The Authorized Ender Companion (13 page)

He left for space with his three children, writing a good-bye note to Petra. He kept in contact with Hyrum Graff for a short while, thanking him for all the support Graff had given him over the years.

Bean was not optimistic that a cure for his mutation would ever be found, but allowed the sliver of hope—that it might be in time for his children—to carry him through his travels.

He loved Petra and missed her. He knew that he had done all he could for the people he loved throughout his life. Though the deaths of Poke and Sister Carlotta would forever remind him of his great failures, he saw his children, his wife, and the success of his friend Ender Wiggin and knew that he had truly done all he could.

Throughout Earth, Bean’s life story became legendary: the Legend of the Giant. And indeed he was a giant—physically and figuratively.

Delphiki, Julian III (“normal” child) (SG)

Julian Delphiki III was one of the embryos created by Bean Delphiki and Petra Arkanian and implanted into an unknown surrogate. He did not have the genetic mutation of his father and remained on Earth when Bean left for space, to be raised by his mother.

Delphiki, Lani (EE)

Lani Delphiki was married to Andrew Delphiki, one of Petra Arkanian and Bean Delphiki’s children.

Delphiki, Nikolai (ES, SH, SP)

Nikolai Delphiki was a contemporary of Ender Wiggin’s at Battle School. A couple of years younger than Ender, Nikolai was a member of Bean’s launch group. Bean had hacked into Nikolai’s computer, which Nikolai reported to Battle School officials. He befriended Bean, however, after the computer hacking incident, becoming very close.

When Bean hacked into the teacher’s evaluations of the other students, he saw that Nikolai was listed as “a placeholder.” This news was hard on Nikolai, but he tried to turn that perception around through harder work and practice.

Bean was ordered to make up a list of soldiers for a hypothetical army, which Bean knew Ender would command. He had to use launchies and soldiers from transfer lists only. He included Nikolai on the list, which meant that Nikolai would be transferred with Bean to Dragon Army, commanded by Ender Wiggin.

Nikolai was insecure with his abilities, but stayed close to Bean. He helped protect Bean during a fistfight he had with Fly Molo. When teachers like Anderson and Dimak asked why Nikolai was so close to Bean, Nikolai said they were brothers. Though he meant it meta phorically, it was literally true. Nikolai and Bean were brothers, grown in vitro from embryos belonging to the same people—Julian and Elena Delphiki.

He refused to be a part of Bean’s special squadron in Dragon Army, and the decision placed a brief wall between the two brothers. They quickly reconciled, and Nikolai was able to support Bean when he was upset about not being able to protect Ender from Bonzo Madrid’s death threats.

After Ender’s army was dissolved, Nikolai was assigned to Rabbit Army with Bean as his commander. He helped Bean capture Achilles Flandres and get him to confess his murderous ways. A week later, Nikolai was promoted to commander of Rabbit Army.

After Ender’s victory at the Formic home world, Nikolai returned home to Greece. He was joined by his brother, Bean, whom his parents adopted as their own son. While vacationing as a family, though, the Delphikis realized their lives were in danger.

A mysterious group of soldiers bombed their vacation home. Nikolai and his family were rescued by the Greek Army. They were placed in a small, guarded apartment until Hyrum Graff and Sister Carlotta took them further into hiding.

Nikolai went with his parents and Graff to an undisclosed location, while Bean left with Sister Carlotta. He resurfaced after the crisis in Brazil, joining Bean there in the protective Hegemony compound. Nikolai and his family had to leave the compound soon after arriving, though, as Achilles had resurfaced, and it was clear he was coming to Brazil. They went back underground.

They resurfaced once Achilles was killed. Nikolai got married a couple of years later; and according to his mother, lived a happy life.

Delphiki, Petra “Poke” ([EE], SG)

Petra Delphiki, or “Poke” as she was called, was one of the embryos created by Bean Delphiki and Petra Arkanian. She did not have the genetic mutation of her father and remained on Earth when Bean and three of her siblings left for space. She was raised on Earth by her mother and nicknamed for the first person Bean ever loved—a little girl in Rotterdam named Poke.

