Petra Delphiki III, more commonly known by her nickname of Little Mum, was the daughter of Ender Delphiki and the granddaughter of Bean and Petra Arkanian.[1] She was first introduced in The Last Shadow.
History[]
Early Life[]
Little Mum was born on the planet Nokonoshima to Mayumi in the year 3166 AX. Soon after, she was kidnapped by her father Ender Delphiki and taken aboard the lightspeed ship Herodotus with the rest of her family. As the child of Ender, she possessed the high intelligence of Anton's Key but without the out of control growth hormone. As the oldest of the Delphiki grandchildren, she received the nickname "Little Mum".[1]
The Last Shadow[]
Around the year 3180 AX, it was her cousin Delft Delphiki's 9th birthday. Her other cousins, Dysprosium Delphiki and Lanthanum Delphiki were joking with Thulium Delphiki but were told off by Little Mum. Later that day, a computer program reflecting the mind of Hyrum Graff found its way into the computers of the Herodotus and conversed with Little Mum's aunt Carlotta Delphiki and her cousin Thulium. 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 Little Mum's father Ender and talked about identifying the Descolada planet. Her 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, Brussels Delphiki 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, Little Mum and the rest of the cousins went to go meet the Pequeninos, except for Thulium.[1]
Little Mum 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. Soon after, the Hive Queen created a cure for them using slug-like Formicoid creatures.[1]
When Peter and Wang-mu came back from Nest, they brought 2 dead Keas with them, as it seemed that hundreds had died. Those in the Q-Bay investigated the cause but nothing turned up, it seemed as though the birds just died. Miro said that they should return, but in a Box for any birds to escape into. They filled it with roosts and sent it to Nest. Jane sent the Box full with birds back and forth dozens of times, and one final time for the Yachachi. The group then went to the meadow to sort the birds. Jane told them to divide themselves into their breeding populations, then instructed the Keas to form a group who wanted to be alone and a group that wished to be with the Ravens, as they could not be trusted with humans. One by one the patches of birds disappeared as Jane sent them to the colonies. The Yachachi sat on the edge, and Ruqyaq asked Jane if they could stay on Lusitania, but she said no as the only trees on Lusitania were the sacred Fathertrees. Jane also instructed them to make clothes for themselves, so they asked to stay for a few more days.[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]