The Last Shadow (Ender's Saga, #6)

by Orson Scott Card

When you select, from the entire human population, the children who are best according to any measure of intelligence that includes verbal ability, logic, and spatial relationships, and who test well in empathy, mind-reading, and adaptive social skills, you will discover that they do very well in verbal ability, logic, spatial relationships, empathy, mind-reading, and adaptive social skills throughout their lives. It is not a mark of bad science, but of good science, when a conclusion is not rejected merely because it is obvious. —Carlotta Delphiki, Herodotus Papers

“So why am I called Blue?” asked Blue. “I’ve told you that story before.” “I forget,” said Blue. “You don’t forget anything,” said Sprout. “None of us do.” “I forget whenever I want Mother to tell me again,” said Blue.

“The laziest way to make a stupid decision,” said Sprout, “is to declare that a task cannot possibly be done.”

“The most time-consuming way to make a stupid decision,” said Little Mum, “is to resolve to solve an insoluble problem no matter how long it takes.”

“Your wish to call yourselves nonhuman is an outgrowth from Julian Delphiki’s shame and pride at being genetically altered from the human genome,” said Miro. “Ender Wiggin—the original Ender—told us many stories about him—using the name Bean, of course. They won’t be the same stories that your leguminid lore includes, of course. But it gives us a solid perspective. It is ridiculously obvious, given the history of your parents and the Giant and yourselves on the Herodotus that rearing children in that confined space, without the benefit of the presence of your other parent, has worked out, on average, rather badly.”

“How dare you judge us?” asked Uncle Ender. “You’ve already judged the rest of the human race,” said Miro. “I, representing that large constituency, merely return the favor—and with much better information.” “I liked you better when you didn’t talk,” said Sprout. “Now you know why I try to avoid doing it,” said Miro.

They actually had to manufacture the toilet paper here, and Sprout said that he figured it was most of the paper they produced. “They’ve got nothing more important to put on paper,” he said, and got a laugh from the others.

Quara: How do you hope it will turn out? Ela: I would love to have you back in the circle of my love, and to find that I am in the circle of yours. Quara: Don’t you already know how much I love you? Ela: Sometimes I hope, and sometimes I fear, that I do already know.

“I came to tell you stories,” Ruqyaq finally said. “But you have told me of a wonder that I cannot help but believe, because of the small size of the young boy who told it to me.” “I thought you might be more willing to tell me how you became as you are, if I first told you how I became as I am,” said Sprout. “Not only truth,” said Royal Son, “but fairness.” “Do you believe in fairness?” asked Ruqyaq. “I believe that fairness is always worth striving for,” said Sprout, “even though it can’t always be achieved.” “And why can’t it always be achieved?” asked Ruqyaq. “Because sometimes there is no fair course of action,” said Sprout, “and sometimes because no one can think of a fair course. But most often because one side or the other, or both, have no desire for fairness. They seek only their own advantage, no matter what it costs the other, and so fairness remains out of reach for them, because they are not reaching for it.”

What she absolutely would not do was transport Mother Airi to Lusitania against her will. Not just because Jane would never tolerate such a thing, and would surely send Mother back at once, but also because love does not compel. That was the lesson that growing up with Sergeant as her father had taught her: Love does not compel.