Enders In Exile

what you
think I should do about this."
    "You could get back on
the ship and go."
    "Is that what you're
asking me to do?" asked Ender.
    "He's not here to take
over your job," said Valentine. "He's not a threat to you."
    Virlomi laughed. "I'm
not trying to get rid of your brother, Valentine. He's welcome to stay.
If he does, then I will definitely need and take his help and advice.
For my own sake, I'm happy he's here. Randall will have no choice but
to turn all his hatred onto you. Please, stay."
    "I'm glad you asked,"
said Ender. "I accept."
    "No," said Valentine.
"This is the kind of situation that leads to violence."
    "I promise not to kill
anybody, Valentine," said Ender.
    "I'm talking about
violence
against
you," she said.
    "So am I," said Ender.
    "If he chooses to whip
a mob into a frenzy—"
    "No," said Virlomi.
"You have nothing to fear on that score. We will protect you fully."
    "Nobody can protect
anybody fully," said Valentine.
    "Oh, I'm sure Virlomi's
people will do a splendid job," said Ender. "As I said, I accept your
kind invitation. Now, let's leave this boat and go ashore, neh?"
    "As you wish," said
Virlomi. "I'll be glad to have you. But I also warned you, and as long
as this ship is still here, you're free to move on. You won't like it
when Randall turns his wrath on you. He has a way with words."
    "Just words?" said
Ender. "So he's nonviolent?"
    "So far," said Virlomi.
    "Then I'm safe," said
Ender. "Thank you for the great honor you paid me. Please let it be
known that I'm here. And that I really am
that
Andrew Wiggin."
    "Are you sure?" asked
Virlomi.
    "Insane people are
always sure," said Valentine.
    Ender laughed, and so
Virlomi did, too—a nervous chuckle.
    "I'd invite you to join
me for supper tonight," said Virlomi, "only one of my affectations is
to eat little, and of course, as a Hindu, I eat an entirely vegetarian
cuisine."
    "Sounds excellent,"
said Valentine.
    "Tell us when and
where, and we'll be there," said Ender.
    With a few more parting
words, Virlomi left.
    Valentine turned on
Ender, angry and sad, both at once. "Did you bring me here to watch you
die?"
    "I didn't bring you
anywhere," said Ender. "You just came."
    "That doesn't answer my
question."
    "Everyone dies,
Valentine. Mother and Father are dead. Peter is dead. Graff is probably
dead by now."
    "You forget that I know
you, Ender," said Valentine. "You have decided to die. You've decided
to provoke this boy into killing you."
    "Why would you think
that?"
    "Look at the names you
chose for passwords, Ender! You can't live with the guilt."
    "Not guilt, Val," said
Ender. "Responsibility."
    "Don't make this boy
kill you," said Valentine.
    "I won't make anybody
do anything. How about that?"
    "I should have stayed
home and watched Peter conquer the world."
    "Oh, no, Valentine.
We're on a much more interesting trajectory through space-time."
    "I'm not going to sleep
through my life like you are, Ender. I have work to do. I'm going to
write my histories. I'm not burdened with a death wish."
    "If I wished to be
dead," said Ender, "I would have let Bonzo Madrid and his friends beat
my brains out in a bathroom in Battle School."
    "I know you," said
Valentine.
    "I know you think you
do," said Ender. "And if I die, you'll think I chose to. The truth is
much more complicated. I don't intend to die. But I'm not afraid of the
risk of death. Sometimes a soldier has to put himself in harm's way in
order to achieve victory."
    "It's not your war,"
said Valentine.
    Ender laughed. "It's
always my war."

CHAPTER
22

    To: VWiggin%[email protected]/voy
From: AWiggin%[email protected]/voy
Subj: If I am dead
    Dear Val,
    I don't expect to be
dead. I expect to be alive, in which case, you won't receive this,
because I will keep sending the do-not-deliver code until after the
coming confrontation.
    This is about the case.
The code to unlock it is the name of your favorite stuffed animal when
you were six. When you open it, hold what you find in your hands for a
good long time. If you come up with some good ideas, then act on them;
otherwise, please repack the item exactly as you found it, and arrange
to ship it to Abra Tolo on Shakespeare with a message: "This is what I
found that day. Please don't let it be destroyed."
    But you won't need
this, because, as is my fashion, I expect to win.
     
    Love,
your demanding and mysterious little brother,
Ender
or, I suppose I should now say: Ended

    Since the starship had
not arrived full of new colonists, it