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"In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. And then, in that very moment when I love them.... I destroy them."
Ender's Game, Chapter 13
SPOILER WARNING: Ender Quintet, Shadow Saga, & Short Story plot details follow.


Andrew Thomas Wiggin,[8] commonly known by his nickname Ender Wiggin, was a Battle School Student, the commander of Dragon Army,[1] and later a Speaker for the Dead.[2] He is the main protagonist of the Ender Quintet, and was first introduced in Ender's Game.

History

Early Life

Andrew Wiggin was born in 11 BX to Theresa and John Paul Wiggin. He was their third child, his older siblings being Peter and Valentine. Theresa and John Paul were instructed to conceive a third child by the government to be hopefully half as ruthless as Peter, but half as empathetic as Valentine (both of whom were past Battle School candidates). During his youth, Valentine gave him the nickname "Ender" because she could not yet pronounce "Andrew".[1]

His birth illustrated Peter's failure to fulfill a destiny in Battle School, and as a result Peter abused him mercilessly. Valentine always stood up for Ender during these conflicts. Peter would often force Ender to play Buggers and Astronauts, which usually led to Peter beating up Ender.[1]

Ender went to elementary school and was picked on for being a Third, as well as because he wore his monitor much longer than usual.[1]

EnderMonitorRemoval

Ender before getting his Monitor removed.

When his monitor was removed by the nurse Deedee, he experienced a seizure. Later that day, he was tormented and bullied by a fellow elementary boy, Stilson. Upon going to the bus, he was stopped by Stilson and his crew. Under self defense, Ender defeated Stilson,[1] kicking him repeatedly with his steel-toed shoes that were part of his uniform.[5] Stilson was hospitalized, and later died from his injuries. He was greeted by Hyrum Graff and Major Anderson in his home. Graff told Ender that he would now be recruited for Battle School, as he had proven himself ruthless enough by defeating Stilson.[1]

Battle School

Ender was isolated on the flight to Battle School by Graff. His first enemy was Bernard, who bullied Shen often. He befriended Shen by standing up for him in an act against Bernard. Ender would later befriend Alai, who at the time was Bernard's best friend. This bridged the gap between Ender and Bernard, and the tensions between the two seemed to relax. Before he could get used to the peace, he was transferred into Salamander Army, where he met its commander, Bonzo Madrid.[1]

Bonzo, thinking Ender would only hinder the effectiveness of his army in the Battle Room, banned Ender from participation in all battle practices, thus depriving him of the opportunity to learn how to fight in Zero-G.[1]

Salamander Army's only female soldier, Petra Arkanian, took pity on him, and offered to give him private lessons during free time. Ender was later traded to Rat Army, where he met commander Rose the Nose and Toon Leader Dink Meeker.[1]

Some time passed, and Ender was traded from army to army, including Petra Arkanian's Phoenix Army. Ender started his own training sessions during free time in the Battle Room, inviting various launches and members of other armies.[1]

The Battle School staff noticed Ender's successes and gave him an army of his own. He became the commander of Dragon Army. Dragon Army's name had been retired because of its record as an army that had never won a battle. Ender was given 40 Battle Schoolers for his army, almost all of them fresh launchies. A few were veterans from other armies, but weren't very good. One of the launchies in his army got Ender's attention - Bean, who reminded Ender of himself at a younger age.[1]

Ender's Dragon Army was undefeatable in the Battle Room, beating every single army it went up against. One of these armies was Salamander Army, still commanded by Bonzo Madrid. After his defeat by Ender, he became infuriated. Many people cautioned Ender that his life was in danger, but he brushed it off.[1]

When Bonzo and seven other boys, including Bernard, ambushed Ender in the showers, Ender shamed Bonzo into fighting him one on one, subsequently defeating him. Bonzo later died from his injuries. Ender seemed to be aware of this despite the fact nobody told him, and refused to participate in Battle School any longer. He returned to Earth with Graff, and lived on a lake for several weeks.[1]

EnderAndVal

Ender and Valentine embracing on the lake.

Graff came to the Wiggin household, requesting that Valentine Wiggin come with him to convince Ender to continue with Battle School. Valentine agreed, and visited Ender on the lake. She eventually persuaded Ender to go on with his training, and he and Graff returned to space.[1]

Third Formic War

Ender went to Command School on the asteroid Eros. He was introduced to the simulator, where he was to practice commanding the human fleet heading to the Formic Homeworld. There, he met Mazer Rackham, the war hero who defeated the Formics in the Second Invasion. He was taught about strategy, and how the Formics thought.[1]

After practicing on the simulator alone for a few weeks, he began to practice with his Jeesh, assigning them certain commander roles on the simulator.[1]

EnderCommanding

Ender commanding the human fleet.

The day of the "Graduation Battle", Ender and his Jeesh were faced against an insurmountable Formic fleet. As soon as he realized he could not win, Ender decided to use the Molecular Disruption Device on the Formic planet. This act destroyed the planet and the Formic fleet. Ender and the Jeesh celebrated, believing they had just won their final simulated battle of Command School. He was then informed by Graff that the battle was in fact real, not a simulation. The realization that he had annihilated a sentient species dawned dark upon Ender, and he passed out for 5 days.[1]

Ender in Exile

After the League War took place and was settled by the Locke Proposal, Admiral Chamrajnagar gave Ender the rank of Admiral due to his victory in the war. As the members of his Jeesh began to go their separate ways, Ender spoke with some before he left. Han Tzu invited Ender to visit China and said his goodbyes. When Ender found out that Graff would be court martialed for how he trained Ender, he came to Mazer just before the trial began and laid out his hypotheses about what was really going on. He guessed correctly that he had killed Bonzo and Stilson, but Mazer did not confirm his theories, although when he saw the court transcripts he found that he was right. Ender read the writings of Demosthenes and saw how his pro-American views for where Ender should go would lead to him being unable to return to Earth. Mazer spoke later with Ender about their plans after the war, but Mazer explained that the family he knew was either dead or senile. Ender proposed that he go to a colony, but Mazer was unsure.[5]

