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His rationalthe chance that perhaps they were really quite stupid Or perhaps they had so little experience at running a society of equals that they were unable to reach a rational decision together Or, or, or, or, over and over he ran through possible explanations

Ender's study nohen he wasn't pursuing the schoolwork that so him, was to read over the reports froly commanded On every formic colony world, humans noalked And from every exploratory tea, with vast far The soldiers-turned-explorers were always alert to the possibility of ambush, but as the months passed and there were no attacks, their reports becaists that had been sent with them: Not only can we breathe the air on every formic world, we can eat most of their food

And so every for down to live ah woan to work out social patterns that wouldtoo eneration or two, if babies came in the usual proportions, half amy could be restored

But Ender took only peripheral interest in what the hu on the neorlds What he studied were the formic artifacts The patterns of formic settle grounds, full of larvae that were so hard-toothed they could gnaw through rock, creating more and more tunnels They had to farround to breed, to raise their young, and the young themselves were every bit as lethal and powerful as the adults Chewing through rock--the explorers found the larval bodies, rotting quickly but still there to be photographed, dissected, studied

"So this is how you spend your days," said Petra "Looking at pictures of for?"

Ender s "I thought you'd already gone home to Armenia"

"Not till I see how this stupid court overnh style Which means they have to decide whether they want me"

"Of course they want you"

"They don't knohat they want They're politicians Is it good for theme come home? It's so very, very hard when you have no convictions except your lust to relad we're not in politics?"

Ender sighed "E I will never hold office again Coon Arame"

"That's what I tried to assure the to endorse anybody for office I want to live with my family and see if they remember who I am And vice versa"

"They'll love you," said Ender

"And you know this because?"

"Because I love you"

She looked at him in consternation "How can I possibly answer a comment like that?"