Enders In Exile

her in
wide-eyed innocence. "As Admiral Morgan pointed out to me during our
conversation, none of the colonists will be likely to follow the
leadership of a teenage boy. They'll need to be assured that Admiral
Morgan's authority is behind whatever I do, officially, as governor. So
I think that makes it all the more important that they see the admiral
and get to know him, so they'll trust him to provide strong leadership."
    Ender was afraid
Valentine was going to lose control right there and either laugh or
scream at him. But she did neither. "I see," she said.
    "That's actually a good
idea," said Admiral Morgan. "Shall we go start it up?"
    "Oh, no," said
Valentine. "Everybody's too upset. Nobody will be at their best. Why
not let us go smooth things over, explain that it was all a mistake
and completely
my
fault. And then we can announce
that you're going to attend, that you're glad the reading can go on
after all, and we get a chance to perform for you. Everyone will be
excited and happy. And if you can let off-duty crew come too, so much
the better."
    "I don't want anything
that lessens ship's discipline," said Morgan.
    Valentine's answer was
immediate. "If you're right there with them, laughing at the play and
enjoying it, then I can't see that it will cause any weakening of the
crew. It might even help morale. We actually do a pretty good job with
the play."
    "It would mean a lot to
all of us," said Ender.
    "Of course," said
Morgan. "You do that, and I'll be there tomorrow at 1900. That was the
starting time today, wasn't it?"
    Ender and Valentine
made their good-byes. The officers they passed looked amazed and
relieved to see them smiling and chatting comfortably as they left.
    Not till they were back
in the stateroom did they let down the façade, and then only
long enough for Valentine to say, "He's planning for you to be a
figurehead while he rules behind the throne?"
    "There's no throne,"
said Ender. "It solves a lot of problems for me, don't you think? It
was going to be tough for a fifteen-year-old kid to lead a bunch of
colonists who've already been living and farming on Shakespeare for
forty years by the time I get there. But a man like Admiral Morgan is
used to giving orders and being obeyed. They'll fall right in line
under his authority."
    Valentine stared at him
like he was insane. Then Ender gave that little twitch of his lower lip
that had always been the giveaway that he was being ironic. He hoped
she would leap to the correct conclusion—that Admiral Morgan
certainly had the means of listening in on all their conversations and
was bound to be using it right now, so nothing they said could be
regarded as private.
    "All right," said
Valentine. "If you're happy with it, I'm happy with it." Whereupon she
did that momentary bug-eyed thing
she
did to let
him know she was lying.
    "I'm done with
responsibility, Val," said Ender. "I had quite enough in Battle School
and on Eros. I intend to spend the voyage making friends and reading
everything I can get my hands on."
    "And at the end, you
can write an essay called 'How I Spent My Summer Vacation.' "
    "It's always summer
when your heart is full of joy," said Ender.
    "You are so full of
crap," said Valentine.

CHAPTER
10

    To: [email protected]/hegemon
From: vwiggin%[email protected]/citizen
Subj: you arrogant bastard
    Do you have any idea
how much trouble you caused, sending that package with such high
priority that it shut down all other ansible communications with our
ship? Certain persons thought it was some kind of attack on the ansible
link and Ender was almost put into stasis for the
duration—and that would have meant there AND back again.
    Once we sorted it all
out, though, the package itself was very informative. Apparently you
were cursed by some pseudo-Confucian to live in interesting times.
Please send follow-ups. But make them low enough priority, please, that
regular ship's communications can continue. And don't let Graff address
it to Ender. It comes to me as a colonist, not to the
governor-designate.
    Seems to me that you're
doing all right. Though that all might have changed between your
sending and my reply. Ain't space travel grand?
    Has Ender written to
the parents yet? I can't ask him (well, I HAVE asked him, but I can't
get answers) and I can't ask THEM or they'll know I've been trying to
get him to write, which would hurt them all the more if he hasn't
written and discount the emotional value of his letters if he