Si Wang-mu was the secret maid of Han Qing-jao[2] and the wife of Peter Wiggin II.[3] She was first introduced in Xenocide.
History[]
Early Life[]
Si Wang-mu was a very intelligent and ambitious girl, but because her homeworld of Path had a rigidly stratified social hierarchy and she was the child of lower-class parents, she was not well educated.[2]
Xenocide[]
She approached the young Godspoken lady Han Qing-jao while they were doing "righteous labor" in the rice paddies. Qing-jao was pleased with Wang-mu's intelligence and honesty, and hired her into the House of Han as her servant and began to educate her. During this initial conversation, Qing-jao deduced that Wang-mu must have bribed the foreman for the opportunity to work alongside a godspoken woman, though she only later realized the depth of this commitment. Since Wang-mu was from a poor family, she could only exchange sexual favors for the opportunity; this realization made Qing-jao more grateful for Wang-mu and determined to have the foreman fired for such impropriety.[2]
Under Qing-jao's tutelage, Wang-mu proved to be a quick student. As the "secret maid" of Qing-jao, it was her job to always be at her mistress' side, keeping her confidence while serving her needs. Though their relationship was at times strained, Wang-mu's consistent attention to detail and consideration often turned away any of her potential offenses. As Qing-jao was continuously gripped by the voice of the "gods", Wang-mu often stayed with her throughout her humiliating rituals of "purification."[2]
When Han Fei-tzu received orders from Starways Congress to solve the mystery of the disappearance of the Lusitania Fleet, Wang-mu was present and immediately incorporated into the discussion. Qing-jao trusted her implicitly and relied on her more as a friend with a fresh set of eyes rather than a simple maid, and the two often discussed the problems of science and philosophy arising out of their task. While Qing-jao was an excellent and methodical researcher, it was often Wang-mu's insights and creative thinking that steered closer toward the answer.[2]
Eventually, the two stumbled onto the eventual identity of the elusive Demosthenes and realized that the famous writer must have had access to a powerful or sentient computer program to accomplish the task of hiding the fleet while in near-light speed travel. Jane, in turn, revealed herself to Han Fei-tzu, Qing-jao, and Wang-mu, followed by a devastating secret: the Godspoken had been genetically modified by Congress as a deliberate strategy to make them useful but not a threat.[2]
While Han Fei-tzu immediately seized the truth of this idea, his daughter Qing-jao could not accept this and believed that Jane must be destroyed, but Wang-mu saw Jane as an intelligent and compassionate person and was greatly saddened at the thought of her death. Moreover, she clung to the possibility that ridding the people of Path from the "godspoken" genetic markers may free her adopted family from its humiliating grip. Qing-jao, still believing the OCD to be the voice of the gods, dismissed Wang-mu from her service, but her father, Han Fei-tzu, called her back to help save Jane and the people of Lusitania.[2]
Working closely with Han Fei-tzu, the pair began working with the Xenobiologists of Lusitania to solve the various problems confronting them: stopping the Lusitania Fleet from destroying the planet on their arrival, finding a cure or replacement for the Descolada, and cracking the secret to faster-than-light travel. As before with Qing-jao, Wang-mu acted as the fresh set of eyes for Han Fei-tzu, providing insight and intuitive guesses that only someone who was not a disciplined expert could offer[2].
