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"But I'll still be too young for security clearance"

"We'll keep you under aruard at all tis"

They both laughed, and Ender had to re like a friend, that everything he did was a lie or a cheat calculated to turn Ender into an efficient fighting machine I'll become exactly the tool you want me to be, said Ender silently, but at least I won't befooled into it I'll do it because I choose to, not because you tricked me, you sly bastard

The tug reached Eros before they could see it The captain showed them the visual scan, then superimposed the heat scan on the same screen They were practically on top of it--only four thousand kilo, was invisible if it didn't shine with reflected sunlight

The captain docked the ship on one of the three landing platforms that circled Eros It could not land directly because Eros had enhanced gravity, and the tug, designed for towing cargoes, could never escape the gravity well He bade theood-bye, but Ender and Graff re to leave his tug; Ender and Graff felt like prisoners finally paroled from jail When they boarded the shuttle that would take them to the surface of Eros, they repeated perverse misquotations of lines frohed like o to sleep Then, alht, Ender asked Graff one last question

"Why are we fighting the buggers?"

"I've heard all kinds of reas

ons," said Graff "Because they have an over-crowded systeot to colonize Because they can't stand the thought of other intelligent life in the universe Because they don't think we are intelligent life Because they have soion Because they watched our old video broadcasts and decided ere hopelessly violent All kinds of reasons"

"What do you believe?"

"It doesn't matter what I believe"

"I want to knoay"

"They must talk to each other directly, Ender, mind to mind What one thinks, another can also think; what one remembers, another can also ree? Why would they ever learn to read and write? Hoould they knohat reading and writing were if they saw the that we use to co froe at all We used every means we could think of to communicate with thenaling Andto think to us, and they can't understand e don't respond"

"So the whole war is because we can't talk to each other"

"If the other fellow can't tell you his story, you can never be sure he isn't trying to kill you"

"What if we just left them alone?"