At the top of the hill, Abra could see why the river in the valley behind him widened — there was an irrigation dam between the hills so the widening of the river was really a pond behind the dam. The drop wasn't very severe, though, and certain sluices were permanently open so that the river flowed permanently into three channels. One was the original riverbed, and the other two carried water through slightly higher canals skirting the north side of the valley. Here on the south side of the river, the canals were permanently empty, and so Abra could easily see the difference that the irrigation made. Both sides of the lower valley were lush with life, but on the wet side, trees were growing, and on the drier side, it was grass and low shrubs.

But as he gazed at the south side — the grassy side — he realized that there was something wrong with the landscape. Instead of being a smooth flood plain, like the upper valley behind him where Ender was, there were several mounds in the plain below him. And there was nothing natural about the way they were laid out.

The formics had to have built them. But what were they for?

And now that he looked closely, he could see that there were even-more-artificial-looking structures here and there. They didn't look like normal formic buildings, either. This was something new and strange, and even though they were overgrown with grass and vines, they were still plainly visible.

Abra scrambled down the slope — not running, because it was unfamiliar ground, and the last thing he wanted was to sprain an ankle and become a burden on Ender. He came to the largest of the artificial mounds. It was steep-sided but covered with grass, so climbing it wasn't very hard. He reached the top and realized that it was hollow inside, and there was water gathered in it.

Abra walked the ridge line and found that at one end, two ridges extended out like legs, making a widening vale between them. And when he turned around, he realized that there were also low ridges that could be arms, and where a head would be, a large white rock glistened in the sunlight, looking for all the world like a skull.

It was shaped like a man. Not like a formic — a man.

He felt a thrill go through him — of fear, of dread, of excitement. Such a place as this could not exist. And yet it did.

He heard a voice calling his name. He looked up and saw that Ender had driven the skimmer over the ridge from the other valley and was looking for him. Abra waved and called out, "Ho, Ender!"

Ender saw him and skimmed over to the base of the steep hill where Abra had climbed. "Come up," said Abra.

When Ender had scrambled up the slope — displacing a few turves in the process, since he was bigger than Abra and weighed more — Abra gestured to the body-like structure of the artificial hills. "Can you believe this?"

Apparently Ender didn't see it the way Abra did. He simply looked, and said nothing.

"It's like a giant died here," said Abra, "and the earth grew up to cover his carcass."

Abra heard a sharp intake of breath from Ender, so he knew now that he had seen.

Ender looked around and pointed wordlessly at some of the smaller, vine-covered structures. He pulled out his binoculars and looked for a long time. "Impossible," he muttered.

"What? What are they?"

Ender didn't answer. Instead he walked the length of the hill, toward the "head." Abra scrambled down onto the neck and up the chin. "Somebody had to build this," Abra said. He scratched at the white surface. "Look, this skull place, it's not rock, look at it. This is concrete."

"I know," said Ender. "They built it for me."

"What?"

"I know this place, Abra. The buggers built it for me."

"They were all dead before Grandpa and Grandma even got here," said Abra.

"You're right, it's impossible, but I know what I know." Ender put a hand on Abra's shoulder. "Abra, I shouldn't take you with me."

"Where?"

"Over there." Ender pointed. "It might be dangerous. If they knew me well enough to build this place, they might be planning to —»

"To get even with you," said Abra.

"For killing them," said Ender.

"So don't go, Ender. Don't do what they want you to do."

"If they want to get revenge, Abra, I don't mind. But perhaps they don't. Perhaps this is the closest they could come to talking. To writing me a note."

"They didn't know how to read and write." They didn't even know the idea of reading and writing — that's what Father said. So how would they know about leaving notes?

"Maybe they were learning when they died," said Ender.

"Well I'm sure as hell not sticking around here if you're taking off somewhere. I'm going with you."

Ender looked amused when Abra said "hell." He shook his head, smiling. "No. You're too young to take the risk of —»

"Come on!" said Abra with disgust. "You're Ender Wiggin. Don't tell me what eleven-year-old kids can do!"

So they rode in the skimmer together until they got to the first set of structures. Ender stopped and they got off. The shape of the structures came from metal frameworks underlying and supporting the vines. Now Abra realized they were swings and slides, just like those in the town park in Miranda. The ones in Miranda were smaller, because they were just for the little kids. But there was no mistaking what they were.

But formics didn't have babies, they had larvae. Worms would hardly needs swings and slides.

"They made human stuff," said Abra.

Ender only nodded.

"They really were taking stuff out of your head," said Abra.

"That's one explanation," said Ender. Then they got on the skimmer and went on. Ender seemed to know the way.

They neared the farthest structure. It was a thick tower and some lower walls, all covered with ivy. There was a window near the top of the tower.

"You knew this would be here," said Abra.

"It was my nightmare," said Ender. "My memory of the fantasy game."

Abra had no idea what "the fantasy game" was, but he understood that this place represented one of those dreams that the formics were taking out of Ender when they vivisected him in that nightmare he had talked about.

Ender got out of the skimmer. "Don't come after me," he said. "If I'm not back in an hour, it means it's dangerous here, and you must go home at once and tell them everything."

"Eat it, Ender, I'm coming with you," said Abra.

Ender looked at him coldly. "Eat it yourself, Abra, or I'll stuff you with mud."

His words were jocular, and so was his tone. But his eyes were not joking, and Abra knew that he meant it.

So Abra stayed with the skimmer and watched Ender jog over to the castle — for that's what it was. And then Ender climbed up the outside of the tower and went in through the window.

Abra stayed, watching the tower, for a long time. He checked the skimmer's clock now and then. And finally his gaze began to wander. He watched birds and insects, small animals in the grass, clouds moving across the sky.

That's why he didn't see Ender come out of the tower. He only saw him walking toward the skimmer, carrying his jacket in a wad under his arm.

Only it wasn't a wad. There was something inside the jacket. But Abra didn't ask what Ender had found. He figured that if Ender wanted him to know, he'd tell him.

"We aren't building the new colony here," said Ender.

"OK," said Abra.

"Let's go back and strike camp," said Ender.

They searched for five more days, well to the east and south of the place they had first found, until they had another colony site. It was a bigger formic settlement, with a much larger area of fields and all the signs of a much larger annual rainfall. "This is the right place," said Ender. "Better climate, warmer. Good, rich soil."

They spent a week laying out the new site.