As Ender wondered why the Hive Queens had grouped themselves on the Formic Homeworld to die rather than escape after the M.D. Device was shown to them, Petra came to him and expressed that he had an unhealthy obsession with the Formics. They discussed the court martial and after Ender dismissed Petra's attempts at helping him, she stormed off. Soon after, Ender was informed that he was to become the governor of the first human colony and go on a 40 year voyage to the planet. He knew that this position was a joke but knew he had to leave the Solar System, and decided to go along with it, as he wanted to see a Formic planet.[5]

After three days of inspecting the IFcoltrans1, the ship that would be going to Colony 1, Ender spoke with the captain who had Ender duty that day where the captain explained the workings of interstellar flight via the Egg Drive. Ender realized that the drive was the origin of the Molecular Disruption Device's power, and was shocked to learn that it was not a Human invention. When all of Ender's training sessions were finished, he spoke with Graff about his plans for the voyage. Graff informed Ender that the demagogue Demosthenes had retired and was becoming a colonist who would be on the same ship as Ender. After telling him that he had saved Ender from being Peter's pawn on Earth, Ender realized that Peter was Locke and that Valentine was Demosthenes. He cried and Graff left his office to let Valentine reunite with Ender.[5]

Valentine told Ender that it was she who had seen to his inability to return to Earth, in order to keep him free from Peter and other governments that sought to use him. She had come to Eros to join him on the first colony vessel. Later, Ender emailed back and forth with the current governor of the colony, Vitaly Kolmogorov. Ender proposed naming the colony Prospero, but due to the rapid death on the planet from airborne worms at the moment it was rejected. Ender expressed his affection for a name from The Tempest, so Vitaly read it and liked the idea. Vitaly also warned Ender that the captain of his ship, Admiral Quincy Morgan, was writing to Vitaly behind Ender's back, and would be a threat to him. Ender proposed the name Shakespeare, and after Vitaly asked some colonists it stuck.[5]

Leading up to their departure, Valentine and Ender spent time together, and Ender set himself to the task of learning all the colonist's names and having a half-hour conversation with them before they went into Stasis. Shortly before the ship departed, Graff and Mazer asked to take a commemorative picture with Ender for it. During the picture, Chamrajnagar bestowed on him the highest medal the International Fleet could offer. Ender smiled for the pictures so that his family could see that he was happy, although on the inside he was not. He shook hands with Mazer and thanked him, and shook hands with Graff and wished him luck in his new job.[5]

Voyage to Shakespeare

As the IFcoltrans1 departed from Eros, Ender met with the ship's commander, Admiral Quincy Morgan, advising the officer that he would not interfere with any operations on the ship. Ender made the point that he had no authority as governor until he arrived at Shakespeare. This reassured Admiral Morgan, as he had been secretly planning to usurp Ender as governor when the ship reached its destination. Ensign Akbar led them to their room and asked to shake Ender's hand and they saluted each other.[5]

Shortly after departing, Ender received an email from Graff explaining that the follow-up fleet to the Formic Homeworld had found that the dust cloud from the M.D. Device was reforming, and would eventually become a habitable planet.[5]

Ender spent his time aboard the ship getting to know the passengers who would soon be his fellow colonists, as if he was to be their governor, he wanted to know them as well as possible. Among them were Dorabella and Alessandra Toscano, a mother and daughter from Italy. Dorabella wanted her daughter, Alessandra, to marry Ender. Ender knew that was her intent, but did not betray this knowledge. Dorabella and Alessandra mentioned Shakespeare's plays, and the idea came about to host a reading of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew on board the ship. After three days of planning, as they were about to start the play Jarrko Kitunen told Ender that Admiral Morgan wanted to see him.[5]

Morgan believed Ender was plotting mutiny by holding the play reading, which he figured was just a clever cover up. He was more convinced of this when a large message from Earth interfered with the ship's communications. Morgan was resentful that Ender Wiggin had the same rank as him, as Ender was only a teenager, and threatened to put Ender in stasis. The message, it turned out, was actually from Peter Wiggin to Valentine, updating her on Peter's rise to Hegemon of Earth. Valentine arrived and explained the message to Morgan, who then allowed the play to go on, even agreeing to attend. During the play, Ender performed opposite Alessandra Toscano, which increased Alessandra's affection for the future governor. Shortly after, Ender sent an encrypted email to Valentine explaining his thoughts on Morgan and what he may do to remain in power.[5]

At some point during the journey, Ender communicated via ansible with Dabeet Ochoa, a student at the new Fleet School, after Graff asked him to. He gave him advice for what to do about his situation.[9] At another point, Graff sent an email to Ender, informing him about Bean's genetic illness and how he had left Earth on a relativistic voyage to stay alive to find a cure. He also informed him that Bean had married Petra and had 9 children but one embryo had been lost, and later found to have been implanted in a woman named Randi Firth. Graff proposed that Ender travel to Ganges, where they were, after his time on Shakespeare to help with any problems caused by Randi's son.[5]

Around 36 AX, with two relative months left in the voyage, Ender received a message from Governor Kolmogorov, explaining that it had been sent after he had passed away, wishing Ender luck in his future governance. While reading it, Valentine confronted Ender on how he had caused Alessandra to fall in love with him.[5]

