Enders In Exile

had
just been happening. He was an intruder in this ceremony. Didn't he see
that Ender Wiggin was a victorious commander meeting with his veterans?
What did Quincy Morgan have to do with that?
    Hadn't he read the
letter?

    Morgan could only spare
half his attention for the letter, he was so furious at Wiggin for
heading straight into the crowd. What was he doing? Did he actually
know these people's
names
?
    But then the letter
began to register with him and he read it with his full attention.
    Dear Rear Admiral
Morgan,
    Former Polemarch
Chamrajnagar, before his retirement, warned us that there was some risk
that you would misunderstand the limited nature of your
responsibilities upon reaching Shakespeare Colony. He takes full
responsibility for any such misunderstanding, and if he was mistaken,
we apologize for the actions we have taken. But you must understand
that we were compelled to take preventive measures in case you had been
misled into thinking that you were to exercise even momentary authority
on the surface of the planet. We have been careful
to make sure that if you behave with exact correctness, no one but you
and Vice-Admiral Andrew Wiggin will ever know how we were prepared to
deal with the situation if you acted inappropriately.
    Correct action is this:
You will recognize that upon setting foot on Shakespeare, Vice-Admiral
Wiggin becomes Governor Wiggin, with absolute authority over all
matters concerning the colony and all transfers of persons and material
to and from the colony. He retains his rank of Vice-Admiral, so that
outside your actual ship, he is your superior officer and you are
subject to his authority.
    You will return to your
ship without setting foot on the planet. You will not meet with any
persons from the colony. You will provide a full and orderly transfer
of all cargos and persons from your ship to the colony, exactly as
Governor Wiggin specifies. You will make all your actions transparent
to IFCom and ColMin by reporting hourly by ansible on all actions taken
in compliance with Governor Wiggin's orders.
    We assume that this is
what you intended to do all along. However, because of Polemarch
Chamrajnagar's warning, we anticipate the possibility that you had
different plans, and that you might consider acting on them. The
forty-year voyage between us and you made it necessary for us to take
actions which we can and will reverse upon your successful completion
of this mission and your return to lightspeed.
    Every twelve hours,
Governor Wiggin will report to us by holographic ansible, assuring us
of your compliance. If he fails to report, or seems to us to be under
duress of any kind, we will activate a program now embedded in your
ship's computer. The program will also be activated by any attempt to
rewrite the program itself or restore an earlier state of the software.
    This program will
consist of the vocal and holographic transmission to the an-sibles
aboard your ship and shuttles, through every speaker and computer
display on your ship and shuttles, and to every ansible in Shakespeare
Colony, stating that you are charged with mutiny, ordering that no one
obey you, and that you be arrested and placed in stasis for the return
voyage to Eros, where you will be tried for mutiny.
    We regret that the
existence of this message will certainly cause offense to you if you
did not plan to behave any way other than correctly. But in that case,
your correct actions will ensure that no one sees this message, and
when you have returned to lightspeed flight after successfully carrying
out your mission, the message will be eliminated from your ship's
computer and there will be no record whatsoever of this action. You
will return with full honors and your career will continue without
blemish.
    A copy of this letter
has been sent to your executive officer, Commodore Vlad das Lagrimas,
but he cannot open it as long as Governor Wiggin continues to certify
to us that you are taking correct actions.
    Since yours is the
first colony ship to arrive at its destination, your actions will
establish the precedent for the entire I.F. We look forward to
reporting on your excellent actions to the entire fleet.
     
    Sincerely,
Polemarch Bakossi Wuri
Minister of Colonization Hyrum Graff

     
    Morgan read the letter,
filled with rage and dread at first, but gradually taking a very
different attitude. How could they imagine that he planned anything
other than to oversee Wiggin's orderly assumption of power? How