom he needed to notify ,that he was out of China and safe. He had a ,network of informants and agents, and as he +showed when he hopped from Russia to India *to China, he was always one step ahead of /everybody. The Chinese finally wised up to his 0pattern and short-circuited it, but that didnt)mean Achilles didnt have his next move ,planned. So why hadnt he done anything to set it in motion?  . There were more possibilities than the ones .Peter listed, of course. Maybe Achilles had a -means of bypassing the electromagnetic shield.that surrounded the Ribeiro Preto compound. ,Of course, he couldnt have brought such a +device with him when he was rescued, or it +would have shown up in the search that was 1conducted during his first bath in Ribeiro. So )someone would have to have brought it to *him. And Peter was convinced that no such (device could exist. Maybe he was right.  , Maybe Achilless next move was something !he planned to do entirely alone.  + Maybe there was something he had that he 0was able to smuggle into Brazil inside his body.'Did the surveillance cameras show him, #perhaps, combing through his bowel *movements? Peter must surely have checked for that.  . While she lay there thinking. John Paul had )come back from the bathroom. But now she )noticed that he had not resumed snoring.   Youre awake? she asked.   Sorry I woke you.  ' I cant sleep anyway, she said.   The Beast?  . Were missing something, said Theresa. /He hasnt suddenly become a loyal servant ofthe Hegemony.  1 Im not going to get back to sleep either,-said John Paul. He got up and padded in bare +feet to his computer. She heard him typing .and knew that he was checking his mail first.  * Busy work, but it was better than lying -here staring at the dark ceiling. She got up (also, took her desk from the table, and (brought it back to bed, where she began checking her own email.  , One of the benefits of being the mother of*the Hegemon was that she didnt actually *have to answer the tedious mail-she could 0forward it on to one of Peters secretaries to /deal with, since it consisted mostly of tedious,attempts of people trying to get her to use -her supposed influence with Peter to get him (to do something that was not within his 0power to do, was illegal even if he could do it,.and which he would certainly not do even if it were legal.  / It left her with very few pieces of mail that$she needed to deal with personally.  * Most of it could be answered with a few .sentences and she dealt with it quickly, if a bit sleepily.  * She was about to shut down her desk and *try again to get back to sleep when a new piece of mail came in.   To: T%Hegmom@Hegemony.gov  & From: Rock%HardPlaceIComeAnon.com , Re: And when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know  what thy right hand doeth.  - What was this? Some religious fanatic? But +the address was her most private one, used +only by John Paul, Peter, and a handful of )people she actually liked and knew well.   So who sent it?  + She skipped to the bottom. No signature. ,The message was short. Youll never guess. &There I was at a party-the boring but )dangerous kind, with fine china that you .know youre going to break, and a tablecloth /youre bound to spill India ink on-and do you (know what happens? Along comes the very +man with wham I wanted to tie the knot. He 0thinks hes rescuing me from the party. But in +fact, he was the very reason I came to the 3party in the first place. Not that Ill ever tell ,him! He would BLOW UP if he knew. And then, +of course, Im so nervous I bump into the 0tureen and hot soup spills all aver everything. 'But . - - you know met just a big oaf.  , That was the complete text of the message.0It was really annoying, because it didnt sound/like anyone she knew. She didnt have friends +who sent letters as empty and pointless as )this one. Gossip about a party. Somebody hoping to marry somebody else.  , But before she could make any progress on 0figuring it out, another piece of mail came in.   To: T%Hegmom@Hegemony.gov & From: Sheep%NotGoats@lComeAnon .com - Re: Even as ye have done it unto the least of these - . -   - Another biblical quote. Same person? Bound to be.  , But the message was not chatty at all. In -fact, it continued the scriptural motif from /the subject line. It had nothing to do with theprevious message.  - Ye took me in, but I was not naked. I took +you in, because you were foolish. Ye never knew me, but I knew you.  * When does the judgment day come? Like a /thief in the night. In an hour when ye look not/for me. The fool says, He is not coming. Let us-eat drink and be merry for he is not coming. .Behold I stand at the door and knock In sorrow/shall ye bear children, will have the power to -crush your head but ye will have the power tobite my heel.  . A time to sow, and a time to reap. A time to0gather stones together, a time to run like hell. * She who has ears to hear. How beautiful upon the mountains . are the feet. I come to bring not peace but a sword.  + Theresa got out of bed. John Paul had to -see these letters. They meant something, she -knew that, especially arriving together like )this. The number of people who knew this -address was very, very small. And not one of *them would write either of these letters.  ) Therefore either this address had been *compromised-but who would bother? She was (only the mother of the Hegemon-or these ,letters were meant to convey a message. And *it was from someone who thought that even /at this address, her mail might be intercepted by someone else.  # Who was that paranoid, but Bean?  - Big oaf, thats who he said he was. Bean, definitely.  + John Paul, she said as she padded up behind him.  # This is so strange, he said.  - She assumed he was going to tell her about +a similar pair of messages, so she waited.  * The Chinese have imposed a completely 1absurd law in India. About rocks! People arent )allowed to carry rocks without a permit! 'Anyone caught with rocks is subject to 0arrest-and theyre actually enforcing it. Have they lost their minds?  . She found it impossible to be interested in 3the idiocies of Chinas policies in India. John &Paul, I have to show you something.  0 Sure, he said, turning to look at the desk&she set down on the table next to his computer  $ Read these letters, she said.  * He glanced at one, and before she could .imagine he had actually read the whole thing, /he flipped to the next one. Yeah, I got them 0too, he said. A dullbob and a crenchee. You *shouldnt let these things get to you.  0 No, she said. Look at them closer. They -came to my private address. I think theyre from Bean.  - He looked up at her, then turned to his own-computer and called up his own copies of the 1letters. Me too, he said. I didnt notice -that. Just looked like junk mail, but nobody uses this address.   The subject lines-  . Yes, said John Paul. Both scriptures, even though the first one-  - Yes, and the first one is about left and ,right hands, and the second one is from the ,parable or whatever it is when Jesus speaks .to the people on his right hand and the peopleon his left hand.  . So they both have left and right hands. said John Paul.  # Two parts to the same message.   Could be, he said.  + The scriptures are all twisted. said Theresa.  . You Mormons learn your scriptures, said +John Paul. We Catholics regard that as a !really Protestant thing to do.  . The real scripture says, I was naked, and ,you clothed me, I was homeless or something like that and you took me in.  / I was a stranger and you took me in, said John Paul.  ! So you did read scripture.  ( I woke up once during the homily.  3 Its word games. said Theresa. I think the1second took you in means fooled you. not provided shelter for you.  * By now John Paul was studying the other 4letter This ones geopolitical. Fine China. India/ink. And it ends with blow up in all caps.  0 Tie the knot, said Theresa, looking at *the first letter The tie could mean somebody from Thailand.  0 Thats stretching it a little, said John Paul, chuckling.  5 Its all word games. said Theresa. Power ,to bite my heel- that has to refer to the -Beast, dont you think? Achilles, who could only be hurt in the heel.  " And Achilles was rescued by a Thai-Suriyawong.  2 So now you think tie might be Thai?   Yes, you told me so.  / The Thai thinks hes rescuing this person 1from a party. Sun rescues Achilles, but Achilles ,is keeping a secret. He would blow up if he knew.  * Now John Paul was looking at the second ,letter A time to run like hell. Is this a warning?  . Thats what the last line has to be. She +who has ears, let her hear. Use your feet. ,Because he comes to bring not peace but the sword.  , Mine says He who has ears to hear  . Youre right, they werent identical.  , Whos the I in these scriptures?   Jesus.  * No, no, I mean, what does the message 5mean by I? I think its Achilles. I think its 0written as if Achilles were talking. I took you *in because you were foolish. Thief in the /night, when we arent looking for him. Were -stupid because we think hes not coming but hes here at the door  - A time to run like hell, said Theresa.  - John Paul leaned back and closed his eyes. -A warning from Bean, maybe. Sun thought he .was rescuing Achilles but it was exactly what )Achilles wanted him to do. And the other -letter-that reference to stones, that has to *be Petra. They sent us a pair of messages that fit together.  4 And now it all fell into place. This is whats /been bothering me, said Theresa. This is why I couldnt sleep.  2 You didnt get these letters till just now,said John Paul.  , No, the thing that was keeping me awake,.it was how Achilles has done nothing since he +got here except his official duties. I was !thinking that even though he was .short-circuited by the Chinese arresting him, ,it made no sense for him not to make contact*with his network. But what if the Chinese .didnt arrest him at all? What if that was a 1setup? You took me in but I was not naked.  ) John Paul nodded. And I took you in, +because you were foolish. So the whole -point of this was to get Achilles inside the compound.  0 But so what? said John Paul. Weve beensuspicious of him anyway.  , But this is more than suspicion, said -Theresa. Or they wouldnt have sent it.  , Theres no evidence here. Nothing that would persuade Peter.  1 Yes there is, said Theresa. Hot soup. He looked at her blankly.  0 From Enders jeesh. Han Tzu. Inside China. 1He would know. Hes the authority. He spilled $everything. Definitely a setup.  + OK, said John Paul, so we have the ,evidence. We know Achilles wasnt really a #prisoner, he wanted to be taken.  ) Dont you see? This means he really &understands Peter. He knew that Peter -couldnt resist rescuing him. Maybe he even ,knew that Bean and Petra would leave. Think ,about it-we all knew how dangerous Achilles .could be, so maybe he was counting on that.  , Everybody closest to Peter left, except us-  ' And Peter tried to get us to go.   And Suriyawong.  % And Achilles has co-opted him.  , Or Sun has Achilles convinced he has.  * Theyd been back and forth on that one 0before. Whatever, said Theresa. Simply by )arriving here, Achilles has succeeded in 0isolating Peter. Then hes spent his whole time%being Mr. Nice Guy, doing everything -right-and making friends with everybody while+hes at it. Everythings going smoothly. Except-  , Except that hes in a position to kill Peter.  + If he can do it in a way that doesnt implicate him.  0 Ready to step in, as Peters assistant, and+say, Everythings going smoothly at the /Hegemony, well just keep things going till a -new Hegemon is chosen, and long before they*can choose one, hes compromised all the /codes, hes neutralized the army, and China is,completely rid of the Hegemony once and for 0all. Theyll get advance word of one of Suns ,missions and they wipe out our brave little army and-  0 Why wipe it out, if it already obeys you? said Theresa.   We dont know that Sun-  , What do you think would happen if Peter tried to leave? she asked.  + John Paul thought about that. Achilles .would take over while he was gone. Theres a !long tradition of that maneuver.  . And just as long a tradition of declaring (him sick and keeping anyone from having access to him.  0 Well, he cant restrict access to Peter as 'long as were here, said John Paul.  ' They looked at each other for a long moment.  ' Get your passport, said Theresa.   We cant pack anything.   Wipe the computers.  / What do you think hell use? Poison? Some bio-agent?  * Bio-agent is likeliest. He could have smuggled that in.   Does it matter?  & Peters not going to believe us.  0 Hes stubborn and self-willed and he thinks,were idiots, said John Paul. But that doesnt mean hes stupid.  + But he might think he can handle it.  + John Paul nodded. Youre right. He is exactly that stupid.  - Wipe all your files on the system and-  2 It doesnt matter, said John Paul. There are backups.  & Not of these letters, at least.  & John Paul printed them out and then *destroyed them in the computers memory, (while Theresa wiped them from her desk. , Carrying the paper copies of the letters, they headed for Peters room.   . Peter was sleepy, surly, and impatient with ,them. He kept dismissing their concerns and 0insisting they wait until morning until finally ,John Paul lost his temper and dragged Peter -out of bed like a teenager. He was so shocked'at being treated in such a way that he actually fell silent.  . Stop thinking this is between you and your/parents, John Paul said. These letters are -from Bean and Petra, and theyre relaying a )message from Han-Tzu in China. These are /three of the smartest military minds alive, and)all three of them have been proven to be smarter than you.  % Peters face reddened with anger.  / Have I got your attention now? said John $Paul. Will you actually listen?  , What does it matter if I listen? said .Peter. Let one of them be Hegemon, theyre so much smarter than me.  ) Theresa bent down and got right in his 2face. Youre acting like a rebellious teenager 0while were trying to tell you the house is on fire.  0 Process this information, said John Paul, -as if we were a couple of your informants. (Pretend that you think we actually know 0something. And while youre at it, take a quick*poll and see how effectively Achilles has )driven away everybody around you who was $completely trustworthy-except us.  0 I know you mean well, said Peter, but his voice betrayed his anger.  1 Shut up, said Theresa. Just shut up with ,your patronizing tone. You saw the letters. *We didnt make that up. Hot Soup found a *way to tell Bean and Petra that the whole -rescue was a setup. You were had, smart boy. -Achilles has this whole place sussed by now. +Every move you make, somebody tells him.  - For all we know, said John Paul, the +Chinese have an operation ready to roll.  . Or youre going to be arrested by Suns soldiers, said Theresa.  / In other words, you have no idea what Im !even supposed to be afraid of.  4 Thats right, said Theresa. Thats exactly/right. Because you played into his hands as if )he handed you a script and you read your lines like a robot.  0 Youre the puppet right now, Peter, said /John Paul. You thought you held the strings, but youre the puppet.  / And you have to leave now, said Theresa.  ( Whats the emergency? said Peter 0impatiently. You dont know what hes going to do or when.  - Sooner or later youre going to have to -go, said Theresa. Or do you plan to wait /until he kills you? Or us? And when you do go, ,it has to be sudden, unexpected, unplanned. .Theres no better opportunity than now. While)the three of us are still alive. Can you 0guarantee that will still be true tomorrow? Thisafternoon? I didnt think so.  0 Before dawn, said John Paul. Out of the .compound, into the city, onto a plane, out of Brazil.  , Peter just sat there, looking from one to +the other. But the irritated look was gone .from his face. Was it possible? Could he have )actually heard something that they said?  / If I leave, said Peter, theyll say I abdicated.  $ You can say that you didnt.  0 Ill look like a fool. Ill be completely discredited.  1 You were a fool, said Theresa. If you say*it first, nobody else gets any points for )saying it. Cover up nothing. Get a press .release out while youre in the air. Youre )Locke. Youre Demosthenes. You can spin anything.  . Peter stood up. started pulling clothes out 3of his dresser drawers. I think youre right, /he said. I think your analysis is absolutely right.   Theresa looked at John Paul.   John Paul looked at Theresa.   Was this Peter talking?  , Thank you for not giving up on me, he 2said. But this Hegemon thing is done. Ive lost'any chance of making it work. I had my -chance, and I blew it. Everybody told me not 1to bring Achilles here. I had all these plans on /how to lead him into a trap. But I was already caught in his.  0 Ive already told you to shut up once this 0morning, said Theresa. Dont make me do it again.  , Peter didnt bother buttoning his shirt. Lets go, he said.  . Theresa was glad to see that he didnt try -to take anything with him. He only stopped at,his computer and typed in a single command.   Then he headed for the door  0 Arent you going to wipe out your files? &asked John Paul. Alert your head of security?   I just did, said Peter  , So he had been prepared for such a day as /this. He already had the program in place that ,would automatically destroy everything that ,needed destroying. And it would alert those who needed to be alerted.  , We have ten minutes before the people I -used to trust get warned to evacuate, said .Peter. Since we dont know which of them we.can still trust, we have to be out of here by then.  , His plan included looking after those who 1were still loyal to him, whose lives would be in ,danger when Achilles took over. Theresa had )not imagined Peter would think of such a .thing. It was a good thing to know about him.  ) They didnt skulk or run, just walked ,through the grounds toward the nearest gate,-engaged in animated conversation. It might be,early in the morning, but who would imagine &that the Hegemon and his parents were +making a getaway? No luggage, no hurry, no ,stealth. Arguing. A perfectly normal scene.  ) And the argument was real enough. They /spoke softly, because in the stillness of dawn ,they might be overheard even at a distance. +But there was plenty of intensity in their hushed voices.  0 Skip the melodrama, said John Paul. Your/life isnt over. You made a huge mistake, and +there are people who are going to say that 0running out like this is an even bigger one. But/your mother and I know that it isnt. As long #as youre alive, theres hope.  0 The hope is Bean, said Peter he hasnt 1shot himself in the foot. Ill throw my support -behind Bean. Or maybe I shouldnt. Maybe my +support would just be the kiss of death.  + Peter, said John Paul, youre the )Hegemon. You were elected. You, not this -compound. In fact, youre the one who moved -the Hegemony offices here. Now youre going *to move them somewhere else. Wherever you /are, thats the Hegemony. Dont you ever say +one thing to imply otherwise. Even if your .entire power in the world consists of you and )me and your mother, thats not nothing. *Because you are Peter Wiggin, and dammit, +were John Paul Wiggin and Theresa Wiggin *and underneath our charming and civilized /exteriors, were some pretty tough bunducks.  Peter said nothing.  1 Well, actually, said Theresa to John Paul, 2were the bunducks. Peters the big sabeek.   Peter shook his head.  . You are, Theresa insisted. And do you *know how I know you are? Because you were ,smart enough to listen to us and get out in time.  / I was just thinking, said Peter quietly.  * What? prompted Theresa, before John 1Paul could give his standard joking reply: Its +about time. It would be the wrong joke for *this moment, but John Paul was never very )good about knowing when it was the wrong -time for his standard jokes. They came out by,reflex, without being processed through his brain first. - Ive underestimated you two, he said.   Well, yes, said Theresa.  3 In fact, Ive been a little shit to you for a long time.  % Not so little, said John Paul.  + Theresa cocked a warning eyebrow at him.  . But I still never did anything as dumb as .flying to get into his bedroom to kill him, said Peter.  ( Theresa looked at him sharply. He was grinning at her.  . John Paul laughed. She couldnt blame him. 2He couldnt help retaliating. After all, she had $just given him the dreaded eyebrow.  3 OK, well, youre right, said Theresa. That0was pretty stupid. But I didnt know what else to do to save you.  0 Maybe saving me isnt such a great idea.  - Youre the only copy of our DNA left on 1Earth, said John Paul. We really dont want *to have to start all over, making babies. Thats for younger people now.  0 Besides, said Theresa. Saving you means saving the world.  $ Right, said Peter derisively.  + Youre the only hope, said Theresa.   Then good luck, world.  0 1 do believe, said John Paul, that that *was almost a prayer. Dont you think so, (Theresa? I think Peter said a prayer.  . Peter chuckled. Yeah, why not. Good luck, world. Amen.  + They got to the gate well before the ten (minutes were up. There was a cab driver .asleep at a cab stand in front of the biggest +hotel outside the compound. John Paul woke 'him and handed him a very large sum of money.  , Take us to the airport, said Theresa.  2 But not this one, said John Paul. I think $we want to fly out of Araraquara.  * Thats an hour away, said Theresa.  1 And we have an hour till the earliest flight -anywhere, said John Paul. Do you want to +spend that hour just sitting in an airport &thats fifteen minutes away from the compound?  - Peter laughed. That is so paranoid, he said. Just like Bean.  % Beans alive, said John Paul.  3 Im OK with that, said Peter. Being alive is good.   . Peter had his press release out from one of -the computers in the Araraquara airport. But )Achilles didnt waste any time, either.  0 Peters story was all flue, though he left a ,few things out. He admitted that he had been*fooled into thinking that he was rescuing *Achilles when in fact he was bringing the 0Trojan Horse inside the walls of Troy. It was a .terrible mistake because Achilles was serving +the Chinese Empire all along, and Hegemony )headquarters was completely compromised. +Peter declared that he was moving Hegemony .headquarters to another location and urged all+Hegemony employees who were still loyal to $him to wait for word about where to reassemble.  . Achilless press release declared that he, .General Suriyawong, and Ferreira, the head of +Hegemony computer security, had discovered )that Peter was embezzling Hegemony funds )and hiding them in secret accounts-money )that should have gone to paying Hegemony )debts and feeding the poor and trying to *achieve world peace. He declared that the (office of the Hegemon would continue to ,function under the control of Suriyawong as (the ranking military leader of Hegemony *forces, and that he would help Suriyawong +only if he was asked. Meanwhile, a warrant .had been issued for Peter Wiggins arrest to +answer charges of embezzlement, malfeasance(in office, and high treason against the International Defense League.  ' In a press release later that day he $announced that Hyrum Graff had been ,removed as Minister of Colonization and was )to be arrested for complicity with Peter (Wiggin in the conspiracy to defraud the Hegemony.  * The son of a bitch, said John Paul.  3 Graff wont obey him, said Theresa. Hell.simply declare that youre still Hegemon and (that he answers only to you and Admiral Chamrajnagar.  1 But itll dry up a lot of his funds, said +Peter. Hell have a lot less freedom of .movement. Because now theres a price on his .head, and in some countries theyd just love 'to arrest him and turn him over to the Chinese.  0 Do you really think Achilles is serving the #Chinese interest? asked Theresa.  . Every bit as loyally as he served mine, said Peter.  . Before the plane landed in Miami, Peter had ,his safe haven. In, of all places, the USA.  , I thought America was determined not to get involved, said John Paul.  ' Its just temporary, said Peter  0 But it puts them clearly on our team, said+Theresa. Them? said Peter. Youre $Americans. So am I. The U.S. isnt  them, its us.  ) Wrong, said Theresa. Youre the .Hegemon. Youre above nationality. And so, I might add, are we.   BABIES  + From: Chamrajnagar%sacredriver@ifcom.gov  To: Flandres7oA-Hegidl.gav  Re: MinCol   Mr. Handres:  + The position of Hegemon is not and never was vacant. Peter ( Wiggin continues to hold that office. Therefore your dismissal ) of the Han. Hyrum Graff as Minister of Colonization is void. + Graff continues to exercise all previous authority in regard to * MinCd affairs off the surface of Earth.  % Furthermore, lFCom will regard any .interference with his operations on Earth, or .with his person as he carries out his duties, +as obstruction of a vital operation of the )International Meet, and we will take all appropriate steps.   From: Flandres%A-Heg@idl.gav ) To: Chamrajnagar%sacredriver@ifcam.gav  Re: MinCa~   Admiral Chamrajnagar, sir:  , I cannot imagine why you would write to meabout this matter. * I am not acting Hegemon, I am Assistant Hegemon. I hove # forwarded your letter to Genera[ Suriyawong, and I hope all + future correspondence about such matters will be directed to  him.   Your humble servant,  Achilles Flandres   + From: Chamrajnagar%sacredriver@ifcom.gov  To: Flandres%A-Heg@idl.gov  Re: MinCoJ   . Forward my letters wherever you like. I know)the game you are playing. I am playing a 1different one. In my game. I hold all the cards. -Your game, on the other hand, will only last ,until people notice that you have no actual cards at all.   - The events in Brazil were already all over ,the nets and the vids when the implantation %procedure was complete and Petra was )wheeled out into the waiting room of the 0fertility clinic at Womens Hospital. Bean was waiting for her With balloons.  * They wheeled her out into the reception /area. At first she didnt notice him, because ,she was busy talking with the doctor. Which -was fine with him. He wanted to look at her, +this woman who might be carrying his child now.   She looked so small.  + He remembered looking up at her when they0first met in Battle School. This girl-rare in a +place that tested for aggressiveness and a *certain degree of ruthlessness. To him, a +newcomer, the youngest child ever admitted -to the school, she seemed so cool, so tough, "like the quintessential bullyboy, -smart-mouthed and belligerent. It was all an act, but a necessary one.  ) Bean had seen at once that she noticed ,things. Noticed him, for starters, not with ,amusement or amazement like the other kids, -who could only see how small he was. No, she )clearly gave him some thought, found him (intriguing. Realized, perhaps, that his .presence at Battle School when he was clearly -underage implied something interesting about him.  , It was partly that trait of hers that led -Bean to turn to her-that and the fact that as-a girl she was almost as much of a misfit as he was bound to be.  - She had grown since those days, of course, )but Bean had grown far more, and was now -quite a bit taller than her. It wasnt just /height, either. He had felt her rib cage under 1his hands, so small and brittle, or so it seemed.-He felt as though he always had to be gentle .with her, or he might inadvertently break her between his hands.  / Did all men feel this way? Probably not. For "one thing, most women were not as .light-bodied as Petra, and for another thing, *most men stopped growing when they reached,a certain point. But Beans hands and feet 0were still disproportioned to his body, like an ,adolescents, so that even though he was a ,tallish man, it was clear his body meant to 2grow taller still. His hands felt like paws. Hers (seemed as lost within his as a babys.  . How, then, will the baby she carries inside .her now seem to me when it is born? Will I be 0able to cradle the child in one hand? Will there,be a genuine danger of my hurting the baby? +Im not so good with my hands these days.  * And by the time the baby is big enough, 0robust enough for me to handle safely, Ill be dead.   Why did I consent to do this?  - Oh, yes. Because I love Petra. Because she +wants my child so badly. Because Anton had +some cock-and-bull story about how all men .crave marriage and family even if they dont care about sex.  ' Now she noticed him, and noticed the balloons, and laughed.  * He laughed back and went to her, handed her the balloons.  - Husbands dont usually give their wives balloons, she said.  , I thought having a baby implanted was a special occasion.  + I suppose so, she said, when its /professionally done. Most babies are implanted -at home by amateurs, and the wives dont get balloons.  0 Ill remember that and try always to have afew on hand.  ' He walked beside her as an attendant 'pushed her wheelchair down the hallway toward the entrance.  + So where is my ticket to? she asked.  , I got you two, said Bean. Different 2airlines, different destinations. Plus this train 1ticket. If either of the flights gives you a bad +feeling, even if you cant decide why you .have misgivings, dont get on it. Just go to 0the other airline. Or leave the airport and take-the train. The train ticket is an EU pass so you can go anywhere.   You spoil me, said Petra.  / What do you think? asked Bean. Did the *baby hook itself onto the uterine wall?  0 Im not equipped with an internal camera,0said Petra, and I lack the pertinent nerves to.be able to feel microscopically small fetuses (implant and start to grow a placenta.  - Thats a very poor design, said Bean. .When Im dead, Ill have a few words with God about that.  + Petra winced. Please dont joke about death.  , Please dont ask me to be somber about it.  1 Im pregnant. Or might be. Im supposed to get my way about everything.  , The attendant pushing Petras wheelchair .started to take her toward the front cab in a !line of three. Bean stopped him.  ( The drivers smoking, said Bean.  - Hell put it out, said the attendant.  + My wife will not get into a car with a .driver whose clothing is giving off cigarette smoke residue.  * Petra looked at him oddly. He raised an -eyebrow, hoping shed realize that this was not about tobacco.  - Hes the first taxi in line, said the -attendant, as if it were an incontrovertible 0law of physics that the first cab in line had to'be the one to get the next passengers.  ) Bean looked at the other two cabs. The -second driver looked at him impassively. The -third driver smiled. He looked Indonesian or .Malay, and Bean knew that in their culture, a *smile was pure reflex when facing someone bigger or richer than you.  * Yet for some reason he did not feel the -mistrust about the Indonesian driver that he .felt about the two Dutch drivers ahead of him. ) So he pushed her wheelchair toward the /third cab. Bean asked, and the driver said yes,*he was from Jakarta. The attendant, truly /irritated at this breach of protocol, insisted ,on helping Petra into the cab. Bean had her -bag and put it in the back seat beside her-he-never put anything in the trunks of cabs, in case he had to run for it.  * Then he had to stand there as she drove -off. No time for elaborate good-byes. He had .just put everything that mattered in his life /into a cab driven by a smiling stranger, and hehad to let it drive away.  - Then he went to the first cab in line. The *driver was showing his outrage at the way ,Bean had violated the line. The Netherlands .was back to being a civilized place, now that ,it was self-governing again, and lines were +respected. Apparently the Dutch now prided *themselves on being better at queues than 'the English, which was absurd, because ,standing cheerfully in line was the English national sport.  - Bean handed the driver a twenty-five-dollar/coin, which he looked at with disdain. Its /stronger than the Euro right now, said Bean. 2And Im paying you a fare, so you didnt lose *anything because I put my wife in another cab.  0 What is your destination? said the driver *curtly, his English laced with a prim BBC (accent. The Dutch really needed to have ,better programming in their own language so -their citizens didnt have to watch English /vids and listen to English radio all the time.  . Bean did not answer him until he was inside the cab, the door closed.  ( Drive me to Amsterdam, said Bean.   What?   You heard me, said Bean.  . Thats eight hundred dollars, said the driver.  1 Bean peeled a thousand-dollar bill off his roll-and gave it to him. Does the video unit in $this car actually work? he asked.  . The driver made a show of scanning the bill .to see if it was counterfeit. Bean wish he had/used a Hegemony note. You dont like dollars? 0Well see how you like this! But it was unlikely *that anybody would take Hegemony money for.any purpose these days. What with Achilless /and Peters faces on every vid in the city and+all the talk about how Peter had embezzled Hegemony funds.  , Their faces were on the video in the cab, -too, when the driver finally got it working. +Poor Peter, thought Bean. Now he knows how )the popes and anti-popes felt when there .were two with a claim to St. Peters throne. .What a lovely taste of history for him. What amess for the world.  , And to Beans surprise, he found that he ,didnt actually care that much whether the +world was in a mess-not when the messiness /wasnt going to affect his own little family.  3 Im actually a civilian now, he realized. All I *care about is how these world events will affect my family.  + Then he remembered: I used to care about .world events only insofar as they affected me./I used to laugh at Sister Carlotta because she was so concerned.  * But he did care. He kept track. He paid 0attention. He told himself it was so hed know +where hed be safe. Now, though, with far ,more reason to worry about safety, he found )the whole business of Peter and Achilles *fundamentally boring. Peter was a fool to 1think he could control Achilles, a fool to trust ,a Chinese source on such a matter. How well -Achilles must understand Peter, to know that 1he would rescue Achilles instead of killing him. .But why shouldnt Achilles understand Peter? ,All he had to do was think of what he would 0do, if he were in Peters position, but dumber. - Still, even though he was bored, the story *from the news people began to make sense, )when combined with the things Bean knew. .The embezzling story was ludicrous, of course,/obviously disinformation from Achilles, though .all the predictable nations were in an uproar .about it, demanding inquiries: China, Russia, (France. What seemed to be true was that )Peter and his parents slipped out of the +Hegemons compound in Ribeirao Preto just #before dawn this morning, drove to +Araraquara, then flew to Montevideo, where +they got official permission to fly to the $United States as guests of the U.S. government.  / It was possible, of course, that their sudden.flight was precipitated by something Achilles +did or some information they learned about *Achilless immediate plans. But Bean was 'reasonably sure that these events were .triggered by the emails he and Petra had sent ,early this morning when they got Han Tzus message.  , Apparently the Wiggins had been up either +very late or very early, because they must ,have got the letters almost as soon as they ,were sent. Got them, deciphered the message,0realized the implication of Han Tzus tip, and ,then, incredibly enough, persuaded Peter to -pay attention and get out without a momentsdelay.  & Bean had assumed it would take days /before Peter would realize the significance of +what he had been told. Part of the problem ,would be his relationship with his parents. *Bean and Petra knew how smart the Wiggins -were, but most people in the Hegemony didnt/have a clue, least of all Peter. Bean tried to ,imagine the scene when they explained to him,that he had been fooled by Achilles. Peter, ,believing his parents when they told him he !had made a mistake? Unthinkable.  + And yet he must have believed them right away.   Or they drugged him.  , Bean laughed a little at the thought, and ,then looked up from the vid because the cab was turning sharply.  - They were pulling off the main road into a !side street. They shouldnt be.  + By reflex Bean had the door open and was .flinging himself out the door by the time the .cab driver could get his gun up from the seat .and aim it at him. The bullet zipped over his ,head as Bean hit the ground and rolled. The ,cab came to a stop and the driver leapt out ,to finish the job. Abandoning his bag. Bean .scrambled to get around the corner. But hed +never get far enough down the street-which &had no pedestrians on it, here in the -warehouse district-to get out of the range of.a bullet once the cabbie followed him onto the main street.  , Another shot came just as he made it past (the edge of the building. He thought of )pressing himself against the side of the +building, in the hopes that the gunman was *really stupid and would barrel around the corner without looking.  + But that wouldnt work, because the cab ,that had been second in line was pulling to /the curb right in front of him, and the driver -was raising his own gun to point it at Bean.  . He dived for the ground and two bullets hit -the wall where he had been standing. By sheer/chance, his leap took him directly in front of (the first driver, who was indeed stupid *enough to be running around the corner at -top speed. He fell over Bean and when he hit *the ground, his gun flew out of his hand.  , Bean might have gone for the gun, but the ,second driver was already partly out of his ,door and would be able to shoot Bean before .he could get to it. So Bean scrambled back to ,the first cab, which was idling in the side -street. Could he get the cab between him and -either of the gunmen before they could shoot at him again?  . He knew he couldnt. But there was nothing /to do but try, and hope that, like bad guys in ,the vids, these two would be terrible shots ,and miss him every time. And when he got in +the cab to drive it away, it would be very -nice if the upholstery of the drivers seat ,were made of that miracle fabric that stops 'bullets fired through the back window.  . Pop. Pop-pop. And then.., the ratatat of an automatic weapon.  - The two cab drivers didnt have automatic weapons.  , Bean was around the front of the cab now, 0keeping low. To his surprise, neither driver was/standing at the corner, pointing a gun at him. )Perhaps they had been, a moment ago, but )now they were lying there on the ground, /filled with bullets and seeping copious amounts of blood all over the pavement.  $ And around the corner charged two .Indonesian-looking men, one with a pistol and )the other with a small plastic automatic ,weapon. Bean recognized the Israeli design, +because that was the weapon his own little ,army had used on missions where they had to ,be able to conceal their weapons as long as possible.  ' Come with us! shouted one of the Indonesians.  - Bean thought this was probably a good idea.-Since the assassination attempt had included +one backup, it might include more, and the 'sooner he got out of there the better.  , Of course, he didnt know anything about *these Indonesians, or why they would have ,been there at this moment to save his life, -but the fact that they had guns and werent (firing them at him implied that for the (moment, at least, they were his dearest friends.  - He grabbed his suitcase and ran. The front +right door of a nondescript German car was +open, waiting for him. The moment he dived 0in, he said, My wife-shes in another cab.  / She safe, said the man in the back seat, )the one with the automatic weapon. Her -driver is one of us. Very good choice of cab $for her. Very bad choice for you.   Who are you?  0 Indonesian immigrant, said the driver witha grin.  , Muslim, said Bean. Alai sent you?  ) No, not a lie. True, said the man.  - Bean didnt bother correcting him. If the ,name Alai meant nothing to him, what was the/point in pursuing the matter? Wheres Petra? My wife?  / Going to airport. She not using ticket you .giving her. The man in the back seat handed +him an airline ticket. She going here.  ' Bean looked at his ticket. Damascus.  - Apparently Ambuls mission had gone well. ,Damascus was, for all intents and purposes, -the capital of the Muslim world. Even though /Alai had dropped out of sight, it was unlikely that he was anywhere else.  * Are we going there as guests? asked Bean.  * Tourists, said the man in the back.  ) Good, said Bean. Because we left -something in the hospital here that we might 'have to come back for. Though it was .obvious that Achilless people-or whoever it )was-knew everything about what they were /doing at Womens Hospital. In fact. . . there -was almost no chance that anything of theirs remained in Womens Hospital.  ( He looked back at the man in the back -seat. He was shaking his head. Sorry, they ,telling me when we stop here and shoot guys -for you, security guard in hospital stealing what you left there.  . Of course. You dont fight your way past a #security guard. You just hire him.  0 And now it was all clear to him. If Petra had 0gotten in the first cab, it wouldnt have been 'an assassination, it would have been a 0kidnapping. This wasnt about killing Bean-that/was just a bonus. It was about getting Beans babies.  - Bean knew they hadnt been followed here. 'They had been betrayed since arriving. /Volescu. And if Volescu was in on it, then the .embryos that were stolen probably had Antons.Key after all. There was no particular reason /for anyone to want his babies if there wasnt %at least a chance that they would be prodigies of the kind Bean was.  + Volescus screening test was probably a -fraud. Volescu probably had no idea which of /the embryos had Antons Key and which didnt.,Theyd implant them in surrogates and then 'see what happened when they were born.  ' Bean had been taken in by Volescu as -surely as Peter had been by Achilles. But it -wasnt as if they had trusted Volescu. They +had simply trusted him not to be in league with Achilles.  ) Though it didnt have to be him. Just /because he had kidnapped Enders jeesh didnt#mean that he was the only would-be 1kidnapper in the world. Beans children, if they'had his gifts, would be coveted by any .ambitious nation or would-be military leader. *Raise them up knowing nothing about their *real parents, train them here on Earth as -intensely as Bean and the other kids had been,trained in Battle School, and by the age of +nine or ten you can put them in command of strategy and tactics.  . It might even be an entrepreneurial scheme. -Maybe Volescu did this alone, hiring gunmen, -bribing the security guard, so that he could -sell the babies later to the highest bidder.  + Bad news, sorry, said the man in the 0back seat. But you still got one baby, yes? In wife, yes?  0 Still the one, said Bean. If they had the ordinary amount of good luck.  , Which didnt seem to be the trend at the moment.  . Still, going to Damascus If Alai was really -taking them into his protection, Petra would %be safe there. Petra and perhaps one -child-who might have Antons Key after all, +might be doomed to die without ever seeing ,the age of twenty. At least those two would be safe.  - But the others were out there, children of ,Beans and Petras who would be raised by strangers, as tools, as slaves.  + There had been nine embryos. One had been*implanted, and three were discarded. That .would leave five in the possession of Volescu -or Achilles or whoever it was who took them.  - Unless Volescu had actually found a way to &switch the three that were supposedly )discarded, switching containers somehow. )There might be eight embryos unaccounted -for but probably not, probably only the five )they knew about. Bean and Petra had both ,been watching Volescu too carefully for him /to get away with the first three, hadnt they? - By force of will, Bean turned his thoughts ,away from worries he could do nothing about &at this moment, and took stock of his situation.  - Thank you, said Bean to the men in the 3car. I was careless. Without you, Id be dead. . Not careless, said the man in the back. .Young man in love. Wife has baby in her Time of hope.  , Followed immediately, Bean realized, by a +time of near despair. He should never have )agreed to father children, no matter how )much Petra wanted to, no matter how much *he loved Petra, no matter how much he too /yearned for offspring, for a family. He should -have stood firm, because then this would not *have been possible. There would have been .nothing for his enemies to steal from him. He +and Petra would still have been in hiding, *undetected, because they would never have #had to go to a snake like Volescu.  - Babies good, said the man in the back. ,Make you scared, make you crazy. Somebody (take away babies, somebody hurt babies, (make you crazy. But good anyway. Babies good.  ) Yeah. Well. Maybe Bean would live long (enough to know about that, and maybe he wouldnt.  , Because now he knew his lifes work, for ,whatever time he had left before he died of giantism.  ) He had to get his babies back. Whether +they should ever have existed or not, they (existed now, each with its own separate .genetic identity, each very much alive. Until *they were taken, they had been nothing to .him but cells in a solution-all that mattered -was the one that would be implanted in Petra,+the one that would grow and become part of -their family. But now they all mattered. Now ,they were all alive to him, because someone "else had them, meant to use them.  + He even regretted the ones that had been -disposed of. Even if the test had been real, .even if they had had Antons Key, what right 'did he have to snuff out their genetic /identity, just because he oh-so-altruistically -wanted to spare them the sorrow of a life as short as his?  - Suddenly he realized what he was thinking. What it meant.  + Sister Carlotta, you always wanted me to 'turn Christian-and not just Christian, 0Catholic. Well, here I am, thinking that as soon+as sperm and egg combine, theyre a human $life, and its wrong to harm them.  0 Well, Im not Catholic, and it wasnt wrong 0to want children to grow up to have a full life 0instead of this fifth-of-a-life that Im headedfor.  - But how was I different, flushing three of (those embryos, from Volescu? He flushed (twenty-two of them, I flushed three. He /waited till they were nearly two years further &along in development-gestation plus a +year-but in the end, is it really all that different?  - Would Sister Carlotta condemn him for that?+Had he committed a mortal sin? Was he only *getting what he deserved now, losing five 'because he willingly threw away three?  - No, he could not imagine her saying that to/him. Or even thinking it to herself. She would .rejoice that he had decided to have a child at+all. She would be glad if Petra really was pregnant.  - But she would also agree with him that the -five that were now in someone elses hands, ,the five that might be implanted in someone /else and turned into babies, he couldnt just *let them go. He had to find them and save them and bring them home.   PUTTING OUT FIRES   From: Han Tzu  To: Snow Tiger  Re: stones  ' I am pleased and honored to have the +chance once again to offer my poor counsel )to your bright magnificence. My previous ,advice to ignore the piles of stones in the -road was obviously foolish, and you saw that #a much wiser course was to declare stone-carrying to be illegal.  . Now I once again have the glorious privilege)of giving bad advice to him who does not need counsel.  # Here is the problem as I see it:  # 1. Having declared a law against )stone-carrying, you cannot back down and )repeal the law without showing weakness.  - 2. The law against stone-carrying puts you +in the position of arresting and punishing women and small children, . which is filmed and smuggled out of India to)the great embarrassment of the Universal Peoples State.  / 3. The coastline of India being so extensive *and our navy so small, we cannot stop the smuggling of these vids.  ( 4. The stones block the roads, making &transportation of troops and supplies (unpredictable and dangerous, disrupting schedules.  , 5. The stone piles are being called The ,Great Wall of India and other names which ,make them a symbol of revolutionary defiance"of the Universal Peoples State.  ) You tested me by suggesting that there +were only two possibilities, which in your )wisdom you knew would lead to disastrous -consequences. Repealing the law or ceasing to#enforce it would encourage further ,lawlessness. Stricter enforcement will only ,make martyrs, inflame the opposition, shame -us among the ignorant barbarian nations, and encourage further lawlessness.  / Through unbelievable luck, I have not failed )your clever test. I have found the third "alternative that you already saw:  - I see now that your plan is to fill trucks /with fine gravel and huge stones. Your soldiers0will go to villages which have built these new, /higher barricades. They will back the trucks up-to the barricades and dump the gravel and the0boulders in front of their pile, but not on top of it.  / 1 . The rebellious, ungrateful Indian people )will reflect upon the difference in size (between the Great Wall of India and the Gravel and Boulders of China.  - 2. Because you will have blocked all roads 0into and out of each village, they will not get 0any trucks or buses into or out of their village-until they have moved not only the Great Wall-of India but also the Gravel and Boulders of China.  1 3. They will find that the gravel is too small +and the boulders are too large to be moved .easily. The great exertion that they must use 0to clear the roads will be a sufficient teacher -without any further punishment of any person. . 4. Any vids smuggled out of India will show +that we have only done to their roads what /they voluntarily did themselves, only more. And+the only punishment foreigners will see is *Indians picking up rocks and moving them, )which is the very thing they chose to do themselves in the first place.  , 5. Because there are not enough trucks in 0India to pile gravel and boulders in more than a0small fraction of the villages which have built *a Great Wall of India, the villages which -receive this treatment should be chosen with *care to make sure that the maximum number +of roads are blocked, disrupting trade and food supplies throughout India.  . 6. You will also make sure sufficient roads $are kept open for our supplies, but -checkpoints will be set up far from villages +and in places that cannot be filmed from a 0distance. No civilian trucks will be allowed to pass.  0 7. Certain villages that are starving will be .supplied with small amounts of food airlifted *by the Chinese military, who will come as .saviors bringing food to those who innocently %suffer because of the actions of the .rebellious and disobedient blockers of roads. +We will provide film of these humanitarian /operations by our military to all foreign news media.  , I applaud your wisdom in thinking of this /plan, and thank you for allowing one so foolish)as myself to have this chance to examine *your way of thinking and see how you will -turn embarrassment to a great lesson for the 1ungrateful Indian people. Unless, like last time,-you have a plan that is even more subtle and .wise, which I have been unable to anticipate.  , From this child who prostrates himself at your feet to learn wisdom,   Han Tzu   ( Peter did not want to get out of bed. + This had never happened to him before in his life.  - No, not strictly true. He had often wanted )not to get out of bed, but he had always )gone ahead and gotten out of bed anyway. )What was different today was that he was 0still in bed at nine-thirty in the morning, even+though he had a press conference scheduled )for less than half an hour from now in a -conference room in the 0. Henry Hotel in his )home town of Greensboro, North Carolina.  - He could not plead jet lag. There was only ,an hours time difference between Ribeirao *Preto and Greensboro. It would be a great *embarrassment if he did not get up. So he would get up. Very soon now.  , Not that it would make any difference. He /might, for the moment, still have the title of 'Hegemon, but there were people in many 0countries with tides like king and duke ,and marquis, who nevertheless cooked or 0took pictures or fixed automobiles for a living.*Perhaps he could go back to college under ,another name and train himself for a career .like his fathers, a quiet one working for a company somewhere.  , Or he could go into the bathroom and fill *the tub with water and lie down in it and ,breathe the water in. A few moments of panic(and flailing around, and then the whole *problem would go away. In fact, if he hit +himself very hard in various places on his +body, it might look as though he struggled -with an assailant and was murdered. He might -even be considered a martyr. At least people ,might think that he was important enough to 'have an enemy who thought he was worth killing.  . Any minute now, thought Peter, I will get up-and shower so I dont look so bedraggled to the media.  - I ought to prepare a statement, he thought.-Something to the effect of, Why I am not as)pathetic and stupid as my recent actions (prove me to be. Or perhaps the direct ,approach: Why I am even more pathetic and $stupid than my recent actions might indicate.  * Given his recent track record, he would *probably be saved from the bathtub, given 'CPR, and then someone would notice the 'bruises on his body and the lack of an ,assailant and the story would get out about (his pathetic effort to make his suicide .attempt look like a brutal murder, thus making-his life even more worthless than it already was.  + Another knock on the door. Couldnt the *maid read the do-not-disturb sign? It was .written in four languages. Could she possibly 0be illiterate in all four of them? No doubt she was also illiterate in a fifth.  & Twenty-five minutes until the press *conference. Did I doze off? That would be 8nice. Just. . . doze. . . off. Sorry, I overslept. Ive,been so very busy. Its exhausting work to .turn over-to a megalomaniac killer-everything #I built up through my entire life.  1 Knock knock knock. Its a good thing I didnt1kill myself. All this knocking would have ruined )my concentration and entirely spoiled my 0death scene. I should die like Seneca, with fine.last speeches. Or Socrates, though that would 0be harder, since I dont have hemlock but I do +have a bathtub. No razor blades, though. I +dont grow enough of a beard to need any. .Just another sign that Im only a stupid kid ,who should never have been permitted to takea role in the grownup world.  ) The door to his room opened and jammed against the locking bar.  + How outrageous. Who dare to use a passkey on his room?  * And not just a passkey! Someone had the -tool that opened the locking bar and now his door was wide open.  0 Assassins! Well, let them kill me here in the +bed, facing them, not cowering in a corner begging them not to shoot.   Poor baby, said Mother 1 Hes depressed, said Father Dont make fun of him.  / I cant help but think of what Ender went +through, fighting the Formics almost every ,day for weeks, completely exhausted, and yet%he always got up and fought again. * Peter wanted to scream at her. How dare *she compare what he had just gone through -with Enders legendary suffering. Ender /never lost a battle, did she think of that? And-he had just lost the war! He was entitled to sleep.   Ready? One, two, three.  + Peter felt the whole mattress slide down +the bed until he was awkwardly dumped onto .the floor, banging his head against the frame of the bedsprings.   Ow! he cried.  . Wouldnt that make a noble last word to be recorded by posterity?  * How did the great Peter Wiggin, Hegemon +of Earth (and, of course, brother of Ender 'Wiggin, sainted savior), meet his end?  . He sustained a terrible head injury when his+parents dragged him out of a hotel bed the .morning after his ignominious escape from his &own compound where not one person had (threatened him in any way and he had no -evidence of any impending threat against his person.   And what were his last words?  , A one-word sentence, fit to be engraved onhis monument. Ow.  + I dont think we can get him into the ,shower without actually touching his sacred person, said Mother  ) I think youre right, said Father  ( And if we touch him, said Mother, .theres a real possibility that we will be struck dead on the spot.  $ Other people had mothers who were #compassionate, tender, comforting, -understanding. His mother was a sarcastic hag&who clearly hated him and always had.   Ice bucket, said Father.   No ice.   But it holds water.   This was too stupid. The old ,throw-water-on-the-sleeping-teenager trick.  0 Just go away, Im getting up in a couple of minutes.  1 No, said Mother. Youre getting up now. /Your father is filling the ice bucket. You can hear the water running.  , OK, OK, leave the room so I can take my .clothes off and get in the shower. Or is this *just a subterfuge so you can see me naked +again? Youve never let me forget how you -used to change my diapers, so apparently that+was a very important stage in your life.  + He was answered by having water dashed in,his face. Not a whole bucketful, but enough to soak his head and shoulders.  1 Sorry I didnt have time to fill it, said ,Father. Hut when you started making crude *sexual innuendos to my wife, I had to use (whatever amount of water was at hand to *shut you up before you said enough that I 0would have to beat your bratty little face in. - Peter got up from the mattress on the floor1and pulled off the shorts he slept in. Is this what you came in to see?  0 Absolutely, said Father. You were wrong,Theresa: he does have balls.  & Not enough of them, apparently.  ) Peter stalked between them and slammed the bathroom door behind him.   . Half an hour later, after keeping the press ,waiting only ten minutes past the appointed .time, Peter walked alone onto the platform at -one end of a packed conference room. All the 'reporters were holding up their little +steadycams, the lenses peering out between 0the fingers of their clenched fists. It was the (best turnout he had ever had at a press *conference-though to be fair he had never .actually held one in the United States. Maybe )here they would all have been like this.  0 Im as surprised as you are to find myself /here today, said Peter with a smile. But I *must say Im grateful to the source that -provided me with information that allowed me -to make my exit, along with my family, from a+place that had once been a safe haven, but *which had become the most dangerous place in the world to me.  , I am also grateful to the government of -the United States, which not only invited me *to bring the office of Hegemon here, on a .temporary basis, of course, but also provided ,me with a generous contingent of the Secret -Service to secure the area. I dont believe )theyre necessary, at least not in such 1numbers, but then, until recently I didnt think,I needed any protection inside the Hegemony compound in Ribeirao Preto.  - His smile invited a laugh, and he got one. 'More of a release of tension than real 'amusement, but it would do. Father had +stressed that-make them laugh now and then,+so everybody feels relaxed. That will make /them think youre relaxed and confident, too.  * My information suggests that the many -loyal employees of the Office of Hegemon are (in no danger whatsoever, and when a new /permanent headquarters is established, I invite-all those who want to, to resume their jobs. +The disloyal employees, of course, already have other employment.  ( Another laugh-but a couple of audible -groans, too. The press smelled blood, and it .didnt help that Peter looked-and was-so very*young. Humor, yes, but dont look like a 1wise-cracking kid. Especially dont look like a ,wise-cracking kid whose parents had to drag him out of bed this morning.  - I will not give you any information that +would compromise my recent benefactor. What0I can tell you is this: My inconveniently sudden)journey-this disruption in the Office of Hegemon-is entirely my fault.  , There. That wasnt what a kid would say. 0That wasnt even what adult politicians usuallysaid.  & Against the advice of my military $commander and others, I brought the /notorious Achilles Flandres, at his own request/and with his assurances of loyalty to me, into ,my compound. I was warned that he could not +be trusted, and I believed those warnings.  + However, I thought I was clever enough -and careful enough to detect any betrayal on 'his part in plenty of time. That was a .miscalculation on my part. Thanks to the help #of others, it was not a fatal one.  ' The disinformation now coming from )Achilles Flandres in the former Hegemony +compound about my alleged embezzlement is, /of course, false. I have always maintained the -financial records of the Hegemony in public. #The broad categories of income and ,disbursement have been published every year ,on the nets, and this morning I have opened .up the entire set of financial records of the +Hegemony, and my own personal records, on a'secure site with the address Hegemon 0Financial Disclosure. Except for a few secret (items in the budget, which any military )analyst can tell you is barely enough to -account for the very few military actions of )my office over the past few years, every .dollar is accounted for. And, yes, we do keep -those records in dollars, since the Hegemony -currency has fluctuated widely in value, but ,with a distinctly downward trend, in recent years.  . Another laugh. But everyone was writing like.crazy, too, and he could see that this policy of full disclosure was working.  ) Besides seeing that nothing has been *embezzled from the Hegemony, Peter went .on, you will also see that the Hegemony has .been working with extremely limited funds. It /has been a challenge, with so little money, to +marshal the nations of the world to oppose +the imperialistic designs of the so-called 1Universal Peoples State otherwise known as +the Chinese Empire. We have been extremely -grateful to those nations who have continued (to support the Hegemony at one level or *another. In deference to some of them who ,prefer their contribution remain secret, we )have withheld some twenty names. You are -free to speculate about their identity but I /will say neither yes or no, except to tell you *candidly that China is not one of them.  ) The biggest laugh yet, and a couple of -people even clapped their hands a few times.  , I am outraged that the usurper Achilles &Flandres has called into question the -credentials of the Minister of Colonization. /But if there were any doubts about Flandress ,plans, the fact that this was his first act .should tell you a great deal about the future 0he plans for us all. Achilles Flandres will not *rest until every human being is under his )complete control. Or, of course, dead.  + Peter paused, looked down at the rostrum -as if he had notes there, though of course he didnt.  . One thing I do not regret, however, about 2bringing Achilles Flandres to Ribefro Preto, is )that I have had a chance now to take his -measure as a human being-though it is only by.the broadest definition that I include him in .that category. Achilles Flandres has achieved 'his power in the world, not by his own /intelligence or courage, but by exploiting the 'intelligence and courage of others. He -engineered the kidnapping of the children who&helped my brother, Ender Wiggin, save 'humanity from the alien invaders. Why? ,Because he knew that he himself did not have,any hope of ruling the world if any of them were working against him.  . Achilles Flandress power comes from the 2willingness of others to believe his lies. But his1lies will no longer bring him new allies as they ,have in the past. He has hitched his little ,wagon to China and drives China like an ox. *But I have heard him laughing at the poor -fools in the Chinese government who believed -him, mocking them for their petty ambitions, (as he told me how unworthy they were to )have him guiding their affairs otherwise known as the Chinese Empire.  - No doubt much of this was merely part of *his attempt to convince me that he was no /longer working with them. But his ridicule was ,by name and very specific. His contempt for *them was genuine. I almost feel sorry for -them-because if his power is ever solidified -and he has no further use for them, then theywill see what I saw.  , Of course, he has scorn for me as well, -and if hes laughing at me right now, I can -only agree with him. I was snookered, ladies /and gentlemen. In that, I join a distinguished )company, some of whom fell from power in +Russia after the kidnappings, some of whom /are now suffering as political prisoners after -Chinas conquest of India, and some of whom -even now are arresting people in India for carrying stones.  / I only hope that I will turn out to be the ,last person so vain and foolish as to think ,that Achilles Flandres can be controlled or (exploited to serve some higher purpose. .Achilles Flandres serves only one purpose-his .own pleasure. And what pleases him. . . would ,be to rule over every man, woman, and child in the human race.  * I was not a fool when I committed the ,Hegemony to opposing the imperialistic acts +of the Chinese government. Now, because of %my own mistakes, the prestige of the +Hegemony is temporarily diminished. But my /opposition to the Chinese Empires oppression -of more than half the people of the world is -not diminished. I am the implacable enemy of emperors.  , That was as good a stopping point as any.  " Peter bowed his head briefly to .acknowledge their polite applause. Some in the*crowd applauded more than politely-but he ,was also aware of those who did not clap at all.  + The questions began then, but because he .had accused himself from the start, he fielded.them easily. Two questioners tried to get more-information on the source who tipped him off +and what it was he tipped Peter off about, 0but Peter only said, If I say anything more on+this subject, someone who has been kind to 0me will certainly die. I am surprised you would *even ask. After the second time he said 'this-word for word-no one asked such a question again.  * As to those whose questions were merely -veiled accusations, he agreed with all those -who implied that he had been foolish. When he.was asked if he had proven himself too foolish/to hold the office of Hegemon, his first reply 0was a joke: I was told when I took the job in /the first place that accepting it proved I was /too dimwitted to serve. Laughter, of course. ,And then he said, But I have tried to use ,that office to serve the cause of peace and +self-government for all of humanity, and I -challenge anyone to show that I did anything )other than advance that cause as much as )was possible with the resources I had.  + Fifteen minutes later, he apologized for .having no further time. But please email me ,any further questions you might have, and my/staff and I will try to get answers back to you+in time for your deadlines. One final word before I go.   They fell silent, waiting.  + The future happiness of the human race +depends on good people who want to live at (peace with their neighbors, and who are .willing to protect their neighbors from those .who dont want peace. Im only one of those /people. Im probably not the best of them, and+I hope to God Im not the smartest. But I +happen to be the one who was entrusted with-the office of Hegemon. Until my term expires .or I am lawfully replaced by the nations that -have supported the Hegemony, I will continue to serve in that office.  ) More applause-and this time he allowed ,himself to believe that there might be some +real enthusiasm in it. He came back to his room exhausted.  ) Mother and Father were there, waiting. ,They had refused to go downstairs with him. ,If your mother and father are with you, +Father had said, then this better be the .press conference where you resign. But if you +intend to stay in office, then you go down /there alone. Just you. No staff. No parents. Nofriends. No notes. Just you.  ) Father had been right. Mother had been /right, too. Ender, bless his little heart, was /the example he had to follow. If you lose, you lose, but you dont give up.  " How did it go? asked Mother  0 Well enough, I think, said Peter I took -questions for fifteen minutes, but they were ,starting to repeat themselves or get off on -wild tangents so I told them to email me any 0further questions. Was it carried on the vid?  + We polled thirty news stations, said -Father, and the top twenty or so newswebs, and most of them had it live.  ! So you watched? said Peter  0 No, we flipped through, said Mother But )what we saw looked and sounded good. You 2didnt bat an eye. I think you brought it off.   Well see.  0 Long term, said Father Youre going to *have a bumpy couple of months. Especially *because you can count on it that Achilles "hasnt emptied his quiver yet.  / Bow and arrow analogies? said Peter Youare so old.   They chuckled at his joke.   Mom. Dad. Thanks.  - All we did, said Father, was what we )knew that tomorrow you would have wished we had done today.  ( Peter nodded. Then he sat down on the 1edge of the bed. Man, I cant believe I was so3dumb. I cant believe I didnt listen to Bean andPetra and Sun and-  % And us, said Mother helpfully.  # And you and Graft said Peter  * You trusted your own judgment, said /Father, and thats exactly what you have to .do. You were wrong this time, but you havent.been wrong often, and I doubt youll ever be this wrong again.  - For heavens sake dont start taking a ,vote on your decisions, said Mother. Or 0looking at opinion polls or trying to guess how )your actions will play with the press.   I wont, said Peter.  , Because, you see, youre Locke, said -Mother. You already ended one war. After a (few days or weeks, the press will start remembering that. And youre %Demosthenes-you have quite a fervent following.   Had, said Peter.  % They saw what they expected from *Demosthenes, said Mother. You didnt +weasel, you didnt make excuses, you took 'the blame you deserved and refused the -accusations that were false. You put out your evidence-  . That was good advice, Dad, thanks, said Peter  0 And, said Mother, you showed courage.  ) By running away from Ribeiro Preto )before anyone so much as glared at me?  + By getting out of bed, she answered.  - Peter shook his head. Then my courage is nothing but borrowed courage.  0 Not borrowed, said Mother Stored up. In .us. Like a bank. Weve seen your courage and +we saved some for you when you temporarily &ran out and needed some of it back.  2 Cash flow problem, thats all it was, said Father  ( How many times are you two going to (have to save me from myself before this ,whole drama runs its course? asked Peter.  - I think six times, said Father No, 1eight, said Mother. You two think youre so cute, said Peter Mm-hm.  / A knock at the door Room service! called a voice from outside.  . Father was at the door in two quick strides.#Three tomato juices? he asked.  & No, no, nothing like that. Lunch. !Sandwiches. Bowl of ice cream.  , Even with that reassurance, Father stepped.to the side of the door and pulled it open as ,far as the lock bar allowed. Nobody fired a +weapon, and the guy with the food laughed. ,Oh, everybody forgets to undo that thing, happens all the time.  % Father opened the door and stepped -outside long enough to make sure nobody else /was in the hail waiting to follow room service inside.  ) When the waiter was coming through the +door Peter turned around to get out of his +way, just in time to see Mother slipping a pistol back into her purse.  + Since when did you start packing? he asked her.  * Since your chief of computer security 0turned out to be Achilless good friend, she said.   Ferreira? asked Peter  ) Hes been telling the press that he (installed snoopware to find out who was %embezzling funds, and was shocked to discover it was you.  - Oh, said Peter. Of course they ran a "press conference opposite mine.  , But almost everybody carried yours live )and his was just excerpted. And they all /followed the Ferreira clip with a repeat of you%announcing that you were posting the *Hegemony financial records on the nets.   Bet we crash the server.  - No, all the news organizations cloned it first thing.  . Father had finished signing off on the meal ,and the waiter was gone, the door relocked.  2 Lets eat, said Father If I recall, this "place always has great lunches.  1 Its good to be home, said Mother Well, not home, but in town, anyway.  % Peter took a bite and it was good.  + They had ordered exactly the sandwich he *would have ordered, thats how well they -knew him. Their lives really were focused on 0their children. He couldnt have ordered their /sandwiches. Three place settings on the little .rolling cart the waiter had wheeled in. There 0should have been five. Im sorry, he said.  . For what? asked Father, his mouth full.  2 That Im the only kid youve got on Earth. / Could be worse, said Father Could have )been none. And Mother reached over and patted his hand.   CALIPH  % From: Graff%pilgrimage@colmin .gov  To: [ocke%erasmus@polnet.gov  Re: The better part of valor  . I know you dont want to hear from me. But )given that you are no longer in a secure /situation, and our mutual foe is playing again )on the world stage, I offer you and your ,parents sanctuary. I am not suggesting that *you go into the colony program. Quite the *contrary-I regard you as the only hope of /rallying worldwide opposition to our foe. That *is why your physical protection is of the utmost importance to us.  - For that reason, I have been authorized to .invite you to a facility off planet for a few -days, a few weeks, a few months. It has full (connections to the nets and you will be .returned to Earth within forty-eight hours of ,your request. No one will even know you are .gone. But it will put you out of reach of any .attempt either to kill or capture you or your parents.  * Please take this seriously. Now that we #know our enemy has not severed his ,connections with his previous host, certain *intelligence already obtained now makes a "different kind of sense. Our best .interpretation of this data is that an attempton your life is imminent.  % A temporary disappearance from the -surface of the Earth would be very useful to /you right now. Think of it as the equivalent of/Lincolns secret journey through Baltimore in +order to assume the presidency. Or, if you 0prefer a less lofty precedent, Lenins journey $to Russia in a sealed railroad car.  + Petra assumed that she had been taken to (Damascus because Ambul had succeeded in -making contact with Alai, but neither of them-met her at the airport. Nor was there anyone +waiting for her at the security gates. Not ,that she wanted someone carrying a sign that/said Petra Arkanian-she might as well send -Achilles an email telling him where she was.  , She had felt nauseated through the entire .flight, but she knew it could not possibly be -from pregnancy, not this quickly. It took at .least a few hours for the hormones to start to/flow, It had to be the stark fear that started /when she realized that if Alais people could +find exactly where she was, and have a cab 'waiting for her, so could Achilless.  ) How did Bean know to choose the cab he ,chose for her? Was it some predilection for -Indonesians? Did he reason from evidence she /didnt even notice? Or did he choose the third(cab simply because he didnt trust the concept of next in line?  ( What cab had he got into, and who was driving it?  + Someone bumped into her from behind, and -for a moment she had a rush of adrenaline as 1she thought: This is it! Im being killed by an 'assassin who approached me from behind )because I was too stupid to look around!  $ After the momentary panic-and the *momentary self-blame-she realized that of /course it was not an assassin, it was simply a /passenger from her flight, hurrying to get out 0of the airport, while she, uncertain and lost in-her own thoughts, had been walking too slowlyand obstructing traffic.  0 Ill go to a hotel, she thought. But not one /that Europeans always go to. But wait, if I go *to a hotel where everybody but me is Arab 2looking, Ill stand out. Too obvious. Bean would -tease me for not having developed any useful +survival habits. Though at least I thought *twice before checking into an Arab hotel.  + The only luggage she had was the bag she 'was carrying over her shoulder, and at -customs she went through the usual questions.2This is all your luggage? Yes. How long .do you plan to stay? A couple of weeks, I ,expect. Two weeks, and no more clothing !than this? I plan to shop.  * It always aroused suspicions to enter a -country with too little luggage, but as Bean /said, its better to have a few more questions,at customs or passport control than to have *to go to the baggage claim area and stand +round where bad people have plenty of time to find you.  - The only thing worse, in Beans view, was )to use the first restroom in the airline *terminal. Everybody knows women have to pee incessantly, said Bean.  0 Actually, its not incessant, and most men /dont notice even if it is, said Petra. But +considering that Bean seemed never to need ,to pee at all, she supposed that her normal %human needs seemed excessive to him.  ) She was well trained now, however. She .didnt even glance at the first restroom she .passed, or the second. She probably wouldnt *use a bathroom until she got to her hotel room.  * Bean, when are you coming? Did they get +you onto the next flight? How will we find each other in this city? , She knew he would be furious, however, if /she lingered in the airport hoping to meet his .flight. For one thing, she would have no idea -where his flight would be coming from-he was -wont to choose very odd itineraries, so that 0he could very easily be on a flight from Cairo, ,Moscow, Algiers, Rome, or Jerusalem. No, it ,was better to go to a hotel, check in under )an alias that he knew about, and- Mrs. Delphiki?  - She turned at once at the sound of Beans +mothers name, and then realized that the ,tall, white-haired gentleman was addressing her.  4 Yes. She laughed. Im still not used to the.idea of being called by my husbands name.  0 Forgive me, said the man. Do you prefer your birth name?  ( I havent used my own name in many -months, said Petra. Who sent you to meet me?   Your host, said the man.  - I have had many hosts in my life, said -Petra. Some of whom I do not wish to visit again.  . But such people as that would not live in ,Damascus. There was a twinkle in his eye. +Then he leaned in close. There are names $that it is not good to say aloud.  - Mine apparently not being one of them, she said with a smile.  1 In this time and place, he said, you are "safe while others might not be.  ) Im safe because youre with me?  / You are safe because I and my. . . what is 1your Battle School slang?.. . my jeesh and I are here watching over you.  . I didnt see anybody watching over me.  - You didnt even see me, said the man. .This is because were very good at what we do.  2 I did see you. I just didnt realize you had taken any notice of me.   As I said.  / She smiled. Very well, I will not name our 1host. And since you wont either, Im afraid I cant go with you anywhere.  / Oh, so suspicious, he said with a rueful 2smile. Very well, then. Perhaps I can facilitate*matters by placing you under arrest. He )showed her a very official-looking badge -inside a wallet. Though she had no idea what -organization had issued the badge, since she +had never learned the Arabic alphabet, let alone the language itself.  * But Bean had taught her: Listen to your 0fear, and listen to your trust. She trusted this+man, and so she believed his badge without 0being able to read it. So youre with Syrian law enforcement, she said.  1 As often as not, he replied, smiling again as he put his wallet away.  % Lets walk outside, she said.  5 Lets not, he said. Lets go into a little room here at the airport.  ) A toilet stall? she asked. Or an interrogation room?   My office, he said.  - If it was an office, it was certainly well -disguised. They got to it by stepping behind ,the El Al ticket counter and going into the employees back room.  - El Al? she asked. Youre Israeli?  0 Israel and Syria are very close friends for +the past hundred years. You should keep up on your history.  ) They walked down a corridor lined with -employee lockers, a drinking fountain, and a couple of restroom doors.  - I didnt think the friendship was close -enough to allow Syrian law enforcement to use*Israels national airline, said Petra.  ' I lied about being with Syrian law enforcement, he said.  . And did they lie out front about being El Al?  ' He palmed open an unmarked door, but .when she made as if to follow him through it, +he shook his head. No no, first you must place the palm of your hand..  , She complied, but wondered how they could 'possibly have her palm print and sweat signature here in Syria.  ) No. They didnt, of course. They were -getting them right now, so that wherever else+she went, she would be recognized by their computer security systems.  - The door led to a stairway that went down.  + And farther down, and farther yet, until !they had to be well underground.  & I dont think this complies with /international handicapped access regulations, said Petra.  / What the regulators dont see wont hurt us, said the man.  , A theory that has gotten so many people $into so much trouble, said Petra.  + They came to an underground tunnel, where.a small electric car was waiting for them. No .driver. Apparently her companion was going to drive.  * Not so. He got into the backseat beside %her, and the car took off by itself.  1 Let me guess, said Petra. You dont take+most of your VIPs through the El Al ticket counter.  / There are other ways to get to this little 0street, said the man. But the people looking+for you would not have staked out El Al.  - Youd be surprised at how often my enemyis two steps ahead.  - But what if your friends are three steps -ahead? Then he laughed as if it had been a joke, and not a boast.  2 Were alone in a car, said Petra. Lets have some names now.  $ I am Ivan Lankowski, he said.  . She laughed in spite of herself. But when he0did not smile, she stopped. Im sorry, she -said. You dont look Russian, and this is Damascus.  ' My paternal grandfather was ethnic +Russian, my grandmother was ethnic Kazakh, ,both were Muslims. My mothers parents are /still living, thanks be to Allah, and they are both Jordanian.  & And you never changed the name?  / It is the heart that makes the Muslim. The -heart and the life. My name contains part of /my genealogy. Since Allah willed me to be born ,in this family, who am I to try to deny his gift?  2 Ivan Lankowski, said Petra. The name Id -like to hear is the name of the one who sent you.  2 Ones superior officer is never named. It is a basic rule. of security.  1 Petra sighed. I suppose this proves Im not in Kansas anymore.  2 I dont believe, said Lankowski, that you+have ever been in Kansas, Mrs. Delphiki.   It was a reference to-  ) I have seen The Wizard of Oz, said /Lankowski. I am, after all, an educated man. And... I have been in Kansas.  * Then you have found wisdom I can only dream of.  / He chuckled. It is an unforgettable place. .Just like Jordan was right after the Ice Age, .covered with tall grasses, stretching forever -in every direction, with the sky everywhere, +instead of being confined to a small patch above the trees.  / You are a poet, said Petra. And also a )very old man, to remember the Ice Age.  . The Ice Age was my fathers time. I only +remember the rainy times right after it.  + I had no idea there were tunnels under Damascus.  & In our wars with the west, said +Lankowski, we learned to bury everything that we did not want blown up. .Individually-targeted bombs were first tested -on Arabs, did you know that? The archives are'full of pictures of exploding Arabs.  , Ive seen some of the pictures, said /Petra. I also recall that during those wars, ,some of the individuals targeted themselves ,by strapping on their own bombs and blowing them up in public places.  . Yes, we did not have guided missiles, but we did have feet.  " And the bitterness remains?  . No, no bitterness, said Lankowski. We *once ruled the known world, from Spain to 0India. Muslims ruled in Moscow. and our soldiers)reached into France, and to the gates of +Vienna. Our dogs were better educated than *the scholars of the West. Then one day we +woke up and we were poor and ignorant, and -somebody else had all the guns. We knew this 0could not be the will of Allah, so we fought.  1 And discovered that the will of Allah was . .. 7  * The will of Allah was for many of our -people to die, and for the West to occupy our+countries again and again until we stopped -fighting. We learned our lesson. We are very -well behaved now. We abide by all the treaty ,terms. We have freedom of the press, freedom-of religion, liberated women, and democratic elections.  " And tunnels under Damascus.  0 And memories. He smiled at her And cars without drivers.  % Israeli technology, I believe.  / For a long time we thought of Israel as the/enemys toehold in our holy land. Then one day*we remembered that Israel was a member of )our family who had gone away into exile, )learned everything our enemies knew, and *then came home again. We stopped fighting -our brother, and our brother gave us all the -gifts of the West, but without destroying our,souls. How sad it would have been if we had -killed all the Jews and driven them out. Who ,would have taught us then? The Armenians?  / She laughed at his joke, but also listened to-his lecture. So this was how they lived with (their history-they assigned meanings to +everything that allowed them to see Gods ,hand in everything. Purpose. Even power and hope.  . But they also still remembered that Muslims )had once ruled the world. And they still %regarded democracy as something they &adopted in order to placate the West.  1 I really should read the Quran. she thought. +To see what lies underneath the fa ade of western-style sophistication.  $ This man was sent to meet me, she ,thought, because this is the face they want +visitors to Syria to see. He told me these +stories, because this is the attitude they #want me to believe that they have.  / But this is the pretty version. The one that +has been tailored to fit Western ears. The .bones of the stories, the blood and the sinews!of it, were defeat, humiliation, ,incomprehension of the will of God, loss of -greatness as a people, and a sense of ongoing+defeat. These are people with something to *prove and with lost status to retrieve. A $people who want, not vengeance, but vindication.   Very dangerous people.  / Perhaps also very useful people, to a point.  - She took her observations to the next step,*but couched her words in the same kind of +euphemistic story that he had told. From -what you tell me, said Petra, the Muslim /world sees this dangerous time in world history-as the moment Allah has prepared you for. You%were humbled before, so you would be .submissive to Allah and ready for him to lead you to victory.  * He said nothing at all for a long time.   I did not say that.  1 Of course you did, said Petra. It was the-premise underlying everything else you said. -But you dont seem to realize that you have /told this, not to an enemy, but to a friend.  ' If you are a friend of God, said ,Lankowski, why do you not obey his law?  / But I did not say 1 was a friend of God, 1said Petra. Only that I was a friend of yours. ,Some of us cannot live your law, but we can /still admire those who do, and wish them well, and help them when we can.  - And come to us for safety because in our /world there is safety to be had, while in your world there is none.   Fair enough, said Petra.  ( You are an interesting girl, said Lankowski.  , Ive commanded soldiers in war, said 1Petra, and Im married, and I might very well /be pregnant. When do I stop being just a girl? Under Islamic law, I mean.  , You axe a girl because you are at least .forty years younger than I am. It has nothing .to do with Islamic law. When you are sixty and3I am a hundred, inshallah, you will still be a girl to me.  , Bean is dead, isnt he? asked Petra.  0 Lankowski looked startled. No, he said at /once. It was a blurt, unprepared for, and Petrabelieved him.  - Then something terrible has happened that,you cant bear to tell me. My parents-have they been hurt?  % Why do you think such a thing?  - Because youre a courteous man. Because *your people changed my ticket and brought .me here and promised Id be reunited with my *husband. And in all this time weve been ,walking and riding together, you have never *so much as hinted about when or whether I would see Bean.  ) I apologize for being remiss, said *Lankowski. Your husband boarded a later .flight that came by a different route, but he 0is coming. And your family is fine, or at least +we have no reason to think theyre not.  2 And yet you are still hesitant, said Petra.  - There was an incident, said Lankowski. -Your husband is safe. Uninjured. But there ,was an attempt to kill him. We think if you -had been the one who got into the first cab, ,it would not have been a murder attempt. It would have been a kidnapping.  + And why do you think that? The one who 'wants my husband dead wants me dead as well.  * Ah, but he wants what you have inside !you even more, said Lankowski.  , It took only a moment for her to make the +logical assumption about why he would know 0that. Theyve taken the embryos, she said.  0 The security guard received a rise in salary-from a third party, and in return he allowed )someone to remove your frozen embryos.  * Petra had known Volescu was lying about -being able to tell which babies had Antons +Key. But now Bean would know it, too. They -both knew the value of Beans babies on the -open market, and that the highest price would-come if the babies had Antons Key in their .DNA, or the would-be buyers believed they did. . She found herself breathing too rapidly. It (would do no good to hyperventilate. She forced herself to calm down. + Lankowski reached out and patted her hand3lightly. Yes, he sees that Im upset. I dont yet1have Beans skill at hiding what I feel. Though 1of course his skill might be the simple result ofnot feeling anything.  + Bean would know that Volescu had deceived-them. For all they knew, the baby in her womb/might be afflicted with Beans condition. And (Bean had vowed that he would never have children with Antons Key.  * Have there been any ransom demands? she asked Lankowski.  . Alas, no, he replied. We do not think -they wish to trouble themselves with the near-impossibility of trying to obtain money from &you. The risk of being outsmarted and .arrested in the process of trying to exchange *items of value is too high, perhaps, when /compared with the risk involved in selling yourbabies to third parties.  0 I think the risks involved in that are very nearly zero, said Petra.  * Then we agree on the assessment. Your 3babies will be safe, if thats any consolation.  0 Safe to be raised by monsters, said Petra. , Perhaps they dont see themselves that way.  . Are you confessing that you people are in *the market for one of them to raise to be your boy or girl genius?  . We do not traffic in stolen flesh, said *Lankowski. We long had a problem with a 'slave trade that would not die. Now if .someone is caught owning or selling or buying 1or transporting a slave, or being in an official 0position and tolerating slavery, the penalty is -death. And the trials are swift, the appeals /never granted. No, Mrs. Delphiki, we are not a 'good place for someone to bring stolen embryos to try to sell them.  - Even in her concern about her children-her -potential children- she realized what he had ,just confessed: That the we he spoke of 'was not Syria, but rather some kind of ,pan-Islamic shadow government that did not, .officially at least, exist. An authority that transcended nations.  ( That was what Lankowski meant when he #said that he worked for the Syrian +government as often as not. Because as (often as not he worked for a government higher than that of Syria.  + They already have their own rival to the Hegemon.  / Perhaps someday, she said, my children -will be trained and used to help defend some nation from Muslim conquest.  . Since Muslims do not invade other nations )anymore, I wonder how such a thing could happen?  # You have Alai sequestered here ,somewhere. What is he doing, making baskets "or pottery to sell at the fair?  ( Are those the only choices you see? $Pottery-making or aggressive war?  , But his denials did not interest her. She -knew her analysis was as correct as it could *be without more data-his denial was not a &disproof, it was more likely to be an inadvertent confirmation.  * What interested her now was Bean. Where 'was he? When would he get to Damascus? +What would he do about the missing embryos? ) Or at least that was what she tried to /pretend to herself that she was interested in.  , Because all she could really think, in an ,undercurrent monologue that kept shouting at$her from deep inside her mind, was: ( He has my babies. Not the Pied Piper, 'prancing them away from town. Not Baba ,Yaga, luring them into her house on chicken 'legs. Not the witch in the gingerbread ,cottage, keeping them in cages and fattening'them up. None of those grey fantasies. +Nothing of fog and mist. Only the absolute .black of a place where no light shines, where light is not even remembered.  ! Thats where her babies were.  In the belly of the Beast.  . The car came to a stop at a simple platform.!The underground road went on, to ,destinations Petra did not bother trying to +guess. For all she knew, the tunnel ran to *Baghdad, to Amman, under the mountains to )Ankara, maybe even under the radioactive .desert to arise in the place where the ancient/stone waits for the half-life of the half-life /of the half-life of death to pass, so pilgrims can come again on haj.  * Lankowski reached out a hand and helped +her from the car, though she was young and (he was old. His attitude toward her was (strange, as if he had to treat her very /carefully. As if she was not robust, as if she could easily break. - And it was true. She was the one who could break. Who broke.  0 Only I cant break now. Because maybe I still.have one child. Maybe putting this one inside /me did not kill it, but gave it life. Maybe it -has taken root in my garden and will blossom *and bear fruit, a baby on a short twisted .stem. And when the fruit is plucked, out will (come stem and root as well, leaving the +garden empty. And where will the others be &then? They have been taken to grow in 0someone elses plot. Yet I will not break now, +because I have this one, perhaps this one. . Thank you, she said to Lankowski. But 0Im not so fragile as to need help getting out of a car. * He smiled at her, but said nothing. She -followed him into the elevator and they rose up into...  - A garden. As lush as the Philippine jungle )clearing where Peter gave the order that /would bring the Beast into their house, driving them out.  ) She saw that the courtyard was glassed 0over. Thats why it was so humid here. Thats -how it stayed so moist. Nothing was given up to the dry desert air.  * Sitting quietly on a stone chair in the .middle of the garden was a tall, slender man, +his skin the deep cacao brown of the upper Niger where he had been born.  * She did not walk up to him at once, but ,stood admiring what she saw. The long legs, ,clad not in the business suit that had been -the uniform of westerners for centuries now, .but in the robes of a sheik. His head was not +covered, however And there was no beard on /his chin. Still young, and yet also now a man.  - Alai, she murmured. So softly that she doubted he could hear.  ) And perhaps he did not hear, but chose ,that moment only by coincidence, to turn and.see her. His brooding expression softened into-a smile. But it was not the boyish grin that (she had known when he bounded along the .low-gravity inner corridors of Battle School. .This smile had weariness in it, and old fears ,long mastered but still present. It was the smile of wisdom.  - She realized then why Alai had disappeared from view.  * He is Caliph. They have chosen a Caliph /again, all the Muslim world under the authorityof one man, and it is Alai.  - She could not know this, not just from his -place here in a garden. Yet she knew from the-way he sat in it that this was a throne. She (knew from the way she was brought here, *with no trappings of power, no guards, no (passwords, just a simple man of elegant +courtesy leading her to the boy-man seated )on the ancient throne. Alais power was 0spiritual. In all of Damascus there was no safer*place than here. No one would bother him. /Millions would die before letting an uninvited stranger set foot here.  , He beckoned to her, and it was the gentle .invitation of a holy man. She did not have to +obey him, and he would not mind if she did not come. But she came.   Salaam, said Alai.   Salaam, said Petra.   Stone girl, he said.  / Hi, she said. The old joke between them, *him punning on the meaning of her name in .the original Greek, her punning on the jai of jai chat.  ' Im glad youre safe, he said.  - Your life has changed since you regained your freedom.  2 And yours, too, said Alai. Married now.  A good Catholic wedding.  + You should have invited me, he said.  ) You couldnt have come, she said.  / No, he agreed. But I would have wished you well.  - Instead you have done well by us when we needed it most.  1 Im sorry that I did nothing to protect the 2other. . . children. But I didnt know about them)in time. And I assumed that Bean and you ,would have had enough security. . . no, no, /please, Im sorry, Im reminding you of pain instead of soothing you.  & She sank down and sat on the ground )before his throne, and he leaned over to .gather her into his arms. She rested her head -and arms on his lap, and he stroked her hair .When we were children, playing the greatest .computer game in the world, we had no idea.   We were saving the world.  ) And now were creating the world we saved.  - Not me, said Petra. Im no longer a player.  1 Are any of us players? said Alai. Or are ,we only the pieces moved in someone elses game?   lnshallah, said Petra.  + She had rather expected Alai to chuckle, /but he only nodded. Yes, that is our belief, -that all that happens comes from the will of *God. But I think it is not your belief.  / No. We Christians have to guess the will of#God and try to bring it to pass.  ' It feels the same, when things are .happening, said Alai. Sometimes you think *that youre in control, because you make ,things change by your own choices. And then -something happens that sweeps all your plans -away as if they were nothing, just pieces on a chessboard.  . Shadows that children make on the wall, 0said Petra, and someone turns the light off. - Or turns a brighter one on, said Alai, and the shadows disappear.  3 Alai, said Petra, will you let us go again?I know your secret.  5 Yes, Ill let you go, said Alai. The secret .cant be kept for long. Too many people know it already.   We would never tell.  0 I know, said Alai. Because we were once 2in Enders jeesh. But Im in another jeesh now. .I stand at the head of it, because they asked 'me to do it, because they said God had .chosen me. I dont know about that. I dont /hear the voice of God, I dont feel his power *inside me. But they come to me with their .plans, their questions, the conflicts between +nations, and I offer suggestions. And they *take them. And things work out. So far at /least, theyve always worked. So perhaps I am chosen by God.   Or youre very clever  / Or very lucky. Alai looked at his hands. 0Still, its better to believe that some high ,purpose guides our steps than to think that -nothing matters except our own small miseriesand happinesss.  0 Unless our happiness is the high purpose.  . If our happiness is the purpose of God, +said Alai, why are so few of us happy?  $ Perhaps he wants us to have the $happiness that we can only find for ourselves.  . Alai nodded and chuckled. We Battle School,brats, we all have a bit of the imam in us, dont you think?  ' The Jesuit. The rabbi. The lama.  ' Do you know how I find my answers? .Sometimes, when its very hard? I ask myself What would Ender do?  2 Petra shook her head. Its the old joke. I ,ask myself What would a person smarter than 1me do in this circumstance, and then I do it. 0 But Ender isnt imaginary. He was with us, ,and we knew him. We saw how he built us into,an army, how he knew us all, found the best .in us, pushed us as hard as we could bear, and0sometimes harder, but himself hardest of all.  , Petra felt once again the old sting, that *she was the only one he had pushed harder than she could bear.  , It made her sad and angry, and even though-she knew that Alai had not even been thinking+of her when he said it, she wanted to lash back at him.  , But he had been kind to her and Bean. Had (saved them, and brought them here, even +though he did not need or want non-Muslims .helping him, since his new role as the leader +of the worlds Muslims required a certain 2purity, if not in his soul, then certainly in his companionship.   Still, she had to offer.  1 Well help you if you let us, said Petra.   Help me what? asked Alai.  + Help you make war against China, she said.  - But we have no plans to make war against 0China, said Alai. We have renounced military.jihad. The only purification and redemption weattempt is of the soul.  ( Do all wars have to be holy wars?  + No, but unholy wars damn all those who take part in them.  ' Who else but you can stand against China?  * The Europeans. The North Americans.  ) Its hard to stand when you have no spine.  / Theyre an old and tired civilization. We .were, too, once. It took centuries of decline /and a series of bitter defeats and humiliations,before we made the changes that would allow 'us to serve Allah in unity and hope.  , And yet you maintain armies. You have a +network of operatives who shoot their guns when they need to.  0 Alai nodded gravely. Were prepared to use 0force to defend ourselves if were attacked.  , Petra shook her head. For a moment she had)felt frustrated because the world needed ,rescuing, and it sounded as though Alai and ,his people were renouncing war. Now she was -just as disappointed to realize that nothing .had really changed. Alai was planning war-but ,intended to wait until some attack made his /war defensive. Not that she disagreed with *the justness of defensive war. It was the $falseness of pretending that he had +renounced war when he was in fact planning for it.  * Or maybe he meant exactly what he said.   It seemed so unlikely.  2 Youre tired, said Alai. Even though the ,jet lag from the Netherlands is not so bad, .you should rest. I understand you were ill on your flight.  ( She laughed. You had someone on the plane, watching me?  + Of course, he said. Youre a very important person.  % Why should she be important to the /Muslims? They didnt want to use her military /talents, and she had no political influence in .the world. It had to be her baby that made her.valuable-but how would her child, if she even .had one, have any value to the Islamic world?  2 My child, she said, will not be raised to be a soldier.  0 Alai raised a hand. You leap to conclusions,,Petra, he said. We are led, we hope, by .Allah. We have no wish to take your child, and+while we hope that there will someday be a .world in which all children will be raised to ,know Allah and serve him, we have no desire -to take your child from you or keep him here with us.  0 Or her, said Petra, unreassured. If you ,dont want our baby, why am I an important person?  2 Think like a soldier, said Alai. You have (in your womb what our worst enemy wants +most. And, even if you dont have a baby, -your death is something that he has to have, /for reasons deep in the evil of his heart. His ,need to reach for you makes you important to+those of us who fear him and want to block his path.  0 Petra shook her head. Alai, she said, I .and my child could die and it would be a mere (blip on the rangeflnder to you and your people.  2 Its useful for us to keep you alive, said Alai.  . How pragmatic of you. But theres more toit than that.  $ Yes, said Alai. There is.   Are you going to tell me?  / it will sound very mystical to you, said Alai.  / But thats hardly a surprise, coming from the Caliph.  - Allah has brought something new into the .world-I speak of Bean, the genetic difference ,between him and the rest of humanity. There #are imams who declare him to be an *abomination, conceived in evil. There are +others who say he is an innocent victim, a +child who was conceived as a normal embryo -but was altered by evil and cant help what -was done to him. But there are others-and the*number is by far larger-who say that this ,could not have been done except by the will 1of Allah. That Beans abilities were a key part ,of our victory over the Formics, so it must ,have been Gods will that brought him into )existence at the time we needed him. And -since God has chosen to bring this new thing *into the world, now we must watch and see *whether God allows this genetic change to breed true.  % Hes dying, Alai, said Petra.  1 I know, said Alai. But arent we all?  / He didnt want to have children at all.  . And yet he changed his mind, said Alai. ,The will of God blossoms in all hearts.  0 So maybe if the Beast kills us, thats the +will of God as well. Why did you bother to prevent it?  + Because my friends asked me to, said #Alai. Why are you making this so .complicated? The things I want are simple. To ,do good wherever its within my power, and /where I cant do good, at least do no harm.  ! How... Hippocratic of you.  . Petra, go to bed, sleep, youre becoming bitchy.  . It was true. She was out of sorts, fretting -about things she could do nothing to change, -wanting Bean to be with her, wanting Alai not-to have changed into this regal figure, this holy man.  0 Youre not happy with what Ive become, said Alai.  ' You can read minds? asked Petra.  3 Faces, said Alai. Unlike Achilles and Peter.Wiggin, I didnt seek this. I came home from ,space with no ambition other than to lead a ,normal life and perhaps serve my country or *my God in one way or another Nor did some ,party or faction choose me and set me in my place.  , How could you end up in this garden, on /that chair, if neither you nor anyone else put .you there? asked Petra. It annoyed her when ,people lied-even to themselves-about things +that simply didnt need to be lied about.  - I came home from my Russian captivity and(was put to work planning joint military 'maneuvers of a pan-Arab force that was (being trained to join in the defense of Pakistan.  & Petra knew that this pan-Arab force +probably began as an army designed to help .defend against Pakistan, since right up to the-moment of the Chinese invasion of India, the *Pakistani government had been planning to -launch a war against other Muslim nations to )unite the Muslim world under their rule.  . Or whatever, said Alai, laughing at her 'consternation when, once again, he had -seemed to read her mind. It became a force *for the defense of Pakistan. It put me in ,contact with military planners from a dozen )nations, and more and more they began to ,come to me with questions well beyond those -of military strategy. It was nobodys plan, .least of all mine. I didnt think my answers /were particularly wise, I simply said whatever *seemed obvious to me, or when nothing was 1clear, I asked questions until clarity emerged. ( And they became dependent on you.  7 I dont think so, said Alai. They simply. . . 'respected me. They began to want me in -meetings with the politicians and diplomats, /not just the soldiers. And the politicians and -diplomats began asking me questions, seeking 0my support for their views or plans, and finally(choosing me as the mediator between the parties in various disputes.   A judge, said Petra.  2 A Battle School graduate, said Alai, at a 'time when my people wanted more than a -judge. They wanted to be great again, and to 'do that they needed a leader that they /believed had the favor of Allah. I try to live *and act in such a way as to give them the -leader they need. Petra, I am still the same /boy I was in Battle School. And, like Ender, I +may be a leader, but I am also the tool my .people created to accomplish their collective purpose.  . Maybe, said Petra, Im just jealous. ,Because Armenia has no great purpose, except(to stay alive and free. And no power to *accomplish that without the help of great nations.  1 Armenia is in no danger from us, said Alai. & Unless, of course, we provoke the -Azerbaijanis, said Petra. Which we do by breathing, I must point out.  . We will not conquer our way to greatness, Petra, said Alai.  0 What, then, youll wait for the whole world-to convert to Islam and beg to be admitted toyour new world order?  6 Yes said Alai. Thats just what well do.  2 As plans go, said Petra, thats about the0most self-delusional one Ive ever heard of.  . He laughed. Definitely you need a nap, my /beloved sister. You dont want that to be the /mouth Bean has to listen to when he arrives.   When will he arrive?  0 Well after dark, said Alai. Now you see ,Mr. Lankowski waiting for you at that gate. Hell lead you to your room.  ( I sleep in the palace of the Caliph tonight? asked Petra.  0 Its not much, as palaces go, said Alai. /Most of the rooms are public spaces, offices,/things like that. I have a very simple bedroom 0and... this garden. Your room will also be very (simple-but perhaps it will make it seem 0luxurious if you think of it as being identical (with the one where the Caliph sleeps.  0 I feel as if Ive been swept away into one of Scheherazades stories.  , We keep a sturdy roof. You have nothing to fear from rocks.  + You think of everything, said Petra.  ) We have an excellent doctor on call, -should you wish for medical attention of any kind.  1 Its still too soon for a pregnancy test to /mean anything, said Petra. If thats what you meant.  , I meant, said Alai, that we have an .excellent doctor on call, should you wish for !medical attention of any kind.  0 In that case, said Petra, my answer is, You think of everything.   . She thought she couldnt sleep, but she had.nothing better to do than lie on the bed in a (room that was downright Spartan-with no 'television and no book but an Armenian .translation of the Quran. She knew what the /presence of this book in her room implied. For ,many centuries, translations of the Quran ,were regarded as false by definition, since /only the original Arabic actually conveyed the 'words of the Prophet. But in the great ,opening of Islam that followed their abject .defeat in a series of desperate wars with the ,West, this was one of the first things that was changed.  ' Every translated copy of the Quran .contained, on the title page, a quotation from&the great imam Zuqaq-the very one who /brought about the reconciliation of Israel and -the Muslim world. Allah is above language. /Even in Arabic, the Quran is translated from 'the mind of God into the words of men. -Everyone should be able to hear the words of )God in the language he speaks in his own heart.  - So the presence of the Quran in Armenian +told her, first, that in the palace of the .Caliph, there was no recidivism, no return to -the days of fanatical Islam, when foreigners *were forced to live by Islamic law, women ,were veiled and barred from the schools and .the roads, and young Muslim soldiers strapped .bombs to their bodies to blow up the children of their enemies.  + And it also told her that her coming was (anticipated and someone had taken great 0pains to prepare this room for her, simple as it&seemed. To have the Quran in Common .Speech, the more-or-less phonetically spelled %English that had been adopted as the +language of the International Fleet, would *have been sufficient. They wanted to make .the point, though, that here in the heart-no, -the head-of the Muslim world, they had regard.for all nations, all languages. They knew who -she was, and they had the holy words for her (in the language she spoke in her heart.  & She appreciated the gesture and was -annoyed by it, both at once. She did not open,the book. She rummaged through her bag, then+unpacked everything. She showered to clear .the must of travel from her hair and skin, and)then lay down on the bed because in this $room there was nowhere else to sit.  & No wonder he spends his time in the ,garden, she thought. He has to go out there just to turn around.  + She woke because someone was at the door..Not knocking. Just standing there, pressing a (palm against the reader. What could she -possibly have heard that woke her? Footsteps in the corridor?  . Im not dressed, she called out as the door opened.  , Thats what I was hoping, said Bean.  - He came in carrying his own bag and set it down beside the one dresser.  & Did you meet Alai? asked Petra.  / Yes, but well talk of that later, said Bean.  + You know hes Caliph, she insisted.  / Later, he said. He pulled his shoes off.  ) I think theyre planning a war, but ,pretending that theyre not, said Petra.  / They can plan what they like, said Bean. 2Youre safe here, thats what I care about.  0 Still in his traveling clothes, Bean lay down -on the bed beside her, snaking one arm under .her, drawing her close to him. He stroked her back, kissed her forehead.  , They told me about the other embryos, 'she said. How Achilles stole them.  + He kissed her again and said, Shhhh.  / I dont know if Im pregnant yet, said Petra.   You will be, said Bean.  0 I knew that he hadnt checked for Antons /Key, said Petra. I knew he was lying about that.   All right, said Bean.  1 I knew but I didnt tell you, said Petra.   Now youve told me.  ) I want your child, no matter what.  - Well, said Bean, in that case we can $start the next one the regular way.  , She kissed him. I love you, she said.   Im glad to hear that.  + We have to get the others back, said 1Petra. Theyre our children and I dont want somebody else to raise them.  1 Well get them back, said Bean. Thats one thing I know.  / Hell destroy them before he lets us have them.  / Not so, said Bean. He wants them alive more than he wants us dead.  , How can you possibly know what the Beastis thinking?  * Bean rolled onto his back and lay there 2facing the ceiling. On the plane I did a lot of -thinking. About something Ender said. How he )thought. You have to know your enemy, he )said. Thats why he studied the Formics .constantly. All the footage of the First War, )the anatomies of the corpses of the dead /Bugger soldiers, and what he couldnt find in .the books and vids, he imagined. Extrapolated.!Tried to think of who they were.  1 Youre nothing like Achilles, said Petra. .Youre the opposite of him. If you want to -know him, think of whatever youre not, and thatll be him.  1 Not true, said Bean. In his sad, twisted )way, he loves you, and so, in my own sad twisted way, do I.  , Not the same twists, and that makes all the difference.  ( Ender said that you cant defeat a )powerful enemy unless you understand him *completely, and you cant understand him .unless you know the desires of his heart, and /you cant know the desires of his heart until you truly love him.  1 Please dont tell me that youve decided tolove the Beast, said Petra.  2 I think, said Bean, that I always have.  . No, no, no, said Petra in revulsion and -she rolled away from him, turned her back on him.  / Ever since I saw him limping up to us, the ,one bully we thought we could overpower, we 0little children. His twisted foot, the dangerous'hate he felt toward anyone who saw his +weakness. The genuine kindness and love he *showed to everyone but me and Poke-Petra, &thats what nobody understands about ,Achilles, they see him as a murderer, and a monster-   Because he is one.  - A monster who keeps winning the love and *trust of people who should know better. I ,know that man, the one whose eyes look into .your soul and judge you and find you worthy. I-saw how the other children loved him, turned .their loyalty from Poke to Achilles, made him /their father, truly, in their hearts. And even ,though he always kept me at a distance, the fact is... I loved him too.  + I didnt, said Petra. The memory of 0Achilless arms around her as he kissed her-it %was unbearable to her, and she wept. . She felt Beans hand on her shoulder, then .stroking her side, gently soothing her Im 0going to destroy him, Petra, said Bean. But 1Ill never do it the way Ive been going about 2it up till now. Ive been avoiding him, reacting /to him. Peter had the right idea after all. He -was dumb about it, but the idea was right, to*get close to him. You cant treat him as .something faraway and unintelligible. A force -of nature, like a storm or earthquake, where -you have no hope but to run for shelter. You /have to understand him. Get inside his head.  5 Ive been there, said Petra. Its a filthy place.  0 Yes, I know, said Bean. A place of fear .and fire. But remember-he lives there all the time.  - Dont tell me Im supposed to pity him 'because he has to live with himself!  0 Petra, I spent the whole flight trying to be,Achilles, trying to think of what he yearns +for, what he hopes for, to think of how he thinks.  . And you threw up? Because I did, twice on 0my flight, and I didnt have to get inside the Beast to do it.  * Maybe because you have a little beast inside you.  1 She shuddered. Dont call him that. Her It. -Im not even pregnant yet, probably. It was -only this morning. My baby is not a beast.  4 Bad joke, Im sorry. said Bean. But listen,+Petra, on the flight I realized something. +Achilles is not a mysterious force. I know exactly what he wants.  + What does he want? Besides us, dead?  , He wants us to know that the babies are /alive. He wont even implant them yet. Hell 0leave little clues for us to follow-nothing too )obvious, because he wants us to think we *discovered something hes trying to keep +hidden. But well find out where they are /because he wants us to. Theyll all be in one 'place. Because he wants us to come for them.   Bait, she said.  / No, not just bait, said Bean. He could ,send us a note right now if he wanted that. /No, its more than that. He wants us to think *were very smart to have found out where .they are. He wants us to be full of hope that /we might rescue them. To be excited, so well .hurtle into a situation completely unprepared -for the fact that hes waiting for us. That ,way he can see us fall from triumphant hope (to utter despair. Before he kills us.  - Bean was right, she knew it. But how can ,you even pretend to love someone so evil?  2 No, you still dont understand, said Bean. 2Its not our despair he wants. Its our hope. *He has none. He doesnt understand it.  - Oh. please, said Petra. An ambitious person lives on hope.  ' He has no hope. No dream. He tries ,everything to find one. He goes through the .motions of love and kindness, or anything else)that might work, and still nothing means ,anything. Each new conquest only leaves him )hungry for another. Hes hungry to find /something that really matters in life. He knows-we have it. Both of us, before we even found each other, we had it.  , I thought you were famous for having no faith, said Petra.  0 But you see, said Bean, Achilles knew me,better than I knew myself. He saw it in me. &The same thing Sister Carlotta saw.  ! Intelligence? asked Petra.  - Hope, said Bean. Relentless hope. It 'never crosses my mind that theres no +solution, no chance of survival. Oh, I can /conceive of that intellectually, but never are -my actions based on despair, because I never 0really believe it. Achilles knows that I have a +reason to live. Thats why he wants me so )badly. And you, Petra. You more than me.  ( And our babies-they are our hope. A ,completely insane kind of hope, yes, but we made them, didnt we?  0 So, said Petra, grasping the picture now, .he doesnt just want us to die, the way he -was perfectly content to let Sister Carlotta -die in an airplane, when he was far away. He 'wants us to see him with our babies.  , And when we realize we cant have them .back, that were going to die after all, the -hope that drains out of us, he thinks itll *become his own. He thinks that because he #has our babies, he has our hope.   And he does, said Petra.  ) But the hope can never be his. Hes incapable of it.  0 This is all very interesting, said Petra, but completely useless.  / But dont you see? said Bean. This is how we can destroy him.   What do you mean?  0 Hes going to fall into the pit he dug for us.  ! We dont have his babies.  . He hopes well come and give him what he ,wants. But instead, well come prepared to destroy him.  1 Hes going to be laying an ambush for us. If0we come in force, hell either slip away or-as 1soon as its clear hes doomed-hell kill our babies.  3 No, no, well let him spring his trap. Well .walk right into it. So that when we face him, -we see him in his moment of triumph. Which is+always the moment when somebody is at their stupidest.  ) You dont have to be smart when you have all the guns.  3 Relax, Petra, said Bean. Im going to get 4our babies back. And kill Achilles while Im at it./And Ill do it soon, my love. Before I die.  0 Thats good, said Petra. It will be so *much harder for you to do it afterward.  * And then she wept, because, contrary to -what Bean had just said, she had no hope. She,was going to lose her husband, her children ,were going to lose their father. No victory ,over Achilles could change the fact that in $the end, she was going to lose him.  ) He reached out for her again, held her .close, kissed her brow, her cheek. Have our 1baby, he said. Ill bring home its brothers !and sisters before its born.   SPACE STATION   To: Locke%erosmus@polnet.gov  From: SitePostAlert  Re: Girl on bridge   " Now you are not in cesspool can (communicate again. Have no e-mail here, -Stones ore mine. Back on bridge soon. War in ,earnest. Post to me only, this site, pickup (name BridgeGiri password not stepstool.  / Peter found spaceflight boring, just as hed0suspected he would. Like air travel, only longerand with less scenery.  ) Thank heaven Mother and Father had the ,good sense not to get all sentimental about &the shuttle flight to the Ministry of /Colonization. After all, it was the same space *station that had been Battle School. They .were going to set foot at last where precious 0little Ender had had his first triumphs-and, oh yes, killed a boy.  - But there were no footprints here. Nothing 0to tell them what it was like for Ender to ride -a shuttle to this place. They were not small +children taken away from their homes. They ,were adults, and the fate of the world just might rest in their hands.  , Come to think of it, that was like Ender, wasnt it.  ' The whole human race was united when *Ender came here. The enemy was clear, the ,danger real, and Ender didnt even have to 'know what he was doing to win the war.  - By comparison, Peters task was much more /difficult. It might seem simpler-find a really !good assassin and kill Achilles.  / But it wasnt that simple. First, Achilles, +being an assassin and a user of assassins, +would be ready for such a plot. Second, it 0wasnt enough to kill Achilles. He was not the ,army that conquered India and Indochina. He ,was not the government that ruled more than 0half the people of the world. Destroy Achilles, 1and you still have to roll back all the things hedid.  + It was like Hitler back in World War II. ,Without Hitler, Germany would never have had)the nerve to conquer France and sweep to ,the gates of Moscow. But if Hitler had been )assassinated just before the invasion of *Russia, then in all likelihood the common .language of the International Fleet would have/been German. Because it was Hitlers mistakes,-his weaknesses, his fears, his hatreds, that .lost the back half of the war, just as it was -his drive, his decisions, that won the front half.  . Killing Achilles might do nothing more than %guarantee a world governed by China.  . Still, with him out of the way, Peter would *face a rational enemy. And his own assets /would not be so superstitiously terrified. The +way Bean and Petra and Virlomi fled at the ,mere thought of Achilles coming to Ribeirao 0Preto. . . though of course in the long run they-werent wrong, still, it complicated things -enormously that he kept having to work alone,&unless you counted Mother and Father.  - And since they were the only assets he had .that he could rely on to serve his interests, he definitely counted them.  * Counted them, but was angry at them all -the same. He knew it was irrational, but the ,whole way up to MinCol, he kept coming back +to the same seething memory of the way his -parents had always judged him as a child and -found him wanting, while Ender and Valentine )could do no wrong. Being a fundamentally -reasonable person, he took due notice of the /fact that since Val and Ender left in a colony &ship, his parents had been completely +supportive of him. Had saved him more than ,once. He could not have asked any more from .them even if they had actually loved him. They.did their duty as parents, and more than theirduty.  