We managed to hold off the enemy while the Fleet was reequipped and the new battle techniques were worked out. To use the Field operationally it was necessary to locate an enemy formation, set a course that would intercept it, and then switch on the generator for the calculated period of time. On releasing the Field againif the calculations had been accurateone would be in the enemys midst and could do great damage during the resulting confusion, retreating by the same route when necessary.
The first trial maneuvers proved satisfactory and the equipment seemed quite reliable. Numerous mock attacks were made and the crews became accustomed to the new technique. I was on one of the test flights and can vividly remember my impressions as the Field was switched on. The ships around us seemed to dwindle as if on the surface of an expanding bubble: in an instant they had vanished completely. So had the starsbut presently we could see that the Galaxy was still visible as a faint band of light around the ship. The virtual radius of our pseudo-space was not really infinite, but some hundred thousand light-years, and so the distance to the farthest stars of our system had not been greatly increasedthough the nearest had of course totally disappeared.
These training maneuvers, however, had to be canceled before they were completed, owing to a whole flock of minor technical troubles in various pieces of equipment, notably the communications circuits. These were annoying, but not important, though it was thought best to return to Base to clear them up.
At that moment the enemy made what was obviously intended to be a decisive attack against the fortress planet of Iton at the limits of our Solar System. The Fleet had to go into battle before repairs could be made.
The enemy must have believed that we had mastered the secret of invisibilityas in a sense we had. Our ships appeared suddenly out of nowhere and inflicted tremendous damagefor a while. And then something quite baffling and inexplicable happened.
I was in command of the flagship Hircania when the trouble started. We had been operating as independent units, each against assigned objectives. Our detectors observed an enemy formation at medium range and the navigating officers measured its distance with great accuracy. We set course and switched on the generator.
The Exponential Field was released at the moment when we should have been passing through the center of the enemy group. To our consternation, we emerged into normal space at a distance of many hundred milesand when we found the enemy, he had already found us. We retreated, and tried again. This time we were so far away from the enemy that he located us first.
Obviously, something was seriously wrong. We broke communicator silence and tried to contact the other ships of the Fleet to see if they had experienced the same trouble. Once again we failedand this time the failure was beyond all reason, for the communication equipment appeared to be working perfectly. We could only assume, fantastic though it seemed, that the rest of the Fleet had been destroyed.
I do not wish to describe the scenes when the scattered units of the Fleet struggled back to Base. Our casualties had actually been negligible, but the ships were completely demoralized. Almost all had lost touch with one another and had found that their ranging equipment showed inexplicable errors. It was obvious that the Exponential Field was the cause of the troubles, despite the fact that they were only apparent when it was switched off.
The explanation came too late to do us any good, and Nordens final discomfiture was small consolation for the virtual loss of the war. As I have explained, the Field generators produced a radial distortion of space, distances appearing greater and greater as one approached the center of the artificial pseudo-space. When the Field was switched off, conditions returned to normal.
But not quite. It was never possible to restore the initial state exactly. Switching the Field on and off was equivalent to an elongation and contraction of the ship carrying the generator, but there was a hysteretic effect, as it were, and the initial condition was never quite reproducible, owing to all the thousands of electrical changes and movements of mass aboard the ship while the Field was on. These asymmetries and distortions were cumulative, and though they seldom amounted to more than a fraction of one per cent, that was quite enough. It meant that the precision ranging equipment and the tuned circuits in the communication apparatus were thrown completely out of adjustment. Any single ship could never detect the changeonly when it compared its equipment with that of another vessel, or tried to communicate with it, could it tell what had happened.
It is impossible to describe the resultant chaos. Not a single component of one ship could be expected with certainty to work aboard another. The very nuts and bolts were no longer interchangeable, and the supply position became quite impossible. Given time, we might even have overcome these difficulties, but the enemy ships were already attacking in thousands with weapons which now seemed centuries behind those that we had invented. Our magnificent Fleet, crippled by our own science, fought on as best it could until it was overwhelmed and forced to surrender. The ships fitted with the Field were still invulnerable, but as fighting units they were almost helpless. Every time they switched on their generators to escape from enemy attack, the permanent distortion of their equipment increased. In a month, it was all over.
THIS IS THE true story of our defeat, which I give without prejudice to my defense before this Court. I make it, as I have said, to counteract the libels that have been circulating against the men who fought under me, and to show where the true blame for our misfortunes lay.
Finally, my request, which as the Court will now realize I make in no frivolous manner and which I hope will therefore be granted.
The Court will be aware that the conditions under which we are housed and the constant surveillance to which we are subjected night and day are somewhat distressing. Yet I am not complaining of this: nor do I complain of the fact that shortage of accommodation has made it necessary to house us in pairs.
But I cannot be held responsible for my future actions if I am compelled any longer to share my cell with Professor Norden, late Chief of the Research Staff of my armed forces.
Arthur C. Clarke
Arthur C. Clarkes lengthy publishing credentials include articles in mid-century scientific journals that laid the groundwork for the development of telecommunications satellites. Among his many influential works of science fiction are the visionary novel of mans future in the universe, Childhoods End, and the now legendary film and fiction that grew out of its concepts: 2001: A Space Odyssey, 2010: Odyssey Two, 2061: Odyssey Three, and 3001: The Final Odyssey. Clarke is regarded as one of the masters of hard science fiction, and his novels Prelude to Space, A Fall of Moondust, and The Fountains of Paradise have all been praised for their meticulous scientific accuracy. At the same time, he has explored the metaphysical and cosmological implications of science and space exploration in such works as the Hugo and Nebula Awardwinning novel Rendezvous with Rama and the oft-reprinted title story of The Nine Billion Names of God, one of the many collections of his short fiction, which include Reach for Tomorrow, Tales from the White Hart, The Other Side of the Sky, and Tales of Ten Worlds. Clarkes bestselling books of popular science include The Exploration of Space, Profiles of the Future, and The View from Serendip. He has also authored the young adult novels Islands in the Sky and Dolphin Island, and the autobiographical volume Astounding Days.
