just the kind of people he criticized in his paper. So ..."
"So he had the wrong reason, but the right result."
"Absolutely. It gives us little pricks like Bonzo Madrid. You've known officers like him, haven't you? So why should we be surprised that our tests give him command of an army even though he has no idea what to do with it. All the vanity and all the stupidity of Custer or Hooker or - hell, pick your own vain incompetent, it's the most common kind of general officer."
"May I quote you?"
"I'll deny it. The thing is, Bean has been studying the dossiers of all the other students. We think he's evaluating them for loyalty to their native identity group, and also for their excellence as commanders."
"By his standards of excellence."
"We need to get Ender the command of an army. We're under a lot of pressure to get our leading candidates into Command School. But if we bust one of the current commanders in order to make a place for Ender, it'll cause too much resentment."
"So you have to give him a new army."
"Dragon."
"There are still kids here who remember the last Dragon Army."
"Right. I like that. The jinx."
"I see. You want to give Ender a running start."
"It gets worse."
"I thought it would."
"We also aren't going to give him any soldiers that aren't already on their commanders' transfer list."
"The dregs? What are you doing to this kid?"
"If we choose them, by our ordinary standards, then yes, the dregs. But we aren't going to choose Ender's army."
"Bean?"
"Our tests are worthless on this, right? Some of those dregs are the very best students, according to Bean, right? And he's been studying the launchies. So give him an assignment. Tell him to solve a hypothetical problem. Construct an army only out of launchies. Maybe the soldiers on the transfer lists, too."
"I don't think there's any way to do that without telling him that we're on to his fake teacher log-in."
"So tell him."
"Then he won't believe anything he found while searching."
"He didn't find anything," said Graff. "We didn't have to plant anything fake for him to find, because he had his false theory. See? So whether he thinks we planted stuff or not, he'll stay deceived and we're still secure."
"You seem to be counting on your understanding of his psychology."
"Sister Carlotta assures me that he differs from ordinary human DNA in only one small area."
"So now he's human again?"
"I've got to make decisions based on something, Dimak!"
"So the jury's still out on the human thing?"
"Get me a roster of the hypothetical army Bean would pick, so we can give it to Ender."
"He'll put himself in it, you know."
"He damn well better, or he's not as smart as we've been thinking."
"What about Ender? Is he ready?"
"Anderson thinks he is." Graff sighed. "To Bean, it's still just a game, because none of the weight has fallen on him yet. But Ender ... I think he knows, deep down, where this is going to lead. I think he feels it already."
"Sir, just because you're feeling the weight doesn't mean he is."
Graff laughed. "You cut straight to the heart of things, don't you!"
"Bean's hungry for it, sir. If Ender isn't, then why not put the burden where it's wanted?"
"If Bean's hungry for it, it proves he's still too young. Besides, the hungry ones always have something to prove. Look at Napoleon. Look at Hitler. Bold at first, yes, but then still bold later on, when they need to cautious, to pull back. Patton. Caesar. Alexander. Always overreaching, never quite putting the finish on it. No, it's Ender, not Bean. Ender doesn't want to do it, so he won't have anything to prove."
"Are you sure you're not just picking the kind of commander you'd want to serve under?"
"That's precisely what I'm doing," said Graff. "Can you think of a better standard?"
"The thing is, you can't pass the buck on this one, can you? Can't say how it was the tests, you just followed the tests. The scores. Whatever."
"Can't run this like a machine."
"That's why you don't want Bean, isn't it? Because he was made, like a machine."
"I don't analyze myself. I analyze them."
"So if we win, who really won the war? The commander you picked? Or you, for picking him?"
"The Triumvirate, for trusting me. After their fashion. But if we lose ..."
"Well then it's definitely you."
"We're all dead then. What will they do? Kill me first? Or leave me till last so I can contemplate the consequences