Delphiki, Ramón (SG)

Ramón was one of Petra Arkanian and Bean Delphiki’s stolen embryos. Born in the Philippines by his surrogate parents, he did not have the genetic mutation his father and siblings did. He was the first of Bean’s children to be born without it. Bean went to the Philippines to find him. He remained on Earth to be raised by his mother, Petra, when Bean and three of Ramón’s siblings were taken into space.

Demosthenes (EG, ES, EE, SH, SP, SG, IC, SD, XN, CM)

The pseudonym for ten-year-old Valentine Wiggin, used when she wrote political and military commentaries on the computer nets. Her columns, and those of her brother Peter written under the name “Locke,” became popular throughout the world. John Paul Wiggin, Peter and Valentine’s father, even quoted passages of the columns to his family. The International Fleet determined Demosthenes’s true identity while Ender was in Battle School; however they maintained a laissez-faire attitude toward both Demosthenes and Locke.

Talented Battle School student Bean wrote Demosthenes and Locke a letter giving reasons that Battle School should be shut down and predicting a worldwide conflict between Russia, Asia, the Middle East, and North America in the aftermath of the war in space. Demosthenes took up this charge in essays.

Demosthenes and Locke effected change in much of the international community in the aftermath of Ender’s victory in the Formic War. Demosthenes argued for Ender’s return home, but soon gave up the campaign and disappeared from the nets. However, the mysterious essayist began a career of writing books.

Valentine went into space with Ender to colonize worlds with other human settlers. It was on these journeys that she wrote the many books she did. During this time on Earth, though, Peter took over writing the political essays of Demosthenes, writing both him and Locke.

One of Valentine’s books was a work on the planet Helvetica, which had fallen into disarray. Many fans wrote letters to Demosthenes, believing the author to be an old historian. This fact entertained young Valentine greatly.

One important book written by Demosthenes was
History of Wutan in Trondheim
. This book, the history of the planet Trondheim, created the scale of defining life, using Icelandic terms like “utlanning,” “framling,” “raman,” and “varelse,” which became common among scientists on the different human colonies.

Two decades later, Demosthenes exposed the Starways Congress’s plan to use the Molecular Detachment Device on Lusitania, causing public outrage against a potential second xenocide. The essays caused revolution among the different colonies and planets of the Congress.

On the planet Path, a young girl named Han Qing-jao undertook an assignment to uncover the truths about the fleet, in defense of the Starways Congress. She began a galaxy-wide search for Demosthenes, hoping to uncover the essayist’s true identity. A few months later, she did, and used the discovery to expose Demosthenes’s true identity as Valentine Wiggin to the Starways Congress.

The Starways Congress was pleased to know that Demosthenes was on Lusitania, knowing that she soon would be killed. The political pundit who had caused so much anti-Congress feeling would soon be dead.

She survived, thanks to the combined efforts of nearly everyone on Lusitania, and wrote yet another book—the history of Lusitania. This book, potentially her final, featured much about Ender, but was not a book about him.

Descolada (SD, XN, CM)

The Descolada was a virus that destroyed all living things with which it came in contact, except the native life of the planet Lusitania. Fatal to humans, the Descolada helped provide the life transition for the pequeninos, and even inhabited other fauna and flora on the planet. It ravaged the ecology of Lusitania, leaving only a few species as survivors.

The virus destroyed humans inside out, killing them slowly and painfully. Removing the virus had the same effect on the pequeninos. Created on the planet Descoladore, the virus appeared to be a chemical form of communication intended to be used to expand its creator’s influence throughout the universe.

A team of scientists on Lusitania, led by Ender Wiggin’s stepchildren, were able to isolate and eradicate the virus on the planet without killing the pequeninos. Some of the scientists believed the virus was itself a living organism, but no definitive answer has been reached in determining its life status. Research continues into its origins and evolution.

Descoladore (CM)

The descoladore was the name given by Miro Ribeira von Hesse and his sisters, Quara and Ela, to the race of beings that created the Descolada. The descoladore communicated with the virus by sending messages that the virus translated into molecules. The communication was reciprocated likewise.

