The baby cried again.
"It's definitely Bella, she's always more insistent. Bean will change her, and then he'll bring her to me."
"I could do that and he could go back to sleep," Mother offered.
"It's some of our best time together," said Petra. "Caring for the babies."
Mother pecked her on the cheek. "I can take a hint."
"Thanks for talking to me, Mother."
"Thanks for coming home."
Mother went inside. Petra stood at the edge of the balcony. After a while, Bean came padding out in bare feet. Petra pulled her T-shirt up and Bella started slurping noisily. "Good thing your brother Ender got my milk factory started," said Petra. "Or it would have been the bottle for you."
As she stood there, nursing Bella and looking out over the nighttime city, Bean's huge hands held her shoulders and stroked her arms. So gentle. So kind.
Once as tiny as this little girl.
But always a giant, long before his body showed it.
19
ENEMIES
From "Note to Hegemon: You Can't Fight an Epidemic With a Fence"
By "Martel"
Posted on "Early Warning Network"
The presence of Julian Delphiki, the Hegemon's "enforcer," in Armenia might look like a family vacation to some, but some of us remember that Delphiki was in Rwanda before it ratified the FPE Constitution.
When you consider that Delph
iki's wife, Petra Arkanian, also one of Ender's Jeesh, is Armenian, what conclusion can be reached except that Armenia, a Christian enclave nearly surrounded by Muslim nations, is preparing to ratify?
Add to that the close ties between the Hegemon and Thailand, where Wiggin's left-hand man, General Suriyawong, is now "consulting" with General Phet Noi and Prime Minister Paribatra, newly returned from Chinese captivity, and the FPE's position in Nubia--and it looks like the Hegemon is surrounding Caliph Alai's little empire.
Many pundits are saying that the Hegemon's strategy is to "contain" Caliph Alai. But now that the Hindus have gone over to the Muslim bed--er, I meant to say, "camp"--containment is not enough.
When Caliph Alai, our modern Tamerlane, decides he wants a nice big pile of human skulls (it's so hard to get good decorators these days), he can field huge armies and concentrate them wherever he wants on his borders.
If the Hegemon sits passively waiting, trying to "contain" Alai behind a fence of alliances, then he'll find himself facing overwhelming force wherever Alai decides to strike.
Islam, the bloodthirsty "one-way religion," has a track record only slightly less devastating to the human race than the Buggers.
It's time for the Hegemon to live up to his job title and take decisive, preemptive action--preferably in Armenia, where his forces will be able to strike like a knife into the neck of Islam. And when he does, it's time for Europe, China, and America to wake up and join him. We need unity against this threat as surely as we ever needed it against an alien invasion.
From: PeterWiggin%[email protected]
To: PetraDelphiki%[email protected]
Re: Latest Martel essay
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