"Orson Scott Card - Ender's Saga 01 - Ender's Game" - читать интересную книгу автора (Card Orson Scott)

"They do love you, Ender. But you have to understand what your life has cost
them. They were born religious, you know. Your father was baptized with the name
John Paul Wieczorek. Catholic. The seventh of nine children."

Nine children. That was unthinkable. Criminal.

"Yes, well, people do strange things for religion. You know the sanctions,
Ender-- they were not as harsh then, but still not easy. Only the first two
children had a free education. Taxes steadily rose with each new child. Your
father turned sixteen and invoked the Noncomplying Families Act to separate
himself from his family. He changed his name, renounced his religion, and vowed
never to have more than the allotted two children. He meant it. All the shame
and persecution he went through as a child-- he vowed no child of his would go
through it. Do you understand?"

"He didn't want me."

"Well, no one wants a Third anymore. You can't expect them to be glad. But
your father and mother are a special case. They both renounced their religions--
your mother was a Mormon-- but in fact their feelings are still ambiguous. Do
you know what ambiguous means?"

"They feel both ways."

"They're ashamed of having come from noncompliant families. They conceal it.
To the degree that your mother refuses to admit to anyone that she was born in
Utah, lest they suspect. Your father denies his Polish ancestry, since Poland is
still a noncompliant nation, and under international sanction because of it. So,
you see, having a Third, even under the government's direct instructions, undoes
everything they've been trying to do."

"I know that."

"But it's more complicated than that. Your father still named you with
legitimate saints' names. In fact, he baptized all three of you himself as soon
as he got you home after you were born. And your mother objected. They quarreled
over it each time, not because she didn't want you baptized, but because she
didn't want you baptized Catholic. They haven't really given up their religion.
They look at you and see you as a badge of pride, because they were able to
circumvent the law and have a Third. But you're also a badge of cowardice,
because they dare not go further and practice the noncompliance they still feel
is right. And you're a badge of public shame, because at every step you
interfere with their efforts at assimilation into normal complying society."

"How can you know all this?"

"We monitored your brother and sister, Ender. You'd be amazed at how sensitive
the instruments are. We were connected directly to your brain. We heard all that
you heard, whether you were listening carefully or not. Whether you understood