It was eventually discovered that all but one of the people in the small sample testing of members of Han's household gifted with enhanced intelligence were also afflicted with an artificially inflicted form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). That one person was Si Wang-mu herself, and her genes were used to help cure the remainder of Path's population - to give them all intelligence without the bonds of the OCD. Han Fei-tzu commented that she was essentially living up to her namesake, since her genetic pattern will be the "mother" of the unfettered new strain used to cure the godspoken.[2]
Peter Wiggin II arrived on Path from Lusitania to deliver the virus, via Jane's faster-than-light travel. Upon seeing Wang-mu, he suggested that she come with him to overthrow Starways Congress. At first Wang-mu was unsure, but Han Fei-tzu convinced her to leave her home planet behind and go with Peter.[2]
Children of the Mind[]
Along with Peter Wiggin II, the two adopted the singular mission of convincing Starways Congress to halt their attack on Lusitania. To do this, they embarked on a series of investigations and debates to pull an influential swing vote to their favor. According to Peter, the center of power in Congress was not held in the hands of politicians and soldiers, but rather several key philosophical leaders who had the tendency to influence policy. To this effect, Wang-mu posed as an itinerant philosopher specializing in cryptic "gnomic" sayings--presumably a position of great influence for someone of her age. Peter posed as a traveling physicist so that the two, working together, would draw more attention to their combined arguments representing both science and philosophy, respectively.[3]
Traveling with Peter was quick, thanks to Jane's ability to move them at faster-than-light speeds; however, the two developed an immediate dislike for one another, which eventually became a love-hate relationship. Since Peter was created by Andrew Wiggin to be a vessel for self-hatred, he had a tendency to lash out at the people around him, initially turning Wang-mu into his most frequent target. After shedding her trained humility and servile attitude from the world of Path, Wang-mu began returning the favor, fighting verbal sparring matches that exchanged hurtful remarks, though the two eventually formed a grudging respect.[3]
They were first sent to the planet of Divine Wind to probe the questions of imperialism with Aimaina Hikari. When Peter failed to connect with the withdrawn social figure, due mainly to a lack of cultural context, Wang-mu engaged him in a duel of humility to win his respect. While the two failed to persuade him to their cause, they in turn found out that he was a disciple of a Samoan holy man: Malu. Jane revealed that this was actually their mission all along, as Malu was the guiding light of modern philosophy. Since Aimaina contacted Grace Drinker first, the two traveled to the planet Pacifica in an effort to contact him through her.[3]
Once they arrived, it was immediately apparent to both Grace and her family that Peter and Wang-mu had achieved the impossible and traveled faster than light. After a series of additional cultural blunders, Grace revealed that the two were not holy enough to go see Malu, but that in a compromise, Malu had decided to see them.[3]
After listening to Malu at length, lightyears away on Lusitania, Andrew Wiggin began dying, causing the extensions of his Aiúa (Peter II and Valentine Wiggin II) to fluctuate. As Peter started to fade into death on Pacifica, he underwent an intense personal transformation, and Wang-mu began to realize that a deeper connection had formed between the two. As Peter slipped in and out of alternating states of death and waking, she became an emotional--and more importantly, spiritual--anchor for him that allowed him to draw the complete life source out of the dying Andrew. Having taken full possession of the life force that was once divided in three bodies, the fully reborn Peter lost much of his acerbic nature, and the depth of his feelings for Wang-mu were now open and shared. The two forged a metaphysical bond during the process that caused the two to fall deeply in love.[3]
Once Peter was made whole by being in full possession of Andrew's Aiúa, the pair traveled directly to the Lusitania Fleet to confront Admiral Bobby Lands. Though Lands had already launched the Molecular Disruption Device, Peter convinced Jane to transport it back to the flagship so the other officers could disarm it. Once Peter and Si Wang-mu delivered a series of messages for Starways Congress, they transported themselves back to Lusitania where Wang-mu met Novinha and her children, Valentine Wiggin, and the other inhabitants of the planet.[3]
Once there, she attempted to form a bond with Quara Ribeira, the most isolated and confrontational of Novinha's children with somewhat greater success than the others; Wang-mu further determined to strengthen this progress until the two of them could openly be friends.[3]
She eventually married Peter at the roots of a Pequenino Mothertree in a dual ceremony with Miro Ribeira and Jane shortly after Andrew's funeral. Having earlier expressed a desire to travel to the known colonized planets, the four disappeared as Jane transported them away for their travels.[3]
The Last Shadow[]
