Shadow of the giant

brilliance as a commander, as a leader who could inspire
incredible acts of bravery from her soldiers, as a teacher who could train
peasants to be brutally efficient soldiers.
    Somewhere between Satyagraha and slaughter, there had to be
a place where Virlomi—the girl from Battle School—actually lived.
    Or perhaps not. Perhaps the cruel contradictions of her own
actions had led her to put the responsibility elsewhere. She served the gods.
She was a god herself. Therefore it was not wrong for her to live by Satyagraha
one day, and wipe out an entire convoy in a landslide the next.
    The irony was that the longer he lived with her, the more
Alai loved her. She was a sweet and generous lover, and she talked with him
openly, girlishly, as if they were friends in school. As if they were still
children.
    Which we are, aren't we?
    No. Alai was a man now, despite being in his teens. And
Virlomi was older than he was, not a child at all.
    But they had had no childhood. Alone together, their
marriage was more like playing at being husband and wife than anything else. It
was still fun.
    And when they came to a meeting like this, Virlomi could
switch off that playfulness, set aside the natural girl and become the
irritating Hindu goddess that continued to drive a wedge between Caliph Alai
and his most trusted servants.
    Naturally, the counsel was worried about Peter Wiggin and
Bean and Petra and Suriyawong. That Martel essay was taken very seriously.
    So naturally, in order to be irritating, Virlomi dismissed
it. "Martel can write what he wants, it means nothing."
    Careful not to contradict her, Hadrubet
Sasar—"Thorn"—pointed out the obvious. "The Delphikis really are
in Armenia and have been for a week."
    "They have family there," said Virlomi.
    "And they're on vacation taking the babies to visit
grandfather and grandmother," said Alamandar. As usual, his irony was so
dry you could easily miss the fact that he was utterly scornful of the idea.
    "Of course not," said Virlomi—and her scorn was
not subtle. "Wiggin wants us to think they're planning something. We
withdraw Turkish troops from Xinjiang to invade Armenia. Then Han Tzu strikes
in Xinjiang."
    "Perhaps al-Caliph has some intelligence indicating
that the Emperor of China is in alliance with the Hegemon," said Thorn.
    "Peter Wiggin," said Virlomi, "knows how to
use people who don't know they're being used."
    Alai listened to her and thought: That principle might as
easily apply to the Armenians as to Han Tzu. Perhaps they're being used by
Peter Wiggin without their consent. A simple matter to send Bean and Petra to
visit the Arkanians, and then plant a false story that this means the Armenians
are about to join the FPE.
    Alai raised a hand. "Najjas. Would you compare the
language in the Martel essays with the writings of Peter Wiggin, including the
Locke essays, and tell me if they might be written by the same hand?"
    A murmur of approval around the table.
    "We will not take action against Armenia," said
Caliph Alai, "based on unsubstantiated rumors from the nets. Nor based on
our longstanding suspicion of the Armenians."
    Alai watched their reaction. Some nodded approvingly, but
most hid their reactions. And Musafi, the youngest of his wazirs, showed his
skepticism.
    "Musafi, speak to us," said Alai.
    "It makes little difference to the people," said
Musafi, "whether we can prove that the Armenians are plotting against us
or not. This isn't a court of law. They are being told by many that instead of
gaining India peacefully by marriage, we lost it the same way."
    Alai did not look at Virlomi; nor did he sense any
stiffening or change in her attitude.
    "We did nothing when the Hegemon humiliated the
Sudanese and stole Muslim land in Nubia." Musafi raised his hand to the
inevitable objection. "The people believe the land was stolen."
    "So you fear that they will think the Caliph is
ineffective."
    "They expected you to spread Islam throughout the
world. Instead, you seem to be losing ground. The very fact that Armenia cannot
be the source of a serious invasion also means that it's a safe place to take
some limited action that will assure the people that the Caliphate is still
watching over Islam."
    "And how many men should die for this?" said Alai.
    "For the continued unity of the Muslim people?"
asked Musafi. "As many as love God."
    "There's wisdom in this," said Alai. "But the
Muslim people are not the only people in the world. Outside of Islam, Armenia
is perceived