"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."
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 half ruthless as Peter, but half 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".[2]
His birth illustrated Peter's failure to fulfill a destiny in Battle School, and as a result he was abused mercilessly by Peter. Valentine always stood up for Ender during these conflicts. Peter would often force Ender to play Buggers and Astronauts, which usually resulted in Ender being beaten up.[2]
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.[2]
The day his monitor was removed, 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, he defeated Stilson. Stilson was hospitalized, and later died from his injuries. He was greeted by Hyrum Graff and Major Anderson in his home. Ender was told by Graff that he would be recruited for Battle School, as he had proven himself to be ruthless enough by defeating Stilson.[2]
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.[2]
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.[2]
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.[2]
Time passed, and Ender was traded from army to army, including Petra Arkanian's Phoenix Army. Ender started training sessions during free time in the Battle Room, inviting various launches and members of other armies.[2]
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 of being an army that never won a battle. Ender was given 40 Battle Schoolers for his army, almost all of them being launchies; a few were veterans from other armies, but weren't very good. One of the launchies in his army got the attention of Ender - Bean, who reminded Ender of himself at a younger age.[2]
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 to Ender, he became infuriated. Many people cautioned Ender that his life was in danger, but he brushed it off.[2]
When Bonzo and seven other boys, including Bernard, ambushed Ender in the showers, Ender shamed Bonzo into fighting him one on one and subsequently defeated him. Bonzo later died from his injuries he received. Ender seemed to know 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.[2]
Ender and Valentine embracing on the lake.
Graff came to the Wiggin household, and requested 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.[2]
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.[2]
After practicing on the simulator alone for a few weeks, he began to practice with his Jeesh, and assigned them certain commander roles on the simulator.[2]
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 made the decision to use the Molecular Disruption Device on the Formic planet. This act destroyed the planet and the Formic fleet. Ender and the Jeesh celebrated, as they believed they had just won their final battle. 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 upon Ender, and he passed out for 5 days.[2]
After the League War was settled and the political climate of Earth had calmed down, the International Fleet gave Ender the rank of Admiral, and offered him the position of governor of a colony. He accepted, and began preparing to leave on a starship to Colony 1, later renamed Shakespeare.[4]
Valentine arrived at Eros and told Ender that it was she, as Demosthenes, who had seen to his assignment in the colonies and 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. Ender was glad to see Valentine, but he had no idea that she and Peter had been so manipulative on the world stage.[4]
Voyage to Shakespeare
As the IFcoltrans1 departed from Earth, Ender met with the ship's commander, Admiral Quincy Morgan, and advised the officer that he would not interfere with any operations on the ship, making a point that he had no authority as governor until he arrived at Shakespeare. This was reassuring to Admiral Morgan, as he had been secretly planning to usurp Ender as governor when the ship reached its destination.[4]
Ender spent his time on the ship getting to know the passengers who would soon be his fellow colonists; after all, if he is 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.[4]
Ender, along with Dorabella and her daughter, planned a reading of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrewon board the ship. The play reading drew the anger of Admiral Morgan, bringing Ender and him into another confrontation.[4]
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 brought Ender to his office, and accused him of his supposed mutiny. The message, it turned out, was actually from Peter Wiggin to Valentine, updating her on Peter's rise to Hegemon of Earth.[4]
Valentine arrived and explained the message to Morgan, who allowed the play to go on, and even agreed to attend. During the play, Ender performed opposite Alessandra Toscano, which increased Alessandra's affection for the future governor.[4]
Shakespeare
Upon their arrival at Shakespeare, Ender interrupted Morgan's planned ceremony on the surface of Shakespeare and received a hero's welcome from the original colonists, who he had commanded during the Third Invasion. Ender gave Morgan a note from Hyrum Graff and the new PolemarchBakossi 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. Morgan left Shakespeare defeated, and Ender began his duties as governor.[4]
Ender also gave Alessandra the confidence to leave her mother on the spaceship and stay on Shakespeare, too. The two would never be lovers, but Alessandra was grateful to be free of her mother's influence forever.[4]
Almost immediately after arriving at Shakespeare, Ender learned that a species of Formic-like creatures called Gold Bugs had been discovered. He was saddened to learn that there were no Formics on the world.[4]
More comfortable in his position as governor, Ender wrote a letter to his aged parents. It was a heartfelt communication, the first he'd had with them since the age of six.[4]
After two years on the planet, he learned from Hyrum Graff that a new colony ship was headed his way, diverted from their original route heading to Colony IX. He was instructed to find a new place on the planet for them to settle. Traveling with eleven-year-old Abra Tolo, Ender discovered a grassy hill. He recognized it as being created from the Mind Game. Ender explored the area, and discovered a Hive Queen cocoon, and he realized the Formics left it there for him to find. Ender could communicate with the Hive Queen mind-to-mind; he promised to care for the alien forever. He wrote a book about the Formic Wars from the perspective of the Formics. He published it under the alias, "Speaker for the Dead", and titled the book The Hive Queen. The book spread throughout the human worlds, and influenced people's opinions on Ender, later changing his image from war hero to war criminal. Peter Wiggin, who realized who wrote the Hive Queen, and at this point had become Hegemon of Earth, sent a message to Valentine, asking "If he can speak for another species, he can speak for me". Ender and Peter spent hours in costly ansible video messages, where he learned the wrongs and rights of Peter's life. Ender wrote another book under the same alias, called The Hegemon.[4]
