CHAPTER 1 To: jpwiggin@gso.nc.pub, twiggin@uncg.edu From: hgraff%educadmin@ifcom.gov Subj: When Andrew Returns Home Dear John Paul and Theresa Wiggin, You understand that during the recent attempt by the Warsaw Pact to take over the International Fleet, our sole concern at EducAdmin was the safety of the children. Now we are finally able to begin working out the logistics of sending the children home. We assure you that Andrew will be provided with continuous surveillance and an active bodyguard throughout his transfer from the I.F. to American government control. We are still negotiating the degree to which the I.F. will continue to provide protection after the transfer. Every effort is being made by EducAdmin to assure that Andrew will be able to return to the most normal childhood possible. However, I wish your advice about whether he should be retained here in isolation until the conclusion of the inquiries into EducAdmin actions during the late campaign. It is quite likely that testimony will be offered that depicts Andrew and his actions in damaging ways, in order to attack EducAdmin through him (and the other children). Herat IFCom we can keep him from hearing the worst of it; on Earth, no such protection will be possible and it is likelier that he will be called to "testify." Hyrum Graff Theresa Wiggin was sitting up in bed, holding her printout of Graff’s letter. " ‘Called to "testify." ’ Which means putting him on exhibit as—what, a hero? More likely a monster, since we already have various senators decrying the exploitation of children." "That’ll teach him to save the human race," said her husband, John Paul. "This is not a time for flippancy." "Theresa, be reasonable," said John Paul. "I want Ender home as much as you do." "No you don’t," said Theresa fiercely. "You don’t ache with the need for him every day."Even as she said it she knew she was being unfair to him, and she covered her eyes and shook her head. To his credit, he understood and didn’t argue with her about what he did and did not feel. "You can never have the years they’ve taken, Theresa. He’s not the boy we knew." "Then we’ll get to know the boy he is. Here. In our home." "Surrounded by guards." "That’s the part I refuse to accept. Who would want to hurt him?" John Paul set down the book he was no longer pretending to read. "Theresa, you’re the smartest person I know." "He’s a child!" "He won a war against incredibly superior forces." "He fired off one weapon. Which he did not design or deploy." "He got that weapon into firing range." "The formics are gone! He’s a hero, he’s not in danger." "All right, Theresa, he’s a hero. How is he going to go to middle school? What eighth- grade teacher is ready for him? What school dance is he going to be ready for?" "It will take time. But here, with his family—" "Yes, we’re such a warm, welcoming group of people, a love nest into which he’ll fit so easily." "We do love each other!" "Theresa, Colonel Graff is only trying to warn us that Ender isn’t just our son." "He’s nobody else’s son." "You know who wants to kill our son." "No, I don’t." "Every government that thinks of American military power as an obstacle to their plans." "But Ender isn’t going to be in the military, he’s going to be—" "This week he won’t be in the American military. Maybe. He won awards at the age of twelve, Theresa. What makes you think he won’t be drafted by our benevolent and democratic government the moment he gets back to Earth? Or put into protective custody? Maybe they’ll let us go with him and maybe they won’t." Theresa let the tears flow down her cheeks. "So you’re saying that when he left here we lost him forever." "I’m saying that when your child goes off to war, you will never get him back. Not as he was, not the same boy. Changed, if he comes back at all. So let me ask you. Do you want him to go where he’s in the greatest danger, or to stay where he’s relatively safe?" "You think Graff is trying to get us to tell him to keep Ender with him out there in space." "I think Graff cares what happens to Ender, and he’s letting us know—without actually saying it, because every letter he sends can be used against him in court—that Ender is in terrible danger. Not ten minutes after Ender’s victory, the Russians made their brutal play for control of the I.F. Their soldiers killed thousands of fleet officers before the I.F. was able to force their surrender. What would they have done if they had won? Brought Ender home and put on a big parade for him?" Theresa knew all of this. She had known it, viscerally at least, from the moment she read Graff’s letter. No, she had known it even before, had known it with a sick dread as soon as she heard that the Formic War was over. He would not be coming home. She felt John Paul’s hand on her shoulder. She shrugged it off. His hand returned, stroking her arm as she lay there, facing away from him, crying because she knew she had already lost the argument, crying because she wasn’t even on her own side in their quarrel. "We knew when he was born that he didn’t belong to us." "He does belong to us." "If he comes home, his life belongs to whatever government has the power to protect him and use him—or kill him. He’s the single most important asset surviving from the war. The great weapon. That’s all he’ll be—that and such a celebrity he can’t possibly have a normal childhood anyway. And would we be much help, Theresa? Do we understand what his life has been for the past seven years? What kind of parents can we be to the boy—the man—that he’s become?" "We would be wonderful," she said. "And we know this because we’re such perfect parents for the children we have at home with us." Theresa rolled onto her back. "Oh, dear. Poor Peter. It must be killing him that Ender might come home." "Take the wind right out of his sails." "Oh, I’m not sure of that," said Theresa. "I bet Peter is already figuring out how to exploit Ender’s return." "Until he finds out that Ender is much too clever to be exploited." "What preparation does Ender have for politics? He’s been in the military all this time." John Paul chuckled. "All right, yes, of course the military is just as political as government." "But you’re right," said John Paul. "Ender’s had protection there, people who intended to exploit him, yes, bu

