The Authorized Ender Companion (51 page)

Valentine confronted Grego, condemning him for his inflamatory remarks that led to a vengeful attack on the piggies’ land. Grego initially refused to accept responsibility for the riot and subsequent murders, but Valentine’s words convinced him to.

She was present in Ender and Ela’s laboratory when they asked the piggie named Planter to confirm their hypothesis that the Descolada virus was created to use the piggies and all other life on Lusitania to maintain environmental stasis. Planter said he’d come to the same conclusion, and after speaking with Valentine about free will and genetic influence, decided to be the test subject for the hypothesis.

In an effort to help Grego figure out faster-than-light travel from his jail cell (a consequence for the riot and sharing secrets with the pequeninos), Valentine approached another of Ender’s stepsons, Olhado. She hoped Olhado would be able to give Grego a different perspective on the travel methods. He, as a brick maker, wasn’t confident he could help with such a scientific matter. But Valentine had faith in him.

While they talked, Olhado spoke tenderly of his relationship with Ender. Valentine saw that Olhado and Ender shared a true parent-child relationship, and it moved her to tears.

She joined Olhado at the jail when he met with Grego. They had indeed developed a theory for faster-than-light travel. Valentine was intrigued by their ideas, but didn’t concern herself too much with them since she was a historian and not a scientist.

As the time grew close for Ender, Miro, Ela, and Jane to test Grego and Olhado’s theories, Valentine spent time with Jakt and her family. She knew that she was not an integral part of the Lusitanian society and would really only contribute to the colony when she wrote its history. She was an integral part of her family, though, and decided to spend time with them so they knew that.

During his trip to the other dimension through which faster-than-light travel was possible and thoughts and wishes made real, Ender unintentionally thought of a young version of Valentine. This new person was created from Ender’s thoughts and returned to Lusitania with him.

Valentine was wary of her younger self. Though touched that Ender had created so innocent a version of herself, Valentine struggled with being around Valentine II. Valentine found excuses to avoid this younger version, nicknamed Val. Seeing the discomfort the two Valentines felt, Plikt took responsibility for Val.

When Miro was baptized in the new body he’d also created for himself in Outspace, Valentine was a witness. She was not actively Catholic, but participated when the town gathered for penance after the murderous riots of weeks earlier.

She beseeched Miro to find Ender, who had joined his wife Novinha’s religious order so that he could be with her, and convince him to return to help protect Lusitania.

Despite public opinion that she was uncomfortable around her youthful doppelgänger, Valentine spent some time with her. She learned that Valentine II was essentially dying. She’d depended on Ender for sustenance of life, but so did Peter II, Jane, and Ender himself. There was not enough of Ender to go around. Valentine was concerned about Val’s life, and expressed such to Ender.

She played a bit of matchmaker with Miro II and Valentine II. Miro was hesitant to pursue a relationship with the younger Valentine, but the older Valentine encouraged him to.

A few days later, Ender lay dying in the abbey to which he’d retreated to join his beloved Novinha. Valentine went to him there and told Novinha to let him go, to give him permission to die. The request led to an angry confrontation between the two women, and also with Plikt, who had been at Ender’s side all the while.

Each woman claimed to love Ender the most, and each had a valid reason. Valentine’s words to Novinha stung because of their truth, and she slapped Plikt, telling her that she would never have the honor of Speaking Ender’s death.

Once Ender spoke again, the three women set their differences aside, setting a goal only to support Ender as he faced his final hours. The thought of losing her brother hurt Valentine, but she knew that she had her children and husband to go home to, and that eased the burden somewhat.

She helped Novinha and Plikt comfort Ender as his body struggled with an invasion from Jane’s soul, or Auía. Jane had been disconnected from her computer home, and her consciousness tried to find a new body wherein to live. She tried Ender’s, but it was already full with his own essence. Jane left, and Ender regained consciousness for the last time.

Valentine watched as Novinha set Ender free of his obligations to her. As Ender passed into death, his body dissolved into nothing but a few hairs from his head. Valentine, Novinha, and Plikt each took a handful of the hairs to remember Ender by. He was gone.

