Enders In Exile

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    Achilles watched with
delight as people began watching the Wiggins' every
move. Everything he did or said was seen through the lens of Achilles'
accusations. Even the Indians, who regarded Achilles with suspicion or
hostility, were convinced by the pictures that Achilles was not lying.
What was going on?
    It's costing you,
Virlomi. You attacked my father, and through him, me. You tried to
exile me—hoping my troublesome mother would disappear along
with me. Well, I have attacked Ender Wiggin, and through him,
you—and you very kindly have taken him in as your honored
guest at precisely the moment when it was most useful to me.
    Three days after his
public tagging of Ender Wiggin, Achilles made his next move. This time,
he used a surrogate writer—one of his brighter supporters,
who could actually put sentences together coherently—to put
out the allegation, disguised as a denial, that Virlomi's plan was to
have Ender Wiggin himself murder Randall Firth on the trip to Earth. He
would be sent into exile, supposedly, but he would never be seen again.
    Randall Firth has
offended, not just the Wiggin stooge Virlomi, but the whole
hegemonistic conspiracy. He has to be eliminated, or so the story goes.
But we have found no evidence to corroborate this account, and
therefore we must dismiss it as nothing but a rumor, a mere suspicion.
How else can we explain Wiggin's multiple secret meetings with Virlomi?
    Randall Firth himself,
when questioned, asserted that Virlomi is too intelligent to consort
openly with Wiggin if she were planning any violent action against
Firth. Therefore he fears nothing.
    But we wonder: Does
Virlomi count on Firth making that assumption, so that his guard will
be down? Will she insist that he goes into stasis, from which Wiggin,
aboard the ship, will make sure he never wakes up? It would be so easy
to call it an accident.
    Firth is too brave for
his own good. His friends are more worried about him than he is about
himself.
    This time Achilles'
foray brought a response from Virlomi—which was, after all,
what he wanted. "Andrew Wiggin's visit here is an obvious
coincidence—he
set out on his voyage when Randall Firth was still an infant on a
starship and Ganges Colony had not even been founded."
    "This is an obvious
nondenial denial," wrote Achilles' surrogate. "Virlomi says that it is
a coincidence that Wiggin is here. She does not say that Randall Firth
will not be at Wiggin's mercy on his voyage of 'exile'—or, as
some assert, 'death.' "
    The colony was now
riven with heated arguments, and Achilles noted with delight that there
were even Indians now on the side that said, "You can't send Randall
out on the same ship with Wiggin." "Isn't Wiggin the one who already
murdered two children?" "Randall Firth's crime is not worthy of the
death penalty."
    There was a groundswell
building to commute Randall Firth's sentence and keep him on Ganges.
Meanwhile, there was even talk of arresting Ender Wiggin for his crimes
against humanity. Achilles publicized these proposals by making
statements opposing them. "The statute of limitations has surely
passed, even for the monstrous crime of xenocide," he wrote. "It has
been sixty-one years since Ender Wiggin wiped out the hive queens. What
court has jurisdiction now?"
    By now the demand from
Earth was so great that any writings of Achilles or his surrogates were
being moved up to a higher priority in the queue. On Earth, there were
open demands that the I.F. arrest Andrew Wiggin and bring
him
back to Earth for trial, and polls showing that a small but growing
minority was demanding justice for the murder of the hive queens.
    It was time for Randall
Firth to meet Ender Wiggin face to face.
    It was easy enough to
arrange. Achilles' supporters kept watch on Wiggin, and when he, his
sister, and the governor passed along the banks of the great river one
morning, Achilles was there—alone.
    Virlomi stiffened when
she saw him, and tried to draw Ender away, but Wiggin strode forward to
meet Achilles and held out his hand. "I've wanted to meet you, Mr.
Firth," he said. "I'm Andrew Wiggin."
    "I know who you are,"
said Achilles, letting scorn and amusement into his voice.
    "Oh, I doubt that,"
said Ender, his apparent amusement even greater. "But I've been wanting
to see you, and I think the governor has been trying to keep us apart.
I know
you
have been aching for this moment."
    Achilles wanted to say,
What do
you
know about
me
?
But he