Orson Scott Card is best known for his science fiction novel Ender's Game and its many sequels that expand the Ender Universe into the far future and the near past. Those books are organized into the Ender Saga, which chronicles the life of Ender Wiggin; the Shadow Series, which follows on the novel Ender's Shadow and is set on Earth; and the Formic Wars series, written with co-author Aaron Johnston, which tells of the terrible first contact between humans and the alien "Buggers." Card has been a working writer since the 1970s. Beginning with dozens of plays and musical comedies produced in the 1960s and 70s, Card's first published fiction appeared in 1977--the short story "Gert Fram" in the July issue of The Ensign, and the novelette version of "Ender's Game" in the August issue of Analog. The novel-length version of Ender's Game, published in 1984 and continuously in print since then, became the basis of the 2013 film, starring Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, Hailee Steinfeld, Viola Davis, and Abigail Breslin.

Card was born in Washington state, and grew up in California, Arizona, and Utah. He served a mission for the LDS Church in Brazil in the early 1970s. Besides his writing, he runs occasional writers' workshops and directs plays. He frequently teaches writing and literature courses at Southern Virginia University.

He is the author many science fiction and fantasy novels, including the American frontier fantasy series "The Tales of Alvin Maker" (beginning with Seventh Son), and stand-alone novels like Pastwatch and Hart's Hope. He has collaborated with his daughter Emily Card on a manga series, Laddertop. He has also written contemporary thrillers like Empire and historical novels like the monumental Saints and the religious novels Sarah and Rachel and Leah. Card's work also includes the Mithermages books (Lost Gate, Gate Thief), contemporary magical fantasy for readers both young and old.

Card lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, with his wife, Kristine Allen Card. He and Kristine are the parents of five children and several grandchildren.

A Reading Guide for Ender's Game.

THE ENDER UNIVERSE

Ender's Series: Ender Wiggin: The finest general the world could hope to find or breed.

The following Ender's Series titles are listed in order: Ender's Game, Ender In Exile, Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, Children of the Mind.

Ender's Shadow Series: Parallel storylines to Ender’s Game from Bean: Ender’s right hand, his strategist, and his friend.

The following Ender's Shadow Series titles are listed in order: Ender's Shadow, Shadow of the Hegemon, Shadow Puppets, Shadow of the Giant, Shadows in Flight.

The First Formic War Series: One hundred years before Ender's Game, the aliens arrived on Earth with fire and death. These are the stories of the First Formic War.

Earth Unaware, Earth Afire.

Ender Novellas

A War of Gifts, First Meetings.

The Authorized Ender Companion: A complete and in-depth encyclopedia of all the persons, places, things, and events in Orson Scott Card’s Ender Universe.

“Cast members re-create characters and interact with each other smoothly, picking up threads from a number of books in the series. The dialogue moves quickly among them, and the production maintains a strong pace.” ―AudioFile

“Card's prose is powerful here, as is his consideration of mystical and quasi-religious themes. Though billed as the final Ender novel, this story leaves enough mysteries unexplored to justify another entry; and Card fans should find that possibility, like this novel, very welcome indeed. ” ―Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Children of the Mind

“Orson Scott Card made a strong case for being the best writer science fiction has to offer.” ―The Houston Post on Xenocide

“There aren't too many recent sf novels we can confidently call truly moral works, but Speaker for the Dead is one. It's a completely gripping story.” ―The Toronto Star

“This is Card at the height of his very considerable powers--a major SF novel by any reasonable standard.” ―Booklist on Ender's Game