Shortly before arriving at Shakespeare in 41 AX, Ender communicated with Sel Menach, the new governor of Shakespeare, as well as contacting Hyrum Graff about the situation with Morgan. As the ship came into orbit, Ender was in the Ansible room communicating with Sel and Graff when Alessandra entered and made an advance on him. Although Ender was interested, he knew that this was not truly what Alessandra wanted and made her realize that she was only doing her mother's will.[5]

Shakespeare

Upon their arrival at Shakespeare, Morgan called Ender to his office, explaining how he planned the landing to go and making attempts to assert his dominance over Ender. The morning of the landing, Ender pretended to be sick in the bathroom, and told Morgan to go on ahead. After he began his speech, Ender came out and the crowd cheered for him. Morgan was surprised to see him in full dress uniform when before he was in civilian clothes. Ender handed Morgan a paper and went down to meet the citizens. It was a note from Hyrum Graff and the new Polemarch Bakossi Wuri, warning Morgan not to interfere with Ender's position as both governor and a superior officer or he would face charges of mutiny upon his return to Earth.[5]

Ender met Ix Tolo, the head Xenobiologist and acting governor first, but then went on to speak with the veterans from the Third Formic War, calling them by their rank and name. Then Ender listed off names who died in the war, and those who died in the early days of the colony, and thanked Vitaly and Sel for their governance. Morgan spoke up, knowing that he had lost, and stated that he would offload the colonists and supplies and leave the planet to Ender. Ender then thanked Morgan in front of the crowd for his duty.[5]

Soon after, Ender received a radio transmission from Po Tolo explaining that they had found a interesting Formic-like creature and needed more food. Ender, Ix, and two marines traveled to them on a skimmer. Sel explained the discovery of the Gold Bugs, which peaked Ender's interests. Sel also asked if Ender was indeed governor, and he confirmed that Morgan was staying on the ship.[5]

Ender sent a message to Graff, telling him that the colony was settling well, and that they were de facto independent from ColMin and the IF. Valentine came into the room where Ender was working to call him out for avoiding Alessandra while she looked for him on the surface. He got up and found her outside the last shuttle for nonessential passengers. They embraced and Ender told her that 16 was old enough for a colonist to be independent of their parents. Although he said they would never be together, he promised her a life on the planet. When Dorabella approached, she told her daughter that Ender was giving her empty promises and dragged her to the shuttle. Alessandra stopped and told her she was staying. Dorabella shoved her but she was caught by Ensign Akbar. She threatened to have him court-martialed and falsely accused him of rape, but Akbar calmly reminded her that everything on the ship was recorded. Ender told Akbar that unfortunately Morgan would believe Dorabella's accusation, and told him he should stay on Shakespeare, and Akbar agreed. Morgan left Shakespeare, defeated by Ender's strategy and tactics before the flight had left the solar system, and Ender began his duties as governor.[5]

Not too long after becoming governor, Ender wrote a letter to his aged parents, the first communication with them since he was six.[5]

After two years of governing Shakespeare, Ender had learned that people only needed him when they wanted someone to blame. One day while sitting under a tree, Luton Trey approached him on a Flivver, and said they had found iron-rich flakes in a Formic nursery and came to fetch Ender. They stopped at the public ovens and Audra Overhill happened to be baking, so they headed out for the iron camp with fresh bread. On the way, Ender asked why he was coming as he was not an expert. Luton explained that Royo and Clara, two grandchildren of the I.F. armada, had fallen in love. Luton had ran a blood test on them to see if there were any complications and found that they both carried the Sleepless Gene, a genetic disease that the Ministry of Colonization marked as not being allowed to propagate in any colony. Luton felt bad as it was not his place but Ender reminded him that it was important to know in such a fragile colony.[3]

When the reached the nursery, he asked the Xenologer Clara and geographer Royo about the findings at the nursery, and asked if they had checked with Zhang Fakhry, who had investigated the other nurseries. At dinner, Ender, Royo, Clara, Luton, Anwar and Munk had a traditional "completely unscientific specfest" where they would speculate on the things they found from the Formics to eventually discover what they were.[3]

The next morning, Ender talked with Royo and Clara about the Sleepless Gene issue. They told Ender that they had already ran their compatibilities, and that they knew they had the gene. They protested and cited that 3/4 of the colony could vote to exempt them, but Ender said that he and others would argue strongly against it. Ender proposed a hypothetical that Earth was destroyed and Shakespeare, lacking iron from Earth, eventually lost medical knowledge and let the gene run rampant in the colony. Ender inferred that they had previously gotten pregnant, found that it had the gene, and Royo being an EMT aborted it, and Clara wept. Ender told them that since they conceived a child they would have to be prosecuted. He gave them a few days to decide what to do, and told them to resume their work at the Formic nursery. Royo lashed out at Ender, saying that all he knew how to do was kill children, and left. Clara stayed, still crying.[3]

Ender stayed with the iron team for another day, but by then it was clear that Luton had things well in hand, as they had found a way to extract iron from the cave walls. A month later the iron team returned to the capital of Miranda victorious. Late that night, Clara came to Ender to tell him that she had gotten sterilized. Ender did not get to talk to Royo until another month had passed, where Royo told him that he had gotten a reversible vasectomy but was going to go to Earth where the gene policy did not apply, leaving Clara behind. Royo never had his vasectomy reversed, and decided to stay on Shakespeare and even after he married his romantic interest, his wife did not get pregnant, so Ender thought his job was done.[3]

