Ender's Game (Ender's Saga, #1) - Orson Scott Card Page 0,115

his squadron leaders within the same battle, bringing in fresh and rested ones to take the place of those who were beginning to get sluggish.

“You know,” said Bean one time, as he took over command of Hot Soup’s four remaining fighters, “this game isn’t quite as fun as it used to be.”

Then one day in practice, as Ender was drilling his squadron leaders, the room went black and he woke up on the floor with his face bloody where he had hit the controls.

They put him to bed then, and for three days he was very ill. He remembered seeing faces in his dreams, but they weren’t real faces, and he knew it even while he thought he saw them. He thought he saw Valentine sometimes, and sometimes Peter; sometimes his friends from the Battle School, and sometimes the buggers vivisecting him. Once it seemed very real when he saw Colonel Graff bending over him, speaking softly to him, like a kind father. But then he woke up and found only his enemy, Mazer Rackham.

“I’m awake,” said Ender.

“So I see,” Mazer answered. “Took you long enough. You have a battle today.”

So Ender got up and fought the battle and won it. But there was no second battle that day, and they let him go to bed earlier. His hands were shaking as he undressed.

During the night he thought he felt hands touching him gently. Hands with affection in them, and gentleness. He dreamed he heard voices.

“You haven’t been kind to him.”

“That wasn’t the assignment.”

“How long can he go on? He’s breaking down.”

“Long enough. It’s nearly finished.”

“So soon?”

“A few days, and then he’s through.”

“How will he do, when he’s already like this?”

“Fine. Even today, he fought better than ever.”

In his dream, the voices sounded like Colonel Graff and Mazer Rackham. But that was the way dreams were, the craziest things could happen, because he dreamed he heard one of the voices saying, “I can’t bear to see what this is doing to him.” And the other voice answered, “I know. I love him too.” And then they changed into Valentine and Alai, and in his dream they were burying him, only a hill grew up where they laid his body down, and he dried out and became a home for buggers, like the Giant was.

All dreams. If there was love or pity for him, it was only in his dreams.

He woke up and fought another battle and won. Then he went to bed and slept again and dreamed again and then he woke up and won again and slept again and he hardly noticed when waking became sleeping. Nor did he care.

The next day was his last day in Command School, though he didn’t know it. Mazer Rackham was not in the room with him when he woke up. He showered and dressed and waited for Mazer to come unlock the door. He didn’t come. Ender tried the door. It was open.

Was it an accident that Mazer had let him be free this morning? No one with him to tell him he must eat, he must go to practice, he must sleep. Freedom. The trouble was, he didn’t know what to do. He thought for a moment that he might find his squadron leaders, talk to them face to face, but he didn’t know where they were. They could be twenty kilometers away, for all he knew. So, after wandering through the tunnels for a little while, he went to the mess hall and ate breakfast near a few marines who were telling dirty jokes that Ender could not begin to understand. Then he went to the simulator room for practice. Even though he was free, he could not think of anything else to do.

Mazer was waiting for him. Ender walked slowly into the room. His step was slightly shuffling, and he felt tired and dull.

Mazer frowned. “Are you awake, Ender?”

There were other people in the simulator room. Ender wondered why they were there, but didn’t bother to ask. It wasn’t worth asking; no one would tell him anyway. He walked to the simulator controls and sat down, ready to start.

“Ender Wiggin,” said Mazer. “Please turn around. Today’s game needs a little explanation.”

Ender turned around. He glanced at the men gathered at the back of the room. Most of them he had never seen before. Some were even dressed in civilian clothes. He saw Anderson and wondered what he was doing there, who was taking care of the Battle School if