fandomhigh | Practical Philosophy, Monday

"Hey," Ender greeted the group, smiling faintly. "It's traditional for my class to spend the first week reflecting on the future, and the last reflecting on the past."

"Specifically," he continued, stretching his legs out in the grass of the dorm lawn, "How much have you changed since you got here? How do you see your future, on the island or off? Has the island been an interruption in your life, to be skipped past and left there once you graduate? Or going by your experiences, do you think it will forge lasting changes that will stick with you in the times ahead?"

He smiled briefly.

"I realize this isn't a particularly philosophical series of questions," he said. "But it's something worth reflecting on, not just with me, but between yourselves. I have a feeling your viewpoints will be as diverse as you are."

He sat back.

"But to pull it larger: do you think there's a shared experience here on this island? Something similar we all take away from it? Or none at all?"

After he let those questions sink in, he looked towards one student in particular ~~if she was there~~. "Peridot? Can you come see me after class?"

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Peridot looked at the package curiously, and then tilted her head at Ender.

"I'll no doubt have a lot of questions," she admitted. "And our talks in this class have done a lot of good, helping me sort out where I stand in relation to Earth philosophies. I... trust that you'll answer my questions honestly."

This was not a phrase that was spoken lightly.

Ender nodded. "I don't know if you have a phone yet, but I've put my details down in several communication methods," he said, pointing at the little card attached to the package.

"And finally, I thought you might find this useful," he said, extending the package to her. "It's a small volume about humanity. Perhaps it'll help."

Peridot reached for the package and eyed it, and the card that was on it, thoughtfully.

"Thank you," she said, sounding... touched, actually. It was a gesture she wouldn't have expected of anybody, a thoughtful one. She stared at the book a moment longer before sort of hugging it to her chest. "I have no doubt that I'll find this most helpful."

That was kind of like gushing over something, in Peridot-ese.

"I just hope it will be useful," Ender said.

He wasn't about to talk up his own book. (Not that he'd ever admit it was his own book.)

"And don't lose your curiosity," he said. "Not that I think that's a risk - you've got so much of it."

"Is losing one's curiosity something that happens?" She sounded slightly bewildered by the idea. Another effect being a part of a race that grew and changed, perhaps? "In any case, I don't plan to."

Her curiosity would outlive any human, easily.

"When humans get old, they begin to cling to familiarity," Ender explained. "Most of them do, at least. They become distrustful of new things."

"So..." Peridot tilted her head a little. "They live, they grow, and then they... stagnate."

This was an aspect of humanity that she hadn't considered before. Gems didn't embrace personal growth in an emotional sense, but they didn't ever give up learning.

"If they're lucky to make it to a high enough age, yes."

It was its own peculiar process.

"I don't see what's so lucky about falling stagnant," Peridot sighed, and then looked down at the book again. "Will this help me to understand that, too?"

She was looking forward to reading it, actually. It was an effort to not open it and just sit down right where she was to get a start on that right then and there.

"Maybe a little," Ender said wryly. "It covers the lifespan of a single human being."

Ender's brother's, to be specific, but he'd written it to make a point about the species at large. (There were reasons he was grateful he could go around using the Skywalker name instead of his own.)

Peridot nodded faintly, looking at the book.

"So, not necessarily a representation of every human life... but an example to start with," she hedged. "That's more than I had to work with before."

She still had yet to meet a human infant, or one of their elderly. She knew they had to exist, based on what she'd been told, but what they were like was beyond her.

"An example that tries to be universal for my species," Ender said. "Whether it succeeds is yours to judge, of course."

"Of course," Peridot replied, nodding thoughtfully. "I look forward to reading it. If I have any questions about it, I can use this information to contact you?"

She tapped the contact info with one floating finger.

"Yes," Ender said, nodding. "We'll be in transit for some of the coming weeks, so if I don't answer immediately, please don't take it personally. I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

"A few weeks," Peridot replied, "to a Gem?"

She gave Ender a wry smile.

"I think I can be patient that long, but I appreciate you letting me know.

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