Not too long after, Ender learned from Hyrum Graff that Colony IX had refused the colony ship headed for their planet, and asked Ender if he could accept them on Shakespeare. He agreed and began to look for a place on the planet for them to settle. Traveling with eleven-year-old Abra Tolo, Ender discovered a grassy hill. He recognized it as Fairyland, having been re-created from his extended play of the Mind Game. Ender knew what this was and meant, and briefly told Abra of its implications. Abra was concerned that this was a trap, and the Formics had made it in order to get back at him for killing off their species. Ender disregarded this and went into the tower where he had seen his brother Peter in the game. He told Abra to stay outside, and go get help if he did not come out for several hours. Inside the tower, he found a cocooned Hive Queen. Ender could communicate with the Hive Queen mind-to-mind; he promised to care for the alien forever and restore the Formic species. Hours later, he emerged later carrying a bundle that contained the cocoon, although Abra did not know it. Abra asked Ender what he had found, to which Ender only stated said that the colony could not be built here. Abra and Ender went off in search of another colony location for the coming ship. Five days later, they found another site.[5]

When he returned to Miranda, he began to write a book about the Formic Wars from the perspective of the Formics. After some inquiry from Valentine, she suggested publishing it under the alias of "Speaker at the Funeral". Ender titled the book The Hive Queen, under the alias of "Speaker for the Dead". He printed it without a copyright, so people could republish as they wanted. Ender and Valentine then decided to leave Shakespeare when the colony ship arrived. Afterward, Ender worked with the colonists, including Sel and Abra, to create a currency for the planet. As The Hive Queen circulated, a now-married and pregnant Alessandra gave Ender a copy to read, not knowing that he had written it.[5]

Realizing who wrote The Hive Queen, Peter Wiggin, who at this point had been the Hegemon of Earth for decades, sent a message to Valentine, asking if Ender could tell his story like he told the Formics'. Ender and Peter spent hours in costly ansible video messages, where he learned the wrongs and rights of Peter's life. When Peter had told of his whole life, Ender spent only five days writing a slim volume called The Hegemon. However, since his alias was "Speaker for the Dead", he told Peter that it could not be published until he had died.[5]

Ganges

At the request of Hyrum Graff, Ender and Valentine traveled from Shakespeare to Ganges, where a Battle School graduate, Virlomi, was governor. On the same planet lived a boy named Randall Firth, who was the ninth child of Bean and Petra Arkanian. Randall had caused some problems for Ganges and its governor. During Ender and Valentine's journey, Ender had decided to stay in Stasis, while Valentine opted to write a history of Shakespeare colony. Upon arrival at Ganges in 62 AX, Ender awoke to find that 18 years had gone by, and that his parents had passed during the voyage. He received one last letter from Graff, wishing him well and urging him to not use starflight like a drug to escape his past. When they landed, they were greeted by Virlomi, informing them of the problems with Randi and Randall Firth, though the discussion was tense due to Virlomi's past. She told them that Randall had started a movement called the Natives of Ganges, who regard The Hive Queen as their scripture. She planned to send Randall back to Earth, but Ender warned her that it could undo everything Peter achieved as Hegemon. After Virlomi left, Valentine spoke to Ender, telling him that he was endangering himself by confronting Randall.[5]

Before meeting Randall, Ender sent an email to Valentine that would only go through if he died, telling her to send the Hive Queen to Abra on Shakespeare. A few days after landing, Ender met Randall and they exchanged barbs, but upon seeing how much he looked like Bean, tears came to Ender's eyes.[5]

When Ender and Randall finally met two days later, Ender addressed him as Achilles, who he thought his true father was. He tried to provoke Ender into killing him, but he only succeeded in brutally beating Ender up as Ender told him about his true parents, Bean and Petra and his genetic condition. Valentine watched the entire confrontation, but didn't try to call for help or intervene, though she called for Randall to stop. Eventually Randall stopped and Ender, who had a broken nose, several broken ribs, a concussion, and was barely conscious, was taken to a doctor. There, Randall Firth repented and finally accepted the truth that his real father was not Achilles, but Bean. Randall renamed himself Arkanian Delphiki, in honor of both his parents. Eventually, Ender got well and asked Virlomi for Arkanian to be pardoned and not to be sent on trial, and so Arkanian remained on Ganges.[5]

When Ender had somewhat recovered, he sent an email to Petra, informing her that her long lost son had been found. Ender soon left Ganges to travel to other worlds, with Valentine by his side, carrying the Hive Queen with him. He began to discontinue the use of the name Ender, which was steadily becoming a sort of profanity due to his crime of Xenocide, instead using his birth name, Andrew.[5] At first, the public pitied the child who had been manipulated into using his genius to destroy the Formics. Then his name came to be used for anyone who did monstrous things without understanding what he was doing. However, his name, popularized as Ender the Xenocide, eventually became a simple shorthand for anyone who does the unconscionable on a monstrous scale.[10]

Interstellar travels

Valentine and Andrew left Ganges shortly after their arrival there. They embarked on a voyage to another planet with Captain Hong, and Valentine continued writing her books, making Andrew promise not to get himself in danger of being killed again.[5] He and Valentine traveled to various planets including Helvetica, and others not specified. By around 100 AX, when Andrew was 18 and Valentine was 22, the siblings stopped staying at planets for prolonged periods and only stayed long enough for Valentine to gather information for her next book.[10]

