Enders In Exile

problem,
certainly," said Ender. "But why would you think I have anything to do
with it?"
    "Because it's got your
name all over it," said Morgan. "The message is addressed to you. And
it's still coming in, coopting our entire ansible bandwidth."
    "Doesn't it occur to
you," said Ender gently, "that the message is
to
me, not
from
me?"
    "
From
Wiggin,
to
Wiggin, eyes only, so deeply encrypted
that none of the shipboard computers can crack it."
    "You tried to crack a
secure communication addressed to a ranking officer, without first
asking the permission of that officer?"
    "It's a subversive
communication, boy, that's why I tried to crack it!"
    "You know it's
subversive because you can't crack it, and you tried to crack it
because you know it's subversive," said Ender. He kept his voice soft
and cheerful. Not because he knew that it would drive Morgan crazy that
Ender remained unflappable—that was just a bonus. He simply
assumed that the entire exchange was being recorded to be used as
evidence later, and Ender was not going to say a word or reveal an
emotion that would not redound to his credit in some later court
proceeding. So Morgan could be as abusive as he pleased—Ender
was not going to make a single statement that could be excerpted and
used to make him look subversive or angry.
    "I don't have to
justify my actions to you," said Morgan. "I brought you here and
canceled your supposed play reading so that you could open the
transmission in front of me."
    "Eyes only, secure
communication—I'm not sure it's proper for you to insist on
watching."
    "Either you open it
right now, in front of me, or you go into stasis and you never get off
this ship until it returns to Eros for your court martial."
    Someone's court
martial, thought Ender, but probably not mine.
    "Let me have a look at
it," said Ender. "Though I can't promise to open it, since I have no
idea what it is or who it's from."
    "It's from
you,
"
said Morgan acidly. "You arranged this before you left."
    "I did not do so,
Admiral Morgan," said Ender. "I assume you have a secure access point
here in your office?"
    "Come around here and
open it now," said Morgan.
    "I suggest you rotate
the terminal, Admiral Morgan," said Ender.
    "I said come sit here!"
    "Respectfully, Admiral
Morgan, there will be no vid of me sitting at your desk."
    Morgan stared at him,
his face growing redder again. Then he reached down and rotated the
holodisplay on his desk so it faced Ender.
    Ender leaned forward
and poked a couple of menu choices in the holodisplay as Admiral Morgan
came around behind him to watch. "Move slowly so I can see what you're
doing."
    "I'm doing nothing,"
said Ender.
    "Then you're going into
stasis, boy. You were never fit to be governor of anything. Just a
child who's been praised way too much and completely spoiled. Nobody on
that colony is going to pay any attention to you! The only way you
could ever survive as governor would be if I backed you
up—and after this, you can be sure I'll do no such thing.
You're finished in this game of let's pretend."
    "As you wish, Admiral,"
said Ender. "But I'm doing nothing with this message because there's
nothing I
can
do. It isn't addressed to me and I
have no way of opening a secure comm that isn't mine."
    "Do you think I'm a
fool? Your name is all over it!"
    "On the outside," said
Ender, "it specifies Admiral Wiggin, which is me, because it was sent
from IFCom through a secure military channel and the intended recipient
has no standing in the fleet. But as soon as you open it—and
this is a level of opening that your techs did immediately, I'm
sure—you'll see that the Wiggin to whom the secure portion of
the message is addressed is not A. Wiggin or E. Wiggin, which would be
me, but V. Wiggin, which is my sister, Valentine."
    "Your
sister
?"
    "Didn't your techs tell
you that? And while the actual authority for the message is the
Minister of Colonization himself, again, the real sender is P. Wiggin,
and his title is given as Hegemon. I find that interesting. The only P.
Wiggin I'm personally acquainted with is my older brother, Peter, and
this would seem to imply that my brother is now Hegemon. Did you know
that? I certainly didn't. He wasn't when I left."
    A long silence came
from Admiral Morgan behind him. Ender finally turned and looked at
him—again, doing his best to keep any hint of triumph from
showing in his face. "I think my brother, the Hegemon, is writing a
private communication to my sister, with whom