Comparatively speaking, Mother never thought of us at all. Just a few minutes among hours spent railing at or forgiving or pleading with the Giant.
The difference is that when a Hive Queen stops talking with her daughters, they die. When I realized that my mother had never even tried to talk to me, I deleted the file.
Of course, Carlotta undeleted it immediately and then made several backups on other ansible-linked computers on widely separated sites in the human-settled portion of the galaxy. There might come a time when she wanted to view it again. Perhaps a time when she would share it with her brothers -- wildly volatile Sergeant, placid-to-the-point-of-apathetic Ender.
But so far she had not looked at it a second time.
She didn't have to. Her memory was too good. She could play back every painful moment of the broadcast in her own mind.
That's where the Hive Queen was so tragic. There was no one left to play back anything. No children left to whom she could send a memory.
Return to chapter 9
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.
Shadows in Flight
Copyright © 2012 by Orson Scott Card
Cover art by Nick Greenwood
All rights reserved.
A Tor Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY10010
www.tor-forge.com
Tor® is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
ISBN 1466801565
EAN 9781466801561
First Edition: February 2012
Title Page
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Additional Content
Copyright