About 400 years after the Xenocide, Andrew turned twenty due to the relativistic effects of interstellar travel. At this age, he had to start paying taxes to Starways Congress. He and Valentine disembarked on the planet Sorelledolce to pay off his taxes. As they logged into the rental computers in the starport, Andrew saw that his holdings seemed to go on forever, and Valentine found she had made it rich off of her books about the failed Helvetica colony. After the War of Xenocide, Graff had the Mind Game reprogrammed to invest Andrew's pension money. As a result, after 400 years he had accumulated a large sum of money that he did not even know existed. Therefore, he needed a tax accountant to help him sort through his financial situation. As he had to sort his taxes before leaving the port, he met the tax man Benedetto. Upon presenting his identification, Benedetto was baffled that he had the same name as Ender the Xenocide, and assumed it was a fake ID. Andrew explained that if it were a fake it would be a bad choice, and he just simply had the bad luck to share his name with the Xenocide. He asked to leave the starport to sort out his taxes on a personal computer, but Bendetto denied his request. As Andrew entered his ID on the computer to sort his taxes out, Bendetto had an illegal software logging his information. Andrew asked to simply free a portion of his funds until he could sort it out and Bendetto allowed it and gave him a thirty-day pass.[10]

AndrewInvestmentCounselor

Andrew learning tax law on Sorelledolce.

Andrew and Valentine spent a whole day finding a room to stay in. He browsed his vast fortune as Valentine kept up with correspondence from her readers. Andrew studied tax law for several days, trying to figure out what to do. He saw an ad for financial software in his email, which struck him as strange as interstellar travelers were not supposed to get ads. He opened the ad and it created a 3-D presentation of a woman's head. She spoke to Andrew, which struck him as odd for a software, and responded to his actions. She told him that if he liquidated his salt mine assets it would cover his tax bill perfectly. She also said he would only have to pay around 7,000 starcounts, far less than Andrew had calculated. She told Andrew to call her Jane, and she called him Ender which shocked him, and he ordered her to terminate the program. After some thought he tried to call up Jane again but found the program was no longer on his computer.[10]

Valentine noticed an ad for a Speaking for the Dead nearby. Andrew was not comfortable with the way his pseudonym, “Speaker for the Dead,” had been picked up by others and turned into the title of a quasi-clergyman of a new truth-speaking urreligion. They went to the Speaking in a smallish public room in a hotel, with a couple of dozen people in attendance. After the Speaking, Andrew approached him and asked how he became a Speaker, and he explained that he simply started doing it. When he mentioned that his day job was an accountant, Andrew asked if he had ever seen the Jane program, but he said no. After Andrew searched online for Jane, she reappeared on his computer. She explained that if he "installed" her it would be safe and cheap, and she could be his companion. Andrew was impressed at how real she seemed. He agreed for her to help with the tax forms and they were completed in a moment, explaining that his brother Peter wrote the tax laws to benefit the rich. Stunned that she knew his brother was Peter, she explained that people could easily track who Andrew was through his voyages, and offered to protect the information.[10]

Andrew then returned to Benedetto to file his taxes, who did not believe that his tax sum was accurate. Benedetto revealed that he knew Andrew was Ender the Xenocide, and threatened to expose it to the newsnets. Andrew asked for proof, and when Benedetto pulled up his voyage log he found that they were blanked by Jane. Benedetto grumbled and gave Andrew a pass for his taxes and his stay on Sorelledolce.[10]

SorelledolceOrbit

Andrew and Valentine leaving Sorelledolce.

After Benedetto published an essay exposing Andrew as the Xenocide, Jane also attached an essay exposing Benedetto's blackmailing. Andrew was brought in by the police for questioning, but it was merely a formality. In prison, Benedetto was killed by someone he had made an enemy of. Feeling as though it were somehow his fault, he gave Benedetto's family some of his money, and decided to Speak for the Dead at his funeral. Jane helped him gather the information on the man. 10 weeks after their arrival on the planet, Andrew left with Valentine and Jane. On the customs form, he listed his occupation as a Speaker for the Dead for the first time.[10]

After leaving Sorelledolce, Andrew and Valentine traveled to Rov, where citizens of the planet first saw Andrew wearing the Cifi unit in his ear that connected him to Jane. This was the first planet where Andrew had his occupation listed as a Speaker for the Dead.[5]

About 100 years later, Valentine heard about the individual Kenneth Argon on the planet of Catalunya. She sought to write a biography on him, and so she and Andrew traveled to the planet. While en route, Argon was killed and the proconsul of the planet, Dabeet Ochoa, called for a Speaker for the Dead to help calm down the agitated inhabitants of the planet. After arriving, Andrew and Valentine investigated Argon's death and his relation to the pseudo-sentient Llop.[11] They later left the planet and continued their relativistic travel.[2]

During his travels between "Renegat" and Speaker for the Dead, Andrew visited various planets including Moctezuma, Mindanao, and others not specified. He traveled for roughly 2,620 more years.[2]

Trondheim

Ender Age35

Andrew at age 35.

Three thousand years after the Xenocide, Andrew Wiggin, age 35, had completely dropped the nickname "Ender", as the rest of humanity saw Ender Wiggin as a heinous war criminal. Andrew was living with Valentine on the planet Trondheim as a university teacher. The two siblings were comfortable, especially Valentine, who had married a native of the planet named Jakt, and was pregnant with her first child. Andrew heard about the death of a Xenologer on a planet named Lusitania, and received a call from a girl named Novinha on the same planet for a Speaker for the Dead. He decided to travel to Lusitania and Speak the death of Pipo Figueira, but left Valentine behind on Trondheim, as she did not want to leave her family.[2]

Speaking for the Lusitanians

Purchasing the starship Havelok, Andrew traveled to Lusitania, performing a Park Shift when entering the Lusitanian system. The duration of the flight was 22 years, but to him it was only a few weeks.[2]

When Andrew arrived, he was received relatively coldly. The planet had a Catholic license, and the church had spoken out against Speakers for the Dead. The colony's governor Bosquinha greeted him, but had secretly banned him from access to the colony's maps. In the plaza, Andrew found a boy, Olhado, who led Andrew to the Ribeira house - the home of Novinha, who had called him to Speak.[2]