1 But it didnt erase the pain of those earlier *years when everything he did seemed to be )wrong, every natural instinct an offense ,against one of their versions of God or the +other. Well, in all your judging, remember -this-it was Ender who turned out to be Cain, /wasnt it! And you always thought it was going to be me.  + Stupid stupid stupid, Peter told himself /Ender didnt kill his brother, Ender defended -himself against his enemies. As I have done.  + I have to get over this, he told himself #again and again during the voyage.  ) I wish there were something to look at ,besides the stupid vids. Or Dad snoring. Or ,Mother looking at me now and then, sizing me-up, and then winking. Does she have any idea *how awful that is? How demeaning? To wink &at me! What about smiling? What about $looking at me with that dreamy fond (expression she used to have for Val and !Ender? Of course she liked them.  , Stop it. Think about what you have to do, fool.  ) Think about what you have to write and )publish, as Locke and as Demosthenes, to +rouse the people in the free countries, to *goad the governments of the nations ruled *from above. There could be no business as 0usual, he couldnt allow that. But it was hard ,to keep the peoples attention on a war in ,which no shots were being fired. A war that ,took place in a faraway land. What did they -care, in Argentina, that the people of India ,had a government not of their choosing? Why /should it matter to a light farmer tending his ,photovoltaic screens in the Kalahari Desert +whether the people of Thailand were having dirt kicked in their faces?  % China had no designs on Namibia or +Argentina. The war was over, Why wouldnt ,people just shut up about it and go back to making money?  ) That was Peters enemy. Not Achilles, .ultimately. Not even China. It was the apathy /of the rest of the world that played into theirhands.  , And here I am in space, no longer free to *move about, far more dependent than Ive +ever been before. Because if Graff decides /not to send me back to Earth, then I cant go./Theres no alternative transport. He seems to -be entirely on my side. But its his former 0Battle School brats that have his true loyalty. -He thinks he can use me as I thought I could .use Achilles. I was wrong. But probably he is right.  / After all the voyaging, it was so frustrating-to be there and still have to wait while the /shuttle did its little dance of lining up with -the station dock. There was nothing to watch.,They blanked the windows because it was ,too nauseating in zero-G to watch the Earth &spin madly as the shuttle matched the rotation of the great wheel.  + My career might already be over. I might /already have earned whatever mention Ill have-in history. I might already be nothing but a +footnote in other peoples biographies, a paragraph in the history books.  - Really, at this point my best strategy for +beefing up my reputation is probably to be #assassinated in some colorful way.  / But the way things are going, Ill probably /die in some tragic airlock accident while doing.a routine docking at the MinCol space station. # Stop wallowing, said Mother.  3 He looked at her sharply. Im not, he said.  0 Good, she said. Be angry at me. Thats *better than feeling sorry for yourself.  ) He wanted to snap back angrily, but he /realized the futility of denying what they all -knew was true. He was depressed, definitely, .and yet he still had to work. Like the day of +his press conference when they dragged him -out of bed. He didnt want a repeat of that .humiliation. Hed do his work without having 'to have his parents prod him like some +adolescent. And he wouldnt get snippy at *them when they merely told him the truth.  . So he smiled at her. Come on, Mother, you -know that if I were on fire, nobody would so #much as pee on me to put it out.  / Be honest, son, said his father. There ,are hundreds of thousands of people back on *Earth who have only to be asked. And some -dozens who would do it without waiting for an*invitation, if they saw an opportunity.  - There are some good points about fame, 'Peter observed. And those with empty .bladders would probably chip in with a little spit.  - This is getting quite disgusting, said Mother.  / You say that because its your job to say it, said Peter.  ( Im underpaid, then, said Mother .Because its nearly a fulltime position.  , Your role in life. So womanly. Men need 1civilizing, and youre just the one to do it.  * Im obviously not very good at it.  ) At that moment the IF sergeant who was .their flight steward came into the main cabin !and told them it was time to go.  + Because they docked at the center of the ,station, there was no gravity. They floated )along, gripping handrails as the steward .flipped their bags so they sailed through the -airlock just under them. They were caught by -a couple of orderlies who had obviously done -this a hundred times, and were not the least ,bit impressed by having the Hegemon himself come to MinCol.  , Though in all probability nobody knew who +they were. They were traveling under false -papers, of course, but Graff had undoubtedly )let someone in the station know who they really were.  & Probably not the orderlies, though.  , Not until they were down one spoke of the ,wheel to a level where there was a definite .floor to walk on did they meet anyone of real .status in the station. A man in the grey suit -that served MinCol as a uniform waited at the-foot of the elevator, his hand outstretched. *Mr. and Mrs. Raymond, he said. Im +Underminister Dimak. And this must be your son, Dick.  . Peter smiled wanly at the faint humor in the,pseudonym Graff had arbitrarily assigned to him.  . Please tell me that you know who we really&are so we dont have to keep up this charade, said Peter.  . I know, said Dimak softly, but nobody 1else on this station does, and Id like to keep it that way for now.   Graft isnt here?  . The Minister of Colonization is returning -from his inspection of the outfitting of the *newest colony ship. Were two weeks away .from first leg on that one, and starting next -week you wont believe the traffic thatll +come through here, sixteen shuttles a day, (and thats just for the colonists. The *freighters go directly to the dry dock.  0 Is there, said Father innocently, a wet dock?  - Dimak grinned. Nautical terminology dies hard.  , Dimak led them along a corridor to a down -tube. They slid down the pole after him. The /gravity wasnt so intense yet as to make this *a problem, even for Peters parents, who -were, after all, in their forties. He helped ,them step out of the shaft into a lower-and therefore heavier-corridor.  . There were old-fashioned directional stripes0along the walls. Your palm prints have already-been keyed, said Dimak. Just touch here, #and it will lead you to your room.  0 This is left over from the old days, isnt 0it? said Father Though I dont imagine you !were here when this was still-  1 But I was here, said Dimak. I was mother *to groups of new kids. Not your son, Im (afraid. But an acquaintance of yours, I believe.  + Peter did not want to put himself in the .pathetic position of naming off Battle School &graduates he knew. Mother had no such qualms.  ' Petra? she said. Suriyawong?  , Dimak leaned in close, so his voice would +not have to be pitched loud enough that it 'might be overheard. Bean, he said.  * He must have been a remarkable boy, said Mother.  - Looked like a three-year-old when he got .here, said Dimak. Nobody could believe he !was old enough for this place.  1 He doesnt look like that now, said Peter dryly.  4 No, I ... I know about his condition. Its not (public knowledge, but Colonel Graff-the ,minister, I mean-he knows that I still care )what happens to-well, to all my kids, of -course-but this one was . . . I imagine your ,sons first trainer felt much the same way about him.   I hope so, said Mother.  * The sentimentality was getting so sweet +Peter wanted to brush his teeth. He palmed -the pad by the entrance and three strips lit -up. Green green brown, said Dimak. But 1soon you wont be needing this. Its not as if 0theres miles of open country here to get lost -in. The stripe system always assumes that you*want to go back to your room, except when +you touch the pad just outside the door of -your room, and then it thinks you want to go ,to the bathroom-none inside the rooms, Im .afraid, it wasnt built that way. But if you /want to go to the mess hall, just slap the pad twice and itll know.  * He showed them to their quarters, which .consisted of a single long room with bunks in 0rows along both sides of a narrow aisle. Im /afraid youll have company for the week were0loading up the ship, but nobodyll be here very)long, and then youll have the place to !yourself for three more weeks.  + Youre doing a launch a month? said -Peter How, exactly, are you funding a pace like that?  2 Dimak looked at him blankly. I dont actuallyknow, he said.  . Peter leaned in close and imitated the voice0Dimak used for secrets. Im the Hegemon, he,said. Officially, your boss works for me.  ' Dimak whispered back, You save the ,world, well finance the colony program.  . I could have used a little more money for -my operations, I can tell you, said Peter.  ) Every Hegemon feels that way, said +Dimak. Which is why our funding doesnt come through you.  / Peter laughed. Smart move. If you think the/colonization program is very very important.  - Its the future of the human race, said +Dimak simply. The Buggers-pardon me, the .Formics-had the right idea. Spread out as far ,as you can, so you cant be wiped out in a /single disastrous war. Not that it saved them, &but. . . we arent hive creatures.   Arent we? said Father.  . Well, if we are, then whos the queen? asked Dimak.  4 In this place, said Father, I suspect its Graff.  4 And were all just his little arms and legs?  0 And mouths and. . . well, yes, of course. A *little more independent and a little less )obedient than the individual Formics, of +course, but thats how a species comes to *dominate a world the way we did, and they )did. Because you know how to get a large /number of individuals to give up their personal/will and subject themselves to a group mind.  / So this is philosophy were doing here, said Dimak.  ) Or very cutting-edge science, said +Father The behavior of humans in groups. 1Degrees of allegiance. I think about it a lot.   How interesting.  0 I see that youre not interested at all, 0said Father. And that Im now in your book as/an eccentric who brings up his theories. But I 1never do, actually. I dont know why I did just 4now. I just. . . its the first time Ive been in -Graffs house, so to speak. And meeting you (was very much like visiting with him.  & Im.. . flattered, said Dimak.  - John Paul, said Mother, I do believe *youre making Mr. Dimak uncomfortable.  / When people feel great allegiance to their %community, they start to take on the *mannerisms as well as the morals of their ,leader, said Father, refusing to give up.  . If their leader has a personality, said Peter  * How do you get to be a leader without one? asked Father.  + Ask Achilles, said Peter Hes the ,opposite. He takes on the mannerisms of the &people he wants to have follow him. . I dont remember that one, said Dimak. %He was only here a few days before 'he-before we discovered he had a track "record of murder back on Earth.  , Someday you have to tell me how Bean got"him to confess. He wont tell.  5 If he wont tell, neither will I, said Dimak.   How loyal, said Father.  3 Not really, said Dimak. I just dont know -myself. I know it had something to do with a ventilation shaft.  ( That confession, said Peter The 1recordings wouldnt still be here, would they? 1 No, they wouldnt, said Dimak. And even 0if they were, theyre part of a sealed juvenile record.   Of a mass murderer.  - We only notice laws when they act againstour interest, said Dimak.  ( See? said Father. Weve traded philosophies.  - Like tribesmen swapping at a potlatch, 4said Dimak. If you dont mind, Id like to have ,you talk with Security Chief Uphanad before dinner   What about?  / The colonists arent a problem-they have a$one-way flow and they cant easily -communicate planetside. But youre probably )going to be recognized here. And even if 2youre not, its hard to maintain a false story for long.  / Then lets not have a false story, said Peter.  . No. lets have a really good one, said Mother.  , Lets just not talk to anybody, said Father.  . Those are precisely the issues that Major %Uphanad wants to discuss with you.  + Once Dimak had left, they chose bunks at ,the back of the long room. Peter took a top ,bunk, of course, but while he was unloading 0his bags into the locker in the wall behind the -bunk, Father discovered that each set of six ,bunks-three on each side-could be separated &from the others by a privacy curtain.  0 It has to be a retrofit, said Father. I ,cant believe they would let the kids seal "themselves off from each other.  - How soundproof is this material? asked Mother.  0 Father pulled it around in a circular motion, .so it irised shut with him on the other side. -They heard nothing from him. Then he dilated it open.   Well? he asked.  + Pretty effective sound barrier, said Mother.  . You did try to talk to us, didnt you? asked Peter.  0 No, I was listening for you, said Father.  0 Well we were listening for you, John Paul, said Mother.  3 No, I spoke. I didnt shout, but you couldnthear me, right?  / Peter, said Mother, you just got moved to the next compartment over.  - That wont work when the colonists come through.  , You can come back and sleep in Mommys ,and Daddys room when the visitors come, said Mother.  , Youll have to walk through my room in ,order to get to the bathroom, said Peter.  3 Thats right, said Father. I know youre +Hegemon and should have the best room, but *then, were not likely to walk in on you making love.  - Dont count on it, said Peter sourly.  / Well open the door just a little and say /knock knock before we come through, said /Mother. Itll give you time to smuggle your best pal out of sight.  - It made him faintly nauseated to be having /this discussion with his parents. You two are0so cute. Im really glad to change rooms here, believe me.  - It was good to have solitude, once the door.was closed, even if the price of it was moving,all his stuff out of the locker he had just .loaded and putting it in a locker in the next *section. Now he got a lower bunk, for one 0thing. And for another thing, he didnt have to,put up with listening to his parents try to cheer him up.   He had to have thinking time.  ( So of course he promptly fell asleep.  ) Dimak woke him by speaking to him over .the intercom. Mr. Raymond, are you there?  + It took Peter a split second to remember )that he was supposed to be Dick Raymond. $Yes. Unless you want my father.  0 Already spoke to him, said Dimak. Ive 'keyed the guidebars to lead you to the security department.  + It was on the top level, with the lowest %gravity-which made sense, because if (security action were required, officers -dispersing from the main office would have a +downhill trip to wherever they were going.  , When they stepped inside the office, Major,Uphanad was there to greet them. He offered his hand to all of them.  - Are you from India? asked Mother, or Pakistan?  , India, said Uphanad, not breaking his smile at all.  2 Im so sorry for your country, said Mother. / I havent been back there since-in a long time.  0 I hope your family is faring welt under the Chinese occupation.  ' Thank you for your concern, said )Uphanad, in a tone of voice that made it clear this topic was finished.  & He offered them chairs and sat down .himself-behind his desk, taking full advantage.of his official position. Peter resented it a /little, since he had spent a good while now as 'the man who was always in the dominant )place. He might not have had much actual ,power, as Hegemon, but protocol always gave him the highest place.  , But he was not supposed to be known here. /So he could hardly be treated differently from any civilian visitor.  - I know that you are particular guests of -the Minister, said Uphanad, and that you -wish your privacy to be undisturbed. What we (need to discuss is the boundary of your %privacy. Are your faces likely to be recognized?  3 Possibly, said Peter. Especially his. He *pointed to his father. This was a lie, of "course, and probably futile, but.  0 Ah, said Uphanad. And I assume your realnames would be recognized.   Likely, said Father.  - Certainly, said Mother, as if she were ,proud of the fact and rather miffed that he !had cast any doubt on it at all.  / So... should meals be brought to you? Do we+need to clear the corridors when you go to the bathroom?  % Sounded like a nightmare to Peter.  % Major Uphanad, we dont want to /advertise our presence here, but Im sure your'staff can be trusted to be discreet.  0 On the contrary, said Uphanad. Discreet /people make it a point not to take the staffsloyalty for granted.  - Including yours? asked Mother sweetly.  & Since you have already lied to me 1repeatedly, said Uphanad. I think it safe to .say that you are taking no ones loyalty for granted.  1 Nevertheless, said Peter, Im not going 0to stay cooped up in that tube. Id like to be /able to use your library-Im assuming you have*one-and we can take our meals in the mess hall and use the toilet without inconveniencing others.  . There, you see? said Uphanad. You are simply not security minded.  - We cant live here as prisoners, said Peter.  . He didnt mean that, said Father. He %was talking about the way you simply .announced the decision for the three of us. So,much for me being the one most likely to be recognized.  / Uphanad smiled. The recognition problem is -a real one, he said. I knew you at once, from the vids, Mr. Hegemon.   Peter sighed and leaned back.  / Your face is not as recognizable as if you +were an actual politician, said Uphanad. ,They thrive on putting their faces before -the public. Your career began, if I remember correctly, in anonymity.  . But Ive been on the vids, said Peter.  / Listen, said Uphanad. Few on our staff +even watch the vids. I happen to be a news -addict, but most people here have rather cut -their ties with the gossip of Earth. I think ,your best way to remain under cover here is .to behave as if you had nothing to hide. Be a .bit standoffish-dont get into conversations -with people that lead to mutual explanations -of what you do and who you are, for instance.'But if youre cheerful and dont act .mysterious, you should be fine. People wont *expect to see the Hegemon living with his )parents in one of the bunk rooms here. 1Uphanad grinned. It will be our little secret, the six of us.  ) Peter did the count. Him, his parents, -Uphanad, Dimak. and... oh, Graff, of course.  + I think there will be no assassination .attempt here, said Uphanad, because there ,are very few weapons on board, all are kept ,under lock and key, and everybody coming up .here is scanned for weaponry. So I suggest you'not attempt to carry sidearms. You are "trained in hand-to-hand combat?   No, said Peter.  - There is a gym on the bottom level, very +well equipped. And not just with childsize .devices, either. The adults also need to stay -fit. You should use the facility to maintain -your bone mass, and so forth, but also we can1arrange martial arts classes for you, if youre interested.  0 Im not interested, said Peter. But it sounds like a good idea.  + Anyone they send against us, though, /said Mother, will be very much better trainedin it than we will.  - Perhaps so, perhaps not, said Uphanad. .If your enemies attempt to get to you here, +they will have to rely on someone they can +get through our screening. People who seem /particularly athletic are subjected to special -scrutiny. We are, you see, paranoid about one(of the anti-colonization groups getting *someone up here just to perform an act of sabotage or terrorism.   Or assassination.  0 You see? said Uphanad. But I assure you +I and my staff are very thorough. We never leave anything unchecked.  ) In other words, you knew who we were before we walked in the door.  . Before your shuttle took off, actually, 0said Uphanad. Or at least I had a fairly good guess.  * They said their good-byes, then settled -into the routine of life in a space station.  ' Day and night were kept on Greenwich /time, for no particular reason but that it was ,at zero longitude and they had to pick some .time. Peter found that his parents were not so.awfully intrusive as he had feared, and he was&relieved that he could not hear their ,lovemaking or their conversations about him through the divider  - What he did, mostly, was go to the library and write.  . Essays, of course, on everything, for every (conceivable forum. There were plenty of ,publications that were happy to have pieces *from Locke or Demosthenes, especially now -that everyone knew these identities belonged 'to the Hegemon. With most serious work -appearing first on the nets, there was no way-to target particular audiences. But he still &talked about subjects that would have (particular interest in various regions.  , The aim of everything he wrote was to fan -the flames of suspicion of China and Chinese *ambitions. As Demosthenes, he wrote quite *directly about the danger of allowing the .conquest of India and Indochina to stand, with,a lot of whos-next rhetoric. Of course he /couldnt stoop to any serious rabble-rousing, )because every word he said would be held against the Hegemon.  & Life was so much easier when he was anonymous on the nets.  , As Locke, however, he wrote statesmanlike,.impartial essays about problems that different+nations and regions were facing. Locke .almost never wrote against China directly, but.rather took it for granted that there would be$another invasion, and that longterm )investments in probable target countries %might be unwise, that sort of thing.  , It was hard work, because every essay had /to be made interesting, original, important, or,no one would pay attention to it. He had to (make sure he never sounded like someone ,riding a hobby horse- rather the way Father )had sounded when he started spouting off (about his theories of group loyalty and .character to Dimak. Though, to be fair, hed ,never heard Father do that before, it still (gave him pause and made him realize how +easily Locke and Demosthenes-and therefore -Peter Wiggin himself-could become at first an#irritant, at last a laughingstock.  , Father called this process stassenization 'and made various suggestions for essay -topics, some of which Peter used. As to what ,Father and Mother did with their days, when %they werent reading his essays and *commenting on them, catching errors, that 'sort of thing-well, Peter had no idea.  * Maybe Mother had found somebodys room to clean.   . Graft stopped in for a brief visit on their &first morning there, but then was off )again-returned to Earth, in fact, on the *shuttle that had brought them. He did not ,return for three weeks, by which time Peter .had written nearly forty essays, all of which .had been published in various places. Most of .them were Lockes essays. And, as usual, most&of the attention went to Demosthenes.  * When Graff returned, he invited them to /dine with him in the Ministers quarters, and )they had a convivial dinner during which *nothing important was discussed. Whenever -the subject seemed to be turning to a matter +of real moment, Graff would interrupt with 'the pouring of water or a joke of some !kind-only rarely the funny kind.  + This puzzled Peter, because surely Graff .could count on his own quarters being secure. ,But apparently not, because after dinner he -invited them on a walk, leading them quickly .out of the regular corridors and into some of .the service passages. They were lost almost at+once, and when Graff finally opened a door ,and took them onto a wide ledge overlooking 0a ventilation shaft, they had lost all sense of ,direction except, of course, where down was.  2 The ventilation shaft led down . . . a very long way.  ' This is a place of some historical -importance, said Graff. Though few of us know it.  ! Ah, said Father knowingly.  ' And because he had guessed it, Peter +realized it should be guessable, and so he )guessed. Achilles was here, he said.  0 This, said Graft, is where Bean and his .friends tricked Achilles. Achilles thought he ,was going to be able to kill Bean here, but .instead Bean got him in chains, hanging in the2shaft. He could have killed Achilles. His friends recommended it.  * Who were the friends? asked Mother.  & He never told me, but thats not 0surprising-I never asked. I thought it would be .wiser if there were never any kind of record, -even inside my head, of which other children .were there to witness Achilless humiliation and helplessness.  0 It wouldnt have mattered, if he had simply*killed Achilles. There would have been no murders.  2 But, you see, said Graff, if Achilles had )died, then I would have had to ask those ,names, and Bean could not have been allowed /to remain in Battle School. We might have lost -the war because of that, because Ender reliedon Bean quite heavily.  0 You let Ender stay after he killed a boy, said Peter.  1 The boy died accidentally, said Graff, asEnder defended himself.  * Defended himself because you left him alone, said Mother  0 Ive already faced trial on those charges, and I was acquitted.  & But you were asked to resign your commission, said Mother.  * But I was then given this much higher 1position as Minister of Colonization. Lets not /quibble over the past. Bean got Achilles here, /not to kill him, but to induce him to confess. 'He did confess, very convincingly, and -because I heard him do it, Im on his death list, too.  1 Then why are you still alive? asked Peter.  , Because, contrary to widespread belief, /Achilles is not a genius and he makes mistakes./His reach is not infinite and his power can be )blocked. He doesnt know everything. He /doesnt have everything planned. I think half .the time hes winging it, putting himself in -the way of opportunity and seizing it when he sees it.  , If hes not a genius, then why does he &Keep beating geniuses? asked Peter.  + Because he does the unexpected, said (Graft. He doesnt actually do things /remarkably well, he simply does things that no )one thought he would do. He stays a jump *ahead. And our finest minds were not even +thinking about him when he brought off his )most spectacular successes. They thought +they were civilians again when he had them )kidnapped. Bean wasnt trying to oppose 0Achilless plans during the war, he was trying *to find and rescue Petra. You see? I have 1Achilless test scores. Hes a champion suckup,.and hes very smart or he wouldnt have got +here. He knew how to ace a psych test, for )instance, so that his violent tendencies *remained hidden from us when we chose him (to come in the last group we brought to 0Battle School. Hes dangerous, in other words. -But hes never had to face an opponent, not /really. What the Formics faced, hes never had to face.  ( So youre confident, said Peter.  4 Not at all, said Graft. But Im hopeful.  - You brought us here just to show us this place? said Father.  / Actually, no. I brought you here because I (came up earlier in the day and swept it .personally for eavesdropping devices. Plus, I +installed a sound damper here, so that our -voices are not carrying down the ventilation shaft.  , You think MinCol has been penetrated, said Peter  . I know it has, said Graft Uphanad was /doing his routine scan of the logs of outgoing +messages, and he found an odd one that was ,sent within hours of your arrival here. The ,entire message consisted of the single word /on. Uphanads routine scan, of course, is more.thorough than most peoples desperate search.(He found this one simply by looking for &anomalies in message length, language 'patterns, etc. To find codes, you see.  * And this was in code? asked Father.  / Not a cipher, no. And impossible to decode &for that reason. It could simply mean 6affirmative, as in the mission is on. It might*be a foreign word-there are several dozen -common languages in which on has meaning 0by itself. It might be no backward. You see +the problem? What alerted Uphanad, besides +its brevity, was the fact that it was sent (within hours of your arrival-after your -arrival-and both the sender and the receiver !of the message were anonymous.  + How could the sender be anonymous from .a secure military0-designed facility? asked Peter.  2 Oh, its quite simple, really, said Graff. -The sender used someone elses sign-on.   Whose?  * Uphanad was quite embarrassed when he 'showed me the printout of the message. #Because as far as the computer was -concerned, it was sent by Uphanad himself.  * Someone got the log-on of the head of security? said Father.  0 Humiliating, you may be sure, said Graft.  & Youve fired him? asked Mother  + That would not make us more secure, to -lose the man who is our best defense against -whatever operation that message triggered.  2 So you think it is the English word on and'it means somebody is preparing to move against us.  . I think thats not unlikely. I think the *message was sent in the clear. Its only +undecipherable because we dont know what is on.  + And youve taken into account, said /Mother, the possibility that Uphanad actually,sent this message himself, and is using the ,fact that he told you about it as cover for &the fact that hes the perpetrator  , Graft looked at her a long time, blinked, 2and then smiled. I was telling myself, suspect)everybody, but now I know what a truly suspicious person is.  . Peter hadnt thought of it either. But now it made perfect sense.  5 Still, lets not leap to conclusions, either, -said Graff. The real sender of the message )might have used Major Uphanads sign-on .precisely so that the chief of security would be our prime suspect.  - How long ago did he find this message? asked Father  , A couple of days, said Graff. I was ,already scheduled to come, so I stuck to my schedule.   No warnings?  + No, said Graff. Any departure from -routine would let the sender know his signal +was discovered and perhaps interpreted. It &would lead him to change his plans.  % So what do we do? asked Peter.  3 First, said Graff, I apologize for thinking*youd be perfectly safe here. Apparently 0Achilless reach-or perhaps Chinas-is longer than we thought.  % So do we go home? asked Father  ) Second, said Graff, we cant do +anything that would play into their hands. ,Going home right now, before the threat can ,be identified and neutralized, would expose -you to greater danger Our betrayer could give-another signal that would tell them when and )where you were going to arrive on Earth. ,What your trajectory of descent is going to be. That sort of thing.  * Who would risk killing the Hegemon by -downing a shuttle? said Peter. The world -would be outraged, even the people whod be happy to see me dead.  , Anything we do that changes our pattern *would let the traitor know his signal was (intercepted. It might rush the project, .whatever it is, before were ready. No, Im /sorry to say this, but. . . our best course of action is to wait.  + And what if we disagree? said Peter.  / Then Ill send you home on the shuttle of ,your choosing, and pray for you all the way down.   Youd let us go?  - Youre my guest, said Graff. Not my prisoner.  / Then lets test it, said Peter Were *leaving on the next shuttle. The one that ,brought you-when it goes back, well be on it.  . Too soon, said Graff. We have no time to prepare.  + And neither does he. I suggest, said )Peter, that you go to Uphanad and make ,sure he knows that he has to put a complete -blanket of secrecy on our imminent departure. Hes not even to tell Dimak.  2 But if hes the one, said Mother, then- / Then he cant send a signal, said Peter &Unless he can find a way to let the 'information slip out and become public ,knowledge on the station. Thats why its /vital, Minister Graft, that you remain with him4at all times after you tell him. So if its him, hecant send the signal.  . But its probably not him, said Graff, (and now youve let everybody know.  / But now well be watching for the outgoing message.  + Unless they simply kill you as youre boarding the shuttle.  1 Then our worries will be over, said Peter. 0But I think they wont kill us here, because /this agent of theirs is too useful to them- or .to Achilles, depending on whose man he is-for &them to use him up completely on this operation.  , Graff pondered this. So we watch to see $who might be sending the message-  ) And you have agents stationed at the .landing point on Earth to see if they can spota would-be assassin.  , I can do that, said Graff. One tiny problem, though.   Whats that? said Peter.   You cant go.   Why cant I? said Peter  $ Because your one-man propaganda -campaign is working. The people who read your*stuff have drifted more strongly into the -anti-China camp. Its still a fairly slight movement, but its real.  / I can write my essays there, said Peter.  / In danger of being killed at any moment, said Graff.  / That could happen here, too, said Peter.  1 Well-but you yourself said it was unlikely. . Lets catch the mole whos working your ,station, said Peter, and send him home. 0Meanwhile, were heading for Earth. Its been -great being here, Minister Graft. But weve got to go.  & He looked at his mother and father.   Absolutely, said Father  - Do you think, said Mother, that when )we get back to Earth we can find a place .with little tiny beds like these? She clung 2more tightly to Fathers arms. Its made us somuch closer as a family.   WAR PLANS   From: %Demosthenes%Tecumseh@freeamerica.org % To: DropBox%Feijoada@ICameAnon.net  Re: ~ Encrypted using code  Decrypted using code  ' I spend half my memory capacity just /holding on to whatever online identity youre )using from week to week. Why not rely on (encryption? Nobodys broken hyperprime encryption yet.  + Here it is, Bean: Those stones in India? -Virlomi started it, of course. Got a message +from her: Now you are not in cesspool, can -communicate again. Have no email here. Stones/are mine. Back on bridge soon. War in earnest. (Post to me only, this site, pickup name #BridgeGirl password not stepstool.  - At least I think thats what stones are +mine means. And what does password not -stepstool mean? That the password is not )stepstool? Or that the password is not 0stepstool, in which case its probably not -aardvark either, but how does that help?  / Anyway, I think shes offering to begin war 1in earnest inside India. She cant possibly have*a nationwide network, but then, maybe she /doesnt need one. She was certainly enough in ,tune with the Indian people to get them all -piling stones in the road. And now the whole +stone wall business has taken off. Lots of -skirmishes between angry hungry citizens and /Chinese soldiers. Trucks hijacked. Sabotage of +Chinese offices proceeding apace. What can 'she do more than is already happening?  ) Given where you are, you may have more /need of her information and/or help than I do. /But Id appreciate your help understanding the,parts of the message that are opaque to me.   ' From: LostlboBoy%NovyIComeAnon.net  To: &Demosthenes%Tecumsehfreeamerica.org  Re: >blank<  Encrypted using code ******** # Decrypted using code ***********  0 Heres why I keep changing identities. First,+they dont have to decrypt the message to ,get information if they see patterns in our -correspondence-it would be useful for them to%know the frequency and timing of our %correspondence and the length of our -messages. Second, they dont have to decrypt+the whole message, they only hove to guess +our encrypt and decrypt codes. Which I bet (you have written down somewhere because .you dont actually care whether I get killed )because youre too lazy to memorize. Of .course I mean that in the nicest possible way,0 right honorable Mr. Hegemon.  , Heres what Virlomi meant. Obviously she ,intended that you not be able to understand -the message and correspond with her properly +unless you talked to me or Sun. That means /she doesnt trust you completely. My guess is ,that if you wrote to her and left a message -using the password not stepstool, shed /know that you hadnt talked to me. (You dont+know how tempting it was lust to leave you with that guess.)  ) When we picked her up from that bridge )near the Burmese border, she boarded the -chopper by stepping on Suriyawongs back as -he lay prostrate before her. The password is *not stepstool, its the real name of her /stepstool. And shes going to be back at that (bridge, which means shes made her way *across India to the Burmese border, where ,shell be in a position to disrupt Chinese 0supply of their troops in India-or, conversely, -Chinese attempts to move their troops out of (India and back into China or Indochina.  , Of course shes only going to be a stone ,bridge. But my guess is that shes already -setting up guerrilla groups that are getting ,ready to disrupt traffic on the other roads 'between Burma and India, with a strong /possibility that shes set up something along .the Himalayan border as well. I doubt she can .seal the borders, but she can slow and harass )their passage, tying up troops trying to ,protect supply lines and making the Chinese ,less able to mount offensives or keep their )troops supplied with ammunition-always a problem for them.  1 Personally, I think you should tell her not to 0tip her hand too soon. I may be able to tell you,when to post a reply asking her to start in /earnest on a particular date. And no, I wont (post myself because I am most certainly -watched here, and I dont wont them to know -about her directly. Ive already caught two ,snoopware intrusions on my desk, which cost (me twenty minutes each time, scrambling ,them so they send back false information to ,the snoops. Encrypted email like this I can ,send, but messages posted to dead drops can ,be picked up by snoopware on the local net.  + And yes these are indeed my friends. But 0theyd be fools not to keep track of what Im sending out-if they can.   0 Bean measured himself in the mirror. He still 2looked like himself, more or less. But he didnt -like the way his head was growing. Larger in (proportion to his body. Growing faster.  - I should be getting smarter, shouldnt I? More brain space and all?  / Instead Im worrying about what will happen (when my head gets too big, my skull and )brains too heavy for my neck to hold the )whole assemblage in a vertical position.  ' He measured himself against the coat .closet, too. Not all that long ago, he had to .stand on tiptoe to reach coat hangers. Then it'became easy. Now he was reaching a bit downward from shoulder height.  - Door frames were not a problem yet. But he *was beginning to feel as though he should duck.  , Why should his growth be accelerating now?!He already hit the puberty rush.  * Petra staggered past him, went into the )bathroom, and puked up nothing for about five agonizing minutes.  / They should have drugs for that, he told her afterward.  . They do, said Petra. But nobody knows "how they might affect the baby.  - Thereve been no studies? Impossible.  - No studies on how they might affect your children.  0 Antons Key is just a couple of code spots on the genome.  . Genes often do double and triple duty, or more.  - And the baby probably doesnt even have 1Antons Key. And its not healthy for the baby $if you cant keep any food down.  2 This wont last forever, said Petra. And 3Ill get fed intravenously if I have to. Im not ,doing anything to endanger this baby, Bean. +Sorry if my puking ruins your appetite for breakfast.  / Nothing ruins my appetite for breakfast, #said Bean. Im a growing boy.   She retched again.   Sorry, said Bean.  1 I dont do this, she whispered miserably, #because your jokes are so bad.  3 No, said Bean. Its cause my genes are.  * She retched again and he left the room, 0feeling guilty about leaving, but knowing hed ,be useless if he stayed. She wasnt one of ,those people who need petting when theyre ,sick. She preferred to be left alone in her )misery. It was one of the ways they were 2alike. Sort of like injured animals that slink off+into the woods to get better-or die-alone.  ( Alai was waiting for him in the large ,conference room. Chairs were gathered around+a large holo on the floor, where a map was .being projected of the terrain and militarily .significant roads of India and western China.  ( By now the others were used to seeing -Bean there, though there were some who still 1didnt like it. But the Caliph wanted him there,the Caliph trusted him.  ) They watched as the known locations of +Chinese garrison troops were brought up in )blue, and then the probable locations of -mobile forces and reserves in green. When he -first saw this map, Bean made the faux pas of%asking where they were getting their ,information. He was informed, quite coldly, *that both Persia and the Israeli-Egyptian *consortium had active satellite placement ,programs, and their spy satellites were the .best in orbit. We can get the blood type of .individual enemy soldiers, said Alai with a ,smile. An exaggeration, of course. But then +Bean wondered-some kind of spectroanalysis of their sweat?  / Not possible. Alai was joking, not boasting.  ) Now, Bean trusted their information as *much as they did-because of course he had *made discreet inquiries through Peter and -through some of his own connections. Putting .together what Vlad could tell him from Russian+intelligence and what Crazy Tom was giving )him from England. plus Peters American +sources, it was clear that the Muslims-the *Crescent League-had everything the others had. And more.  % The plan was simple. Massive troop )movements along the border between India /and Pakistan, bringing Iranian troops up to the)front. This should draw a strong Chinese .response, with their troops also concentrated along that border  + Meanwhile, Turkic forces were already in )place on, and sometimes inside, Chinas -western border, having traveled over the past,few months in disguise as nomads. On paper, .the western region of China looked like ideal .country for tanks and trucks, but in reality, 'fuel supply lines would be a recurring ,nightmare. So the first wave of Turks would *enter as cavalry, switching to mechanized .transport only when they were in a position to!steal and use Chinese equipment.  , This was the most dangerous aspect of the -plan, Bean knew. The Turkic armies, combining.forces from the Hellespont to the Aral Sea and.the foothills of the Himalayas, were equipped *like raiders, yet had to do the job of an $invading army. They had a couple of +advantages that might compensate for their )lack of armor and air support. Having no .supply lines meant the Chinese wouldnt have -anything to bomb at first. The native people *of the western China province of Xinjiang -were Turkic too, and like the Tibetans, they -had never stopped seething under the rule of Han China.  . Above all, the Turks would have surprise and/numbers on their side during the crucial first +days. The Chinese garrison troops were all .massed on the border with Russia. Until those -forces could be moved, the Turks should have ,an easy time, striking anywhere they wanted,+taking out police and supply stations-and, 'with luck, every airfield in Xinjiang.  + By the time Chinese troops moved off the -Russian border and into the interior to deal -with the Turks, the fully mechanized Turkish -troops would be entering China from the west.+Now there would be supply lines to attack, -but deprived of their forward air bases, and ,forced to face Turkish fighters which would (now be using them, China would not have clear air superiority.  & Taking underdefended air bases with -cavalry was just the sort of touch Bean would-have expected from Alai. They could only hope.that Han Tzu would not anticipate Alai having .complete authority over the inevitable Muslim ,move, for the Chinese would have to be crazy.not to be planning to defend against a Muslim invasion.  - At some point, it was hoped that the Turks ,would do well enough that the Chinese would .be forced to begin shifting troops from India .north into Xinjiang. Here the terrain favored -Alais plan, for awhile some Chinese troops /could be airlifted over the Tibetan Himalayas, (the Tibetan roads would be disrupted by )Turkic demolition teams, and the Chinese +troops would all have to be moved eastward +from India, around the Himalayas, and into ,western China from the east rather than the south.  + It would take days, and when the Muslims +believed that the maximum number of Chinese-troops were in transit, where they could not -fight anybody, they would launch the massive *invasion over the border between Pakistan and India.  ' So much depended on what the Chinese /believed. At first, the Chinese had to believe &that the real assault would come from )Pakistan, so that the main Chinese force -would remain tied up on that frontier. Then, 0at a crucial point several days into the Turkic +operation, the Chinese had to be convinced -that the Turkic front was, in fact, the real .invasion. They had to be so convinced of this ,that they would withdraw troops from India, weakening their forces there.  ! How else does an inexperienced ,three-million-man army defeat an army of tenmillion veterans?  * They went through contingency plans for -the several days following the commitment of -Muslim troops in Pakistan, but Bean knew, as .did Alai, that nothing that happened after the.Muslim troops began crossing the Indian border.could be predicted. They had plans in case the/invasion failed utterly, and Pakistan had to be0protected at fallback positions well inside the ,Pakistani border They had plans for dealing $with a complete rout of the Chinese ,forces-not likely, as they knew. But in the !most likely scenario-a difficult ,back-and-forth battle across a thousand-mile+front-plans would have to be improvised to (take advantage of every turn of events.  - So, said Alai. That is the plan. Any comments?  . Around the circle, one officer after another-voiced his measured confidence. This was not +because they were all yes-men, but because +Alai had already listened carefully to the .objections they raised before and had altered -the plans to deal with those he thought were serious problems.  & Only one of the Muslims offered any $objection today, and it was the one +nonmilitary man, Lankowski, whose role, as *best Bean could tell, was halfway between -minister-without-portfolio and chaplain. I 1think it is a shame, he said, that our plans *are so dependent upon what Russia chooses to do.  & Bean knew what he meant. Russia was /completely unpredictable in this situation. On +the one hand, the Warsaw Pact had a treaty *with China that had secured Chinas long -northern border with Russia, freeing them to /conquer India in the first place. On the other (hand, the Russians and Chinese had been .rivals in this region for centuries, and each +believed the other held territory that was rightfully theirs.  ( And there were unpredictable personal +issues as well. How many loyal servants of .Achilles were still in positions of trust and ,authority in Russia? At the same time, many +Russians were furious at how they had been -used by him before he went to India and then China.  * Yet Achilles brokered the secret treaty -between Russia and China, so he couldnt be all that detested, could he?  ) But what was that treaty really worth? (Every Russian schoolchild knew that the ,stupidest Russian tsar of them all had been 0Stalin, because he made a treaty with Hitlers )Germany and then expected it to be kept. 0Surely the Russians did not really believe China'would stay at peace with them forever.  & So there was always the chance that -Russia, seeing China at a disadvantage, would.join the fray. The Russians would see it as a -chance to seize territory and to preempt the %inevitable Chinese betrayal of them.  . That would be a good thing, if the Russians (attacked in force but were not terribly /successful. It would bleed Chinese troops from /the battle against the Muslims. But it would be/a very bad thing if Russia did too well or too +badly. Too well, and they might slice down -through Mongolia and seize Beijing. Then the +Muslim victory would become a Russian one. .Alai did not want to have Russia in a dominant role in the peace negotiations.  ) And if Russia entered the war but lost *quickly, Chinese troops would not have to -watch the Russian border. Free to move, those,garrison troops might be hurled against the -Turks, or they might be sent through Russian %territory to strike into Kazakhstan, -threatening to cut off Turkish supply lines.  + That was why Alai had expressed his hope .that the Russians would be too surprised to doanything at all.  3 Theres no helping it, said Alai. We have done all we can do. - What Russia does is in the hands of God.   May I speak? said Bean.  * Alai nodded. All eyes turned to him. At *previous meetings, Bean had said nothing, /preferring to talk with Alai in private, where .he did not risk committing an error in the wayhe spoke to the Caliph.  - When you have committed to battle, said-Bean, I believe I can use my own contacts, ,and persuade the Hegemon to use his, to urge+Russia to pursue whatever course you think most advisable.  - Several of the men shifted uncomfortably intheir chairs.  / Please reassure my worried friends here, /said Alai, that you have not already been in +discussion with the Hegemon or anyone else about our plans.  1 The opposite is true, said Bean. You are -the ones who are preparing to take action. I %have been providing you with all the ,information I learned from them. But I know (these people, and what they can do. The (Hegemon has no armies, but he does have .great influence on world opinion. Of course he0will speak in favor of your action. But he also ,has influence inside Russia, which he could -use either to urge intervention, or to argue against it. My friends, also.  ) Bean knew that Alai knew that the only +friend worth mentioning was Vlad, and Vlad 'had been the only one of the kidnapped 0members of Enders jeesh to join with Achilles )and take his side. Whether that had been *because he had truly become a follower of ,Achilles or because he thought Achilles was .acting in the interest of Mother Russia, Bean -still had not figured out. Vlad provided him ,with information sometimes, but Bean always +looked for a second source before he fully trusted it.  6 Then I will tell you this, said Alai. Today I +dont know what would be more useful, for .Russia to join in the attack or for Russia to /stand by doing nothing. As long as they dont +attack us, Ill be content. But as events *unfold, the picture may become clearer.  . Bean did not need to point out to Alai that +Russia would not enter the war to rescue a -failing Muslim invasion-only if the Russians )scented victory would they put their own 1forces at risk. So if Alai waited too long to askfor help, it would not come.  - They took a break for the noon meal, but it*was very brief, and when they returned to *the conference room, the map had changed. -There was a third part of the plan, and Bean )knew that this was the one that Alai was least certain about.  * For months now, Arab armies from Egypt, +Iraq, and every other Arab nation had been .transported on oil tankers from Arab ports to -Indonesia. The Indonesian navy was one of the&most formidable in the world, and its ,carrier-based air force was the only one in 'the region that rivaled the Chinese in *equipment and armament. Everyone knew that.it was because of the Indonesian umbrella that'the Chinese had not taken Singapore or ventured into the Philippines.  * Now it was proposed that the Indonesian %navy be used to transport a combined ,Arab-Indonesian army to effect a landing in .Thailand or Vietnam. Both nations were filled ,with people who longed for deliverance from the Chinese conquerors.  - When the plans for the two possible landing0sites had been fully laid out, Alai did not ask 1for criticisms-he had his own. I think in both 0cases, our plans for the landing are excellent. 1My misgiving is the same one Ive had all along.0There is no serious military objective there to ,be achieved. The Chinese can afford to lose ,battle after battle there, using only their )available forces, retreating farther and -farther, while waiting to see the outcome of 0the real war. I think the soldiers we sent there0would risk dying for no good purpose. Its too 0much like the Italian campaign in World War II. -Long, slow, costly, and ineffective, even if we win every battle.  + The Indonesian commander bowed his head. 1I am grateful for the Caliphs concern for the*lives of our soldiers. But the Muslims of +Indonesia could not bear to stand by while .their brothers fight. If these objectives are -meaningless, find us something meaningful to do.  % One of the Arab officers added his ,agreement. Weve committed our troops to /this operation. Is it too late, then, to bring %them back and let them join with the -Pakistanis and Iranians in the liberation of *India? Their numbers might make a crucial difference there.  , The time draws close for the weather to .be at its best for our purposes, said Alai. *Theres no time to bring back the Arab *armies. But I can see no value in sending /soldiers into battle for no better reason than 1solidarity, or delaying the invasion in order to /bring the Arab armies into a different theater ,of war. If it was a mistake to send them to "Indonesia, the mistake is my own.  ) They murmured their disagreement. They ,could not agree with blaming the Caliph for *any mistakes. At the same time, Bean knew ,that they appreciated knowing they were led *by a man who did not blame others. It was #part of the reason they loved him.  0 Alai spoke over their objections. I have not.decided yet whether to launch the third front..But if we do launch it, then the objective we ,should plan for is Thailand, not Vietnam. I /realize the risks of leaving the fleet exposed .for a longer time at sea-we will have to count0on the Indonesian pilots to protect their ships.'I choose Thailand because it is a more -coherent country, with terrain more suitable +for a swift conquest. In Vietnam, we would /have to fight for every inch of territory, and ,our progress would look slow on the map-the *Chinese would feel safe. In Thailand, our /progress will look very quick and dangerous. As)long as they forget that Thailand is not /important to them in the overall war, it might -cause them to send troops there to oppose us. ) After a few more niceties, the meeting +ended. One thing that no one mentioned was .the actual date of the invasion. Bean was sure+that one had been chosen and that everyone )in the room but him knew what it was. He &accepted that-it was the one piece of *information which he had no need to know, -and the most crucial one to withhold from him&if he could not be trusted after all.  . Back in their room, Bean found Petra asleep.,He sat down and used his desk to access his ,email and check a few sites on the nets. He -was interrupted by a light knock on the door +Petra was instantly awake-pregnant or not, 1she still slept like a soldier-and she was at the%door before Bean could shut down his )connection and step away from the table.  , Lankowski stood there, looking apologetic ,and regal, a combination that only he could .have mastered. If you will forgive me, he /said, our mutual friend wishes to speak with you in the garden.   Both of us? asked Petra.  & Please, unless you are too ill.  + Soon they were seated on the bench beside+Alais garden throne- though of course he 0never called it that, referring to it only as a chair.  1 Im sorry Petra, that I couldnt bring you -into the meeting. Our Crescent League is not +recidivist, but it would make some of them *too uncomfortable to have a woman present at such meetings.  1 Alai, do you think I dont know that? she *said. You have to deal with the culture around you.  * I assume that Bean has acquainted you with our plans?  ) I was asleep when he returned to the *room, said Petra, so anything thats *changed since last time, I dont know.  / Im sorry, then, but perhaps you can pick 'up whats happening from the context. )Because I know Bean has something to say and he didnt say it yet.  2 I saw no flaw in your plans, said Bean. I )think youve done everything that could .possibly be done, including being smart enough+not to think you can plan what will happen (once battle has been joined in India.  . But such praise is not what I saw on your face, said Alai.  1 I didnt think my face was readable, said Bean.  6 It isnt, said Alai. Thats why Im asking you.  2 Weve received an offer that I think youll be glad of, said Bean.   From?  . I dont know if you ever knew Virlomi, said Bean.   Battle School?   Yes.  / Before my time, I think. I was a young boy ,and paid no attention to girls anyway. He smiled at Petra.  0 Werent we all, said Bean. Virlomi was (the one who made it possible for me and ,Suriyawong to retrieve Petra from Hyderabad ,and save the Indian Battle School graduates &from being slaughtered by Achilles.  . She has my admiration, then, said Alai.  / Shes back in India. All that building of -stone obstacles, the so called Great Wall of ,India-apparently shes the one who started that.  - Now Alais interest looked like more than mere politeness.  + Peter received a message from her. She .has no idea about you and what youre doing, )and neither does Peter, but she sent the &message in language that he couldnt ,understand without conferring with me-a very1careful and wise thing for her to do, I think.   They exchanged smiles.  , She is in place in the area of a bridge ,spanning one of the roads between India and -Burma. She may be able to disrupt one, many, .or even all of the major roads leading betweenIndia and China.   Alai nodded.  . It would be a disaster, of course. said ,Bean, if she acted on her own and cut the *roads before the Chinese are able to move 0any troops out of India. In other words, if she -thinks the real invasion is the Turkish one, +then she might think her most helpful role *would he to keep Chinese troops in India. .Ideally, what she would do is wait until they ,start trying to move hoops hack into India, ,and then cut the roads, keeping them out.  / But if we tell her, said Alai, and the /message is . . . intercepted, then the Chinese /will know that the Turkic operation is not the main effort.  2 Well, thats why I didnt want to bring this1up in front of the others. I can tell you that I ,believe communication between her and Peter,.and between Peter and me, is secure. I believe-that Peter is desperate for your invasion to 0succeed, and Virlomi will be too, and they will $not tell anyone anything that would &compromise it. But its your call.  + Peter is desperate for our invasion to succeed? asked Alai.  3 Alai, the mans not stupid. I didnt have to .tell him about your plans or even that you had0plans. He knows that youre here, in seclusion,*and he has satellite reports of the troop -movements to the Indian frontier. He hasnt 0discussed it with me, but I wouldnt be at all )surprised if he also knew about the Arab +presence in Indonesia- thats the kind of +thing he always finds out about because he has contacts everywhere.  2 Sorry to suspect you, said Alai, but Id be remiss if I didnt.  . Think about Virlomi, anyway. said Bean. 0It would be tragic if, in her effort to help, #she actually hindered your plan.  1 But thats not all you wanted to say, saidAlai.  ' No, said Bean, and he hesitated.   Go on.  , Your reason for not wanting to open the 0third front was a sound one, said Bean. Not )wanting to waste lives taking militarily unimportant objectives.  0 So you think I shouldnt use that force at all, said Alai.  . No, said Bean. I think you need to be ,bolder with them. I think you need to waste 'more lives on an even more spectacular nonmilitary objective.  . Alai turned away. I was afraid youd see that.  / I was sure youd already thought of it.  ) I was hoping one of the Arabs or the /Indonesians themselves would propose it, saidAlai.  ! Propose what? asked Petra.  , The military goal, said Bean, is to 'destroy their armies, which is done by -attacking them with superior force, achieving+surprise, and cutting off their supply and -escape routes. Nothing you do with the third -front can achieve any of those objectives.   I know, said Alai.  - China isnt a democracy. The government .doesnt have to win elections. But they need )the support of their people all the more because of that.  + Petra sighed her understanding. Invade China itself.  + There is no hope of success in such an 1invasion, said Alai. On the other fronts, we +will have a citizenry that welcomes us and .cooperates with us, while obstructing them. In-China, the opposite would be true. Their air -force would be working from nearby airfields .and could fly sortie after sortie between each/wave of our planes. The potential for disaster would be very great.  1 Plan for disaster. said Bean. Begin with disaster.  , Youre too subtle for me, said Alai.  + Whats disaster in this case? Besides *actually getting stopped at the beach-not (likely, since China has one of the most 1inevasible shorelines in the world-a disaster is -for your force to be dispersed, cut off from +supply, and operating without coordinating central control.  , Land them, said Alai, and have them ,immediately begin a guerrilla campaign? But .they wont have the support of the people.  - I thought about this a lot, said Bean. !The Chinese people are used to #oppression-when have they not been %oppressed?-but theyve never become )reconciled to it. Think how many peasant #revolts thereve been-and against +governments far more benign than this one. )Now, if your soldiers go into China like )Shermans march to the sea, theyll be opposed at every step.  + But they have to live off the land, if +theyre cut off from supply. said Alai.  . Strictly disciplined troops can make this 2work. said Bean. But this will be hard for the,Indonesians, given the way the Chinese have 0always been regarded within Indonesia itself.  % Trust me to control my troops.  0 Then heres what they do. In every village *they come to, they take half the food-but /only half. They make a big point of leaving the0rest, and you tell them its because Allah did ,not send you to make war against the Chinese*people. If you had to kill anybody to get 0control of the village, apologize to the family 1or to the whole village, if it was a soldier who +died. Be the nicest invaders theyve ever imagined.  2 Oh, said Alai. Thats asking a lot, from mere discipline.  ( Petra was getting the vision of this. +Maybe if you quote to your soldiers that +passage from The Elevated Places, where it *says, Maybe your Lord will destroy your ,enemy and make you rulers in the land. Then He will see how you act.  / Alai looked at her in genuine consternation. !You quote the Quran to me?  / I thought the verse was appropriate, she /said. Isnt that why you had them put it in my room? So Id read it?  , Alai shook his head. Lankowski gave you the Quran.  0 And she read it, added Bean. Were both surprised.  . Its a good passage to use, said Alai. 1Maybe God will make us rulers in China. Lets -show from the start that we can do it justly and righteously.  1 The best part of the plan. said Bean, is *that the Chinese soldiers will come right -afterward, and fearing that their own armies 0will be left without supplies, or in the effort +to deprive your army of further provender, -they will probably seize all the rest of the food.  + Alai nodded, smiled, then laughed. Our (invading army leaves the Chinese people *enough to eat, but the Chinese army makes them starve.  1 The likelihood of a public relations victory is very high, said Bean.  / And meanwhile, said Petra, the Chinese /soldiers in India and Xingjian are going crazy .because they dont know whats going on withtheir families back home.  - The invasion fleet doesnt mass for the 2attack, said Bean. Its done in Filipino and .Indonesian fishing boats, small forces up and /down the coast. The Indonesian fleet, with its -carriers, waits far offshore, until theyre ,called in on air strikes against identified .military targets. Every time they try to find .your army, you melt away. No pitched battles. )At first the people will help them; soon /enough, the people will help you. You resupply ,with ammunition and demolition equipment by 'air drops at night. Food they find for .themselves. And all the time they move fartherand farther inland, destroying -communications, blowing up bridges. No dams, though. Leave the dams alone.  0 Of course, said Alai darkly. We remember Aswan.  + Anyway, that was my suggestion. said ,Bean. Militarily, it does nothing for you 0during the first weeks. The attrition rate will .be high at first, until the teams get in from 'the coast and get used to this kind of &combat. But if even a quarter of your (contingents are able to remain free and 0effective, operating inside China, it will force*the Chinese to bring more and more troops home from the Indian front.  0 Until they sue for peace, said Alai. We ,dont actually want to rule over China. We ,want to liberate India and Indochina, bring ,back all the captives taken into China, and -restore the rightful governments, but with a /treaty allowing complete privileges to Muslims within their borders.  ) So much bloodshed, for such a modest goal, said Petra.  - And, of course, the liberation of Turkic China, said Alai.  % Theyll like that, said Bean.   And Tibet, said Alai.  / Humiliate them enough. said Petra, and *youve merely set the stage for the next war.  . And complete freedom of religion in China as well.  1 Petra laughed. Its going to be a long war, +Alai. The new empire theyd probably give 1up-they havent held it that long, and its not.as if it brought them great wealth and honor. -But theyve held Tibet and Turkic China for /centuries. There are Han Chinese all over both territories.  - Those are problems to be solved later, -said Alai, and not by you. Probably not by +me, either. But we know what the West keepsforgetting. If you win, win.  ' I think that approach was proven a disaster at Versailles.  - No said Alai. It was only proven a +disaster after Versailles, when France and 0England didnt have the spine, didnt have the/will, to compel obedience to the treaty. After /World War II, the Allies were wiser. They left )their troops on German soil for nearly a .century. In some cases benignly, in some cases)brutally, but always definitely there.  , As you said, Bean answered, you and ,your successors will find out how well this )works, and how to solve the new problems *that are bound to come up. But I warn you 'now, that if liberators turn out to be 0oppressors, the people they liberated will feel *even more betrayed and hate them worse.  2 Im aware of that, said Alai. And I know what youre warning me of.  1 I think, said Bean, that you wont know (whether the Muslim people have actually +changed from the bad old days of religious )intolerance until you put power in their hands.  2 What the Caliph can do, said Alai, I will do.  3 I know you will, said Petra. I dont envy you your responsibility.  1 Alai smiled. Your friend Peter does. In fact,he wants more.  . And your people, said Bean, will want -more on your behalf. You may not want to rule-the world, but if you win in China, theyll .want you to, in their name. And at that point,"Alai, how can you tell them no?  - With these lips, said Alai. And this heart.   TRAPS   To: Locke%erasmus@potnet.gov  From: Sand%Water@ArabNet.net  Re: Invitation to a party  * You dont wont to miss this one. Kemal .upstairs thinks hes the whole show, but when+Show and Pock get started in the basement, -thats when the fireworks stop say wait for (the downstairs party before you pop any corks.  2 John Paul, said Theresa Wiggin quietly, I .dont understand what Peters doing here.  / John Paul closed his suitcase. Thats the way he likes it.  / Were supposed to be doing this secretly, but he-  - Asked us not to talk about it in here. +John Paul put his finger to his lips, then *picked up her suitcase as well as his and )started on the long walk to the bunkroom door.  ( Theresa could do nothing but sigh and 0follow him. After all theyd been through with .Peter, youd think he could confide in them. +But he still had to play these games where )nobody knew everything that was going on .but him. It was only a few hours since he had -decided they were going to leave on the next +shuttle, and supposedly they were supposed to keep it an absolute secret.  * So what does Peter do? Asks practically +every member of the permanent station crew +to do some favor for him, run some errand, -and youve got to get it to me by 1800.  / They werent idiots. They all knew that 1800+was when everyone going on the next flight #had to board for a 1900 departure.  + So this great secret had been leaked, by 'implication, to everybody on the crew.  / And yet he still insisted that they not talk -about it, and John Paul was going along with *him! What kind of madness was this? Peter +was clearly not being careless, he was too ,systematic for it to be an accident. Was he &hoping to catch someone in the act of /transmitting a warning to Achilles? Well, what ,if, instead of a warning, they just blew up ,the shuttle? Maybe that was the operation-to*sabotage whatever shuttle they were going "home on. Did Peter think of that?  0 Of course he did. It was in Peters nature tothink of everything.  0 Or at least it was in Peters nature to thinkhe had thought of everything.  . Out in the corridor, John Paul kept walking .too quickly for her to converse with him, and -when she tried anyway, he put his fingers to his lips.   Its OK, he murmured.  - At the elevator to the hub of the station, ,where the shuttles docked, Dimak was waiting,for them. He had to be there, because their 'palms would not activate the elevator.  4 Im sorry well be losing you so soon, said Dimak.  - You never did tell us, said John Paul, (which bunk room was Dragon Armys.  + Ender never slept there anyway, said +Dimak. He had a private room. Commanders *always did. Before that he was in several armies, but..  , Too late now, anyway, said John Paul.  * The elevator door opened. Dimak stepped +inside, held the door for them, palmed the -controls, and entered the code for the right flight deck.  , Then he stepped back out of the elevator. .Sorry I cant see you off, but Colonel-the +Minister suggested I shouldnt know about this.   John Paul shrugged.  + The elevator doors closed and they began their ascent.  . Johnny P., said Theresa, if were so *worried about being bugged, what was that %about, talking so openly with him?  1 He carries a damper, said John Paul. His /conversations cant be listened to. Ours can, *and this elevator is definitely bugged.  # What, Uphanad told you that?  / It would be insane to set up security in a +tube like this station without bugging the +funnel through which everybody has to pass to get inside.  + Well excuse me for not thinking like a paranoid spy.  / I think thats one of your best traits.  / She realized that she couldnt say anything *she was thinking. And not just because it *might be overheard by Uphanads security 1system. I hate it when you deal with me.  , OK, what if I handle you instead? ,suggested John Paul, leering just a little.  . If you werent carrying my bag for me, said Theresa, Id   Tickle me?  0 You arent in on this any more than I am,+said Theresa. But you act as if you know -everything. Gravity had quickly faded, and .now she was holding onto the side rail as she &hooked her feet under the floor rail.  1 Ive guessed some things, said John Paul. 4For the rest, all I can do is trust. He really is a very smart boy.  / Not as smart as he thinks, said Theresa.  - But a lot smarter than you think, said John Paul.  % I suppose your evaluation of his intelligence is just right.  2 Such a Goldilocks line. Makes me feel so . . . ursine.  , Why cant you just say bearlike?  / Because I know the word ursine, and so do you, and its fun to say.   The elevator doors opened.  / Carry your bag for you, Maam? said JohnPaul.  2 If you want, she said, but Im not going to tip you.  - Oh, you really are upset, he murmured.  , She pulled herself past him as he started tossing bags to the orderlies.  - Peter was waiting at the shuttle entrance. -Cut it rather fine, didnt we? he said.  - Is it eighteen hundred? asked Theresa.  # A minute before, said Peter.  2 Then were early, said Theresa. She sailed (past him, too, and on into the airlock.  + Behind her, she could hear Peter saying, (Whats got into her? and John Paul answering, Later.  , It took a moment to reorient herself once 0she was inside the shuttle. She couldnt shake .the sensation that the floor was in the wrong -place- down was left and in was out, or some *such thing. But she pulled herself by the *handholds on the seat backs until she had -found a seat. An aisle seat, to invite other ,passengers to sit somewhere else. But there -were no other passengers. Not even John Paul .and Peter. After waiting a good five minutes, *she became too impatient to sit there any longer.  - She found them standing in midair near the #airlock, laughing about something.  / Are you laughing at me? she asked, daringthem to say yes.   No, said Peter at once.  2 Only a little, said John Paul. We can talk,now. The pilot has cut all the links to the 2station, and... Peters wearing a damper, too. - How nice, said Theresa. Too bad they 0didnt have one for me or your father to use. 5 They didnt, said Peter Ive got Graffs. *Its not like they keep them in stock.  , Why did you tell everybody you met here .that we were leaving on this shuttle? Are you trying to get us killed?  ) Ah, what tangled webs we weave, when &we practice to deceive, said Peter.  / So youre playing spider, said Theresa. $What are we, threads? Or flies?  " Passengers, said John Paul.   And Peter laughed.  0 Let me in on the joke, said Theresa, or #Ill space you, I swear I will.  - As soon as Graft knew he had an informer (here at the station, he brought his own *security team here. Unbeknownst to anyone -but him, no messages are actually going into .or out of the station. But it looks to anyone on the station as if they are.  . So youre hoping to catch someone sending/a message about what shuttle were on, said Theresa.  / Actually, we expect that no one will send amessage at all.  + Then what is this for? said Theresa.  + What matters is, who doesnt send the $message. And Peter grinned at her  0 I wont ask anything more, said Theresa, -since youre so smug about how clever you /are. I suppose whatever your clever plan is, my!dear clever boy thought it up.  % And people say Demosthenes has a sarcastic streak, said Peter.  + A moment ago she didnt get it. And now ,she did. Something clicked, apparently. The )right mental gear had shifted, the tight +synapse had sizzled with electricity for a (moment. You wanted everybody to think )they had accidentally discovered we were .leaving. And gave them all a chance to send a .message, said Theresa. Except one person. So if hes the one...  . John Paul finished her sentence. Then the message wont get sent.  0 Unless hes really clever, said Theresa.  # Smarter than us? said Peter.  - He and John Paul looked at each other. Then/both of them shook their heads, said, Naw, and then burst out laughing.  1 Im glad you too are bonding so well, she said.  0 Oh, Mom, dont be a butt about this, said0Peter I couldnt tell you because if he knew /it was a trap it wouldnt work, and hes the %one person who might be listening to ,everything. And for your information I only just got the damper.  3 I understand all that, said Theresa. Its +the fact that your father guessed it and I didnt.  0 Mom, said Peter, nobody thinks youre a1Lackwit, if thats what youre worried about. * Lackwit? In what musty drawer of some ,dead English professors dust-covered desk *did you find that word? I assure you that (never in my worst nightmares did I ever suppose that I was a Lackwit.  - Good, said Peter Because if you did, youd be wrong.  1 Shouldnt we be strapping in for takeoff? asked Theresa.  ) No, said Peter. Were not going anywhere.  Why not?  . The station computers are busily running a.simulation program saying that the shuttle is ,in its launch routine. Just to make it look /right, well be cut loose and drift away from /the station. As soon as the only people in the ,dock are Graffs team from outside, well %come back and get out of this can.  / This seems like a pretty elaborate shade tocatch one informer.  , You raised me with such a keen sense of 0style, Mom, said Peter I cant overcome my childhood at your knee.   * Lankowski knocked at the door at nearly .midnight. Petra had already been asleep for an.hour. Bean logged off, disconnected his desk, and opened the door  ) Is there something wrong? he asked Lankowski.  , Our mutual friend wishes to see the two of you.  1 Petras already asleep, said Bean. But he ,could see from the coldness of Lankowskis -demeanor that something was very wrong. Is Alai all right?  1 Hes very well, thank you, said Lankowski..Please wake your wife and bring her along asquickly as possible. + Fifteen minutes later, adrenaline making -sure that neither he nor Petra was the least /bit groggy, they stood before Alai, not in the /garden, but in an office, and Alai was sitting behind a desk.  - He had a single sheet of paper on the desk and slid it across to Bean.  ! Bean picked it up and read it.  ( You think I sent this, said Bean.  1 Or Petra did, said Alai. I tried to tell *myself that perhaps you hadnt impressed (upon her the importance of keeping this )information from the Hegemon. But then I )realized that I was thinking like a very 0old-fashioned Muslim. She is responsible for her+own actions. And she understood as well as )you did that maintaining secrecy on this matter was vital.   Bean sighed.  4 I didnt send it, said Bean. Petra didnt .send it. We not only understood your desire to.keep this secret, we agreed with it. There is +zero chance we would have sent information .about what youre doing to anyone, period.  , And yet here is this message, sent from 'our own netbase. From this building!  - Alai, said Bean, were three of the -smartest people on Earth. Weve been through,a war together, and the two of you survived /Achilless kidnapping. And yet when something ,like this happens, you absolutely know that +were the ones who betrayed your trust.  * Who else from outside our circle knew this?  2 Well, lets see. All the men at that meeting -have staffs. Their staffs are not made up of -idiots. Even if no one explicitly told them, 0theyll see memos, theyll hear comments. Some*of these men might even think its not a ,breach of security to tell a deeply trusted .aide. And a few of them might actually be only-figureheads, so they have to tell the people /wholl be doing the real work or nothing will get done.  ' I know all these men, said Alai.  . Not as well as you know us, said Petra. /Just because theyre good Muslims and loyal *to you doesnt mean theyre all equally careful.  , Peter has been building up a network of .informants and correspondents since he was ...-well, since he was a kid. Long before any of )them knew he was just a kid. It would be ,shocking if he didnt have an informant in your palace.  - Alai sat staring at the paper on the desk. 1This is a very clumsy sort of disguise for the 0message, said Alai. I suppose you would havedone a better job of it.  , I would have encrypted it, said Bean, /and Petra probably would have put it inside a graphic.  . I think the very clumsiness of the message/should tell you something, said Petra. The ,person who wrote this is someone who thinks ,he only needs to hide this information from ,somebody outside the inner circle. He would (have to know that if you saw it, youd 0recognize instantly that Shaw refers to the +old rulers of Iran, and Pack refers to +Pakistan, while Kemal is a transparent )reference to the founder of post-Ottoman $Turkey. How could you not get it?  3 Alai nodded. So hes only coding it like this ,to keep outsiders from understanding it, in (case it gets intercepted by an enemy.  ) He doesnt think anybody here would ,search his outgoing messages, said Petra. *Whereas Bean and I know for a fact that (weve been bugged since we got here.  2 Not terribly successfully, said Alai with a tight little smile.  . Well, you need better snoopware, to start with, said Bean.  - And if we had sent a message to Peter, 0said Petra, we would have told him explicitly +to warn our Indian friend not to block the .Chinese exit from India, only their return.  . We would have had no other reason to tell 2Peter about this at all, said Bean. We dont 1work for him. We dont really like him all that much.  3 Hes not, said Petra firmly, one of us.  * Alai nodded, sighed, leaned back in his &chair. Please, sit down, he said.   Thank you, said Petra.  + Bean walked to the window and looked out ,over lawns sprinkled by purified water from ,the Mediterranean. Where the favor of Allah ,was, the desert blossomed. I dont think .therell be any harm from this, said Bean. 2Aside from our losing a bit of sleep tonight.  + You must see that its hard for me to &suspect my closest colleagues here.  3 Youre the Caliph, said Petra, but youre/also still a very young man, and they see that.0They know your plan is brilliant, they love you,0they follow you in all the great things you plan.for your people. But when you tell them, Keep ,this an absolute secret, they say yes, they -even mean it, but they dont take it really ,quite seriously because, you see, youre..   Still a boy, said Alai.  1 That will fade with time, said Petra. You-have many years ahead of you. Eventually all $these older men will be replaced.  - By younger men that I trust even less, said Alai ruefully.  + Telling Peter is not the same thing as /telling an enemy, said Bean. He shouldnt ,have had this information in advance of the +invasion. But you notice that the informer 2didnt tell him when the invasion would start.   Yes he did, said Alai.  ' Then I dont see it, said Bean.  ' Petra got up again and looked at the .printed-out email. The message doesnt say +anything about the date of the invasion.  2 It was sent, said Alai, on the day of the invasion.  ' Bean and Petra looked at each other. Today? said Bean.  - The Turkic campaign has already begun, 1said Alai. As soon as it was dark in Xinjiang. )By now we have received confirmation via *email messages that three airfields and a .significant part of the power grid are in our .hands. And so far, at least, there is no sign -that the Chinese know anything is happening. /Its going better than we could have hoped.  2 Its begun, said Bean. So it was already +too late to change the plans for the third front.  2 No, it wasnt, said Alai. Our new orders (have been sent. The Indonesian and Arab *commanders are very proud to be entrusted -with the mission that will take the war home to the enemy.  2 Bean was appalled. But the logistics of it... theres no time to plan.  + Bean, said Alai with amusement. We -already had the plans for a complicated beach*landing. That was a logistical nightmare. -Putting three hundred separate forces ashore *at different points on the Chinese coast, )under cover of darkness, three days from .today, and supporting them with air raids and /air drops-my people can do that in their sleep.)That was the best thing about your idea, 2Bean, my friend. It wasnt a plan at all, it was -a situation, and the whole plan is for every *individual commander to improvise ways to 2fulfill the mission objectives. I told them, in my)orders, that as long as they keep moving ,inland, protect their men, and cause maximum(annoyance to the Chinese government and military, they cant fail.   Its begun, said Petra.  4 Yes, said Bean. Its begun, and Achilles isnot in China.  