For Valentine it had been three millennia of a relationship. She had explored
the universe with her brother and loved him deeply. But she was also a compassionate observer of humanity and saw that throughout his life he tried to repent his act of xenocide. Though she missed him terribly, she knew that Ender was finally free of the burdens that haunted him for over three thousand years.

As the Lusitania fleet came ever nearer, Jane insisted that Valentine, Jakt, and their children leave Lusitania. Jane transported them instantly to an undisclosed location. When the planet was not destroyed, they returned to Lusitania.

Valentine attended Ender’s funeral. She appreciated Plikt’s Speaking for Ender’s death, but found more comfort in the memories she had that no one else did. They’d been together for over three millennia, and Valentine cherished those thoughts of her younger, now deceased, brother.

Following the funeral, she joined Miro II and Jane and Wang-mu and Peter II as the two couples were married. She saw them disappear after congratulating them. She returned to Jakt and happily settled into life with the man she loved more than any other.

She would write one more book under the name Demosthenes. It would be the history of Lusitania. In it, she would write Ender’s story, but only because he’d been so important in the story of that world.

She missed her brother, but looked optimistically toward her final years of life, to be spent with Jakt.

Wiggin, Valentine Sophia II (XN, CM)

Valentine Wiggin II was created in Outspace. There, the home of the life-creating philotes, thoughts and ideas can be made real as philotes combine to create them. Ender unintentionally thought of a younger version of his beloved sister, and this new person appeared instantly.

Nicknamed “Val” to avoid confusion with the older Valentine on Lusitania, Valentine II was about fourteen years old in appearance, but had Ender’s wisdom. She was a kind, innocent person, as that was how Ender best remembered his sister.

The Catholic leadership on Lusitania did not believe Valentine II had a soul, and she was forbidden from taking communion or performing acts of penance. Her life was further complicated by her predeces sor’s discomfort around her. The older Valentine wanted to build a relationship with this genetically identical younger version of herself, but was unable to do so; she was simply too uncomfortable. Plikt, seeing the distance between the two Valentines, stepped in and took Valentine II as her quasidaughter.

Because she had been created from Ender’s soul, Valentine II had a philotic connection to the sentient computer program, Jane. This allowed her to travel throughout the galaxy via Outspace. With Miro II, who had also been created in Outspace, Valentine II undertook a space journey to search for a planet that would be suitable for Lusitania’s native life, the pequeninos, to inhabit.

She and Miro found several potential planets for the creatures. But upon their return to Lusitania, Valentine II felt she was slowly dying—disappearing. Her essence had been created from Ender’s mind and depended on it to live. So, too, did Jane and Peter II as well as Ender himself. He could not sustain the life essence for so many living creatures, and Valentine II got the short end of the stick.

While Ender was distancing himself from Valentine II, Valentine was drawing closer to her younger self. The two slowly developed a bond, with the senior Valentine playing a bit of matchmaker for the young Valentine and Miro II.

Miro II had feelings for Valentine II, but loved Jane. Ender, sarcastically trying to rid himself of the burden of Valentine II, said that perhaps Jane could take over Val’s body. Miro and Jane immediately began studying the possibility.

Miro II and Val went to the Hive Queen to ask if she could, or would, help Jane and Val unite into one persona. Valentine II said that she didn’t want to be merged with Jane, because she was scared of either losing her own memories and identity entirely or having too much information in her brain—both her memories and all of Jane’s knowledge—at once. Miro II saw through the fears and knew that, deep down, Val recognized that she wanted to merge with Jane because it was the only possible way for either of them to survive.

When she first met the Hive Queen, Val reacted much as her original had. She felt violated and didn’t like the queen using the philotic connection she had with Ender to communicate with Val. She stuck with it, though, for Miro’s sake.

In the midst of this conversation, Miro learned that his journey with Val into space was not just to search habitable worlds, but also to search for the Descolada’s creators. Once Ender learned of this, he increased his support of Valentine’s portion of him. She became talkative, excited. Ender felt she had a reason to live now, and devoted his energy to it.