There, he was treated quite badly by most of the children. However, the longer he was in their home, waiting to meet their mother Novinha, the more they warmed up to him.[2]

His first meeting with Novinha did not go well, though. She was angry that he had come, even though she had cancelled her call for a Speaker soon after she sent it (after Andrew had already left), and tried to cast him from her house. Her children spoke up on Andrew's behalf, though, and Novinha listened to him, albeit angrily.[2]

The next day, he investigated the life of Marcos Ribeira, whom he had been requested to speak for as well, after his departure. He met with Navio to learn all he could about the death. The doctor shared with Andrew that Marcos had a congenital defect that normally would have sterilized him, but since the man had fathered six children, the disease must have been slow-moving. Jane and Andrew expressed some humor at the doctor’s choosing to remain naïve rather than accept that Novinha had been unfaithful. With Jane's help, he learned it was Libo, her now-dead childhood friend and son of Pipo, who had fathered her six children.[2]

Hoping for more information on Marcos and Novinha, Andrew visited the abbot of a Catholic order known as the Children of the Mind of Christ. During their conversation, Jane kept making comments about it. Frustrated, Andrew turned off the jewel in his ear, shutting out her voice. Jane was insulted by this act and didn't talk to Andrew for a long time.[2]

Though many of the Riberas held him in disdain, Andrew found he had established a particularly close rapport with Ela Ribeira, who confided in him her hopes and dreams, and how Novinha had tried to quash them to preserve Ela's life.[2]

When Andrew performed the Speaking for the late Marcos Ribera, he exposed Novinha and Libo's adultery. The revelation sent shock waves through the colony, but the surprise was short lived. Immediately following the Speaking, Andrew learned that Starways Congress had stripped the Lusitanian computers of their files and revoked the planet's charter. This was due to the discovery that xenologers Miro Ribeira and Ouanda Figueira had gone against the Congress and gave the native Pequeninos technology that they had been forbidden to give. Andrew realized it had been Jane who had exposed the violations of law that resulted in the congressional actions.[2]

He also knew that it had been Miro and Ouanda's work with the Pequeninos that had violated the law. The two xenologers were to be arrested and sent to Trondheim, the nearest member planet of the Hundred Worlds. Andrew refused to let that happen, telling governor Bosquinha to hold a meeting with Lusitania's religious leaders and rebel against Congress's orders.[2]

EnderMakingTreaty

Andrew working out the details of the treaty with Shouter and Human.

Andrew discovered that Miro had been hurt trying to climb the fence that surrounded the colony of Milagre, separating the Pequeninos from the humans. Andrew and Lusitania's leaders raced to save Miro's life. There, Andrew and Ela convinced the Pequenino named Human to take them to the Pequeninos' leaders, the females known as the Wives. Using Human as a translator, Andrew spoke with a wife named Shouter. With her, he wrote up a treaty that would define the relationship between humans, Pequeninos, and Formics on Lusitania.[2]

HumanPlanted Comic

Andrew performing the planting of Human.

Although Andrew would not make any promises for The Hive Queen's actions, he swore to allow the Pequeninos to have access to her and her technology. Humans and the Pequeninos would maintain their own lands and not kill one another, and the Pequeninos would not make war with other tribes of their species either. To make the treaty a reality, Andrew was forced to "plant" Human - a sacred ritual to the Pequeninos, which would bring one into the "Third Life". It was very hard for Andrew to do, but he performed the ordinance as ordered.[2]

He signed the treaty as "Ender Wiggin", revealing his true identity as Ender the Xenocide to Novinha and the others. Novinha realized that because he'd wiped out an entire species, Andrew hadn't judged her for her adultery. The revelation brought Andrew and Novinha close emotionally.[2]

Andrew and Olhado Ribeira found a place near the Pequenino forests for The Hive Queen to be reborn from her cocoon. He later introduced Jane to Miro, and they soon had a close bond. Andrew's sister Valentine, now twenty years older, had told him that she decided to go to Lusitania with her husband Jakt. Miro left Lusitania on the Havelok to meet Valentine's ship at a halfway point.[2]

Life on Lusitania

Xenocide

Andrew began his life on the planet. He was now married to Novinha and knew his life work was complete. Yet, a new challenge awaited him - Starways Congress had sent a Lusitania Fleet, armed with the Molecular Disruption Device to destroy the planet and the virus with it.[7]

During the three decades waiting for Valentine and the Lusitania Fleet to arrive, Andrew befriended a talented Pequenino scientist named Planter. He often visited Human, now a fully grown Fathertree, and spent much of his time with his own family. His stepchildren had become the top scientists on the planet. They were all working tirelessly to fight the Descolada virus. When his stepdaughter Quara Ribeira theorized that the Descolada was a sentient organism and that wiping it out would be xenocide, Andrew encouraged further study and told the family not to reveal their findings to anyone outside the field until more was known.[7]

Quara ignored this directive and informed the Fathertrees that the humans were hoping to annihilate the virus that the Pequeninos needed to live. Andrew chastened her for this revelation and told the Fathertrees himself that more research was being done, but it was too late. The Fathertrees had already decided to send Pequeninos to leave Lusitania with the Descolada still alive in them, in order to preserve their species from destruction by either the human scientists or the Lusitania Fleet. They contacted The Hive Queen and asked them to create a starship that would let them get off the planet.[7]