0 Petra looked at Bean and grinned. Lets see)what we can do about keeping him away.  / More to the point, said Bean. Since we -have not given Peter the specific message he ,needs to convey to Virlomi in India, may we #do so now, with your permission?  / Alai squinted at him. Tomorrow. After news +of the fighting in Xinjiang has started to "come out. I will tell you when.  / In Uphanads office, Graff sat with his feet%on the desk as Uphanad worked at the security console.  5 Well, sir, thats it, said Uphanad. Theyreoff.  , And theyll arrive when? said Graff.  1 I dont know, said Uphanad. Thats all (about trajectories and very complicated ,equations balancing velocity, mass, speed-I +wasnt the astrophysics teacher in Battle School, you recall.  ' You were small-force tactics, if I -remember, said Graff. And when you tried ,that experiment with military music- having #the boys learn to sing together-  - Graff groaned. Please. Dont remind me. &What a deeply stupid idea that was.  ( But you saw that at once and let us #mercifully drop the whole thing.  * Esprit de corps my ass, said Graff.  , Uphanad hit a group of keys on the console+keyboard and the screen showed that he had 0just logged off. All done here. Im glad you -found out about the informer here in MinCol. +Having the Wiggins leave was the only safe option.  0 Do you remember, said Graff, the time I .accused you of letting Bean see your log-on? / Like yesterday, said Uphanad. I dont .think you were going to believe me until Dimak&vouched for me and suggested Bean was ,crawling around the duct system and peeking through vents.  ) Yes. Dimak was sure that you were so -methodical you could not possibly have broken,your habits in a moment of carelessness. He was right, wasnt he?   Yes, said Uphanad.  3 I learned my lesson, said Graff. I trusted you ever since.  ' I hope I have earned that trust.  , Many times over. I didnt keep all the -faculty from Battle School. Of course, there &were some who thought the Ministry of -Colonization was too tame for their talents. 3But it isnt really a matter of personal loyalty, is it?   What isnt, sir?  . Our loyalty should be to something larger /than a particular person, dont you think? To *a cause, perhaps. Im loyal to the human +race-thats a pretentious one, dont you .think?-but to a particular project, spreading )the human genome throughout as many star .systems as possible. So our very existence can.never be threatened again. And for that, Id /sacrifice many personal loyalties. It makes me )completely predictable, but also someone &unreliable, if you get what I mean.   I think I do, sir.  - So my question, my good friend, is this: What are you loyal to?  & To this cause, sir. And to you.  - This informant who used your log-on. Did +he peer at you through the vents again, do you think?  , Very unlikely, sir I think it much more +probable that he penetrated the system and chose me at random, sir.  , Yes, of course. But you must understand *that because your name was on that email, 1we had to eliminate you as a possibility first. ! That is only logical, sir.  * So as we sent the Wiggins home on the +shuttle, we made sure that every member of (the permanent staff found out that they *were leaving and had every opportunity to send a message. Except you.   Except me, sir?  , I have been with you continuously since +they decided to go. That way, if a message *was sent, even if it used your log-on, we /would know it wasnt you who sent it. But if a.message wasnt sent, well. .. it was you who didnt send it.  3 This is not likely to be foolproof, sir, said,Uphanad. Someone else might have not sent /the message for reasons of his or her own, sir.)It might be that their departure was not "something for which a message was necessary.  + True, said Graff. But we would not )convict you of a crime on the basis of a .message not sent. Merely assign you to a less )critical responsibility. Or give you the &opportunity to resign with pension.  $ That is very kind of you, sir  , Please dont think of me as kind, I-  , The door opened. Uphanad turned, obviously0surprised. You cant come in here, he said )to the Vietnamese woman who stood in the doorway.  0 Oh, I invited her, said Graff. I dont (think you know Colonel Nguyen of the IF Digital Security Force.  , No, said Uphanad, rising to offer his 1hand. I didnt even know your office existed. Per se.  + She ignored his hand and gave a paper to Graff.  2 Oh, he said, not reading it yet. So werein the clear in this room.  . The message did not use his log-on, she said.  , Graff read the message. It consisted of a 0single word: Off. The log-on was that of one!of the orderlies from the docks.  + The time in the message header showed it 'had been sent only a couple of minutes /before. So my friend is in the clear, said Graff.   No sir, said Nguyen.  * Uphanad, who had been looking relieved, -now seemed baffled. But I did not send it. How could I?  , Nguyen did not answer him, but spoke only -to Graff. It was sent from this console.  - She walked over to the console and started to log back on.  $ Let me do that, said Uphanad.  , She turned around and there was a stun gun2in her hand. Stand against the wall, she said.Hands in plain view.  , Graff got up and opened the door Come on-in, he said. Two more IF soldiers entered. ,Please inspect Mr. Uphanad for weapons or .other lethal items. And under no circumstances,is he to be allowed to touch a computer. We )wouldnt want him to activate a program !wiping out critical materials.  - I dont know how this thing was done, .said Uphanad. but youre wrong about me.  , Graff pointed to the console. Nguyen is +never wrong, he said. Shes even more methodical than you.  / Uphanad watched. Shes signing on as me.*And then, She used my password. Thats illegal!  * Nguyen called Graff over to look at the 0screen. Normally, to log off, you press these ,two keys, you see? But he also pressed this .one. With his little finger, so you wouldnt .actually notice it had been pressed. That key +sequence activated a resident program that .sent the email, using a random selection from -among the staff identities. It also launched -the ordinary log-off sequence, so to you, it *looked like you had just watched somebody %log off in a perfectly normal way.  / So he had this ready to send at any time, said Graft.  / But when he did send it, it was within five minutes of the actual launch.  , Graff and Nguyen turned around to look at -Uphanad. Graff could see in his eyes that he saw he had been caught.  0 So, said Graff, how did Achilles get to ,you? Youve never met him, I dont think. ,Surely he didnt form some attachment with )you when he was here for a few days as a student.  - He has my family, said Uphanad, and he burst into tears.  0 No no, said Graff. Control yourself act 1like a soldier, we have very little time here in +which to correct your failure of judgment. ,Next time youll know, if someone comes to /you with a threat like this, you come to me.  , They said theyd know if I told you.  - Then you would tell me that, too, said .Graff, But, now you have told me. So lets ,make this thing work to our advantage. What "happens when you send this second message?  1 I dont know, said Uphanad. It doesnt ,matter anyway. She just sent it again. When *they get the same message twice, theyll know something is wrong.  , Oh, they didnt get the message either /time, said Graff. We cut this console off. ,We cut off the whole station from earthside ,contact. Just as the shuttle never actually left.  ) The door opened yet again, and in came Peter, John Paul, and Theresa.  + Uphanad turned his face to the wall. The ,soldiers would have turned him back around, *but Graff gave them a gesture: Let be. He *knew how proud Uphanad was. This shame in +front of the people he had tried to betray )was unbearable. Give him time to compose himself.  ) Only when the Wiggins were sitting did -Graff invite Uphanad also to take a seat. He .obeyed, hanging his head like a caricature of a whipped dog.  / Sit up. Uphanad, and face this like a man. ,These are good people, they understand that +you did what you thought you must for your -family. You were unwise not to trust me more,#but even that is understandable.  - From Theresas face, Graff could see that -she, at least, was not half so understanding 'as he seemed to assume. But he won her silence with a gesture.  5 Ill tell you what, said Graff. Lets make .this work to our advantage. I actually have a +couple of shuttles at my disposal for this !operation-compliments of Admiral $Chamrajnagar by the way-so the real +quandary is deciding which of them to send /when we actually allow your email to go out.  ! Two shuttles? asked Peter.  ' We have to make a guess about what 1Achilles planned to do with this information. If -he means to attack you upon landing, well, we.have a very heavily armed shuttle that should +be able to deal with anything he can throw /against it from the ground or the air. I think -what hes planning is probably a missile as -youre over flying some region where he can "get a portable launch platform.  , And your heavily armed shuttle can deal with that? asked Peter.  0 Easily. The trouble is, this shuttle is not /supposed to exist. The IF charter specifically )forbids any weaponization of atmospheric .craft. Its designed to go along with colony (ships, in case the extermination of the )Formics was not complete and we run into 1resistance. But if such a shuttle enters Earths*atmosphere and proves its capabilities by -shooting down a missile, we could never tell -anyone about it without compromising the IF. /So we could use this shuttle to get you safely ,to Earth, but could never tell anyone about the attempt on your life.  * I could live with that, said Peter.  / Except that you dont actually have to getto Earth at this time.   No, I dont.  / So we can send a different shuttle. Again, +one whose existence is not known, but this 0time it is not illegal. Because it hasnt been .weaponized at all. In fact, while its quite -expensive compared to, say, a bazooka, its .very, very cheap compared with a real shuttle.1This ones a dummy. It is carefully designed to ,match the velocity and radar signature of a 0real shuttle, but it lacks a few things-like any.place to put a human being, or any capability of a soft landing.  + So you send this one down, said John )Paul, draw their fire, and then have a propaganda field day.  . Well have IF observers watching for the ,boost and well be on that launch platform /before it can be dismantled, or at least before*the perpetrators can get away. Whether it .ends up pointing to Achilles or China, either 'way we can demonstrate that someone on Earth fired at an IF shuttle.  - Puts them in a very bad position, said 'Peter. Do we announce that I was the target?  & We can decide that based on their .response, and on who is getting the blame. If /its China, I think we gain more by making it /an attack on the International Fleet. If its ,Achilles, we gain more by making him out to be an assassin.  + You seem to have been quite free about /discussing these things in front of us, said 0Theresa. I suppose now you have to kill us.  " Just me, whispered Uphanad.  / Well, I do have to fire you, said Graff. +And I do have to send you back to Earth, .because it just wouldnt do to have you stay ,on here. Youd just depress everyone else, /slinking around looking guilty and unworthy.  . Grafts tone was light enough to help keep (Uphanad from bursting into tears again.  - Ive heard, Graft went on, that the -Indian people need to have loyal men wholl 1fight for their freedom. Thats the loyalty that+transcends your loyalty to the Ministry of /Colonization, and I understand it. So you must !go where your loyalty leads you.  , This is unbelievable mercy, sir, said Uphanad.  0 It wasnt my idea, said Graft. My plan .was to have you tried in secret by the IF and .executed. But Peter told me that, if you were -guilty and it turned out you were protecting ,family members in Chinese custody, it would (be wrong to punish you for the crime of imperfect loyalty.  ( Uphanad turned to look at Peter, My (betrayal might have killed you and your family.  " But it didnt, said Peter.  . I like to think, said Graft, that God ,sometimes shows mercy to us by letting some .accident prevent us from actually carrying outour worst plans.  5 I dont believe that, said Theresa coldly. I/believe if you point a gun at a mans head and2the bullet was a dud, youre still a murderer in the eyes of God.  / Well then, said Graff, when were all -dead, if we find that we still exist in some .form or other, well just have to ask God to tell us which of us is right.   PROPHETS   SecureSite. net  From: Locke%erosmus@pcdnetgov  PASSWORD: Suriyowong  Re: giH on bridge  - Rehoble source begs: Do not interfere with -Chinese egress from India. But when they need/to return or supply, Hock cli possible routes.   ( The Chinese thought at first that the -incidents in Xinjiang province were the work +of the insurgents who had been forming and 1reforming guerrilla groups for centuries. In the +protocol-burdened Chinese army, it was not -until late afternoon in Beijing that Han Tzu +was finally able to get enough information -together to prove this was a major offensive originating outside China.  / For the fiftieth time since taking a place in%the high command in Beijing, Han Tzu +despaired of getting anything done. It was *always more important to show respect for 1ones superiors high status than to tell them ,the truth and make things happen. Even now, ,holding in his hands evidence of a level of /training, discipline, coordination, and supply /that made it impossible for these incidents in -Xinjiang to be the work of local rebels, Han ,Tzu had to wait hours for his request for a (meeting to be processed through all the !oh-so-important aides, flunkies, +functionaries, and poobahs whose sole duty .was to look as important and busy as possible -while making sure that as little as possible actually got done.  , It was fully dark in Beijing when Han Tzu +crossed the square separating the Strategy -and Planning section from the Administrative §ion-another bit of mindlessly bad -structure, to separate these two sections by .a long walk in the open air. They should have +been across a low divider from each other, -constantly shouting back and forth. Instead, -Strategy and Planning were constantly making /plans that Administrative couldnt carry out, "and Administrative was constantly *misunderstanding the purpose of plans and +fighting against the very ideas that would make them effective.  ) How did we ever conquer India? thought Han Tzu.  , He kicked at the pigeons scurrying around ,his feet. They fluttered a few meters away, ,then came back for more, as if they thought *his feet might have shed something edible with each step.  + The only reason this government stays in .power is that the people of China are pigeons.*You can kick them and kick them, and they *come back for more. And the worst of them $are the bureaucrats. China invented +bureaucracy, and with a thousand-year head -start on the rest of the world, theyd kept #advancing the arts of obfuscation, ,kingdombuilding, and tempests-in-teapots to )a level unknown anywhere else. Byzantine -bureaucracy was, by comparison, a forthright system.  ) How did Achilles do it? An outsider, a ,criminal, a madman-and all of this was well +known to the Chinese government yet he was *able to cut through the layers of fawning %backstabbers and get straight to the /decision-making level. Most people didnt even*know where the decision-making level was, .since it was certainly not the famous leaders )at the top, who were too old to think of *anything new and too frightened of losing +their perks or getting caught out in their -decades of criminal acts ever to do anything ,but say, Do as you think wise, to their underlings.  - It was two levels down that decisions were +made, by aides to the top generals. It had +taken Han Tzu six months to realize that a &meeting with the top man was useless, +because he would confer with his aides and -follow their recommendations every time. Now ,he never bothered to meet with anyone else. )But to set up such a meeting, of course, -required that an elaborate request be made to+each general, acknowledging that while the .subject of the meeting was so vital it must be.held immediately, it was so trivial that each ,general only needed to send his aide to the meeting in his place.  * Han Tzu was never sure whether all this ,elaborate charade was merely to show proper .respect for tradition and form, or whether the.generals actually were fooled by all this and )made the decision, each time, whether to %attend in person or send their aide.  + Of course, it was also possible that the (general never saw the messages, and the .aides made the decision for him. Most likely, ,though, his memo went to each general with a-commentary: Noble and worthy general would (be slighted if not in attendance, for 0instance, or Tedious waste of heroic leaders.time, unworthy aide will be glad to take notes,and report if anything important is said.  ) Han Tzu had no loyalty to any of these *buffoons. Whenever they made decisions on +their own, they were hopelessly wrong. The 'ones that werent completely bound by /tradition were just as controlled by their own egos.  - Yet Han Tzu was completely loyal to China. /He had always acted in Chinas best interest, and always would.  / The trouble was, he often defined Chinas /best interest in a way that might easily get him shot.  ( Like that message he sent to Bean and /Petra, hoping theyd realize the danger to the*Hegemon if he really believed Han Tzu had ,been the source of his information. Sending )such a bit of information was definitely .treason, since Achilless adventure had been -approved at the highest levels and therefore 0represented official Chinese policy. And yet it 0would be a disaster for Chinas prestige in the-world at large if it became known that China *had sent an assassin to kill the Hegemon.  + Nobody seemed to understand that sort of *thing, mostly because they refused to see +China as anything other than the center of -the universe, around which all other nations )orbited. What did it matter if China was .regarded as a nation of tyrants and assassins?.If someone doesnt like what China does, then-that someone can go home and cry in his beer. ) But no nation was invincible, not even ,China. Han Tzu understood that, even if the others did not.  0 It didnt help that the conquest of India had&been so easy. Han Tzu had insisted on -devising all sorts of contingency plans when -things went wrong with the surprise attack on-the Indian, Thai, and Vietnamese armies. But .Achilless campaign of deception had been so -successful, and the Thai strategy of defense -had been so effective, that the Indians were .fully committed, their supplies exhausted, and,their morale at rock bottom when the Chinese)armies began pouring across the borders, 'cutting the Indian army to pieces, and swallowing up each piece within days-sometimes within hours.  - All the glory went to Achilles, of course, /though it had been Han Tzus careful planning .with his staff of nearly eighty Battle School -graduates that put the Chinese armies exactly,where they needed to be at exactly the time ,they needed to be there. No, even though Han,Tzus team had written up the orders, they ,had actually been issued by Administrative, -and therefore it was Administrative that won .the medals, while Strategy and Planning got a ,single group commendation that had about the,same effect on morale as if some lieutenant /colonel had come in and said, Nice try, boys,we know you meant well.  + Well, Achilles was welcome to the glory, .because in Han Tzus opinion, invading India -had been pointless and self-defeating-not to .mention evil. China did not have the resources+to take on Indias problems. When Indians /governed India, the suffering people could only)blame their fellow Indians. But now when ,things went wrong- which they always did in -India it would all be blamed on the Chinese.  + The Chinese administrators who were sent /in to govern India stayed surprisingly free of ,corruption and they worked hard but the fact*is that no nation is governable except by ,overwhelming force or complete cooperation. &And since there was no way conquering %Chinese officials would get complete ,cooperation, and there was no hope of being -able to pay for overwhelming force, the only 'question was when the resistance would become a problem.  . It became a problem not long after Achilles (left for the Hegemony, when the Indians .started piling up stones. Han Tzu had to hand +it to them, when it came to truly annoying .but symbolically powerful civil disobedience, .the Indians were truly the daughters and sons .of Gandhi. Even then, the bureaucrats hadnt +listened to Han Tzus advice and ended up -getting themselves into a steadily worsening cycle of reprisals.  / So . . . it doesnt matter what the outside +world thinks, right? We can do whatever we *want because no one else has the power or -the will to challenge us, is that the story?  + What I have in my hands is the answer to that theory.  ) What does it mean that theyve done -nothing to acknowledge our offensive? said Alai.  - Bean and Petra sat with him, looking at the-holomap that showed every single objective in.Xinjiang taken on schedule, as if the Chinese -had been handed a script and were doing their(part exactly as the Crescent League had asked them to.  / I think things are going very well, said Petra.  $ Ridiculously well, said Alai.  / Dont be impatient, said Bean. Things +move slowly in China. And they dont like )making public pronouncements about their /problems. Maybe they still see this as a group /of local insurgents. Maybe theyre waiting to .announce whats going on until they can tell )about their devastating counterattack.  5 Thats just it, said Alai. Our satintel says)theyre doing nothing. Even the nearest &garrison troops are still in place.  , The garrison commanders dont have the +authority to send them into battle, said /Bean. Besides, they probably dont even know(anythings wrong. Your forces have the -land-based communications grid under control, right?  , That was a secondary objective. Thats .what theyre doing now, just to keep busy.  0 Petra began to laugh. I get it, she said.  $ Whats so funny? asked Alai.  + The public announcement, said Petra. -You cant announce that a Caliph has been /named unanimously by all the Muslim nations.  . We can announce it any time, said Alai, irritated.  0 But youre waiting. Until the Chinese make %their announcement that some unknown -nation has attacked them. Only when theyve -either admitted their ignorance or committed /to some theory thats completely false do you ,come out and tell whats really happening. .That the Muslim world is fully united under a .Caliph, and that you have taken responsibility,for liberating the captive nations from the godless imperialist Chinese.  - You have to admit the story plays better that way, said Alai.  2 Absolutely, said Petra. Im not laughing .because youre wrong to do it that way, Im -simply laughing at the irony that you are so )successful and the Chinese so completely -unprepared that its actually delaying your (announcement! But have patience, dear ,friend. Somebody in the Chinese high command,knows whats happening, and eventually the -rest of them will listen to him and theyll ,mobilize their forces and make some kind of announcement.  0 They have to, said Bean. Or the Russians,will deliberately misunderstand their troop movements.  5 All right, said Alai. But unfortunately, all &the vids of my announcement were shot ,during daylight hours. It never crossed our (minds that they would take this long to respond.  . You know what? said Bean. No one will 0mind a bit if the vids are clearly prerecorded. *But even better would be for you to go on )camera, live, to declare yourself and to 'announce what your armies are doing in Xinjiang.  , The danger with doing it live is that I 0might let something slip, telling them that the /Xinjiang invasion is not the main offensive,  / Alai, you could announce outright that this)was not the main offensive, and half the +Chinese would think tat was disinformation .designed to keep their troops in India pinned ,down along the Pakistani border. In fact, I ,advise you to do that. Because then youll 1have a reputation as a truthteller. It will make ,your later lies that much more effective.  + Alai laughed. Youve eased my mind.  0 Youre suffering, said Petra, from the ,problem that plagues all the top commanders /in this age of rapid communications. In the old,days, Alexander and Caesar were right there /on the field of battle. They could watch, issue,orders, deal with things. They were needed. +But youre stuck here in Damascus because *here is where all the communications come .together If youre needed, youll be needed -here. So instead of having a thousand things *to keep your mind busy, you have all this /adrenaline flowing and nowhere for it to go.  % I recommend pacing, said Bean.  ) Do you play handball? asked Petra.  6 I get the picture, said Alai. Thank you. Illbe patient.  , And think about my advice, said Bean. 0To go on live and tell the truth. Your people .will love you better if they see you as being +so bold you can simply tell the enemy what .youre going to do, and they cant stop you from doing it.  1 Go away now, said Alai. Youre repeating1yourself. Laughing, Bean got up. So did Petra.  / I wont have time for you after this, you know, said Alai.   They paused, turned.  ) Once its announced, once everybody 1knows, Ill have to start holding court. Meeting.people. Judging disputes. Showing myself to bethe true Caliph.  . Thank you for the time youve spent with us till now, said Petra.  ( I hope we never have to oppose each 1other on the field of battle, said Bean. The )way weve had to oppose Han Tzu in this war.  - just remember, said Alai. Han Tzus 'loyalties are divided. Mine are not.  & Ill remember that, said Bean.  2 Salaam, said Alai. Peace be in you. And !in you, said Petra, peace.  * When the meeting ended, Han Tzu did not ,know whether his warning had been believed. 0Well, even if they didnt believe him now, in a+few more hours theyd have no choice. The +major force in the Xinjiang invasion would ,undoubtedly start their assault just before ,dawn tomorrow. Satellite intelligence would .confirm what hed told them today. But at the'cost of twelve more hours of inaction.  + The most frustrating moment, however, had+come near the end of the meeting, when the -senior aide to the senior general had asked, )So if this is the beginning of a major $offensive, what do you recommend?  - Send all available troops in the north-I )would recommend fifty percent of all the .garrison troops on the Russian border Prepare -them not only to deal with these horse-borne ,guerrillas but also with a major mechanized +army that will probably invade tomorrow.  - What about the concentration of troops inIndia? asked the aide.  * These are our best soldiers, the most 'highly trained, and the most mobile.  . Leave them where they are, said Han Tzu. , But if we strip the garrisons along the ,Russian border, the Russians will attack.  . Another aide spoke up. The Russians never -fight well outside their own borders. Invade +them and theyll destroy you, but if they +invade you, their soldiers wont fight.  , Han Tzu tried not to show his contempt for0such ludicrous judgments. The Russians will do,what they do, and if they attack, well do ,what we need to do in response. However, you.dont keep your troops from defending against&a present enemy because they might be #needed for a hypothetical enemy.  . All well and good. Until the senior aide to -the senior general said, Very well. I will *recommend the immediate removal of troops /from India as quickly as possible to meet this current threat.  . Thats not what I meant, said Han Tzu.  , But it is what I mean, said the aide.  1 I believe this is a Muslim offensive, said *Han Tzu. The enemy across the border in +Pakistan is the same enemy attacking us in .Xinjiang. They are certainly hoping well do (exactly what you suggest, so their main 'offensive will have a better chance of success.  ( The aide only laughed, and the others -laughed with him. You spent too many years -out of China during your childhood, Han Tzu. .India is a faraway place. What does it matter )what happens there? We can take it again (whenever we want. But these invaders in .Xinjiang, they are inside China. The Russians ,are poised on the Chinese border. No matter (what the enemy thinks, that is the real threat.  - Why? said Han Tzu, throwing caution to /the winds as he directly challenged the senior /aide. Because foreign troops on Chinese soil +would mean the present government has lost the mandate of heaven?  - From around the table came the hiss of air +suddenly gasped between clenched teeth. To (refer to the old idea of the mandate of (heaven was poisonously out of step with government policy.  - Well, as long as he was irritating people, *why stop with that? Everyone knows that 'Xinjiang and Tibet are not part of Han *China, said Han Tzu. They are no more +important to us than India- conquests that )have never become fully Chinese. We once -owned Vietnam before, long ago, and lost it, *and the loss meant nothing to us. But the +Chinese army, that is precious. And if you ,take troops out of India, you run the grave ,risk of losing millions of our men to these )Muslim fanatics. Then we wont have the -mandate of heaven to worry about. Well have+foreign troops in Han China before we know )it- and no way to defend against them.  + The silence around the table was deadly. *They hated him now, because he had spoken !to them of defeat-and told them, .disrespectfully, that their ideas were wrong.  ( I hope none of you will forget this meeting, said Han Tzu.  - You can be sure that we will not, said the senior aide.  ( If I am wrong, then I will bear the ,consequences of my mistake, and rejoice that.your ideas were not stupid after all. What is ,good for China is good for me, even if I am -punished for my mistakes. But if I am right, *then well see what kind of men you are. /Because if youre true Chinese, who love your (country more than your careers, youll /remember that I was right and youll bring me )back and listen to me as you should have 1listened to me today. But if youre the disloyal1selfish garden-pigs I think you are, youll make.sure that Im killed, so that no one outside .this room will ever know that you heard a true/warning and didnt listen to it when there was'still time to save China from the most $dangerous enemy we have faced since Genghis Khan.  - What a glorious speech. And how refreshing /actually to say it with his lips to the people 'who most needed to hear it, instead of .playing the speech over and over in his mind, -ever more frustrated because not a word of ithad been said aloud.  * Of course he would be arrested tonight, (and quite possibly shot before morning. +Though the more likely pattern would be to 'arrest him and charge him with passing -information to the enemy, blaming him for the/defeat that only he actually tried to prevent. +There was something about irony that had a +special appeal to Chinese people who got a .little power. There was a special pleasure in *punishing a virtuous man for the powerful mans own crimes.  * But Han Tzu would not hide. It might be +possible, at this moment, for him to leave -China and go into exile. But he would not do it.   Why not?  / He could not leave his country in its hour of)need. Even though he might be killed for +staying, there would be many other Chinese +soldiers his age who would die in the next ,days and weeks. Why shouldnt he be one of 'them? And there was always the chance, *however small and remote, that there were &enough decent men among those at that )meeting that Han Tzu would be kept alive .until it was clear that he was right. Perhaps -then-contrary to all expectation- they would 'bring him back and ask him how to save 'themselves from this disaster they had brought upon China.  + Meanwhile, Han Tzu was hungry, and there ,was a little restaurant he liked, where the -manager and his wife treated him like one of .the family. They did not care about his lofty +rank or his status as one of the heroes of 0Enders jeesh. They liked him for his company. ,They loved the way he devoured their food as%if it were the finest cuisine in the /world-which, to him, it was. If these were his ,last hours of freedom, or even of life, why ,not spend them with people he liked, eating food he enjoyed?  , As night fell in Damascus, Bean and Petra .walked freely along the streets, looking into %shop windows. Damascus still had the +traditional markets, where most fresh food "and local handwork were sold. But -supermarkets, boutiques, and chain stores had*reached Damascus, like almost every other (place on earth. Only the wares for sale -reflected local taste. There was no shortage -of items of European and American design for *sale, but what Bean and Petra enjoyed was *the strangeness of items that would never %find a market in the West, but which %apparently were much in demand here.  + They traded guesses about what each item was for.  , They stopped at an outdoor restaurant with*good music played softly enough that they )could still converse. They had a strange ,combination of local food and international -cuisine that had even the waiter shaking his *head, but they were in the mood to please themselves.  0 Ill probably just throw it up tomorrow, said Petra.  4 Probably, said Bean. But itll be a better grade of-  2 Please! said Petra. Im trying to eat.  ( But you brought it up, said Bean.  3 I know its unfair, but when I discuss it, it 0doesnt make me sick. Its like tickling. You #cant really nauseate yourself.   I can, said Bean.  / I have no doubt of it. Probably one of the attributes of Antons Key.  , They continued talking about nothing much,/until they heard some explosions, at first far away, then nearby.  * There cant possibly be an attack on (Damascus, said Petra under her voice.  2 No, I think its fireworks, said Bean. I think its a celebration.  + One of the cooks ran into the restaurant *and shouted out a stream of Arabic, which /was of course completely unintelligible to Bean+and Petra. All at once the local customers +jumped up from the table. Some of them ran *out of the restaurant-without paying, and *nobody made to stop them. Others ran into the kitchen.  , The few non-Arabiphones in the restaurant 'were left to wonder what was going on.  ' Until a merciful waiter came out and +announced in Common Speech, Food will be .delay, I very sorry to tell you. But happy to *say why. Caliph will speak in a minute.  2 The Caliph? asked an Englishman. isnt hein Baghdad?  . I thought Istanbul, said a Frenchwoman.  % There has been no Caliph in many )centuries, said a professorial-looking Japanese.  . Apparently they have one now, said Petra3reasonably. I wonder if theyll let us into the kitchen to watch with them.  / Oh, I dont know if I want to, said the /Englishman. If theyve got themselves a new +Caliph, theyre going to be feeling quite .chauvinistic for a while. What if they decide ,to start hanging foreigners to celebrate?  , The Japanese scholar was outraged at this (suggestion. While he and the Englishman /politely went for each others throats, Bean, *Petra, the Frenchwoman, and several other *westerners went through the swinging door )into the kitchen, where the kitchen help ,barely noticed they were there. Someone had -brought a nice-sized flat vid in from one of .the offices and set it on a shelf, leaning it against the wall.  " Alai was already on the screen.  * Not that it did them any good to watch. 0They couldnt understand a word of it. Theyd /have to wait for the full translation on one ofthe newsnets later.  * But the map of western China was pretty .self-explanatory. No doubt he was telling them.that the Muslim people had united to liberate /long-captive brothers in Xinjiang. The waiters +and cooks punctuated almost every sentence +with cheers-Alai seemed to know this would *happen, because he left pauses after each declaration.  + Unable to understand his words, Bean and )Petra concentrated on other things. Bean +tried to determine whether this speech was -going out live. The clock on the wall was no )indicator-of course they would insert it ,digitally into a prerecorded vid during the -broadcast so that no matter when it was first.aired, the clock would show the current time. -Finally he got his answer when Alai stood up %and walked to the window. The camera -followed him, and there spread out below him .were the lights of Damascus, twinkling in the -darkness. He was doing it live. And whatever +he said while pointing to the city, it was +apparently very effective, because at once ,the cheering cooks and waiters were weeping .openly, without shame, their eyes still glued to the screen.  , Petra. meanwhile, was trying to guess how -Alai must look to the Muslim people watching ,him. She knew his face so well, so that she ,had to try to separate the boy she had known+from the man he now was. The compassion she.had noticed before was more visible than ever./His eyes were full of love. But there was fire %in him, too, and dignity. He did not )smile-which was proper for the leader of )nations which were now at war, and whose -sons were dying in combat, and killing, too. ,Nor did he rant, whipping them up into some kind of dangerous enthusiasm.  , Will these people follow him into battle? -Yes, of course, at first, when he has a tale 0of easy victories to tell them. But later, when *times are hard and fortune does not favor "them, will they still follow him?  , Perhaps yes. Because what Petra saw in him,was not so much a great general-though yes, -she could imagine Alexander might have looked0like this, or Caesar-as a prophet-king. Saul or +David, both young men when first called by *prophecy to lead their people into war in Gods name. Joan of Arc.  + Of course, Joan of Arc ended up dying at -the stake, and Saul fell on his own sword-or %no, that was Brutus or Cassius, Saul .commanded one of his own soldiers to kill him,,didnt he? A bad end for both of them. And ,David died in disgrace, forbidden by God to -build the holy temple because he had murdered'Uriah to get Bathsheba into a state of marriageable widowhood.  ' Not a good list of precedents, that.  * But they had their glory, didnt they, before they fell.   THE WAR ON THE GROUND  ( To: Chamrajnagar%Jawaharlal@ifcom.gov " From: AncientFire%Embers@hangov  Re: Official statement coming  $ My esteemed friend and colleague,  , It grieves me that you would even suppose ,that in this time of trouble, when China is /assailed by unprovoked assaults from religious -fanatics, we would have either the desire or +the resources to provoke the International 'Fleet. We have nothing but the highest .esteem for your institution, which so recently-saved all humankind from the onslaught of thestar dragons.  ( Our official statement, which will be )released forthwith, does not include our /speculations an who is in fact responsible for +the tragic shooting down of the IF shuttle 1while it over flew Brazilian territory. While we .do not admit to having any participation in or$foreknowledge of the event, we have ,performed our own preliminary investigation &and we believe you will find that the 'equipment in question may in fact hove &originated with the Chinese military.  , This causes us excruciating embarrassment,%and we beg you not to publicize this .information. Instead, we provide you with the +attached documentation showing that our one-missile launcher which is not accounted for, *and which therefore may have been used to )commit this crime, was released into the +control of a certain Achilles de Flandres, &ostensibly for military operations in )connection with our preemptive defensive *action against the Indian aggressor as it -ravaged Burma. We believed this material had *been returned to us, but we discover upon investigation that it was not.  - Achilles de Flandres at one time was under -our protection, having rendered us a service )in connection with forewarning us of the -danger that India posed to peace in Southeast+Asia. However, certain crimes be committed -prior to this service came to our attention, ,and we arrested him (see documentation). As &he was being conveyed to his place of 'reeducation, unknown forces raided the *convoy and released Achilles de Flandres, 'killing all of the escorting soldiers.  - Since Achilles de Flandres ended up almost (immediately in the Hegemony compound in -Ribeiroo Preto, Brazil, and he has been in a -position to do much mischief there since the +hasty departure of Peter Wiggin, and since /the missile was fired from Brazilian territory -and the shuffle was shot down over Brazil, we#suggest that the place to look for /responsibility for this attack on the IF is in ,Brazil, specifically the Hegemony compound.  ( Ultimate responsibility for all of de .Flandress actions after his abscondment from-our custody must lie with those who took him,-namely, Hegemon Peter Wiggin and his military,forces, headed by Julian Delphiki and, more -recently, the Thai national, Suriyawong, who +is regarded by the Chinese government as a terrorist.  , I hope that this information, provided to 0you off the record, will prove useful to you in .your investigation. If we con be of any other *service that is not inconsistent with our ,desperate struggle for survival against the -onslaught of the barbarian hordes from Asia, we will be glad to provide it.  & Your humble and unworthy colleague,   Ancient Fire  + From: Chamrajnagar%Jawaharlal@ifcom .gov " To: Graff%pilgrimage@colmin.gov  Re: Who will take the blame?    