Page 496 - Enders_Game_Full_Book

Ouanda muttered a prayer.
Ela, however, was more curious than ever. "Fascinating," she said. "But if they're so small, how do they mate?"
"We carry them to the fathers, of course," said Human. "How do you think? The father's can't come here, can they?"
"The fathers," said Ouanda. "That's what they call the most revered trees."
"That's right," said Human. "The fathers are ripe on the bark. They put their dust on the bark, in the sap. We carry the little mother to the father the wives have chosen. She crawls on the bark, and the dust on the sap gets into her belly and fills it up with little ones."
Ouanda wordlessly pointed to the small protuberances on Human's belly.
"Yes," Human said. "These are the carries. The honored brother puts the little mother on one of his carries, and she holds very tight all the way to the father." He touched his belly. "It is the greatest joy we have in our second life. We would carry the little mothers every night if we could."
Shouter sang, long and loud, and the hole in the mothertree began to close again. "All those females, all the little mothers," asked Ela. "Are they sentient?"
It was a word that Human didn't know.
"Are they awake?" asked Ender.
"Of course," said Human.
"What he means," explained Ouanda, "is can the little mothers think? Do they understand language?"
"Them?" asked Human. "No, they're no smarter than the cabras. And only a little smarter than the macios. They only do three things. Eat, crawl, and cling to the carry. The ones on the outside of the tree, now-- they're beginning to learn. I can remember climbing on the face of the mothertree. So I had memory then. But I'm one of the very few that remember so far back."
Tears came unbidden to Ouanda's eyes. "All the mothers, they're born, they mate, they give birth and die, all in their infancy. They never even know they were alive."
"It's sexual dimorphism carried to a ridiculous extreme," said Ela. "The females reach sexual maturity early, but the males reach it late. It's ironic, isn't it, that the dominant female adults are all sterile. They govern the whole tribe, and yet their own genes can't be passed on--"