Wang-mu and Peter spent a month on the planet Unity meeting with various politicians, dropping amounts of Peter's vast fortune that he had inherited from Andrew into a variety of causes in order to influence the Japanese contingent of Starways Congress. At some point during this, they were informed about the arrival of the Leguminids on Lusitania. Wang-mu and Peter discussed their relationship for a time, and mentioned that basketball was popular on the planet. Wang-mu suggested that Peter use basketball as a way to make an inroads with the Congressors. Peter then said he felt like his efforts on Unity were not working, not contributing to his efforts to better unify the Hundred Worlds to prepare for new encounters with aliens who are the equals of Humans or perhaps their superiors. Wang-mu stated that the Hundred Worlds may need another Peter Wiggin as Hegemon if it came to war with the Descoladores, but what Peter was doing was not working. Si Wang-mu proposed that they go to the Descoladora to uncover the mystery of the planet, and that they consult with Jane about it. After he talked with her, the two were sent back to Lusitania.[1]
As Peter practiced learning instantaneous travel, he tried teleporting to Han Fei-tzu's home, and Jane brought Wang-mu with him. She cried upon seeing her home again. After returning to Lusitania, they decided to meet the Hive Queen of Shakespeare, but before leaving they were joined by Thulium Delphiki. They eventually reached the cave entrance to the underground Formic city. At the entrance they met Talker, a Formic worker who would guide them. Thulium told the group about how her father and siblings met Formic drones on the Formic Ark. When Jane expresseed a desire to see the videos of this, Thulium mentioned that she had already ransaked their data. As Thulium began to cross the river, Talker ran over and scooped her up to carry her as she was not tall enough to wade through. The rest of the group waded through and spent time drying off. The group began to enter the tunnel and venture towards the Hive Queen's dwelling place. Amazed at what she saw, Wang-mu pledged to write to Han Fei-tzu about it; however, Jane told her not to, to let him live out his days in the company of his daughter, and have him forget how much better he was pleased with Wang-mu than with Qing-jao.[1]
When they arrived in the Queen's chambers, Wang-mu asked if her philotic connection with Peter was strong enough for him to take her with him as he went Outside and back in. The Queen stated that it had the strength but Peter must also have the will. Peter then changed topics to explain Wang-mu's theory about Descoladora and if he and Wang-mu could travel there to find out what was going on on the planet. He explained that they should go as they learned quickly, but if they died to an unknown virus their loss would not cripple the Descolada project. Thulium spoke out against them, saying they should not go as they are not experienced geneticists and would not know what they were looking at. She insisted that she should go, as she considered herself the most expendable geneticist. The Queen then returned to Peter saying that they did need a geneticist on their journey, that they should take both Thulium and her cousin Brussels Delphiki. Peter disliked this option, which Jane noted as being due to the fact that Peter would not be in charge of it, and she taunted him for it. Peter was further rebuked by the Queen when she said that no one depended upon his leadership as much as her workers depended on her authority. Humbled, Peter realized within himself that he did not need to be in control, but simply look out for the others. Reading his mind, the Hive Queen praised Peter and said that he was now truly the leader of the expedition. Wang-mu gave Peter a hand squeeze. The Hive Queen said that Talker would be unable to lead them out and told Thulium to instead.[1]
Soon after, Peter and Wang-mu traveled to a planet to procure a piece of equipment for the mission. They went back and forth with the shopkeeper until they could purchase the item and then left to return to their temporary home. They talked for awhile and then decided to call Jane; Peter called her via Ansible instead of the jewel in his ear so Wang-mu could participate. After talking with Jane, they debated whether to buy a company, borrow the equipment and forget to return it, or buy the equipment. They purchased a device known as a patch sampler and had it delivered to their temporary home. They transported their equipment into a Box and teleported away, and Jane had the house sold in 2 days.[1]
Miro approached Wang-mu and asked if she would leave him and Peter alone to talk, which Wang-mu accepted. After they talked, Wang-mu came into the room. She asked if they would leave on their survey mission that night. Peter inisted that they go without Thulium as there would be a lot of possible danger on the planet. After making a quick trip to the Q-Bay, they chose a spot on the largest continent of Descoladora near the cost to teleport to, and they left.[1]
Wang-mu's first reaction to the landscape of Descoladora was that it felt familiar. She saw a bee at her feet, and Peter saw gnat-like creatures nearby. After taking the bee in her hands and Peter grabbed some grass, they returned to the Q-Bay. The two immediatley wondered why the planet would be so Earth-like, and considered the possiblity that humans had visited there at some point. Due to the early hour the couple decided to wait until the Q-Bay workers had arrived to discuss more. Their bodies were inspected for microorganisms and others inspected the bee and grass samples. Later that afternoon, Thulium and Sprout arrived. Thulium understood why she was left behind, due to the threat of a large predator that could have killed her. Although they looked clean, Peter and Wang-mu were to remain in quarantine until any alien virus would have time to develop. Wang-mu noted that the bee's genome matched exactly with an Earth honeybee from the 22nd century, prior to the Formic Wars, except for the fact that it did not have a stinger. The grass genome also was adapted to fit nutrition needs of Earth animals, especially birds. Another note was that they did not find the Descolada virus present in the samples. Thus, the group thought it was likely that the planet was human-colonized, and not the source of the Descolada. Peter and Wang-mu decided to return to the same spot in case that there were people there to meet them.[1]