Dear Hyrum,  ) You see from the attached message from !the esteemed bead of the Chinese +government that they have decided to offer -up Achilles as the sacrificial lamb. I think /theyd be glad if we got rid of him for them. 1Our investigators will officially report that the+launcher is of Chinese manufacture and has )been traced back to Achilles de Flandres *without mentioning that it was originally +provided to him by the Chinese government. )When asked, we will refuse to speculate. ,Thats the best they can hope for from us.  ) Meanwhile, we now have the legal basis $firmly established for an Earthside +intervention-and from evidence provided by .the nation most likely to complain about such .an intervention. We will do nothing to affect ,the outcome or progress of the war in Asia. *We will first seek the cooperation of the ,Brazilian government but will make it clear /that such cooperation is not required, legally /or militarily. We will ask them to isolate the )Hegemony compound so that no one con get .in or out, pending the arrival of our forces.  , I ask that you inform the Hegemon and that-you make your plans accordingly. Whether Mr. -Wiggin should be present at the taking of the(compound is a matter on which I hove no opinion.   . Virlomi never went into town herself. Those *days were over. When she had been free to /wander, a pilgrim in a land where people either.lived their whole lives in one village or cut -themselves loose and spent their whole lives /on the road, she had loved coming to villages, +each one an adventure, filled with its own -tapestry of gossip, tragedy, humor, romance, and irony.  + In the college she had briefly attended, )between coming home from space and being -brought into Indian military headquarters in )Hyderabad, she had quickly realized that )intellectuals seemed to think that their 'life-the life of the mind, the endless !self-examination, the continuous ,autobiography afflicted upon all comers-was $somehow higher than the repetitive, (meaningless lives of the common people.  , Virlomi knew the opposite to be true. The -intellectuals in the university were all the 'same. They had precisely the same deep (thoughts about exactly the same shallow .emotions and trivial dilemmas. They knew this,-unconsciously, themselves. When a real event +happened, something that shook them to the &heart, they withdrew from the game of .university life, for reality had to be played out on a different stage.  , In the villages, life was about life, not 'about one-upmanship and display. Smart ,people were valued because they could solve 'problems, not because they could speak -pleasingly about them. Everywhere she went in0India, she constantly heard herself thinking, I *could live here. I could stay among these -people and marry one of these gentle peasant %men and work beside him all my life.  , And then another part of her answered, No /you couldnt. Because like it or not, you are .one of those university people after all. You ,can visit in the real world, but you dont +belong there. You need to live in Platos /foolish dream, where ideas are real and reality+is shadow. That is the place you were born 0for, and as you move from village to village, it.is only to learn from them, to teach them, to ,manipulate them, to use them to achieve your own ends.  , But my own ends, she thought, are to give -them gifts they need: wise government, or at least self-government.  + And then she laughed at herself, because +the two were usually opposites. Even if an &Indian ruled over Indians, it was not ,self-government, for the ruler governed the .people, and the people governed the ruler. It -was mutual government. Thats the best that could be aspired to.  + Now, though, her pilgrim days were over. )She had returned to the bridge where the )soldiers stationed to protect it and the +nearby villagers had made a kind of god of her.  ) She came back without fanfare, walking ,into the village that had taken her most to )heart and falling into conversation with )women at the well and in the market. She +went to the washing stream and lent a hand -with the washing of clothes; someone offered -to share clothing with her so she could wash .her dirty traveling rags, but she laughed and *said that one more washing would rub them +into dust, but she would like to earn some ,new clothing by helping a family that had a bit they could spare for her.  - Mistress, said one shy woman, did we +not feed you at the bridge, for nothing?   So she was recognized.  ( But I wish to earn the kindness you showed me there.  , You have blessed us many times, lady, said another.  ) And now you bless us by coming among us.   And washing clothes.   So she was still a god.  2 Im not what you think I am, she said. I )am more terrible than your worst fear.  , To our enemies, we pray, lady, said a woman.  . Terrible to them, indeed, said Virlomi. 0But I will use your sons and husbands to fight#them, and some of them will die.  , Half our sons and husbands were already (taken in the war against the Chinese.   Killed in battle.  . Lost and could not find their way home.  . Carried off into captivity by the Chinese devils.  3 Virlomi raised a hand to still them. I will not&waste their lives, if they obey me.  / You shouldnt go to war, lady, said one 2old crone. Theres no good in it. Look at you, +young, beautiful. Lie down with one of our )young men, or one of our old ones if you want, and make babies.  . Someday, said Virlomi, Ill choose a ,husband and make babies with him. But today %my husband is India, and he has been ,swallowed by a tiger. I must make the tiger (sick, so he will throw my husband up.  - They giggled, some of them, at this image. But others were very grave.   How will you do this?  . I will prepare the men so they dont die -because of mistakes. I will assemble all the %weapons we need, so no man is wasted /because he is unarmed. I will bide my time, so ,we dont bring down the wrath of the tiger ,upon us, until were ready to hurt them so .badly that they never recover from the blow. * You didnt happen to bring a nuclear *weapon with you, lady? asked the crone. $Clearly something of an unbeliever.  - Its an offense against God to use such -things, said Virlomi. The Muslim God was ,burned out of his house and turned his face $against them because they used such weapons against each other.  - I was joking, said the crone, ashamed.  3 I am not, said Virlomi. If you dont want %me to use your men in the way I have /described, tell me, and Ill go away and find *another place that wants me. Perhaps your /hatred of the Chinese is not so fierce as mine.,Perhaps you are content with the way things are in this land.  ' But they were not content, and their "hatred was hot enough, it seemed.  ( There wasnt much time for training, +despite her promise, but then, she wasnt ,going to use these men for firefights. They *were to be saboteurs, thieves, demolition *experts. They conspired with construction .workers to steal explosives; they learned how /to use them; they built dry storage pits in the'jungles that clung to the steep hills.  $ And they went to nearby towns and *recruited more men, and then went farther +and farther a field, building a network of -saboteurs near every key bridge that could be-blown up to block the Chinese from the use of-the roads they would need to bring troops and.supplies back and forth, in and out of India.  - There could be no rehearsals. No dry runs. ,Nothing was done to arouse suspicion of any &kind. She forbade her men to make any (gestures of defiance, or do anything to )interfere with the smooth running of the -Chinese transportation network through their hills and mountains.  + Some of them chafed at this, but Virlomi )said, I gave my word to your wives and +mothers that I would not waste your lives. .There will be plenty of dying ahead, but only ,when your deaths will accomplish something, ,so that those who live can bear witness: We *did this thing, it was not done for us.  ( Now she never went to town, but lived +where she had lived before, in a cave near +the bridge that she would blow up herself, when the time came.  - But she could not afford to be cut off from-the outside world. So three times a day, one ,of her people would sign on to the nets and )check her dead drop sites, print out the +messages there, and bring them to her. She $made sure they knew how to wipe the -information out of the computers memory, so,no one else could see what the computer had ,shown, and after she read the messages they brought, she burned them.  * She got Peter Wiggins message in good 'time. So she was ready when her people .started coming to her, running, out of breath, excited.  . The war with the Turks is going badly for .the Chinese, they said. We have it on the -nets, the Turks have taken so many airfields ,that they can put more planes in the sky in )Xinjiang than the Chinese can. They have )dropped bombs on Beijing itself, lady!  - Then you should weep for the children who0are dying there, said Virlomi. But the time for us to fight is not yet.  * And the next day, when the trucks began *to rumble across the bridges, and line up +bumper to bumper along the narrow mountain .roads, they begged her, Let us blow up just +one bridge, to show them that India is not -sleeping while the Turks fight our enemy for us!  * She only answered them, Why should we +blow up bridges that our enemy is using to leave our land?  + But we could kill many if we timed the explosion just right!  + Even if we could kill five thousand by 0blowing up all the bridges at exactly the right .moment, they have five million. We will wait. -Not one of you will do anything to warn them +that they have enemies in these mountains. +The time is soon, but you must wait for my word.  0 Again and again she said it, all day long, to (everyone who came, and they obeyed. She )sent them to telephone their comrades in +faraway towns near other bridges, and they also obeyed.  - For three days. The Chinese-controlled news)talked about how devastating armies were (about to be brought to bear against the .Turkic hordes, ready to punish them for their .treachery. The traffic across the bridges and *along the mountain roads was unrelenting. +Then came the message she was waiting for.   Now.  * No signature, but it was in a dead drop -that she had given to Peter Wiggin. She knew *that it meant that the main offensive had +been launched in the west, and the Chinese $would soon begin sending troops and &equipment back from China into India.  - She did not burn the message. She handed it+to the child who had brought it to her and 1said, Keep this forever. It is the beginning of our war.  ) Is it from a god? asked the child.  * Perhaps the shadow of the nephew of a ,god, she answered with a smile. Perhaps +only a man in a dream of a sleeping god.  + Taking the child by the hand, she walked *down into the village. The people swarmed +around her. She smiled at them, patted the (childrens heads, hugged the women and kissed them.  . Then she led this parade of citizens to the .office of the local Chinese administrator and .walked inside the building. Only a few of the +women came with her. She walked right past +the desk of the protesting officer on duty -and into the office of the Chinese official, who was on the telephone.  , He looked up at her and shouted, first in (Chinese, then in Common. What are you doing! Get out of here.  . But Virlomi paid no attention to his words. .She walked up to him, smiling, reached out herarms as if to embrace him.  . He raised his hands in protest, to fend her off with a gesture.  - She took his arms, pulled him off balance, .and while he staggered to regain his footing, +she flung her arms around him, gripped his head, and twisted it sharply.   He fell dead to the floor.  , She opened a drawer in his desk, took out )his pistol, and shot both of the Chinese +soldiers who were rushing into the office. "They, too, fell dead to the floor  0 She looked calmly at the women. It is time. *Please get on the telephones and call the 3others in every city. It is one hour till dark. At .nightfall, they are to carry out their tasks. /With a short fuse. And if anyone tries to stop 0them, even if its an Indian, they should kill ,them as quietly and quickly as possible and proceed with their work.  , The repeated the message to her, then set to work at the telephones.  . Virlomi went outside with the pistol hidden .in the folds of her skirt. When the other two /Chinese soldiers in this village came running, .having heard the shots, she started jabbering ,to them in her native dialect. They did not .realize that it was not the local language at ,all, but a completely unrelated tongue from &the Dravidian south. They stopped and +demanded that she tell them in Common what -had happened. She answered with a bullet into,each mans belly before they even saw that *she had a gun. Then she made sure of them .with a bullet to each head as they lay on the ground.  , Can you help me clean the street? she #asked the people who were gawking.  * At once they came out into the road and +carried the bodies back inside the office.  % When the telephoning was done, she .gathered them all together at the door of the ,office. When the Chinese authorities come #and demand that you tell them what -happened, you must tell them the truth. A man*came walking down the road, an Indian man ,but not from this village. He looked like a )woman, and you thought he must be a god, -because he walked right into this office and *broke the neck of the magistrate. Then he /took the magistrates pistol and shot the two +guards in the office, and then the two who -came running up from the village. Not one of ,you had time to do anything but scream. Then+this stranger made you carry the bodies of +the dead soldiers into the office and then -ordered you to leave while he made telephone calls.  - They will ask us to describe this man.  . Then describe me. Dark. From the south of India.  . They will say, if he looked like a woman, 'how do you know she was not a woman?  * Because he killed a man with his bare (hands. What woman could do that? They laughed.  / But you must not laugh, she said. They /will be very angry. And even if you do not give)them any cause, they may punish you very )harshly for what happened here. They may .think you are lying and torture you to try to /get you to tell the truth. And let me tell you /right now, you are perfectly free to tell them )that you think it may have been the same .person who lived in that little cave near the +bridge. You may lead them to that place.  - She turned to the child who had brought her.Peter Wiggins message. Bury that paper in 3the ground until the war is over. It will still be there when you want it.  - She spoke to them all once more. None of ,you did anything except carry the bodies of +the dead to the places I told you to carry +them. You would have told the authorities, .but the only authorities you know are dead.  ' She stretched out her arms. Oh, my 1beloved people, I told you I would bring terrible.days to you. She did not have to pretend to .be sad, and her tears were real as she walked $among them, touching hands, cheeks, -shoulders one more time. Then she strode out .along the road and out of the village. The men-who were assigned to do it would blow up the -nearby bridge an hour from now. She would not.be there. She would be walking along paths in (the woods, heading for the command post *from which she would run this campaign of sabotage.  - For it would not be enough to blow up these*bridges. They had to be ready to kill the ,engineers who would come to repair them, and,kill the soldiers who would come to protect )them, and then, when they brought enough .soldiers and enough engineers that they could ,not be stopped from rebuilding the bridges, 'they would have to cause rockfalls and 'mudslides to block the narrow canyons.  / If they could seal this border for three days-the advancing Muslim armies would have time, 'if they were competently led, to break *through and cut off the huge Chinese army #that still faced them, so that the *reinforcements, when they finally made it /through, would be far, far too late. They, too,*would be cut off in their turn. Ambul had *asked for only one favor from Alai, after +setting up the meeting between him and Bean0and Petra. Let me fight as if I were a Muslim,"against the enemy of my people.  . Alai had assigned him, because of his race, )to serve among the Indonesians, where he "would not look so very different.  ( So it was that Ambul went ashore on a +stretch of marshy coast somewhere south of -Shanghai. They went as near as they could on 'fishing boats, and then clambered into (flatbottomed marsh skimmers, which they *rowed among the reeds, searching for firm ground.  ( In the end, though, as they knew they -would, they had to leave the boats behind and*trudge through miles of mud. They carried ,their boots in their backpacks, because the +mud would have sucked them off if they had tried to wear them.  ) By the time the sun came up, they were &exhausted, filthy, insect-bitten, and famished.  , So they rubbed the mud off their feet and ,ankles, pulled on their socks, put on their +boots, and set off at a trot along a trace *that soon became a trail, and then a path .along the low dike between rice paddies. They &jogged past Chinese peasants and said nothing to them.  & Let them think were conscripts or +volunteers from the newly conquered south, .on a training mission. We dont want to kill /civilians. Get in from the coast as far as you -can. Thats what their officers had said to them, over and over.  * Most of the peasants might have ignored -them. Certainly they saw no one take off at a,run to spread the alarm. But it was not yet +noon when they spotted the dust plume of a +fast-moving vehicle on a road not far off.  , Down, said their commander in Common.  * Without hesitation they flopped down in ,the water and then frogged their way to the -edge of the dike, where they remained hidden./Only their officer raised his head high enough ,to see what was happening, and his whispered-commentary was passed quietly along the line so all fifty men would know.   Military truck, he said.  ' Then, Reservists. No discipline.  / Ambul thought: This is a dilemma. Reservists /are probably local troops. Old men, unfit men, 1who treated their military service like a social ,club, until now, when somebody trotted them .out because they were the only soldiers in the2area. Killing them would be like killing peasants. ( But of course they were armed, so not *killing them might be committing suicide.  ( They could hear the Chinese commander /yelling at his part-time soldiers. He was very +angry-and very stupid, thought Ambul. What -did he think was happening here? If it was a )training exercise by some portion of the )Chinese army, why would he bring along a /contingent of reservists? But if he thought it *was a genuine threat, why was he yelling? *Why wasnt he trying to reconnoiter with *stealth so he could assess the danger and make a report?  - Well, not every officer had been to Battle -School. It wasnt second nature to them, to +think like a true soldier. This fellow had .undoubtedly spent most of his military servicebehind a desk.  + The whispered command came down the line.-Do not shoot anybody, but take careful aim at+somebody when you are ordered to stand up.  ' The voice of the Chinese officer was coming nearer.  - Maybe they wont notice us, whispered the soldier beside Ambul.  / Its time to make them notice us, Ambul whispered back.  * The soldier had been a waiter in a fine .restaurant in Jakarta before volunteering for 'the army after the Chinese conquest of *Indochina. Like most of these men, he had never been under fire.  + For that matter, neither have I, thought -Ambul. Unless you count combat in the battle room.  - Surely that did count. There was no blood, ,but the tension, the unbearable suspense of +combat had been there. The adrenaline, the -courage, the terrible disappointment when you+knew you had been shot and your suit froze .around you, locking you out of the battle. The-sense of failure when you let down the buddy +you were supposed to protect. The sense of /triumph when you felt like you couldnt miss.  , Ive been here before. Only instead of a .dike, I was hiding behind a three-meter cube, +waiting for the order to fling myself out, +firing at whatever enemies might be there.  , The man next to him elbowed him. Like all ,the others, he obeyed the signal and watched+their commander for the order to stand up. , The commander gave the sign, and they all rose up out of the water.  + The Chinese reservists and their officer +were nicely lined up along a dike that ran (perpendicular to the one the Indonesian +platoon had been hiding behind. Not one of "them had his weapon at the ready.  - The Chinese officer had been interrupted in,mid-yell. He stopped and turned stupidly to 1look at the line of forty soldiers, all pointing their weapons at him.  - Ambuls commander walked up to the officerand shot him in the head.  * At once the reservists threw down their weapons and surrendered.  , Every Indonesian platoon had at least one -Chinese-speaker, and usually several. Ethnic ,Chinese in Indonesia had been eager to show -their patriotism, and their best interpreter &was very efficient in conveying their &commanders orders. Of course it was /impossible to take prisoners. But they did not want to kill these men.  ( So they were told to remove all their ,clothing and carry it to the truck they had ,arrived in. While they were undressing, the /order was passed along the line in Indonesian: )Do not laugh at them or show any sign of *ridicule. Treat them with great honor and respect.  - Ambul understood the wisdom of this order. +The purpose of stripping them naked was to .make them look ridiculous, of course. But the /first people to ridicule them would be Chinese,)not Indonesians. When people asked them, ,they would have to say that the Indonesians +treated them with nothing but respect. The ,public relations campaign was already under way.  ) Half an hour later, Ambul was with the &sixteen men who rode into town in the +captured Chinese truck, with one naked and .terrified old reservist showing them the way. (Just before reaching the small military *headquarters, they slowed down and pushed him out of the truck.  / It was quick and bloodless. They drove right %into the small compound and disarmed *everyone there at the point of a gun. The .Chinese soldiers were all herded naked into a *room without a telephone, and they stayed )there in utter silence while the sixteen *Indonesians commandeered two more trucks, +clean underwear and socks, and a couple of Chinese military radios.  . Then they piled all the remaining ammunition*and explosives, weapons and radios in the -middle of the courtyard, surrounded them with0the remaining military vehicles, and set a small.amount of plastique in the middle of the pile with a five-minute fuse.  - The Chinese interpreter ran to the door of -the room where the prisoners were being held,+shouted to them that they had five minutes -to evacuate this place before everything blew,up, and they should warn the townspeople to get away from here.  + Then he unlocked the door and ran out to one of the waiting trucks.  + Four minutes out of town, they heard the (fireworks begin. It was like a war back +there-bullets going off, explosions, and a plume of smoke.  , Ambul imagined the naked soldiers running ,from door to door, warning people. He hoped +that no one would die because they stopped -to laugh at the naked men instead of obeying them.  , Ambul was assigned to sit up front beside -the driver of one of the captured trucks. He ,knew they would not have these vehicles for ,long-they would be too easy to spot-but they*would carry them away from this place and -give some of the soldiers a chance to catch a$quick nap in the back of the truck.  , Of course, it was also possible that they +would return to the rest of the platoon to .find them slaughtered, with a large contingent,of Chinese veterans waiting to blow them to bits.  + Well, if that happened, it would happen. .Nothing he could do in this truck would affect,such an outcome in any way. All he could do +was keep his eyes open and help the driver stay awake.  * There was no ambush. When they got back *to the other men, they found most of them 'asleep, but all the sentries awake and watchful.  - Everyone piled into the trucks. The men who.had slept a little were assigned to the front *seats to drive; the men who had not slept -were put in the backs of the trucks to sleep /as best they could while the truck jolted alongon back roads.  ( Ambul was one of those who discovered -that if youre tired enough, you can indeed ,sleep sitting up on a hard bench in a truck *with no springs on a rough road. You just &cant sleep for very long at a time.  & He woke up once to find them moving +smoothly along a wellpaved road. He stayed (awake just long enough to think, Is our .commander an idiot, using a highway like this?,But he didnt care enough about it to stay awake.  , The trucks stopped after only three hours .of driving. Everyone was still exhausted, but ,they had much to do before they could get a ,real meal, and genuine sleep. The commander .had called a halt beside a bridge. He had the ,men unload everything from the trucks. Then )they pushed them off the bridge into the stream.  - Ambul thought: That was a foolish mistake. -They should have left them neatly parked, and-not together, so that air surveillance would not recognize them.  ( But no, speed was more important than ,concealment. Besides, the Chinese air force -was otherwise engaged. Ambul doubted thered.be many planes available for surveillance any time soon.  & While the noncoms were distributing +captured supplies among the men, they were &told some of what their commander had .learned from listening to the captured radios -during the drive. The enemy kept speaking of +them as paratroopers and assumed they were .heading for a major military objective or some,rendezvous point. They dont know who we /are or what were doing, and theyre looking +for us in all the wrong places, said the 1commander. That wont last long, but its the.reason we werent blown while we were driving*along. Plus, they think were at least a thousand men.  , They had made good progress inland, those 0hours on the road. The terrain was almost hilly -here, and despite the fact that every arable -inch of China had been under cultivation for .millennia, there was some fairly wild country .here. They might actually get far enough from -this road before night that they could get a &decent sleep before taking off again.  ) Of course, they would do most of their -movement by night, most of their sleeping by day.  + If they lived through the night. If they survived another day.  ' Carrying more now than they had when +they first came ashore the previous night, )they staggered off the road and into the *woods alongside the stream. Heading west. Upstream. Inland.   FAREWELLS   To: Porto%Aberto@BateRopo.Org ! From: Locke%erosmus@polnet.gov  Re: Ripe   Encryption seed:  Decryption key:  " Is this Bean or Petra? Or both?  * After all his subtle strategies and big .surprises, it was a petty murder attempt that -tagged him. I dont know if the news of the $shooting down of an IF shuttle even +penetrated the war coverage where you are, .but he thought was aboard. I wasnt, but the $Chinese named him as the smoke, and 0suddenly the IF has legal basis for an Earthside'operation. The Brazilian government is +cooperating, has the compound on lockdown,  - The only trouble is, the compound seems to ,be defended by your little army. We want to .do this without loss of life, but you trained *your soldiers very well, and Sun doesnt )respond to my feeble attempts to contact 1him. Before left, he seemed to be in Achilless (pocket. That might have been protective +coloration, but who knows what happened on that return trip from China?  . Achilles has a way of getting to people. An -Indian officer at MinCol who had known Graff *for years was the one who fingered me for .the shuttle, because the fact that his family +was in a camp in China was used to control .him. Does Achilles have a way to control Sun? (If Sun commands the soldiers to protect Achilles, will they?  ) Would it make a difference if you were 0there? I will be there, but Im afraid I never .quite trusted your assurance that the soldiers/would absolutely obey me. I have a feeling that.I lost face when I fled the compound. But you know them, I dont.  ) Your advice would be appreciated. Your 'presence would be very helpful. I will -understand if you choose to provide neither. +You owe nothing to me-you were right when I,was wrong, and I jeopardized everybody. But 4at this point, Id like to do this without killing -any of your soldiers, and especially without 0being killed myself-I wouldnt want to pretend .my motives are entirely altruistic. I have no .choice but to be there myself. If Im not on &the ground for the penetration of the *compound, I can kiss my future as Hegemon good-bye.  + Meanwhile, the Chinese dont seem to be .doing so well, do they? My congratulations to /the Caliph. I hope he will be more generous to *his conquered foes than the Chinese were.  , Petra found it hard to concentrate on her +search of the nets. It was too tempting to -switch to the news stories about the war. It -was the genetic disease that the doctors had /found in her as a child, the disease that sent .her into space to spend her formative years in,Battle School. She just couldnt leave war .alone. Appalling as it was, combat still held 0irresistible allure. The contest of two armies, )each striving for mastery, with no rules #except those forced on them by the .limitations of their forces and their fear of reprisal in kind.  ) Bean had insisted that they search for /some signal from Achilles. It seemed absurd to )her, but Bean was positive that Achilles wanted them to come to him.  ) Hes on his last legs, said Bean. /Everythings turned against him. He thought /hed positioned himself to take my place. Then)he reached too far in shooting down that -shuttle, just at the moment that the Crescent+League pulled China out from under him. He (cant go back there, cant even leave /Ribeirao. So hes going to make whatever plays+he has left to make. Were loose ends. He 0doesnt want to leave us dangling. So... hes going to call us in.  . Lets not go, Petra had said then, but ,Bean only laughed. If I thought you meant 2that, he said, I might consider it. But I know/you dont. He has our babies. He knows well come.  , Maybe they would and maybe they wouldnt.-What good would it do those embryos if their %parents walked into a trap and died?  / And it would be a trap. Not a fair trade, not+a bargain, my freedom for your babies. No, .Achilles was not capable of that, not even to -save his own life. Bean had trapped him once -before, forced a confession out of him, which.led to his being put in a mental institution. &Hed never go back there again. Like ,Napoleon, hed escaped from one captivity, &but from the next thered be no more -escaping. So he wouldnt go. That much both (Bean and Petra agreed on. He would only summon them to kill them.  ( Yet still she searched, wondering how +theyd even know when they found what theywere looking for.  ' And while she searched, the war kept *drawing her. The campaign in Xinjiang had +already moved eastward into the fringes of ,Han China. The Persians and Pakistanis were .on the verge of encircling both halves of the Chinese army in western India.  + The news about the Indonesians and Arabs )operating inside China was a little more -oblique. The Chinese were complaining loudly .about Muslim paratroopers performing terrorist+attacks inside China, and threatening that 'they would be treated as spies and war ,criminals when they were caught. The caliph -responded immediately by declaring that these.were regular troops, in uniform, and the only ,thing that bothered the Chinese was that the+war they had been so willing to inflict on -others had finally come home. We will hold ,every level of the Chinese military and the .Chinese government personally and individually'responsible for each crime against our captured soldiers.  & That was the language that only the .presumed victors could afford to use, but the .Chinese clearly took it to heart, immediately )announcing that they had been completely .misunderstood, and any soldiers found to be in'uniform would be treated as prisoners.  * To Petra, though, the most entertaining )aspect of the Chinese posturing was that .they kept referring to the Indonesian and Arab.troops as paratroopers. They simply could not -believe that troops landed on the coasts had got so far inland so quickly.  / And one other little bit of information. One *of the American newsnets had a commentary .by a retired general who almost certainly was -being given briefings about what American spy.satellites were showing. What caught Petras ,attention was when he said, What I cant *understand is why the Chinese troops that +were moved out of India a few days ago, to +meet the threat in Xinjiang, are not being 0used in Xinjiang or being sent back into India. 0Fully a quarter of the Chinese military is just sitting there not being used.  ) Petra showed this to Bean, who smiled. 0Virlomi is very good. Shes pinned them down ,for three days. How long before the Chinese %army inside India simply runs out of ammunition?  0 You cant really start a betting pool with "just the two of us, said Petra.  * Stop watching the war and get back to work.  . Why wait for Achilles to send this signal 1that I still dont think hes going to send? ,asked Petra. Why not just accept Peters /invitation and join him for the storming of the compound?  / Because if Achilles thinks hes luring us .into a trap, hell let us get inside without firing a shot. Nobody dies.  Except us.  , First, Petra, theres no us. Youre a /pregnant woman, and I dont care how brilliant/you are at military affairs, I cant possibly 0deal with Achilles if the woman whos carrying )my baby is standing there in jeopardy.  . So Im supposed to sit outside watching, .not knowing whats going on, whether youre alive or dead?  * Do we have to have the argument about -how Im going to die in a few years anyway, 0and youre not, and if Im dead but we rescue .the embryos you can still have babies, but if +youre dead, we cant even have the baby "youve already got inside you?  $ No, we dont have to have that argument, said Petra angrily.  . And second, you wont be sitting outside .watching, because youll be here in Damascus,'following the war news and reading the Quran.  , Or clawing my own eyes out in the agony /of not knowing. Youd really leave me here?  / Achilles himself may be trapped inside the +Hegemony compound, but he has people to run-his errands everywhere. I doubt that many of )them were lost when the China connection ,dried up. If it dried up. I dont want you +leaving here because it would be just like *Achilles to kill you long before you came anywhere near the compound.  / So why dont you think hell kill you?  , Because he wants me to watch the babies die.  0 Petra couldnt help it. She burst into tears and bowed over her desk.  1 Im sorry, said Bean. I didnt mean to make you-  * Of course you didnt mean to make me 4cry, said Petra. I didnt mean to cry, either. Just ignore this.  4 I cant ignore it, said Bean. I can barely ,understand what youre saying, and youre #about to drip snot on your desk.  1 Its not snot! Petra shouted at him, then -touched her nose and discovered that it was. -She sniffed and then laughed and ran into the(bathroom and blew her nose and finished crying by herself.  + When she came out, Bean was lying on the bed, his eyes closed.   Im sorry, said Petra.  & Im sorrier, said Bean softly.  / I know you have to go alone. I know I have 1to stay here. I know all of that, but I hate it, thats all.   Bean nodded.  - So why arent you searching the nets?  % Because the message just came.  - She walked over to his desk and looked into-the display. Bean had connected to an auction-site, and there it was: Wanted: A good womb.  - Five human embryos ready for implantation. /Battle School graduate parents, died in tragic *accident. Estate needs to dispose of them *immediately. Likely to be extraordinarily 2brilliant children. Trust fund will be set up for .each child successfully implanted and brought +to term. Applicants must prove they do not +need the money. Top five bidders will have (their funds held in escrow by certified %accounting firm, pending evaluation.  . Did you reply? asked Petra. Or bid?  0 I sent an inquiry in which I suggested that 5Id like to have all five, and Ill pick them up in.person. I told him to reply to one of my dead drop sites.  0 And youre not checking your mail to see if-your dead drop has forwarded anything yet?   Petra, Im scared.  . Thats a relief. It suggests you arent insane.  . Hes the best survivor Ive ever known. !Hell have a way out of this.  4 No, said Petra. Youre a survivor. Hes a killer.  . Hes not dead, said Bean. That makes him a survivor.  2 Nobodys been trying to kill him for half his3life, said Petra. His survival is no big deal. 0Youve had a pathological killer on your trail #for years, and yet here you are.  . Its not so much that Im afraid of him 3killing me, said Bean, though I dont find it /an appealing way to go. I still plan to die by 2growing so tall Im hit by a low-flying plane.  ) Im not playing your macabre little how-Id-like-to-die game.  . But if he does kill me, and then gets out ,of there alive somehow, what will happen to you?  ( He wont get out of there alive.  0 So maybe not. But what if Im dead, and allthe babies are dead?   Ill have this one.  / Youll wish you hadnt loved me. I still #havent figured out why you do.  4 Ill never wish I hadnt loved you, and Ill .always be glad that after I pestered you long )enough, you finally decided you loved me too.,  , Dont let anybody call the kid by some -stupid nickname based on how small she is.   No legume names?  . The incoming-mail icon flashed on his desk. "Youve got mail, said Petra. * Bean sighed, sat up, slid over onto the chair, and opened the letter  0 My oldest friend. I have five little presents -with your name written all over them, and not/much time left in which to give them to you. I .wish you trusted me more, because Ive never +meant you any harm, but I know you dont, -and so you are free to bring an armed escort .with you. Well meet in the open air, the east ,garden. The east gate will be open. You and .the first five with you can come in; any more 1than that try to come in and youll all be shot. / I dont know where you are, so I dont know+how long it will take for you to get here. -When you come, Ill have your property in a .refrigerated container, good for six hours at /the right temperature. If one of your escort is-a specialist with a microscope, you are free *to examine the specimens on the spot, and )then have the specialist carry them out.  , But I hope you and I can chat for a while .about old times. Reminisce about the good old *days, when we brought civilization to the )streets of Rotterdam. Weve been down a -good long road since then. Changed the world,,both of us. Me more than you, kid. Eat your heart out,  * Of course, you married the only woman I +ever loved, so maybe things balance out in the end.  + Naturally, our conversation will be more .pleasant if it ends with you taking me out of +the compound and giving me safe passage to /a place of my own choosing. But I realize that ,may not be within your power. We really are (limited creatures, we geniuses. We know 0whats best for everybody, but we still dont -get our way until we can persuade the lesser .creatures to do our bidding. They just dont *understand how much happier theyd be if /they stopped thinking for themselves. Theyre so unequipped for it.  & Relax, Bean. That was a joke. Or an (indecorous truth. Often the same thing.  , Give Petra a kiss for me. Let me know whento open the gate.  . Does he really expect you to believe that 'hell just let you take the babies?  ' Well, he does imply a swap for his freedom, said Bean.  . The only swap he implies is your life for theirs, said Petra.  2 Oh, said Bean. Is that how you read it?  / Thats what hes saying and you know it. +He expects the two of you to die together, right there.  1 The real question, said Bean, is whether (hell really have the embryos there.  3 For all we know, said Petra, theyre in a ,lab in Moscow or Johannesburg or already in %the garbage somewhere in Ribeirao.   Now whos the grim one?  0 Its obvious that he wasnt able to place *them out for implantation. So to him they +represent failure. They have no value now. "Why should he give them to you?  0 I didnt say Id accept his terms, said Bean.   But you will.  , The hardest thing about a kidnapping is %always the swap, ransom for hostage. +Somebody always has to trust somebody, and -give up their piece before theyve received /what the other one has. But this case is really+weird, because hes not really asking for anything from me.   Except your death.  0 But he knows Im dying anyway. It all seemsso pointless.  0 Hes insane, Julian. Havent you heard?  - Yes, but his thinking makes sense inside /his own head. I mean, hes not schizophrenic, ,he sees the same reality as the rest of us. 0Hes not delusional. Hes just pathologically )conscience-free. So how does he see this -playing out? Will he just shoot me as I come -in? Or will he let me win, maybe even let me -kill him, only the jokes on me because the /embryos he gives me arent ours, theyre from-the tragic mating of two really dumb people. Perhaps two journalists.  . Youre joking about this, Bean, and I-  , I have to catch the next flight. If you +think of anything else that I should know, 2email me, Ill check in at least once before I goin and see the lad.  . He doesnt have them, said Petra. He (already gave them out to his cronies.   Quite possible.   Dont go.   Not possible.  . Bean, youre smarter than he is, but his 0advantage is, hes more brutal than you are.  % Dont count on it, said Bean.  / Dont you realize that I know both of you (better than anyone else in the world?  , And no matter how well we think we know 0people, the fact is were all strangers in the end.  1 Oh, Bean, tell me you dont believe that.   Its self-evident truth.   I know you! she insisted.  2 No. You dont. But thats all right, because/I dont really know me either, let alone you. &We never understand anybody, not even /ourselves. But Petra, shh, listen. What weve -done is, weve created something else. This ,marriage. It consists of the two of us, and /weve become something else together. Thats +what we know. Not me, not you, but what we *are, who we are together. Sister Carlotta )quoted somebody in the Bible about how a )man and a woman marry and they become one/flesh. Very mystical and borderline weird. But 0in a way its true. And when I die, you wont "have Bean, but youll still have +Petra-with-Bean, Bean-with-Petra, whatever .we call this new creature that weve made.  / So all those months I spent with Achilles, 'did we build some disgusting monstrous 0Petra-with-Achilles thing? Is that what youre saying?  / No, said Bean. Achilles doesnt build .things. He just finds them, admires them, and ,tears them apart. There is no Achilles-with !anybody. Hes just.. . empty.  ' So what happened to that theory of -Enders, that you have to know your enemy inorder to beat him?   Still true.  ' But if you cant know anybody..  2 Its imaginary, said Bean. Ender wasnt -crazy, so he knew it was just imaginary. You +try to see the world through your enemys .eyes, so you can see what it all means to him.+The better you do at it, the more time you .spend in the world as he sees it, the more you'understand how he views things, how he *explains to himself the things he does.  + And youve done that with Achilles.   Yes.  . So you think you know what hes going to do.  . I have a short list of things I expect.  / And what if youre wrong? Because thats /the one certainty in all of this-that whatever +you think Achilles is going to do, youre wrong.   Thats his specialty.   So your short list. .  ) Well, see, the way I made my list, I -thought of all the things I thought he might .do, and then I didnt put any of those on my 4list, I only put on the things I didnt think heddo.  1 Thatll work, said Petra. Might, said Bean.  / Hold me before you go, she said. He did.  . Petra, you think you arent going to see (me again. But Im pretty sure you are.  ) Do you realize how it scares me that youre only pretty sure?  . I could die of appendicitis in the plane on *the way to Ribeirao. Im never more than pretty sure of anything.  Except that I love you.  & Except that we love each other.  / Beans flight was the normal misery of hours/in a confined space. But at least he was flying1west, so the jet lag wasnt as debilitating. He -thought he might just go directly in as soon ,as he arrived, but thought better of it. He 'needed to think clearly. To be able to )improvise and act quickly on impulse. He needed to sleep.  + Peter was waiting for him at the doorway +of the airplane. Being Hegemon gives you a )few privileges denied to other people in airports.  . Peter led him down the stairs instead of out-the jetway, and they got in a car that drove -them directly to the hotel that had been set /up as the IF command post. IF soldiers were at ,every entrance, and Peter assured him there (were sharpshooters in every surrounding building, and in this one, too.  . So, said Peter, when they were alone in $Beans room, whats the plan?  , You sound as if you think I have one, said Bean.   Not even a goal?  + Oh, I have two goals, said Bean. I (promised Petra right after he stole our -embryos that Id get them back for her, and *that Id kill Achilles in the process.  0 And you have no idea how youll do that.  / Some. But nothing I plan will work anyway, /so I dont let myself get too attached to any of them.  1 Achilles really isnt that important now, 1said Peter. I mean, hes important because in -essence everyone inside that compound is his /hostage, but on the world stage-hes lost all -his influence. Went up in smoke when he shot ,down that shuttle and the Chinese disavowed him.  0 Bean shook his head. Do you really think, if/he gets out of this alive, he wont be back at,his old games? You think he wont have any takers for his medicine show?  & I suppose theres no shortage of *government people with dreams of power he +can seduce them with, or fears that he can exploit.  . Peter, Im here so he can torment me and 2then kill me. Thats why Im here. His purpose. His goal.  - Well, if his is the only plan, then. .  1 Thats right, Peter. Hes the one with the )plan this time. And Im the one who can -surprise him by not doing what he expects.  ) All right, said Peter Im in.   What?  % Youve convinced me. Im in.   Youre in what?  ' Im going in the gate with you.   No youre not.  1 Im Hegemon. Im not standing outside while you go in and save my people.  0 Hell be very happy to kill you along with me.   You first.   No, you first.  * Whatever, said Peter. Youre not -getting through that gate unless Im one of your five.  1 Look, Peter, said Bean. The reason were.in this predicament is that you think youre *smarter than everybody else, so no matter ,what advice you get, you go off half-cocked 'and do something astonishingly dumb.  / But I stay around to pick up the pieces.  " I give you credit for that.  2 I wont do anything you dont tell me to, !said Peter. Its your show.  , I need to have all five of my escort be highly trained soldiers.  - No you dont, said Peter Because if -theres any shooting, five wont be enough ,anyway. So you have to count on there being .no shooting. So I might as well be one of the five.  - But I dont want to die with you beside me, said Bean.  . Fine with me, I dont want to die beside you, either.  - You have another seventy or eighty years +ahead of you. Youre going to gamble with 0that? Me, Im just playing with house money.  * Youre the best, Bean, said Peter.  + That was in school. What armies have I 'commanded since then? Other people are 3doing all the fighting now. Im not the best, Im retired.  , You dont retire from your own mind.  1 People retire from their minds all the time. 0What wont let you alone is your reputation.  0 Well, I love arguing philosophy with you, /said Peter abruptly, but you need your sleep -and I need mine. See you at the east gate in the morning.  " In a moment he was out the door  + So what was that sudden departure about?  ' Bean had the sneaking suspicion that 0maybe Peter finally believed him that he didnt-have a plan and had no guarantee of winning. &Not even, in fact, a decent chance of +winning, if by winning he meant an outcome ,in which Bean was alive, Achilles was dead, ,and Bean had the babies. No doubt Peter had /to run and get a life insurance policy. Or drum)up some last minute emergency that would -absolutely prevent him from going through the/gate with Bean after all. So sorry, I wish I 0were going with you, but youll do fine, I knowit.  - Bean thought hed have trouble getting to +sleep, what with the catnaps he got on the ,plane and the tension of tomorrows events preying on his mind.  1 So naturally he fell asleep so fast he didnt %even remember turning off the light.  + In the morning, Bean got up and posted a ,message to Achilles, naming a time about an .hour later for their meeting. Then he wrote a ,brief note to Petra, just so shed know he .was thinking of her in case this was the last *day of his life. Then another note to his ,parents, and one to Nikolai. At least if he )managed to bring Achilles down with him, %theyd be safe. That was something.  - He walked downstairs to find Peter already *waiting beside the IF car that would take $them to the perimeter that had been -established around the compound. They rode in.near silence, because there was really nothing more to say.  - At the perimeter, near the east gate, Bean *found out very quickly that Peter hadnt $lied-the IF was standing behind his 0determination to go in with Beans group. Well,,that was fine. Bean didnt really need his companions to do much.  % As he had requested before leaving ,Damascus, the IF had a uniformed doctor, two*highly trained sharpshooters, and a fully *equipped hazard squad, one of whom was to come in with Beans party.  0 Achilles will have a container that purports/to be a transport refrigerator for a half dozen.frozen embryos, Bean said to the hazardist. ,If I have you carry it outside, then that .means Im sure its a bomb or contains some .toxin, and I want it treated that way-even if .I say something different inside there. If it /turns out to have been embryos after all, well,2thats my own mistake, and Ill explain it to my/wife. If I have the doctor here carry it, that +means Im sure its the embryos, and the %package is to be treated that way. 0 And what if youre not sure? asked Peter. 6 Ill be sure, said Bean, or I wont give it to anybody.  - Why dont you just carry it yourself? .asked the hazardist, and tell us what to do when it gets outside?  ) Peter answered for him. Mr. Delphiki )doesnt expect to get back out alive.  2 My goal for all four of you, said Bean, is0for you to walk out of there uninjured. Theres-no chance of that if you start shooting, for -any reason. Thats why none of you is going to carry a loaded weapon.  + They looked at him as if he were insane.  0 Im not going in there unarmed, said one of the other men.  4 Fine, said Bean. Then therell be one less.&He didnt say I had to bring five.  + Technically, said Peter to the other ,sharpshooter, you wont be unarmed. Just /unloaded. So theyll treat you as if did have 0bullets, because they wont know you dont.  2 Im a soldier, not a sap, said the man, andhe walked away.   Anybody else? said Bean.  - In answer, the other sharpshooter took the ,full clip out of his weapon, popped out the .bullets one by one, and then ejected the firstbullet from the chamber.  / I dont carry a weapon anyway, said the doctor.  + Dont need a loaded pistol to carry a bomb, said the hazardist.  1 With a slim plastic .22-caliber pistol already ,tucked into the back of his pants, Bean was .now the only person in his party with a loadedgun.  - I guess were ready to go, said Bean.  - It was a dazzling tropical morning as they 'stepped through the gate into the east 2garden. Birds in all the trees ranted their calls -as if they were trying to memorize something .and just couldnt get it to stick. There was not a soul in sight.  & Bean wasnt going to wander around .searching for Achilles. He definitely wasnt .going to get far from the gate. So, about ten )paces in, he stopped. So did the others.   And they waited.  ) It didnt take long. A soldier in the ,Hegemony uniform stepped out into the open. +Then another, and another, until the fifth soldier appeared.  Suriyawong.  , He gave no sign of recognition. Rather he ,looked right past both Bean and Peter as if they were nothing to him.  ' Achilles stepped out behind them-but .stayed close to the trees, so he wouldnt be ,too easy a target for sharpshooters. He was 0carrying, as promised, a small transport fridge. + Bean, he said with a smile. My how youve grown.   Bean said nothing.  1 Oh, we arent in a jesting mood, he said. 5Im not either, really. Its almost a sentimental,moment for me, to see you again. To see you *as a man. Considering I knew you when you were this high.  / He held out the transport fridge. Here they are, Bean.  - Youre just going to give them to me?  / I dont really have a use for them. There &werent any takers in the auction.  , Volescu went to a lot of trouble to get these for you, said Bean.  . What trouble? He bribed a guard. Using my money. ) How did you get Volescu to help you, anyway? asked Bean.  0 He owed me, said Achilles. Im the one -who got him out of jail. I got our brilliant %Hegemon here to give me authority to )authorize the release of prisoners whose +crimes had ceased to be crimes. He didnt /make the connection that Id be releasing your-creator into the wild. Achilles grinned at Peter.   Peter said nothing.  - You trained these men well, Bean, said 6Achilles. Being with them is like well, its like(being with my family again. Like on the streets, you know?   Bean said nothing.  1 Well, all right, you dont want to chat, so take the embryos.  + Bean remembered one very important fact. 0Achilles didnt care about killing his victims *with his own hands. It was enough for him -that they die, whether he was present or not. , Bean turned to the hazardist. Would you -do me a favor and take this just outside the 0gate? I want to stay and talk with Achilles for a couple of minutes.  * The hazardist walked up to Achilles and ,took the transport fridge from him. Is it fragile? he asked.  + Achilles answered, Its very securely ,packed and padded, but dont play football with it.  , In only a few steps, he was out the gate.  * So what did you want to talk about? asked Achilles.  . A couple of little questions Im curious about.  ( Ill listen. Maybe Ill answer.  + Back in Hyderabad. There was a Chinese 'officer who knocked you unconscious to break our stalemate.   Oh, is that who did it?   Whatever happened to him?  0 Im not sure. I think his chopper was shot 'down in combat only a few days later  0 Oh, said Bean. Too bad. I wanted to ask $him what it felt like to hit you.  . Really, Bean, arent we both too old for that sort of gibe?  ' Outside the gate there was a muffled explosion.  / Achilles looked around, startled. What was that?  1 Im pretty sure, said Bean, that it was an explosion.   Of what?  - Of the bomb you just tried to give me, -said Bean. Inside a containment chamber.  ( Achilles tried, for a moment, to look 'innocent. I dont know what you  + Then he apparently realized there was no +point in feigning ignorance when the thing (had just exploded. He pulled the remote )detonator out of his pocket, pressed the *button a couple of times. Damn all this .modern technology, nothing ever works right./He grinned at Bean. Got to give me credit for trying.  . So. . . do you have the embryos or not? asked Bean.  , Theyre inside, safe, said Achilles.  , Bean knew that was a lie. In fact, he had .decided yesterday that it was most likely the ,embryos had never been brought here at all.  , But hed get more mileage out of this by .pretending to believe Achilles. And there was )always the chance that it wasnt a lie.   Show me, Bean said.  * You have to come inside, then, said Achilles.   OK.  . Thatll take us outside the range of the +sharpshooters you no doubt have all around *the compound, waiting to shoot me down.  - And inside the range of whoever you have waiting for me there.  0 Bean. Be realistic. Youre dead whenever I want you dead.  2 Well, thats not strictly true, said Bean. *Youve wanted me dead a lot more often than Ive died.  , Achilles grinned. Do you know what Poke -was saying just before she had that accident and fell into the Rhine?   Bean said nothing.  , She was saying that I shouldnt hold a .grudge against you for telling her to kill me 0when we first met. Hes just a little kid, she ,said. He didnt know what he was saying.   Still, Bean said nothing.  4 I wish I could tell you Sister Carlottas last ,words, but you know how collateral damage 'is in wartime. You just dont get any warning.  - The embryos, said Bean. You said you (were going to show me where they are.  4 All right then, said Achilles. Follow me.  . As soon as Achilless back was turned, the ,doctor looked at Bean and frantically shook his head.  3 Its all right, Bean told the doctor and the/other soldier. You can go on out. You wont be needed any more.  1 Achilles turned back around. Youre letting your escort go?  0 Except for Peter, said Bean. He insists on staying with me.  5 I didnt hear him say that, said Achilles. I*mean, he seemed so eager to get away when 2he left this place, I thought for sure he didnt want to see it again.  0 Im trying to figure out how you were able &to fool so many people, said Peter.  , But Im not trying to fool you, said .Achilles. Though I can see how someone like 1you would long to find a really masterful liar to0study with. Laughing, Achilles turned his back-again, and led the way toward the main office building.  - Peter came closer to Bean as they followed )him inside. Are you sure you know what #youre doing? he asked quietly.  ) I told you before, I have no idea.  + Once inside, they were indeed confronted .by another dozen soldiers. Bean knew them all *by name. But he said nothing to them, and ,none of them met his gaze or showed any signthat they knew him.  - What does Achilles want? thought Bean. His %first plan was to send me out of the +compound with a remote-controlled bomb, so 0its not as if he planned to keep me alive. Now)hes got me surrounded by soldiers, and doesnt tell them to shoot.  ( Achilles turned around and faced him. 2Bean, he said. I cant believe you didnt +make some kind of arrangement for me to getout of here.  + Is that why you tried to blow me up? asked Bean.  0 That was when I believed youd try to kill &me as soon as you thought you had the embryos. Why didnt you?  0 Because I knew I didnt have the embryos. . Do you and Petra already think of them as *your children? Have you named them yet?  . Theres no arrangement to get you out of .here, Achilles, because theres no place for .you to go. The only people that still had any )use for you are busy getting their butts -kicked by a bunch of pissed-off Muslims. You ,saw to it that you couldnt go anywhere in )space when you shot down that shuttle.  / In all fairness, Bean, you have to remember+that nobody was supposed to know it was me +who did it. But someone really should tell (me-why wasnt Peter on that shuttle? I +suppose somebody caught my informant. He *looked back and forth from Peter to Bean, looking for an answer.  , Bean did not confirm or deny. Peter, too, 1kept his silence. What if Achilles lived through )this somehow? Why bring down Achilless &wrath on a man who already had enough trouble in his life?  + But if you caught my informant, said #Achilles, why in the world would ,Chamrajnagar-or Graft, if it was him-launch *the shuttle anyway? Was catching me doing .something naughty so important theyd risk a .shuttle and its crew just to catch me? I find 0that quite flattering. Sort of like winning the $Nobel Prize for scariest villain.  1 I think, said Bean, that you dont have /the embryos at all. I think you dispersed them -as soon as you got them. I think you already $had them implanted in surrogates.  1 Wrong, said Achilles. He reached inside his-pants pocket and took out a small container. +Exactly like the ones in which the embryos /had been frozen. I brought one along, just to+show you. Of course, hes probably thawed -quite a bit. My body heat and all that. What /do you think? Do we still have time to get this.little sucker implanted in somebody? Petras 1already pregnant. I hear, so you cant use her. 0I know! Peters mother! She always likes to be /so helpful, and shes used to giving birth to geniuses. Here, Peter, catch!  , He tossed the container toward Peter, but 0too hard, so it sailed over Peters upstretched/hands and hit the floor. It didnt break, but instead rolled and rolled.  2 Arent you going to get it? Achilles asked Bean.  , Bean shrugged. He walked over to where the0container had come to rest. The liquid inside itsloshed. Fully thawed.  . He stepped on it, broke it, ground it under his foot.  ) Achilles whistled. Wow. You are some /disciplinarian. Your kids cant get away with anything with you.   Bean walked toward Achilles.  * Now, Bean, I can see how you might be .irritated at me, but I never claimed to be an /athlete. When did I have a chance to play ball,0will you tell me that? You grew up where I did. 1I cant help it that I dont know how to throw accurately.  , He was still affecting his ironic tone of ,voice, but Bean could see that Achilles was *afraid now. He had been expecting Bean to ,beg, or grieve-something that would keep him.off balance and give control to Achilles. But /Bean was seeing things through Achilless eyes(now, and he understood: You do whatever -your enemy cant believe that you would even think of doing. You just do it.  * Bean reached into the butt holster that (rode inside his pants, hanging from the /waistband, and pulled out the flat .22-caliber )pistol concealed there. He pointed it at &Achilless right eye, then the left.  , Achilles took a couple of steps backward. 3You cant kill me, he said. You dont know where the embryos are.  . I know you dont have them, said Bean, .and that Im not going to get them without 2letting you go. And Im not letting you go. So I -guess that means the embryos are forever lost&to me. Why should you go on living?  / Suri, said Achilles. Are you asleep?  , Suriyawong pulled his long knife from its sheath.  , Thats not whats needed here, said Achilles. He has a gun.  5 Hold still, Achilles, said Bean. Take it like*a man. Besides, if I miss, you might live .through it and spend the rest of your days as -a brain-damaged shell of a man. We want this -to be nice and clean and final, dont we?  * Achilles pulled another vial out of his .pockets. This is the real thing, Bean. He 0reached out his hand, offering it. You killed +one, but there are still the other four.  , Bean slapped it out of his hand. This one broke when it hit the floor.  / Those are your children youre killing! cried Achilles.  / I know you, said Bean. I know that you +would never promise me something you could actually deliver.  2 Suriyawong! shouted Achilles. Shoot him!  Sir, said Suriyawong.  . It was the first sound hed made since Beancame through the east gate.  . Suriyawong knelt down, laid his knife on the2smooth floor, and slid it toward Achilles until itrested at his feet.  , Whats this supposed to be? demanded Achilles.  , The loan of a knife, said Suriyawong.  ( But he has a gun! cried Achilles.  / I expect you to solve your own problems, -said Suriyawong, without getting any of my men killed.  1 Shoot him! cried Achilles. I thought you were my friend.  1 I told you from the start, said Suriyawong.(I serve the Hegemon. And with that, (Suriyawong turned his back on Achilles.  ! So did all the other soldiers.  ) Now Bean understood why Suriyawong had 1worked so hard to earn Achilless trust: so that0at this moment of crisis, Suri was in a positionto betray him.  - Achilles laughed nervously. Come on now, -Bean. Weve known each other a long time. -He had backed up against a wall. He tried to ,lean against it. But his legs were a little .wobbly and he started to slide down the wall. 1I know you, Bean, he said. You cant just -kill a man in cold blood, no matter how much -you hate him. Its not in you to do that.   Yes it is, said Bean.  0 He aimed the pistol down at Achilless right ,eye and pulled the trigger. The eye snapped )shut from the wind of the bullet passing .between the eyelids and from the obliteration 1of the eye itself. His head rocked just a little .from the force of the little bullet entering, but not leaving.  + Then he slumped over and sprawled out on the floor. Dead.  1 It didnt bring back Poke, or Sister Carlotta,-or any of the other people he had killed. It -didnt change the nations of the world back -to the way they were before Achilles started *making them his building blocks, to break -apart and put together however he wanted. It .didnt end the wars Achilles had started. It -didnt make Bean feel any better. There was ,no joy in vengeance, and precious little in justice, either.  0 But there was this: Achilles would never kill again.  / That was all Bean could ask of a little .22.   HOME  ( From: YourFresh%Vegetoble@Freebie.net ! To: MyStone%Maiden@Freebie.net  Re: Come home   Hes dead.   Im not.   He didnt have them.  . Well find them, one way or another, beforeI die.  , Come home. Theres nobody trying to kill you any more.  ' Petra flew on a commercial jet, in a -reserved seat, under her own name, using her own passport.  - Damascus was full of excitement, for it was-now the capital of a Muslim world united for -the first time in nearly two thousand years. (Sunni and Shiite leaders alike had been +declaring for the Caliph. And Damascus was the center of it all.  - But her excitement was of a different kind.)It was partly the baby that was maturing -inside her, and the changes already happening/to her body. It was partly the relief at being (free of the death sentence Achilles had passed on her so long ago.  - Mostly, though, it was that giddy sense of -having been on the edge of losing everything,0and winning after all. It swept over her as she -was walking down the aisle of the plane, and )her knees went rubbery under her and she almost fell.  ( The man behind her took her elbow and 3helped her regain her legs. Are you all right? he asked.  1 Im just a little bit pregnant, she said.  / You must get over this business of falling %down before the baby gets too big.  , She laughed and thanked him, then put her (own bag in the overhead-without needing #help, thank you-and took her seat.  - On the one hand, it was sad flying without her husband beside her.  , On the other hand, it was wonderful to be flying home to him.   - He met her at the airport and gathered her ,into a huge hug. His arms were so long. Had .they grown in the few days since he left her?  # She refused to think about that.  . I hear you saved the world, she said to $him when the embrace finally ended.  0 Dont believe those rumors. My hero, ,she said. Id rather be your lover, he 0whispered. My giant, she whispered back. In (answer, he embraced her again, and then +leaned back, lifting her off her feet. She /laughed as he whirled her around like a child. )The way her father had done when she was -little. The way he would never do with their 0children. Why are you crying? he asked her.  5 Its just tears in my eyes, she said. Its 1not crying. Youve seen crying, and this isnt (it. These are happy-to-see-you tears.  . Youre just happy to be in a place where (trees grow without waiting around to be planted and irrigated.  ' They walked out of the airport a few -minutes later and he was right, she was happy.to be out of the desert. In the years they had)lived in Ribeiro she had discovered an /affinity for lush places. She needed the Earth .to be alive around her, everything green, all (that photosynthesis going on in public, ,without a speck of modesty. Things that ate ,sunlight and drank rain. Its good to be home, she said.  % Now Im home, too, said Bean.  0 You were here already, she said. But youwerent, till now.  - She sighed and clung to him a little. They took the first cab.   ) They went to the Hegemony compound, of .course, but instead of going to their house-it+indeed, it was their house, since they had (given it up when they resigned from the (Hegemons service that day back in the 'Philippines-Bean took her right to the Hegemons office.  . Peter was waiting there for her, along with ,Graff and the Wiggins. There were hugs that )became kisses and handshakes that became hugs.  + Peter told all about what happened up in 'space. Then they made Petra tell about +Damascus, though she protested that it was 0nothing at all, just a city happy with victory.  + The wars not over yet, said Peter.  1 Theyre full of Muslim unity, said Petra.  - Next thing you know, said Graff, the ,Christians and Jews will get back together. ,The only thing standing between them, after $all, is that business with Jesus.  2 Its a good thing, said Theresa, to have 'a little less division in the world.  ) I think its going to take a lot of 2divisions, said John Paul, to bring about less division.  , I told you they were happy in Damascus, ,not that I thought they were right to be, 0said Petra. There are signs of trouble ahead. *Theres an imam preaching that India and +Pakistan should be reunited under a single government again.  2 Let me guess, said Peter. A Muslim one.  * If they liked what Virlomi did to the /Chinese, said Bean, theyll love what she ,can get the Hindus to do to get free of the Pakistanis.  0 And Peter will love this one, said Petra. /An Iraqi politician made a speech in Baghdad .in which he very pointedly said, In a world +where Allah has chosen a Caliph, why do we need a Hegemon?  - They laughed, but their faces were serious when the laughing stopped.  , Maybe hes right, said Peter Maybe .when this war is over, the Caliph will be the .Hegemon, in fact if not in name. Is that a bad*thing? The goal was to unite the world in /peace. I volunteered to do it, but if somebody )else gets it done, Im not going to get -anybody killed just to take the job away fromhim.  , Theresa took hold of his wrist, and Graff .chuckled. Keep talking like that, and Ill -understand why Ive been supporting you all these years.  + The Caliph is not going to replace the .Hegemon, said Bean, or erase the need for one.   No? asked Peter.  / Because a leader cant take his people to (a place where they dont want to go.  0 But they want him to rule the world, said Petra.  . But to rule the world, he has to keep the 0whole world content with his rule, said Bean. *And how can he keep non-Muslims content *without making orthodox Muslims extremely .discontented? Its what the Chinese found in /India. You cant swallow a nation. It finds a ,way to get itself vomited out. Begging your pardon, Petra.  2 So your friend Alai will realize this, and not,try to rule over non-Muslim people? asked Theresa.  . Our friend Alai would have no problem with+that idea, said Petra. The question is whether the Caliph will.  / I hope we wont remember this day, said +Graff, as the time when we first started fighting the next war.  1 Peter spoke up. As I said before, this warsnot over yet.  , Both of the frontline Chinese armies in ,India have been surrounded and the noose is 0tightening, said Graff. I dont think they ,have a Stalingrad-style defense in them, do (you? The Turkic armies have reached the %Hwang He and Tibet just declared its -independence and is slaughtering the Chinese ,troops there. The Indonesians and Arabs are )impossible to catch and theyre already "making a serious dent in internal 0communications in China. Its just a matter of 1time before they realize its pointless to keep 0killing people when the outcome is inevitable. + It takes a lot of dead soldiers before *governments ever catch on to that, said Theresa.  - Mother always takes the cheerful view, said Peter, and they laughed.  , Finally, though, it was time for Petra to +hear the story of what happened inside the -compound. Peter ended up telling most of it, .because Bean kept skipping all the details andrushing straight to the end.  . Do you think Achilles believed Suriyawong /would really kill Bean for him? asked Petra.  1 I think, said Bean, that Suriyawong told him that he would.  ' You mean he intended to do it, and changed his mind?  1 I think, said Bean, that Sun planned that'moment from the start. He made himself 0indispensable to Achilles. He won his trust. The,cost of it was losing the trust of everyone else.   Except you, said Petra.  . Well, you see, I know Sun. Even though you-cant ever really know anybody-dont throw %my own words back up to me, Petra-   I didnt! I wasnt!  . I walked into the compound without a plan,-and with only one real advantage. I knew two /things that Achilles didnt know. I knew that .Sun would never give himself to the service of+a man like Achilles, so if he seemed to be -doing so, it was a lie. And I knew something 1about myself. I knew that I could, in fact, kill /a man in cold blood if thats what it took to "make my wife and children safe.  1 Yes, said Peter, I think thats the one /thing he just didnt believe, not even at the end.  + It wasnt cold blood, said Theresa.   Yes it was, said Bean.  / It was, Mother, said Peter. It was the .right thing to do, and he chose to do it, and ,it was done. Without having to work himself up into a frenzy to do it.  * Thats what heroes do, said Petra. .Whatevers necessary for the good of their people.  1 When we start saying words like hero, &said Bean, its time to go home.  1 Already? said Theresa. I mean, Petra just1got here. And I have to tell her all my horrible -stories about how hard each of my deliveries 0was. Its my duty to terrify the mother-to-be. Its a tradition.  4 Dont worry, Mrs. Wiggin, said Bean. Ill /bring her back every few days, at least. Its not that far.  ! Bring me back? said Petra.  # We left the Hegemons employ, ,remember? said Bean. We only worked for /him so wed have a legal pretext for fighting 0Achilles and the Chinese. So thered be nothing,for us to do. We have enough money from our /Battle School pensions. So we arent going to live in Ribeirao Preto.  & But I like it here, said Petra.  / Uh-oh, a fight, a fight, said John Paul.  ' Only because you havent lived in .Araraquara yet. Its a better place to raise children.  1 I know Araraquara, said Petra. You lived +there with Sister Carlotta, didnt you?  / I lived everywhere with Sister Carlotta, -said Bean. But its a good place to raise children.  / Youre Greek and Im Armenian. Of course 'we need to raise our children to speak Portuguese.   - The house Bean had rented was small, but it)had a second bedroom for the baby, and a 0lovely little garden, and monkeys that lived in ,the tall trees on the property behind them. 0Petra imagined her little girl or boy coming out'to play and hearing the chatter of the ,monkeys and delighting in the show they put on for all comers.  - But theres no furniture, said Petra.  , I knew I was taking my life in my hands *picking out the house without you, said &Bean. The furniture is up to you. 4 Good, said Petra. Ill make you sleep in a 1frilly pink room. Will you be sleeping there with me?   Of course.  1 Then frilly pink is fine with me, if thats what it takes.  ) Peter, unsentimental as he was, saw no 0reason to hold a funeral for Achilles. But Bean .insisted on at least a graveside service, and )he paid for the carving of the monument. -Under the name Achilles de Flandres, the .year of his birth, and the date of his death, the inscription said:  $ Born crippled in body and spirit, $ He changed the face of the world.  Among all the hearts he broke # And lives he ended far too young  Were his own heart  And his own life.  May he find peace.  - It was a small group gathered there in the cemetery in Ribcirao Preto. + Bean and Petra, the Wiggins, Peter Graff had gone back to space. - Suriyawong had led his little army back to Thailand, to help their ( homeland drive out the conquerors and restore itself.  ' No one had anything much to say over /Achilless grave. They could not pretend that .they werent all glad that he was dead. Bean )read the inscription he had written, and -everyone agreed that it wasnt just fair to Achilles, it was generous.  ' In the end it was only Peter who had 'something he could say from the heart.  - Am I the only one here who sees something1of himself in the man whos lying in this box? - No one had an answer for him, either yes orno.  . Three bloody weeks later, the war ended. If 'the Chinese had accepted the terms the ,Caliph had offered in the first place, they .would have lost only their new conquests, plus/Xinjiang and Tibet. Instead, they waited until -Canton had fallen, Shanghai was besieged, and,the Turkic troops were surrounding Beijing.  + So when the Caliph drew the new map, the ,province of Inner Mongolia was given to the ,nation of Mongolia, and Manchuria and Taiwan-were given their independence. And China had 'to guarantee the safety of teachers of -religion. The door had been opened to Muslim proselytizing.  , The Chinese government promptly fell. The (new government repudiated the ceasefire +terms, and the Caliph declared martial law #until new elections could be held.  ) And somewhere in the rugged terrain of -easternmost India, the goddess of the bridge -lived among her worshipers, biding her time, +watching to see whether India was going to *be free or had merely changed one tyranny ,for another. In the aftermath of war, while %Indians, Thais, Burmese, Vietnamese, 'Cambodians and Laotians searched their -onetime conquerors land for family members -who had been carried off Bean and Petra also )searched as best they could by computer, +hoping to find some record of what Volescu 0and Achilles had done with their lost children.      ACKNOWLEDGMENTS   / In writing this sequel to Ender's Shadow and 'Shadow of the Hegemon, I faced two new .problems. First, I was expanding the roles of -several minor characters from earlier books, .and ran the serious risk of inventing aspects -of their appearance or their past that would +contradict some long-forgotten detail in a *previous volume. To avoid this as much as .possible, I relied on two online communities.   The Philotic Web 0(http://www.philoticweb.net) carries a timeline #combining the story flows of Ender 'Game and Enders Shadow, which proved .invaluable to me. It was created by Nathan M. +Taylor with the help of Adam Spieckermann.  # On my own website, Hatrack River -(http://www.hatrack.com), I posted the first .five chapters of the manuscript of this novel,*in the hope that readers who had read the /other books in the series more recently than I #might be able to catch inadvertent (inconsistencies and other problems. The +Hatrack River community did not disappoint 'me. Among the many who responded-and I /thank them all-I found particular value in the 1suggestions of Keiko A. Haun (accio), .Justin1Pollen, Chris Bridges, Josh Galvez (Zevlag), +David Tayman (Taalcon), Alison Purnell !(Eaquae Legit), Vicki Norris +(CKDexterHaven), Michael Sloan (Papa #Moose), and Oliver Withstandley.  * In addition, I had the help, chapter by -chapter through the whole book, of my regular-crew of first readers-Phillip and Em Absher, )Kathryn H. Kidd, and my son Geoffrey. My +wife, Kristine A. Card, as usual read each -chapter while the pages were still warm from ,the LaserJet. Without them I could not have proceeded with this book.  , The second problem posed by this novel was.that I wrote it during the war in Afghanistan 0between the U.S. and its allies and the Taliban -and Al Qaeda forces. Since in Shadow Puppets ,I had to show the future state of relations +between the Muslim and Western worlds, and /between Israel and its Muslim neighbors, I had +to make a prediction about how the current 'hate-filled situation might someday be *resolved. Since I take quite seriously my ,responsibility to the nations and peoples I ,write about, I was dependent for much of my +understanding of the causes of the present (situation on Bernard Lewiss What Went *Wrong?: Western Impact and Middle Eastern *Response (Oxford University Press, 2001).  / This book is dedicated to my wifes parents.,Besides the fact that much of the peace and /joy in Kristines and my lives comes from our ,close and harmonious relationship with both +our extended families, I owe an additional /debt to James B. Allen, for his excellent work -as a historian, yes, but more personally for %having taught me to approach history .fearlessly, going wherever the evidence leads,-assuming neither the best nor the worst about-people of the past, and adapting my personal ,worldview wherever it needs adjustment, but -never carelessly throwing out previous ideas that remain valid.  ) To my assistants, Kathleen Bellamy and .Scott Allen, I owe much more than I pay them. /As for my children, Geoffrey, Emily. and Zina, 0and my wife, Kristine, they are the reason its#worth getting out of bed each day.    CONTENTS  1.GROWN  2.SURIYAWONG'S KNIFE   3.MOMMIES AND DADDIES  4.CHOPIN  5.STONES IN THE ROAD  6.HOSPITALITY  7.THE HUMAN RACE  8.TARGETS  9.CONCEPTION   10.LEFT AND RIGHT   11.BABIES   12.PUTTING OUT FIRES   13.CALIPH   14.SPACE STATION  15.WAR PLANS  16.TRAPS  17.PROPHETS # 18.THE WAR ON THE GROUND  19.FAREWELLS  20.HOME ((PP p@  BP*Jp|v@@@@@@@@@@ P @@@@@ pp ` p @pp(H @p @@ppppx @@@@```` @@@@ <B@< PPP8DD88DD<`DDDl8DD8 8DD8 p@  xDDD((( UUUU""HH00HHD( @@@@@ @@@@@@@@@@pxxppxxpp0@@@@@@p`pp@@@@@@ ` ppxxp@ @@@@@@0xPPP DP PPPP  @ @@@@@@@  @@@@@@@ PH@H@ pp <BB<@ pxxPpxxpp `        &'&()))''I I F'H G(++*) +(*)%Fh h &%&&(JKJ( *+K#II&%G (K , *I I'J +, , $&HJ J'JK*I&I H$%GF(("$FF(**I&%$%GIJ))(IJ*)(I I '(**J''I*J'(++*&jK p rsq.+OoJ)ml  P sTR  -UuP **QtQ k m KmL pRR Rp  RuU *+qMk+  Osus.  po+(S42.)mO n qrrp *mn*m*oo )+Pttq,  n pN *- p, +qsSr ,oo  .s tN *O rRrN )o tur -KnL  Q Uut/+pJ+oN Q uV T s6 V R, S US -+n N ,n M r3 2Q  SV 6u, .t N  M, 0 UVt/ rq,r4US.LnN MQ S S Q N p+n n*P p +n+QU U/ QR1/ 0Ts/  R 5 5 T +N O  0U V u Q ,q S O+ rU V SNkK )p s sr N*nH*nM +P sT s, ,t t p+-rsqm JM Jm K prR Q O  PSSs +*N  n* ML ' O  M  n*(rSSRM (k Km p r r  Lo(*n)) ()m*ns. qt sq , Q UTP +,q TTr*)l *NRTs P +o Rr N* rS T q lEF %%(**)&GHI G)*K)&GHH'')(('&G&&F&(J K J ())I&'IIH&&jH&'IK)H G&* KK) EF&()JJ)'Hi H i'Hi &F F &HI ( (JJ)(* )()KK )%FG%(JK+ 'IJ J(IIHHF !" !  !!!!!      !!!  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  !    !!!!!!  !    !!        !!!!   !!!!! !!!!!!!!!!    !! !!!   !               !    !     !!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!AAA!!!"""!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!""""!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!""!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!""""!!!!!!!!!!!!!!""""""!!!!"""!!""""""""!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!""!!!@@@!!!!"""!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!""""""!!!A!!!! !!"!""!! @@ !!!""""!!!!!!B!"!!!!"""""!!!!!!!!"!!!!!!!!!!""""""!!!!!""!!"!""""""B""""""!!!!!!!!!"!!!A!!!!!!!!!!!"""""!! !!!""!!!!!""""""""!!""!!!!!!""""""!!!!!!!!!!"#"""!!!!A!!!"""""!!!!!!!!!"""!!!!!!!""""""!!!!!!!!"!B bbB "#CCbbaaaacBB ! 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