They’d sent out probes into space, carrying the virus to distant worlds. They had tried to terriform different planets to make them suitable for their own habitation. After decoding the message of human DNA that Miro and company had broadcast to them, the descoladore launched several spaceships against the humans. Miro and his comrades escaped the attack by using their faster-than-light instantaneous travel methods.

Quara, Miro, and the rest felt that the planet needed to be destroyed and the threat of the descoladore wiped out. It wasn’t until Peter Wiggin II, who carried the soul of Ender, appeared on their ship that they were talked out of rashly committing xenocide. Humans would continue to visit the descoladore world, hoping to build understanding over generations of time, allowing all life to live in the galaxy.

Desk (EGS, EG, ES, EE)

A desk was a personal computer used by children at normal schools on Earth as well as at Battle School.

Dimak, Captain (ES, SP)

Captain Dimak was the commanding officer of Bean’s flight to Battle School. He was a no-nonsense officer who mocked the ignorance of the children on Bean’s flight. He also exposed Bean as scoring the highest of the launch group on the screening tests, though lowest on the physical tests. This revelation alienated Bean from the rest of his launch group.

Dimak oversaw the launch group at Battle School, training them on their lockers, schedules, and other aspects of school life. He grew concerned about Bean’s social development with the other members of his launch group and confronted him about it. In the process of the conversation, Bean revealed his thoughts on spacewar strategy, telling Dimak that he was certain humanity had already launched an attack fleet against the Formic home world. Dimak denied it, but was sweating profusely. His reaction confirmed to Bean that the fleet had been created.

Dimak grew more concerned about Bean when he and Colonel Graff spoke about findings a nun named Sister Carlotta had made that implied Bean had been genetically engineered. Dimak also discovered that Bean had hacked into a teacher’s computer, and was even moving through Battle School’s ductwork to spy on the officers. He made the decision to ignore these rule violations in an effort to continue studying Bean.

Graff ordered Dimak to have Bean put together a hypothetical army for Ender Wiggin to command. Bean knew the hypothetical was real, but followed the order. Dimak had been frustrated with Bean in this process as Bean seemed arrogant. But Dimak and Graff took the list Bean created and made the transfers to assemble the army just as Bean suggested.

Dimak had a rivalry with Captain Dap, another Battle School officer. Both he and Dap felt that their protégé was the one to lead the armies of Earth against the Buggers. They argued on behalf of Bean and Ender often with Hyrum Graff, with neither man getting the upper hand.

Once Graff left Battle School, Dimak continued to be an advocate for Bean, but quickly stopped when Graff’s replacement, Colonel Anderson, made it clear such advocacy would not be tolerated and would be considered insubordinate.

Years later, after Ender’s defeat of the Formics, Battle School was transformed into the Ministry of Colonization. Graff was the minister, and Dimak was the Underminister. He greeted colonists and helped them find their quarters on the station as they awaited transfer to a starship that would take them to their new homes on a human colony.

He was charged with protecting the Wiggin family when they stayed briefly on the station while Achilles Flandres made an attempt to subvert Peter Wiggin’s position as Hegemon on Earth. He aided in a plot Graff and Peter developed to protect the Wiggins and to expose a potential mole on the station.

Dispersal Project (YM)

Official title of the International Fleet’s colonization project, sending humans to former Formic worlds. Generally looked for responsible, highprofile members of society; however, in some cases exceptions were made.

Divine Wind (
See
Hundred Worlds)

Djur (
See
Hierarchy of Alienness)

Docility patch (CM)

The docility patch was a medical device worn on the skin and used as a type of anesthetic.

Doctor (EG)

This doctor removed Ender’s monitor device from the back of his neck. He was assisted by a nurse named Deedee and complained that leaving the monitor devices in children’s necks for three years was too long.

Doctor on Ganges (EE)

The doctor on Ganges helped patch up Ender Wiggin following a beating he took at the hands of Achilles Flandres II.

Donnabella (IC)

The capital city of the planet Sorelledolce, Donnabella was home to a million colonists.