Andrew was present when Miro returned from space, along with Valentine, her family, and Plikt. Due to the effects of relativistic space travel, Miro had only aged a few weeks during his thirty years of spaceflight. Andrew and Valentine rejoiced in their reunion. Falling instantly back to the sarcastic banter that had defined their relationship for nearly three millennia, the two were glad to be together again.[7]

Almost immediately after their arrival, Andrew took Valentine, Plikt, and Miro to see The Hive Queen in her lair. In the visit, Andrew learned that he was correct in his guess that the Queen was building ships to take the Formics and the Pequeninos off Lusitania. In their conversation, The Hive Queen promised Andrew that she would not kill any humans by leaving Lusitania; the Formics would purge the Descolada on their ships once they had left the planet.[7]

Late into the night a few days later, Jane contacted Andrew, warning him that a girl named Han Qing-jao on the planet Path was close to uncovering Demosthenes' true identity and Jane's own plan of making the Lusitania Fleet "disappear". Andrew replied with subvocalizing into his Jewel Implant. However, Novinha heard him silently talking, and it bothered her. Andrew promised her he would try to find a way for her to leave the Ansible network and exist on her own, but she had to truly figure out what she was first - she had to find her soul.[7]

The next day, Andrew participated in a meeting with the colony's leaders, where he supported his Catholic Priest stepson Quim Ribeira's plan to convert a forest of heretic Pequeninos.[7]

His relationship with Novinha would not last much longer. She was angry with him for his relationship with Jane and for supporting Quim's mission to the Pequeninos. She remained silent for days, but finally exploded at him with hateful insults.[7]

Andrew led the recovery party when it was discovered that Quim had been captured by the heretic Fathertree Warmaker and his forest. He and his party found Quim's body, and they sent back word to Milagre that the priest was dead.[7]

A few days later, Andrew sought out Novinha. She had taken the news of Quim's death very hard and had joined the Children of the Mind of Christ, a monastic order for married couples. When he went there to speak with her, she refused reconciliation, instead choosing to focus on her service to Christ.[7]

Andrew sought out The Hive Queen to see if she had any information on the concept of faster-than-light travel. She had nothing to offer on that subject, but instead revealed to him Jane's true origin.[7]

The Hive Queen taught Andrew about the true nature of Philotes - they existed in another space/time continuum, waiting to be called by a life form to inhabit and develop a biological body. Once in this body, the philotes created connections between different beings. The Formics called upon a philote to enter Andrew's body when he was at Battle School, hoping that it would create a connection with them and him. Instead, the philote bonded with the Mind Game, which Andrew had been focusing on greatly at the time. The philote used the connection to build a bridge between Andrew and the Hive Queens. Its "body" was not a part of the ansible network as was thought, but was a part of Andrew. It explained why Andrew and Jane were so closely tied to one another.[7]

The theory of calling on philotes from their home space opened the door for Grego and Olhado Ribeira to come up with a way to make faster-than-light travel possible. They thought that if a person could call on the philotes that made them to return home, they could then call on those to create the pattern of the location to which they wished to travel. It would require a powerful memory to maintain the traveler's philotic pattern, and prevent it from dispersing in the other dimension.[7]

Jane had a memory powerful enough to remember the patterns of a few potential travelers. Miro, Ela, and Andrew were assigned to travel into this "Outside" space and test the theory. Once in the Outside, Andrew and his party needed to focus on their own philotic patterns. Andrew tried to do so, but was shocked to see that somehow, the philotes had created new versions of his siblings Peter and Valentine, with their personalities patterned after Andrew's memories of them. He was shocked to meet these new "children", Peter II and Valentine II, who had the physical appearance of their predecessors in their teen years.[7]

Despite this distraction, Andrew helped Ela create her Descolada antivirus, the Recolada, in the Outside. The Recolada was successful, and the Descolada was eradicated on Lusitania.[7]

Children of the Mind

Once he was back on the planet, Andrew had to deal with the results of his journey to the Outside - his creation of clones of his siblings. He refused to ever go back Outside, fearing that he would make more reincarnations of Peter and Valentine.[4]

Novinha reached out to Andrew and asked if he would visit her at the monastery. She invited him to join her among the Children of the Mind of Christ, and he eventually accepted. Later, Novinha found Andrew asleep in the monastery's gardens, struggling to breathe. His wife called for help, and several of the monks came to offer assistance.[4]

Andrew lay dying in the monastery, with his one-time student Plikt watching over him. She wanted to Speak his Death and had devoted her life to studying him. She was there when he spoke one word from his unconscious state: "Peter". Why he called out the name of his dead brother, or the clone from the Outside was unclear, but it led to a confrontation between Plikt, Novinha, and Valentine. They set aside their differences when Andrew awoke briefly and spoke to them.[4]

Jane was forced from her computer network home shortly before Andrew was to die. Her Aiúa searched desperately for a new body to inhabit. She tried to live within Andrew, but he still had his Aiúa, and the two souls fought violently within him. He thrashed around on his deathbed, injuring Novinha, Valentine, and Plikt. Jane's soul left, and Andrew regained consciousness briefly.[4]

When he awoke, Novinha told him that he could leave her. She loved him and knew he loved her, but he was okay to die. Andrew smiled and knew what to do. He closed his eyes, and his Aiúa left his body. The shell of Andrew Wiggin that remained on the bed dissolved, leaving only a few hairs from his head. His Aiúa was guided to Peter II's body. He did not have all of Andrew's memories, but felt a shadow of them in his new life.[4]

Personality

"You took away the monitor. I had to take care of myself, didn't I?"
— Ender on why he defended himself against Stilson.