As they returned to Descoladora, a swarm of birds flew off near them, which Peter noticed to be Keas, a kind of parrot. The birds landed on their shoulders and took off anything on them that could be easily removed. One bird tore through the elastic on Peter's pants and they dropped, and the birds searched through the pockets. Wang-mu heard a Kea speak Stark near her ear. When the Keas heard a Raven's call, they scattered. A Raven appeared and invited Peter and Wang-mu to talk to "the council". Wang-mu responsed in the affirmative, and the Raven flew off, leaving the couple to follow it. Peter noted that the Raven was not merely imitating speech, and the Raven responded that they created their own sentences, and wondered why it took so long for those in the "dancing star" in orbit to land. As they exchanged names, the Raven said that no human could produce the sounds of their names, however she said that the humans of the planet called her Interpreter or Speaker or Barking Dog, which Wang-mu decided to shorten to Dog. Wang-mu also stressed that if their belongings were not returned, they would not return to the planet. Dog asked why they thought the planet would have diseases, to which Wang-mu explained how they had recieved transmissions for how to build the Descolada molecule from the planet previously. When Wang-mu again requested for their belongings back, a swam of Ravens appeared, and Peter teleported them several kilometers away. Another Raven appeared, which Wang-mu asked if it was Dog. The Raven said he was unworthy of being mistaken for her. Wang-mu tried giving him a variety of names until Phoenix stuck. Wang-mu again stressed that if they were not returned their belongings, they would leave. Phoenix told them to wait a short while until the Council had made their decision. Wang-mu offered to take Phoenix with them through instantaneous travel, and Phoenix accepted. When they returned to where Dog was, Phoenix was confused for a bit but adjusted quickly. Dog asked if they would take her, but they refused until they had their belongings back. Within moments, the Keas had swarmed all over them, returning everything. Wang-mu asked for the Kea that had origininally spoke in her ear, and she named him Royal Son after explaining her own name. Royal Son asked to return to their planet with Peter and Wang-mu, to which Wang-mu deferred to the Council. Dog said that Royal Son was of little impotance so they agreed. The three teleported to the Q-Bay on Lusitania, where the workers immediately began inspecting them. Wang-mu explained the quarantine proceudre to Royal Son, who asked what he could play with in the room.[1]
The next morning, Royal Son asked to go back to his planet, and so he, Peter, and Wang-mu teleported back to the forest where the Council was at. When they arrived, the Raven Phoenix flew over and spoke with Royal Son for a short period, and then Royal Son flew abruptly back to the trees. Peter asked Phoenix if he was able to read writing, and by writing a request to see the humans of the world which Phoenix responded to, he proved that they could. Phoenix said he would check with Dog if she had seen any. Dog then met with them and requested to go with them to Lusitania but refused to stay in the Q-Bay. Peter originally refused but Dog said she would wait out any quarantine procedure before going out to meet the other creatures Royal Son had told them about, which were the Pequeninos and Formics. Peter still balked but Wang-mu stilled him and insisted that it was a fair trade, as they had seen a fair amount of the Ravens' and Keas' planet. Before leaving, Wang-mu asked if they could take more samples, such as a flower, but Dog said that they could not as the flowers were precious. Dog also accused them of stealing the bee from earlier, which Peter said that they did not think or speak. Dog screamed in his ear, rebuking him for judging lives based on whether they could speak or not. Wang-mu affirmed her accusation, saying that both humans and other sentient species (Formics) have judged worth whether or not they could communicate. Dog, calmed down, admitted that the Ravens and Keas do the same. They began to collect samples, and returned to the Q-Bay. When they arrived, Thulium and Sprout immediatley left to the planet, but shortly Thulium came back after being rebuffed by Royal Son and the Keas. She realized she had left Sprout and panicked but Jane came on the intercom and said that he was still on the planet. Her first reaction was to go back for him but Jane demanded that she stay. Wang-mu also explained that Dog had been checked for viruses and was being taken by Jane to see the Fathertrees and the Hive Queen.[1]
When Brussels Delphiki returned from Descoladora, he explained that he had met a man with ape-like features named Ruqyaq, who explained that the residents of the planet, which they called Nest, originally came from Earth after the First Formic War and modified themselves during the non-relatavistic journey into a subspecies called the Yachachiyruna or Engineers, and that the birds had bred intelligence into themselves. Jane conversed with Thulium about the discovery and Thulium expressed heavy doubt. Jane, with access to ancient databases, confirmed the existence of the Quispe clan and the ship Ark.[1]
