Room 204 [morning]
The email Dink had sent had included a series of attachments that took a while to decrypt and uncompress, so Ben set his computer on that task while he went for his usual morning run. The information was ready for him when he returned to his empty room. Keeping half his attention on tracking Ender's position on the island (and feeling slightly guilty about that), Ben sent a gentle Force-nudge at the radio squirrels, telling them to find somewhere else to be and clicked onto the first conversation. What he heard took his breath away.
The first voice Ben recognized immediately--Graff--and the subject was easy enough to figure out. "I've watched through his eyes, I've listened through his ears, and tell you he's the one. Or at least as close as we're going to get," Graff said.
An unfamiliar voice broke in to counter with, "That's what you said about the brother."
"The brother tested out impossible. For other reasons. Nothing to do with his ability," Graff replied.
"Same with the sister. And there are doubts about him. He's too malleable. Too willing to submerge himself in someone else's will," the second voice said.
"Not if the other person is his enemy," Graff countered, and Ben bristled that the man could be so blase.
The second man seemed to share Ben's frustration: "So what do we do? Surround him with enemies all the time?"
"If we have to," Graff replied calmly.
"I thought you said you liked this kid."
"If the buggers get him, they'll make me look like his favorite uncle," Graff said, and Ben sighed quietly.
"All right. We're saving the world, after all. Take him," the second voice capitulated. Ben shook his head as the conversation ended. This was a six year old kid they'd been talking about, based off the timestamp, and Graff--both of the voices--were treating him like a piece on a chess board.
Ben glanced at his chrono--a few more minutes until he had to get to the classrooms for the career fair--and clicked onto the next conversation.
Second voice was talking again: "All right, it's off. How's he doing?" Ben frowned. What was off?
"You live inside somebody's body for a few years, you get used to it," Graff replied, sounding vaguely frustrated. "I look at his face now, I can't tell what's going on. I'm not used to seeing his facial expressions. I'm used to feeling them."
"Come on, we're not talking about psychoanalysis here," the other man said impatiently. "We're soldiers, not witch doctors. You just saw him beat the guts out of the leader of a gang."
Ben nodded. Stilson. The IF had been watching Ender even without the monitor.
"He was thorough," Graff continued. "He didn't just beat him, he beat him deep. Like Mazer Rackham at the--"
"Spare me," Second Guy said brusquely. Ben was starting to like Second Guy, if only because he didn't really like Graff. "So in the judgment of the committee, he passes."
"Mostly," Graff replied. "Let's see what he does with his brother, now that the monitor's off."
"His brother. Aren't you afraid of what his brother will do to him?"
"You were the one who told me that this wasn't a no-risk business," Graff said.
"I went back through some of the tapes. I can't help it. I like the kid. I think we're going to screw him up." That got Ben to snort. "Someone had a little foresight." he commented aloud.
"Of course we are," Graff said. "It's our job. We're the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, but we eat the little bastards alive."
"And you enjoy it," Ben added, glaring at his monitor. "Bastard." He shut his laptop with a quick, decisive click and tried to shove aside the feeling of guilt for listening to this without Ender's knowledge. There were a lot more conversations to sift through, but he didn't have the heart for it right now.
With another glance at the chrono, he headed out the door.
[OOC: Audio provided by endsthegame and Orson Scott Card's totally screwed up little universe. Contents of audio is NFB, please!]
The first voice Ben recognized immediately--Graff--and the subject was easy enough to figure out. "I've watched through his eyes, I've listened through his ears, and tell you he's the one. Or at least as close as we're going to get," Graff said.
An unfamiliar voice broke in to counter with, "That's what you said about the brother."
"The brother tested out impossible. For other reasons. Nothing to do with his ability," Graff replied.
"Same with the sister. And there are doubts about him. He's too malleable. Too willing to submerge himself in someone else's will," the second voice said.
"Not if the other person is his enemy," Graff countered, and Ben bristled that the man could be so blase.
The second man seemed to share Ben's frustration: "So what do we do? Surround him with enemies all the time?"
"If we have to," Graff replied calmly.
"I thought you said you liked this kid."
"If the buggers get him, they'll make me look like his favorite uncle," Graff said, and Ben sighed quietly.
"All right. We're saving the world, after all. Take him," the second voice capitulated. Ben shook his head as the conversation ended. This was a six year old kid they'd been talking about, based off the timestamp, and Graff--both of the voices--were treating him like a piece on a chess board.
Ben glanced at his chrono--a few more minutes until he had to get to the classrooms for the career fair--and clicked onto the next conversation.
Second voice was talking again: "All right, it's off. How's he doing?" Ben frowned. What was off?
"You live inside somebody's body for a few years, you get used to it," Graff replied, sounding vaguely frustrated. "I look at his face now, I can't tell what's going on. I'm not used to seeing his facial expressions. I'm used to feeling them."
"Come on, we're not talking about psychoanalysis here," the other man said impatiently. "We're soldiers, not witch doctors. You just saw him beat the guts out of the leader of a gang."
Ben nodded. Stilson. The IF had been watching Ender even without the monitor.
"He was thorough," Graff continued. "He didn't just beat him, he beat him deep. Like Mazer Rackham at the--"
"Spare me," Second Guy said brusquely. Ben was starting to like Second Guy, if only because he didn't really like Graff. "So in the judgment of the committee, he passes."
"Mostly," Graff replied. "Let's see what he does with his brother, now that the monitor's off."
"His brother. Aren't you afraid of what his brother will do to him?"
"You were the one who told me that this wasn't a no-risk business," Graff said.
"I went back through some of the tapes. I can't help it. I like the kid. I think we're going to screw him up." That got Ben to snort. "Someone had a little foresight." he commented aloud.
"Of course we are," Graff said. "It's our job. We're the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, but we eat the little bastards alive."
"And you enjoy it," Ben added, glaring at his monitor. "Bastard." He shut his laptop with a quick, decisive click and tried to shove aside the feeling of guilt for listening to this without Ender's knowledge. There were a lot more conversations to sift through, but he didn't have the heart for it right now.
With another glance at the chrono, he headed out the door.
[OOC: Audio provided by endsthegame and Orson Scott Card's totally screwed up little universe. Contents of audio is NFB, please!]