Ben, Ender & Val's hotel room [Sunday afternoon]

[momslilassassin]

Ben stared at his daughter, sitting inside the suitcase he was trying to pack.

"Ice cream," she told him, narrowing her eyes.

"Packing first," Ben replied, crossing his arms.

"ICE CREAM!"

"Ow," Ben said, holding his hands over his ears.

[small: OOC: For the boy and any other visitors!]

Comments

[momslilassassin]

"Why did he refuse?" Ben asked, closing his eyes and concentrating on Ender's voice. "Or is that the question you get to answer?"

[endsthegame]

"I'm curious," Ender admitted. "He's dying right now. By the time we get there, he'll be long dead - and the consequences of his choices will have become clear."

[momslilassassin]

Ben nodded. "So new leap forward in religious tolerance...or the next Crusades?"

[endsthegame]

"Or something in the middle," Ender said wryly. He slid his hand over Ben's chest. "I'll have to talk to the sect, if it still exists."

[momslilassassin]

"But the middle wouldn't be that interesting," Ben said with a smile. "What's special about this sect?"

[endsthegame]

"They hold the truth to be sacred," Ender said. "Any wisdom shared throughout history, they pursue and store, and make readily available."

[momslilassassin]

"Your kind of people, then," Ben said with a fond smile, kissing the underside of Ender's jaw.

[endsthegame]

"And now you know why I find them interesting," Ender said, laughing softly. "The sect calls itself the Children of the Mind of Christ. It was started by a young upstart called San Angelo. It'll be interesting to meet him, I think."

[momslilassassin]

"He'll still be alive when we get there?" Ben asked.

[endsthegame]

"He's in his twenties now," Ender said. "He could be."

[momslilassassin]

"It might be nice to make a new friend," Ben said with another smile. "It's kind of been a while."

[endsthegame]

Ender smiled. "I'm interested," he said. "What he's doing goes against millenia of Catholic orthodoxy."

[momslilassassin]

"Allowing truths other than their own to be considered?" Ben guessed.

[endsthegame]

"Yes," Ender said. "It's even part of what caused the original split between Catholicism and Protestantism - the Protestants wanted Churchgoers to be able to understand the Bible. The Catholics were happy to stick to languages most people didn't speak."

[momslilassassin]

"So they were the only interpreters," Ben said, nodding. "Clever. Controlling the information."

[endsthegame]

"It made them rich, too," Ender said, amused.

[momslilassassin]

"Well, naturally," Ben said with a grin.

[endsthegame]

Ender smiled, kissing his cheek. "Of course," he said, "For most people, these days, Rome is much further away than it used to be."

[momslilassassin]

"A few thousand years of travel, give or take," Ben agreed.

[endsthegame]

"And you can only hear the Pope speak by ansible," Ender said. "Which many Catholic colonies can't afford to use for just anything."

[momslilassassin]

"I'm sure that doesn't make the Pope feel particularly grateful," Ben said.

[endsthegame]

"Well," Ender said, dryly, "That's the Pope's problem."

[momslilassassin]

"Well, his will must be hard to enforce if people won't pick up his call," Men mused.

[endsthegame]

"I think the current Pope is familiar with how often Catholic colonies can pick up the phone," Ender said dryly, "And tailors his messaging accordingly."

[momslilassassin]

Men Ben nodded. "Or he spends a lot of time literally speaking into the void," he teased.