Speaker for the Dead

the notion of adults mating with each other, and of men having an equal voice with women in the making of the laws. The idea of family and kinship separate from the tribe was "brother blindness" to her. It was all right for Human to take pride in his father's many matings, but as far as the wives were concerned, they chose fathers solely on the basis of what was good for the tribe. The tribe and the individual-- they were the only entities the wives respected.
      Finally, though, they understood that human laws must apply within the borders of human settlements, and piggy laws must apply within the piggy tribes. Where the borders should be was entirely a different matter. Now, after three hours, they had finally agreed to one thing and one thing only: Piggy law applied within the forest, and all humans who came within the forest were subject to it. Human law applied within the fence, and all piggies who came there were subject to human government. All the rest of the planet would be divided up later. It was a very small triumph, but at least there was some agreement.
      "You must understand," Ender told her, "that humans will need a lot of open land. But we're only the beginning of the problem. You want the hive queen to teach you, to help you mine ore and smelt metals and make tools. But she'll also need land. And in a very short time she'll be far stronger than either humans or Little Ones." Every one of her buggers, he explained, was perfectly obedient and infinitely hardworking. They would quickly outstrip the humans in their productivity and power. Once she was restored to life on Lusitania, she would have to be reckoned with at every turn.
      "Rooter says she can be trusted," said Human. And, translating for Shouter, he said, "The mothertree also gives the hive queen her trust."
      "Do you give her your land ?" Ender insisted.
      "The world is big," Human translated for Shouter. "She can use all the forests of the other tribes. So can you. We give them to you freely."
      Ender looked at Ouanda and Ela. "That's all very good," said Ela, "but are those forests theirs to give?"
      "Definitely not," said Ouanda. "They even have wars with the other tribes."
      "We'll kill them for you if they give you trouble," offered Human. "We're very strong now. Three hundred twenty babies. In ten years no tribe can stand against us."
      "Human," said Ender, "tell Shouter that we are dealing with this tribe now. We'll deal with other tribes later."
      Human translated quickly, his words tumbling over each other, and quickly had Shouter's response. "No no no no no."
      "What is she objecting to?" asked Ender.
      "You won't deal with our enemies. You came to us . If you go to them, then you are the enemy, too."
      It was at that moment that the lights appeared in the forest behind them, and Arrow and Leaf-eater led Novinha, Quim, and Olhado into the wives' clearing.
      "Miro sent us," Olhado explained.
      "How is he?" asked Ouanda.
      "Paralyzed," said Quim bluntly. It saved Novinha the effort of explaining it gently.
      "Nossa Senhora," whispered Ouanda.
      "But much of it is temporary," said Novinha. "Before I left, I squeezed his hand. He felt it, and squeezed me back. Just a little, but the nerve connections aren't dead, not all of them, anyway."
      "Excuse me," said Ender, "but that's a conversation you can carry on back in Milagre. I have another matter to attend to here. "
      "Sorry," Novinha said. "Miro's message. He couldn't speak, but he gave it to us letter by letter, and we figured out what went in the cracks. The piggies are planning war. Using the advantages they've gained from us. Arrows, their greater numbers-- they'd be irresistible. As I understand it, though, Miro says that their warfare isn't just a matter of conquest of territory. It's an opportunity for genetic mixing. Male exogamy. The winning tribe gets the use of the trees that grow from the bodies of the war dead."
      Ender looked at Human, Leaf-eater, Arrow. "It's true," said Arrow. "Of course it's true. We are the wisest of tribes now. All of us will make better fathers than any of the other piggies. "
      "I see," said Ender.
      "That's why Miro wanted us to come to you now, tonight," said Novinha. "While the negotiations still aren't final. That has to end."
      Human stood up, bounced up and down as if he were about to take off and fly. "I won't translate that," said Human.
      " I will," said Leaf-eater.
      "Stop!" shouted