Ender's Shadow

She was like Jesus that Helga preached about in her kitchen while they ate. She died for her people. And Achilles, he was like God. He made people pay for their sins no matter what they did.
      The important thing is, stay on the good side of God. That's what Helga teaches, isn't it? Stay right with God.
      I'll stay right with Achilles. I'll honor my papa, that's for sure, so I can stay alive until I'm old enough to go out on my own.
      As for Bean, well, he was smart, but not smart enough to stay alive, and if you're not smart enough to stay alive, then you're better off dead.
      By the time Sergeant got to his first corner to spread the word about Achilles's ban on Ulysses from any kitchen in town, he was through crying. Grief was done. This was about survival now. Even though Sergeant knew Ulysses hadn't killed anybody, he meant to, and it was still important for the family's safety that he die. Poke's death provided a good excuse to demand that the rest of the papas stand back and let Achilles deal with him. When it was all over, Achilles would be the leader among all the papas of Rotterdam. And Sergeant would stand beside him, knowing the secret of his vengeance and telling no one, because that's how Sergeant, that's how the family, that's how all the urchins of Rotterdam would survive.

4
     
    Memories
     
     
      "I was mistaken about the first one. He tests well, but his character is not well suited to Battle School.”
      "I don't see that on the tests you've shown me.”
      "He's very sharp. He gives the right answers, but they aren't true.”
      "And what test did you use to determine this?”
      "He committed murder.”
      "Well, that is a drawback. And the other one? What am I supposed to do with so young a child? A fish this small I would generally throw back into the stream.”
      "Teach him. Feed him. He'll grow.”
      "He doesn't even have a name.”
      "Yes he does.”
      "Bean? That isn't a name, it's a joke.”
      "It won't be when he's done with it.”
      "Keep him until he's five. Make of him what you can and show me your results then.”
      "I have other children to find.”
      "No, Sister Carlotta, you don't. In all your years of searching, this one is the best you've found. And there isn't time to find another. Bring this one up to snuff, and all your work will be worth it, as far as the I.F. is concerned.”
      "You frighten me, when you say there isn't time.”
      "I don't see why. Christians have been expecting the imminent end of the world for millennia.”
      "But it keeps not ending.”
      "So far, so good.”
     
     
      At first all Bean cared about was the food. There was enough of it. He ate everything they put before him. He ate until he was full -- that most miraculous of words, which till now had had no meaning for him. He ate until he was stuffed. He ate until he was sick. He ate so often that he had bowel movements every day, sometimes twice a day. He laughed about it to Sister Carlotta. "All I do is eat and poop!" he said.
      "Like any beast of the forest," said the nun. "It's time for you to begin to earn that food.”
      She was already teaching him, of course, daily lessons in reading and arithmetic, bringing him "up to level," though what level she had in mind, she never specified. She also gave him time to draw, and there were sessions where she had him sit there and try to remember every detail about his earliest memories. The clean place in particular fascinated her. But there were limits to memory. He was very small then, and had very little language. Everything was a mystery. He did remember climbing over the railing around his bed and falling to the floor. He didn't walk well at the time. Crawling was easier, but he liked walking because that's what the big people did. He clung to objects and leaned on walls and made good progress on two feet, only crawling when he had to cross an open space.
      "You must have been eight or nine months old," Sister Carlotta said. "Most people don't remember that far back.”
      "I remember that everybody was upset. That's why I climbed out of bed. All the children were in trouble.”
      "All the children?”
      "The little ones like me. And the bigger ones. Some of the grownups came in and looked at us and cried.”
      "Why?”
      "Bad things, that's all. I knew it was a bad thing coming and I knew it would happen to all of us who were in the beds. So I climbed out. I wasn't the first. I don't know what