Mazer Delphiki, more commonly known by his nickname of Boss, was the son of Ender Delphiki and the grandson of Bean and Petra Arkanian. He was first introduced in The Last Shadow.
History[]
Early Life[]
Mazer was born on the planet Nokonoshima to Mayumi in the year 3167 AX. Soon after, he was kidnapped by his father Ender Delphiki and taken aboard the lightspeed ship Herodotus with the rest of his family. As the child of Ender, he possessed the high intelligence of Anton's Key but without the out-of-control growth hormone.[1]
The Last Shadow[]
In 3180 AX, a computer program reflecting the mind of Hyrum Graff found its way into the computers of the Herodotus and conversed with Mazer's aunt Carlotta Delphiki and his cousin Thulium Delphiki. Graff revealed that he had been slowing down the Herodotus to non-relativistic speed in order so that the Leguminids may help solve the problem of the Descolada on Lusitania. After their conversation, Carlotta told the rest of the family on board the ship. The cousins met together in the mess hall with Mazer's father Ender and talked about identifying the Descolada planet. His uncle Cincinnatus Delphiki came in and listened to the discussion briefly before starting to walk out. After prompting by Ender, Sergeant explained his thoughts that it was most likely that even if the virus was created, its creators were most likely extinct by millions of years. Graff appeared as a hologram again in the room, who Sergeant promptly dismissed and left the mess hall. After much discussion about the finances of the Delphiki family and the Descolada problem, Thulium proposed that the Leguminids simply go to Lusitania to converse with the scientists there about the issue. Suddently, Sprout realized that Graff came to the Herodotus to escape the Hundred Worlds-wide Ansible shutdown, to which Graff affirmed his hypothesis. Graff explained to the Delphikis that the Lusitanian scientists had found a possible origin point of the Descolada, a planet they called Descoladora.[1]
At that moment, a man and a woman appeared in the room. The woman walked to Ender and expressed that he looked much like his parents, Bean and Petra Arkanian. The hologram of Graff thought the woman was Valentine Wiggin, though much younger than she should be. She introduced herself as Jane and the man as Miro Ribeira to the group and explained how Andrew Wiggin had created her body and Peter Wiggin II while Outside, as well as the concept of an Aiúa and how the Recolada had neutralized the Descolada on Lusitania. The Leguminids doubted Jane's story and were baffled at how she and Miro appeared instantaneously on the ship. Jane then instantly transported the Delphikis to a plain of grass on Lusitania. Jane stated that she had left the Herodotus in orbit around the planet and explained the concept of instantaneous travel to them, and that she had sent Carlotta, Cincinatus, and Ender to Nokonoshima to persuade their spouses to join the Delphikis on Lusitania. When asked by their children when their parents would return, Jane simply said when their work is done.[1]
For the next several days, the Delphikis worked on their own computers on the Descolada problem or whatever they were working on prior on the Herodotus. After about a week, Boss and the rest of the cousins went to go meet the Pequeninos, except for Thulium.[1]
Boss later attended a presentation to the Leguminids on the prior research about the Descolada hosted by Valentine Wiggin.[1]
Some time later, a meeting was called for all members of the Descolada Project, where they discussed the discovery of the Recorder virus being a precursor to the Descolada, and about the intentions of the Makers of the Recorder. Jane also mentioned that the Folk had invited the Lusitanians to a banquet that night, and they hypothesized that it was a trap. Peter II and Wang-mu refused to go with them, citing that Dog had given them a hint that they would be harmed by the Folk and that Wang-mu was pregnant. Boss mentioned that they should come up with a name for instantaneous travel, and Little Mum suggested that they name it Detouring. Jane asked for a show of hands of who would go meet the Folk, and everybody except for Peter and Wang-mu volunteered. Sergeant suggested they bring armaments but Ender discouraged it, and Jane said that the instant conflict occured they would leave. Sprout asked why there were no Formics or Pequeninos at the meeting, and Jane explained that the Fathertrees and Hive Queens banned their children from going to Nest. Ela explained that they would address the Folk by explaining that they planned to leave Nest for good after the banquet, with the assurance that they would not add their world to any database or atlas. Sprout suggested that they bring breeding pairs of Keas and Ravens, and the rest said that if they wanted to come they could take them to the Lusitanian Colonies. Peter then demanded that they leave Sergeant behind due to his hostile nature, fearing an incident with the Folk, however Jane and the rest saw no reason to leave him. The group also noted Thulium was not present, and Jane expected to find her on Nest.[1]
The group then Detoured to a spot near the ocean on Nest. The Kea Royal Son greeted them and explained that he and other Keas would guide them to the Folk. The group came to a doorway built into a recessed place in a rocky cliff, and the door opened automatically. They entered into a room that turned out to be an elevator, and it lowered them down a long time. The elevator opened into a large room. The Folk made introductions to the adults of the group but ignored the children. Far back in the room they saw several highly elaborate chairs in the middle, one of which was occupied by Thulium. One of the Folk said that Thulium had brought her friends as promised, and asked her to introduce them to the Folk. As she listed their names, a spotlight shone on each one as though the Folk knew their names. The group was invited to sit down, but Sprout snuck over to Thulium and noticed that they had her face thickly caked with makeup that looked chalky, but noticed some bumps Thulium usually did not have. Sprout scraped away the layer of white, which fell off and uncovered dozens of small blisters, and a clear fluid had burst out of them. Sprout called out to Jane and showed her the blisters. A few Folk moved to try to intercept Jane, and some of what looked to be the Folk's highest officers looked cheerful, as if they had already won a war that wasn't supposed to start. Jane Detoured everybody back to the Q-Bay. Sprout and Jane talked to Thulium and she explained that she had gone yesterday to the Folk, and the blisters appeared that morning when she woke up. They began to examine the microorganisms to find out how to cure it.[1]
After the Descolada problem was solved, the Leguminids had a meeting that was also attended by Miro. They realized that a normal world and education were off the table for them, as well as returning to the Herodotus, as it had already been claimed by Sergeant and the twins. Thulium said she intended to travel but would usually stay on Lusitania, and Miro said that he, Jane, Peter, and Wang-mu would stay there as well. Boss asked if they could stay at their building on Lusitania, and Miro agreed if Yuuto would pay for it. The rest of the Leguminids agreed to stay and live with the people of Lusitania.[1]