This devotion nearly killed him, though. Meanwhile, the Hive Queen worked with the pequenino fathertree named Human to determine how to use Ender’s dying philote to save both Valentine II and Jane.

Miro and Val argued like lovers as they traveled through Outspace. On this journey, they discovered the Descolada’s home planet. Returning to Lusitania, they enlisted Miro’s sisters Ela and Quara to return with them to the planet. That journey was essentially a suicide mission, particularly for Val, as Jane was losing strength and the ability to transport them through Outspace. Once they returned to the distant planet, Jane would not have sufficient strength to bring them back to Lusitania.

As Ender grew closer to death, Valentine II was surly and concerned. She knew that in order for Jane to take her body, her soul, or Auía, would need to leave, but because of Miro’s love for her, the Auía wouldn’t. She asked Miro to sincerely tell her angry, hateful things about her. It would be hard for her to hear, but was necessary.

Miro understood the importance of being cruel to Val, and though it broke his heart, he told her that she wasn’t really a person, that he didn’t love her, and that she didn’t deserve to exist. This did the trick. Valentine II’s portion of Ender’s soul that gave her life left her body, reunited with the now-dead Ender’s soul, and joined with their third part in Peter II. Peter II had Ender’s complete soul, combining Val II and Ender into himself.

Jane, with the Hive Queen’s help, was able to move her consciousness into Valentine II. In the initial phases, Jane could still sense shadows of Valentine II’s memories and told Miro and the rest of their travelers to continue to call her Valentine. A few moments later, though, Val-Jane realized that she was more Jane than Valentine, and though she was in the mortal body and could no longer communicate with Peter II, Ender, or Miro’s mind, she was essentially Jane. Valentine II, save for a few shadows of memories, was gone. Only her body, inhabited by Jane, remained.

Wins (EGS)

Not much is known about the boy called Wins, except that he was a soldier in Ender Wiggin’s Dragon Army. He received a promotion to command his own army at the early age of nine thanks to his participation in the dominant Dragon Army. Two weeks later, he was assigned to Command School to train in the simulators with Ender and several of his fellow Dragon Army colleagues.

Wives, the/Female Piggies (SD, XN, CM)

The wives were the female pequeninos, found on the planet Lusitania. They were rarely seen, and a male pequenino needed special permission to speak to them. Ender Wiggin and his stepchildren were able to speak to the
wives, but only briefly. All female pequeninos who were not “little mothers” become wives shortly after birth.

Although the male pequeninos are the most visible, the females are the most forceful. It is thought that the pequeninos are close to a matriarchy, though the male fathertrees are the public face of the race. The wives make the main decisions.

Worm (SD)

Worm was a male pequenino, the native life on the planet Lusitania. He carried ink for the signing of the treaty between humanity and the pequeninos.

Wu, King (XN)

King Wu was a character in the fairy tale
The Jade of Master Ho
, which was popular on the Chinese planet Path.

Wu “Woo-hoo” (ES)

One of the veterans at Battle School when Ender Wiggin was given command of Dragon Army, Wu (or Woo-hoo as she was known) was one of the few soldiers with any experience assigned to Dragon. She was picked for the assignment by Bean when he was assembling the army.

Wuri, Polemarch Bakossi (EE)

Bakossi Wuri was the Polemarch in the later years of Peter Wiggin’s time as Hegemon. He worked closely with Minister of Colonization Hyrum Graff. The two of them sent a letter to Admiral Quincy Morgan, the commander of the first colony ship, warning him not to interfere with Ender Wiggin’s installation as governor of Shakespeare Colony.

Wutan (SD)

Wutan was a citizen on the planet Trondheim. Not much is known about him except that Ender Wiggin Spoke his death and Valentine Wiggin wrote a book detailing his life titled
History of Wutan in Trondheim
.

Xingadora (SD)

The Xingadora were the only observed birds living on the planet Lusitania. They had evolved to somehow avoid extinction from the Descolada virus.

Yasunari (CM)