Page 599 - Enders_Game_Full_Book

Qing-jao bowed her head. She knew the truth, and so did everyone else. It had been the beginning of Han Fei-tzu's greatness, for he not only wrote the treaty but also persuaded both sides to accept it almost without revision. Ever after that, Han Fei-tzu had been one of the most trusted advisers to Congress; messages arrived daily from the greatest men and women of every world. If he chose to call himself a clerk in that great undertaking, that was only because he was a man of great modesty. Qing-jao also knew that Mother was already dying as he accomplished all this work. That was the kind of man her father was, for he neglected neither his wife nor his duty. He could not save Mother's life, but he could save the lives that might have been lost in war.
"Qing-jao, why do you say that it is an obvious lie that the fleet is carrying the M.D. Device?"
"Because-- because that would be monstrous. It would be like Ender the Xenocide, destroying an entire world. So much power has no right or reason to exist in the universe."
"Who taught you this?"
"Decency taught me this," said Qing-jao. "The gods made the stars and all the planets-- who is man to unmake them?"
"But the gods also made the laws of nature that make it possible to destroy them-- who is man to refuse to receive what the gods have given?"
Qing-jao was stunned to silence. She had never heard Father speak in apparent defense of any aspect of war-- he loathed war in any form.
"I ask you again-- who taught you that so much power has no right or reason to exist in the universe?"
"It's my own idea."
"But that sentence is an exact quotation."
"Yes. From Demosthenes. But if I believe an idea, it becomes my own. You taught me that."
"You must be careful that you understand all the consequences of an idea before you believe it."
"The Little Doctor must never be used on Lusitania, and therefore it should not have been sent."
Han Fei-tzu nodded gravely. "How do you know it must never be used?"
"Because it would destroy the pequeninos, a young and beautiful people who are eager to fulfill their potential as a sentient species."
"Another quotation."
"Father, have you read the Life of Human?"