Enders In Exile

to
defend my essay, or how it's being used by others.
    You once used the
sister of Andrew Wiggin to persuade him to go back into space and win
that little war you were fighting. She did her job, didn't she? Such a
good girl, fulfills all her assignments.
    Well I have an
assignment for her. You once sent her brother to her, for comfort and
company. He'll need her again, more than ever, only he can't come to
her. No house by the lake this time. But there's no reason she can't go
out into space to be with him. Enlist her in the I.F., pay her as a
consultant, whatever it takes. But she and her brother need each other.
More than either of them needs Life On Earth.
    Don't second-guess her
on this. Remember that she's smarter than you are, and she loves her
younger brother more than you do, and besides, you're a decent man.
You know this is right and good. You always try to bring about what's
right and good, don't you?
    Do us both a favor.
Take this letter and shred it and stick it where the sun don't shine.
    Your devoted and humble
servant—everybody's devoted and humble servant—the
humble and devoted servant of truth and noble
jingoism—Demosthenes.
    How does a
thirteen-year-old admiral spend his days?
    Not commanding a
ship—that was made plain to Ender from the day he received
his commission. "You have a rank commensurate with your achievements,"
said Admiral Chamrajnagar, "but you will have duties commensurate with
your training."
    What was his training?
To play at virtual war on the simulator. Now there was no one left to
fight, so he was trained for . . . nothing.
    Oh, one other thing: to
lead children into combat, to squeeze the last ounce of effort and
concentration and talent and intelligence from them. But the children
had no purpose here, and one by one, they were going home.
    They each came to Ender
to say good-bye. "You'll be home soon," said Hot Soup. "They've got to
prepare a hero's welcome." He was heading to Tactical School, to
complete the bits of work remaining before he could earn his high
school diploma. "So I can get into college right away."
    "Fifteen-year-olds
always do great in college," said Ender.
    "I have to concentrate
on my studies," said Han Tzu. "Finish college, find out what I'm
supposed to do with my life, and then find someone to marry and start a
family."
    "Get on with the cycle
of life?" said Ender.
    "A man without a wife
and babies is a menace to civilization," said Han Tzu. "One bachelor is
an irritation. Ten thousand bachelors are a war."
    "I love it when you
recite Chinese wisdom."
    "I'm Chinese, so I get
to make it up." Han Tzu grinned at him. "Ender, come see me. China's a
beautiful country. More variety inside China than in the rest of the
world."
    "I will if I can," said
Ender. He didn't have the heart to point out that China was full of
human beings, and that the mix of good and bad, strong and
weak, courageous and fearful was bound to be about the same as in any
other country or culture or civilization . . . or village, or house, or
heart.
    "Oh, you'll be able
to!" said Han Tzu. "You led the human race to victory, and everyone
knows it. You can do whatever you want!"
    Except go home, said
Ender silently. Out loud, he answered, "You don't know my parents."
    He had meant it to be
in the same jocular tone that Han Tzu was using, but nothing came out
right these days. Maybe there was a moroseness in him that colored all
his speech without his knowing it. Or maybe it was Han Tzu who couldn't
hear a joke coming from Ender's mouth; maybe he and the other kids all
had too many memories of how it was near the end, when they worried
that Ender might be losing his mind.
    But Ender knew that he
wasn't losing it. He was finding it. The deep mind, the utter soul, the
heartlessly compassionate man—able to love others so deeply
he can understand them, yet remain so detached that he can use that
knowledge to destroy them.
    "Parents," said Han Tzu
joylessly. "Mine's in prison, you know. Or maybe he's out now. He set
me up to cheat on my test, to make sure I got in here."
    "You didn't need to
cheat," said Ender. "You're the real thing."
    "But my father needed
to bestow it on me. It was no good if I earned it myself. It's how he
made himself feel necessary. I understand that now. My plan is to be a
better father than him. I am the Good Man-Parent!"
    Ender laughed and then
embraced him and they said good-bye. But the conversation stuck with
him. He realized that Han Tzu would take his