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. As of their arrival at Ganges, Ender sought out Randall, hoping to tell him about his real parents.[4]
Their confrontation grew violent as Ender tried to tell Randall of his true parentage. Randall was disgusted at the thought that his "father's" killer was his real father. Even though Firth nearly killed Ender during their confrontation, he eventually came to accept that Ender was telling the truth. Randall changed his name to Arkanian Delphiki, after his real parents, Julian "Bean" Delphiki and Petra Arkanian.[4]
Ender soon left Ganges to travel to others, 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, and instead used his birth name, Andrew.[4]
Interstellar travels
After Ender left Ganges, he and Valentine traveled to various planets including Helvetica and others not specified.[5]
When Ender turned twenty, he had to start paying taxes to Starways Congress. He and Valentine disembarked on the planet Sorelledolce to pay off his taxes. He met the tax man Benedetto, who discovered his identity of Ender the Xenocide, and tried to expose him. Jane, the evolved computer intelligence, was looking out for Ender, and wiped Benedetto's computer so he could not reveal Ender as a heinous war criminal. Jane then revealed herself to Ender, and two formed a friendship. After two weeks on the planet, Ender left with Valentine and Jane. He listed his occupation as Speaker for the Dead from that time on, and eventually started wearing a small receiver in his ear that looked like a jewel - his link to Jane.[5]
Three thousand years have passed by the time of Speaker for the Dead. Andrew Wiggin, age 35, had completely dropped the nickname "Ender", as the rest of humanity saw Ender Wiggin as a heinous war criminal who destroyed a harmless and peaceful species. 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. Ender 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 made the decision to travel to Lusitania and Speak the death of Pipo, but left Valentine behind on Trondheim, as she did not want to leave her family.[3]
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.[3]
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 finds a boy, Olhado, who leads Andrew to the Ribeira house - the home of Novinha, who had called him to Speak.[3]
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.[3]
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.[3]
The next day, he investigated the life of Marcos Ribeira, whom he had been requested to speak for as well after his departure. He found that Novinha had been unfaithful to her husband. With Jane's help, he learned it was Libo, her now-dead childhood friend and son of Pipo, who had fathered her six children.[3]
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.[3]
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.[3]
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, 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.[3]
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.[3]
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.[3]
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.[3]
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.[3]
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 made the decision to go to Lusitania with her husband Jakt. Miro left Lusitania on the Havelok to meet Valentine's ship at a halfway point.[3]
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.[6]
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.[6]
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 made the decision 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.[6]
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.[6]
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.[6]
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.[6]
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.[6]
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.[6]
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.[6]
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.[6]
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.[6]
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.[6]
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.[6]
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.[6]
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.[6]
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.[7]
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.[7]
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.[7]
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.[7]
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.[7]
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.[2]
Relationships
Family
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 thought his childhood.[2] 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.[4]
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.[2] After the war, they both traveled through the stars together and grew closer over the countless years they spent together.[4]
Friendships
Julian "Bean" Delphiki- 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.[2] 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.[8]
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.[2]
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.[2]
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.[2] Years after Battle School, Ender still remained in contact with his old teacher, now the Minister of Colonization.[4]
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".[2] However, especially after the battle was over, Ender looked to Mazer as a source of advice and wisdom.[4]
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.[2]
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.[2]
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).[2] Though Ender was glad he won the battle, he would be traumatized for years after when he discovered that he killed Stilson.[4]
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).[2]
"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."
"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."