Jane collected Thulium, Peter, Wang-mu, Miro, Ela and Quara Ribeira, the Raven Dog, along with 3 Pequeninos and 3 Formic workers to meet with Sprout. With everybody assembled, they watched the video recordings that a Yachachi had made of Sprout's activities on Nest. After seeing proof, Ela said that she would not have called the meeting if she knew the proof existed. Thulium asked Jane if Sprout had developed the ability of Outside-in travel, which she confirmed. Jane also explained that Outside-in travel came easily to Leguminids, as well as Peter, Wang-mu and Miro, but that the Hive Queen had told her that most lacked the ability to bring anything except themselves through. Dog expressed disappointment over this, but Sprout explained that it would be disastrous if all Keas learned how to and created chaos on all the worlds. Jane expressed a desire to meet the Runa, the normal humans of Nest, and Dog said that she would set up a meeting. Sprout asked Dog if he did a good job meeting the Yachachi, and Dog said that they could not have chosen a better emissary. The Pequenino Fingers talked with Dog about helping them proccess the data in the video, and explained that his name was Fingers (digits) because he was good with computers.[1]
Soon after, Jane, Peter, and Wang-mu went to the Formic city to talk to the Hive Queen, and she used Talker as a translator. They discussed the Formic's ignorance in the First and Second Formic Wars and wondered if the interactions with the Runa would turn sour due to their fear of the more advanced humans from Lusitania. Their conversation was later quoted by Plikt in "Peter Wiggin as Ender's Heir".[1]
Wang-mu and Peter returned to the surface of Nest and spoke with Dog. Wang-mu and Peter discussed Thulium's theory that the Folk were driven underground by the mischief of the Keas and to avoid a war. Dog, who was listening, explained that around 300 AX, the Folk began to tire of the Keas' harrassment and started to trap them, which broke out into war between the birds and humans, which drove the Folk underground and bearing deep resentment. After Dog said that the Lusitanians were not more advanced than the people of Nest, Peter asserted that the Formic Hive Queen could wage terrible war with the knowledge of her species and the destruction they are capable of. Dog said that humans waged worse war, which Peter agreed with. Wang-mu said that there would be no war, as they would not raise a weapon against the Folk, but if the Folk did they would simply leave. Dog suggested they leave and ignore Nest, but Peter knew they needed to learn more about the Descolada, and Wang-mu said that they could not do that without everyone else agreeing. Wang-mu said that they would likely decide to visit the Folk, but Dog tacitly warned them not to go with them, that the Folk would harm them.[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. Mazer 'Boss' Delphiki mentioned that they should come up with a name for instantaneous travel, and Petra 'Little Mum' Delphiki 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]
When the group returned, Peter and Wang-mu learned that they had been attacked by The Folk using a biological weapon. Knowing that the Keas, Ravens, and Yachachi were next, Peter and Wang-mu went back to Nest to see if they wished to come to the Lusitanian Colonies. When they arrived on Nest, no birds were in sight. Eventually Wang-mu noticed something bright on the ground, and saw it was a dead Kea. There were hundreds around them. They returned to the Q-Bay with the bodies of 2 birds. 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. Peter and Wang-Mu walked toward the Council trees, where Ruqyaq emerged, and he asked if they could take Keas and Ravens to escape. Ruqyaq explained that the weapon was a combination of ultrasound and infrasound, that he had designed for riot control twenty years ago. Ruqyaq took them to an area with some Keas and Ravens still alive, and Sprout invited them into the Box. Jane sent the Box full with birds back and forth dozens of times. Eventually there was no birds left except for a few that hovered off in the distance, apparently with no wish to go even under threat of death. Then the Yachachi emerged from the trees, and Jane teleported them away, and the group Detoured back to the Q-Bay.[1]
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]
A few months later, Wang-mu gave birth to her son and named him Fei-Tzu Wiggin. Soon after, she and Peter decided to visit one of the colonies to see Royal Son, and Thulium asked to go with them. Wang-mu asked if Thulium would wait a few days to go, and she agreed. On the day of, Jane Detoured them to the continent where Keas lived, but then left them. They inferred where they were on the planet, and began heading for a biome that they thought would have Keas. Eventually they found them and were greeted by Royal Son. Wang-mu and Peter introduced their son, and Royal Son joked that he must then change his name, but Wang-mu told him to treat him as his brother. Royal Son thanked them for freeing the Keas from the dominion of the Folk, as well as the Raven Council. Over the next week, Wang-mu, Peter and Thulium visited the keas every day. They brought Fei-Tzu with them only once, then left him with Ender Delphiki and Mayumi and their children after that. Eventually they said their goodbyes, and once they were home Thulium said goodnight to Fei-tzu, Peter and Wang-mu and then went home to Carlotta's house, but Wang-mu and Peter talked for a while in bed about Thulium and how Peter was embracing Andrew Wiggin's memories.[1]
Personality[]
Trivia[]
- Si Wang-mu's Ancestor-of-the-heart (namesake) was the Chinese goddess Xi Wangmu - the Royal Mother of the West.[2]
Quotes[]
- "I always introduced myself as Si Wang-Mu, without apology or bashfulness, daring people to laugh."
- — The Last Shadow, Chapter 6