Shadow of the giant

unison.
"Muhammed is his prophet! And Alai is Caliph!"
    Again Alai raised his hands, and waited until he had relative
silence and the rush toward the steps had ceased. Now there were soldiers all
around him.
    "The crimes of Andariyy Rajam have made a stink
throughout the world! The soldiers of Islam came to India as liberators! In the
name of God they came, as friends to our brothers and sisters in India! But
Andariyy Rajam betrayed God and his Caliph by encouraging some of our people to
commit terrible crimes!
    "God has already declared the penalty for such crimes!
Now I have come to cleanse Islam of such evil. Never again will any man or
woman or child have reason to fear the army of God! I command all the soldiers
of God to arrest any man who committed atrocities against the people we came to
liberate! I command the nations of the world to give no shelter to these criminals.
I command my soldiers to arrest any man who ordered such atrocities, and any
man who knew of the atrocities but did nothing to punish the offenders. Arrest
them and bear witness against them, and in the name of God I will judge them.
    "If they refuse to submit themselves to my authority,
then they are in rebellion against God. Bring them to me for judgment; if they
do not resist you, and they are innocent, they have nothing to fear. In every
city and fortress, in every camp and airfield, let my soldiers arrest the
offenders and bring them to the officers who are loyal to God and the
Caliph!"
    Alai held his pose for a long ten seconds while the soldiers
cheered. Then he saw the camera lowered, as some soldiers already dragged
various men toward him and others ran for nearby buildings, in search of
others.
    It was a very rough kind of justice that was going to go on
now, as the Muslim army tore itself apart. And it would be interesting to see
where such men as Ghaffar Wahabi, the prime minister of Pakistan, aligned
themselves. It would be a shame to have to use this army to subdue a Muslim
government.
    But Alai had to act quickly, even if it was messy. He could
not afford to let any of the offenders get away to plot against him.
    And as he watched the accused men being lined up in front of
him, under the direction of Ivan and his men, who seemed unlikely to be killed
today after all, Alai spoke inside his mind: There, Hot Soup! See how Alai
adapted your trick to his purposes.
    We still learn from each other, we soldiers of Ender's
Jeesh.
    As for you, Peter, keep your little vid. It will never be
needed. For all men are only tools in the hand of God, and I, not you, am the
tool God has chosen to unite the world.
     
     
     
    13
     
    FOUND
     
     
    From: Graff%[email protected]
    To:[email protected]
    Re: Can you travel?
     
    Since your husband is busy in Rwanda right now, I wonder if
you are able to travel? We expect no physical danger apart from the normal
rigors of air travel. But with little Ender still so young, you will probably
want to leave him behind. Or not—if you wish to bring him, we will do our best
to accommodate you.
     
    We have confirmed the identity of one of your children. A
daughter. Naturally, we are finding the children who share Bean's genetic
condition first. We have already accessed blood samples from the child, taken
at the hospital because the birth was premature. The genetic match is absolute:
She is yours. In all likelihood this will be difficult for the erstwhile
parents, especially for the mother, who, like the victim of the proverbial
cuckoo, has just borne another female's child. I will understand completely if
you prefer not to be present. Your presence, however, might also help them
believe in the reality of the true mother of "their" child. Your
call.
     
     
    Petra was furious with Peter—and with Graff. These plotters,
so sure they know what's best for everyone. If they were holding off on the
announcement of ratification while the turmoil—no, the bloodbath—in the Muslim
world continued, then why couldn't Bean come with her to pick up the first of
their missing children to be found?
    No, that was impossible, he needed to cement the allegiance
of the Rwandan military, and so on and so on, as if it really mattered. And
most maddening of all, why did Bean go along with it? Since when had Bean
become obedient? "I have to stay," he said, over and over, without
any further explanation, despite her demand for some kind of justification.
    Was Bean a plotter too? But not against her, surely.