Entry 8

Free Entry

Ender is a brilliant six-year-old boy, born a third child into a United States that only permits families two children each. His very existence requires permission from the government. He has been closely watched for years through a monitor on the back of his neck. The book opens with its removal. As a Third and as an exceptionally smart student, he invites scorn from the children surrounding him. At the end of the school day, the bullies of the school begin teasing and mildly attacking him for the loss of his monitor. In response and to defend himself, Ender beats the ringleader, Stilson, until he could no longer get up. He then continues to brutally assault Stilson, kicking him in the ribs as hard as he can, to end not just that fight, but all future fights with the bully and his gang. Unknown to Ender, Stilson dies as a result of the beating.
When Ender returns to his home, the reader meets Ender's older brother Peter, a boy just as brilliant but far more sadistic than Ender, and Ender's older sister Valentine. Valentine is as intelligent as Peter, but her sweet temperament is completely opposite that of Peter. The next morning, members of the International Fleet, or IF, arrive at Ender's home to ask him why he attacked Stilson. By responding that he did so to prevent Stilson from ever approaching him again, instead of saying that he attacked him for revenge, Ender passes the last test. The IF offers him a place at the battle school, a space station where children are trained for military command. Colonel Graff, the leader of the Battle School, believes that Ender is the last hope for the survival of mankind against the alien, buggers . He reluctantly accepts.
From the moment Ender meets the other children, Colonel Graff begins to isolate him through favoritism, inviting jealousy and dislike of Ender from the other students. This is a strategy that will be employed throughout the entire book, forcing Ender to deal with his problems alone instead of relying on others. It also makes him work hard to make friends and stay ahead of his enemies. Ender is psychologically compelled to perform flawlessly in all that he does, proving Colonel Graff correct in his praises, leaving his peers with little to say. Antagonism toward him, however, continues.
Due to his extremely high aptitude for tactics and leadership and to the teachers' deadline to ready him for the coming war, Ender is advanced through his training much faster than the other students. He has just succeeded in making his first real friend, Alai, when he is yanked out of basic training and assigned straight to Salamander Army, under the command of prideful Bonzo. Battle School revolves (literally) around the Battle Room, where 41-man armies fight in a 0-gravity form of laser. Ender, who never got the standard training for these battles, is tutored by Petra, but ordered by Bonzo to never fire his weapon in battle. Eventually, though, he defies these orders to save Salamander from certain defeat, earning Bonzo respect for "his" tactical brilliance. Bonzo, however, sees only defiance and trades Ender to Rat Army, whose commander, Rose de Nose, places Ender in Dink's toon. The elder Dink begins to look after Ender. Meanwhile, Ender's psychological development is monitored by the "Mind Fantasy Game", a complex computer game embedded in the school's computer network, and manipulated to a large extent by Colonel Graff. Later, Colonel Graff asks Ender's beloved sister Valentine to send an encouraging letter to Ender in response to potential psychological issues caused by the very machine designed to monitor them.