Ender was a very humble person, despite his enormous achievements and intellect. He was usually calm, but when pushed or forced to defend himself, he had no qualms about injuring his enemy, and hurt them enough so that he would prevent future attacks, as illustrated with his defeat of the Formics. Noble, empathetic, generous, and strong willed, he was determined to win and beat those who stood in his way.[1]

Relationships

Family

""The Hegemon is your brother, right?" asked Abra. "He's Valentine's brother," said Ender. "But she's your sister," said Abra. "He's Valentine's brother," said Ender, and his face looked sort of dark and Abra didn't ask him what in the world he was talking about."
Ender in Exile, Chapter 18
  • Peter Wiggin - Ender and Peter's relationship was violent and strained. Peter, who lost his destiny to his ruthless acts would constantly abuse his younger brother through his childhood.[1] After Ender was sent off to Battle School, the two went over 50 subjective years without communication. When they both talked years later during Shadow of the Giant, Ender had forgiven Peter for his cruelty during childhood.[5]
    Ender and Valentine

    Ender went to Valentine for consul after having his Monitor removed.

  • Valentine Wiggin - The two siblings were very close, loving and strong, with Valentine always taking his side against their brother, Peter.[1] After the war, they both traveled through the stars together and grew closer over the countless years they spent together.[5]

Friendships

  • Bean - At first, Ender isolated Bean from the rest of Dragon Army just as Hyrum Graff had done to him. However, Bean and Ender soon began to rely on each other more often and became close friends during the Third Invasion.[1] After Bean had left Earth to try to live long enough to see a cure for his disease, he tracked Ender's flights across the galaxy to see where his old friend was going.[12]
PetraEnder
  • Petra Arkanian - After joining Salamander Army, Ender mistook her as a boy like many. After meeting each other, Petra offered to give the launchie special training sessions, and taught Ender how to use his gun to shoot, as well as several other Battle Room maneuvers. This drew the ire of Bonzo, who hated Ender. Petra would later have command of Phoenix Army, in which Ender would be a Toon Leader, and the two became good friends. Petra later was part of Ender's Jeesh, but she was the commander Ender relied upon most, and she failed during a important battle.[1]
  • Dink Meeker - Dink was Ender's toon leader after he was traded to Rat Army, and was friendly to him when nobody else was. He later was a part of Ender's Jeesh and helped defeat the Formics.[1]

Teachers/Mentors

  • Hyrum Graff - Colonel Hyrum Graff was put in charge of finding children suitable for Battle School, including Ender Wiggin. During their initial flight to Battle School, Hyrum isolated Ender from the rest of the launch group, believing he was setting him up for success.[1] Years after Battle School, Ender still remained in contact with his old teacher, now the Minister of Colonization.[5]
    Mazer and Ender
  • Mazer Rackham - The great war hero, Mazer Rackham was Ender's mentor during the Third Invasion. At first Ender had a dislike of Mazer, even nicknaming him "Jailor Rackham".[1] However, especially after the battle was over, Ender looked to Mazer as a source of advice and wisdom.[5]

Enemies

  • Bonito "Bonzo" de Madrid - Ender and Bonzo became enemies from the start of Ender's Game, with Bonzo immediately developing an intense dislike for the younger boy as soon as he was drafted into his army. Bonzo hated him with passion, wanting the new soldier to be traded. This hatred became uncontrollable fury after Ender defeated Bonzo's Salamander Army in the Battle Room. Wanting Ender dead, Bonzo attacked him in the showers, leading to a hand-to-hand battle with Bonzo being injured in the back of the head - a fatal wound. The Bonzo incident was pivotal in Ender's development, as it forced him to realize that he must fend for himself at all times, as the teachers refused to offer him help—an attitude fostered by Graff.[1]
  • Bernard - Bernard was Ender's first enemy in Battle School, after Ender broke his arm on the shuttle to the school. After Alai became Ender's friend, tensions relaxed between the two, but Bernard was later seen as part of Bonzo's group as he attacked Ender in the shower.[1]
  • Stilson - Stilson was a bully in Ender's elementary school. An antagonist for Ender, his demise came from their final confrontation where Ender defeated Stilson (to stop all fights, so he could win all fights).[1] Though Ender was glad he won the battle, he would be traumatized for years after when he discovered that he killed Stilson.[5]

Trivia

  • Known email addresses:
    • GovNom%Colony1@colmin.gov[5]
    • GovDes%ShakespeareCol@ColMin.gov/voy[5]
    • Gov%ShakespeareCol@ColMin.gov[5]
    • AWiggin%Ganges@ColLeague.adm[5]
    • EWiggin%Ganges@ColLeague.Adm/voy[5]
  • Ender was portrayed by Asa Butterfield in Ender's Game (Film).[6]
  • Andrew was named after Saint Andrew, one of the twelve apostles and brother to the apostle Simon Peter, whom Christ called "the rock on which I will build my church" (Matthew 16:18).[1] He was also named for his uncle, Andrew Wieczorek.[13]
  • He did not like being touched by strangers.[5]
  • In the original "Ender's Game" short story, his surname is Wiggins.[14]

Quotes

"I don't care if I pass your test, I don't care if I follow your rules. If you can cheat, so can I. I won't let you beat me unfairly - I'll beat you unfairly first."
Ender's Game, Chapter 12
"It's good to hear your voice, Peter."
Shadow of the Giant, Chapter 26
"I don't think it has anything to do with truth, Olhado. It's just cause and effect. We never can sort them out. Science refuses to admit any cause except first cause - knock down one domino, the one next to it also falls. But when it comes to human beings, the only type of cause that matters is final cause, the purpose. What a person had in mind. Once you understand what people really want, you can't hate them anymore. You can fear them, but you can't hate them, because you can always find the same desires in your own heart."
Speaker for the Dead, Chapter 18

References

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