ENDER'S GAMEOrson Scott Card
WHATEVER YOUR GRAVITY is when you get to the door, rememberthe enemys gate is down. If you step through your own door like youre out for a stroll, youre a big target and you deserve to get hit. With more than a flasher. Ender Wiggins paused and looked over the group. Most were just watching him nervously. A few understanding. A few sullen and resisting.
First day with this army, all fresh from the teacher squads, and Ender had forgotten how young new kids could be. Hed been in it for three years, theyd had six monthsnobody over nine years old in the whole bunch. But they were his. At eleven, he was half a year early to be a commander. Hed had a toon of his own and knew a few tricks, but there were forty in his new army. Green. All marksmen with a flasher, all in top shape, or they wouldnt be herebut they were all just as likely as not to get wiped out first time into battle.
Remember, he went on, they cant see you till you get through that door. But the second youre out, theyll be on you. So hit that door the way you want to be when they shoot at you. Legs go under you, going straight down. He pointed at a sullen kid who looked like he was only seven, the smallest of them all. Which way is down, greenoh!
Toward the enemy door. The answer was quick. It was also surly, as if to say, Yeah, yeah, now get on with the important stuff.
Name, kid?
Bean.
Get that for size or for brains?
Bean didnt answer. The rest laughed a little. Ender had chosen right. The kid was younger than the rest, must have been advanced because he was sharp. The others didnt like him much, they were happy to see him taken down a little. Like Enders first commander had taken him down.
Well, Bean, youre right onto things. Now I tell you this, nobodys gonna get through that door without a good chance of getting hit. A lot of you are going to be turned into cement somewhere. Make sure its your legs. Right? If only your legs get hit, then only your legs get frozen, and in nullo thats no sweat. Ender turned to one of the dazed ones. Whatre legs for? Hmmm?
Blank stare. Confusion. Stammer.
Forget it. Guess Ill have to ask Bean here.
Legs are for pushing off walls. Still bored.
Thanks, Bean. Get that, everybody? They all got it, and didnt like getting it from Bean. Right. You cant see with legs, you cant shoot with legs, and most of the time they just get in the way. If they get frozen sticking straight out youve turned yourself into a blimp. No way to hide. So how do legs go?
A few answered this time, to prove that Bean wasnt the only one who knew anything. Under you. Tucked up under.
Right. A shield. Youre kneeling on a shield, and the shield is your own legs. And theres a trick to the suits. Even when your legs are flashed you can still kick off. Ive never seen anybody do it but mebut youre all gonna learn it.
Ender Wiggins turned on his flasher. It glowed faintly green in his hand. Then he let himself rise in the weightless workout room, pulled his legs under him as though he were kneeling, and flashed both of them. Immediately his suit stiffened at the knees and ankles, so that he couldnt bend at all.
Okay, Im frozen, see?
He was floating a meter above them. They all looked up at him, puzzled. He leaned back and caught one of the handholds on the wall behind him, and pulled himself flush against the wall.
Im stuck at a wall. If I had legs, Id use legs, and string myself out like a string bean, right?
They laughed.
But I dont have legs, and thats better, got it? Because of this. Ender jackknifed at the waist, then straightened out violently. He was across the workout room in only a moment. From the other side he called to them. Got that? I didnt use hands, so I still had use of my flasher. And I didnt have my legs floating five feet behind me. Now watch it again.
He repeated the jackknife, and caught a handhold on the wall near them. Now, I dont just want you to do that when theyve flashed your legs. I want you to do that when youve still got legs, because its better. And because theyll never be expecting it. All right now, everybody up in the air and kneeling.
Most were up in a few seconds. Ender flashed the stragglers, and they dangled, helplessly frozen, while the others laughed. When I give an order, you move. Got it? When were at a door and they clear it, Ill be giving you orders in two seconds, as soon as I see the setup. And when I give the order you better be out there, because whoevers out there first is going to win, unless hes a fool. Im not. And you better not be, or Ill have you back in the teacher squads. He saw more than a few of them gulp, and the frozen ones looked at him with fear. You guys who are hanging there. You watch. Youll thaw out in about fifteen minutes, and lets see if you can catch up to the others.
For the next half hour Ender had them jackknifing off walls. He called a stop when he saw that they all had the basic idea. They were a good group, maybe. Theyd get better.
Now youre warmed up, he said to them, well start working.
ENDER WAS THE last one out after practice, since he stayed to help some of the slower ones improve on technique. Theyd had good teachers, but like all armies they were uneven, and some of them could be a real drawback in battle. Their first battle might be weeks away. It might be tomorrow. A schedule was never printed. The commander just woke up and found a note by his bunk, giving him the time of his battle and the name of his opponent. So for the first while he was going to drive his boys until they were in top shapeall of them. Ready for anything, at any time. Strategy was nice, but it was worth nothing if the soldiers couldnt hold up under the strain.
He turned the corner into the residence wing and found himself face to face with Bean, the seven-year-old he had picked on all through practice that day. Problems. Ender didnt want problems right now.
Ho, Bean.
Ho, Ender.
Pause.
Sir, Ender said softly.
Were not on duty.
In my army, Bean, were always on duty. Ender brushed past him.
Beans high voice piped up behind him. I know what youre doing, Ender, sir, and Im warning you.
Ender turned slowly and looked at him. Warning me?