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"The Gold Bug" is a short story written by Orson Scott Card. It tells the story of Sel Menach discovering a Formicoid lifeform on a colony world. It was first published in Card's webzine, the InterGalactic Medicine Show in July 2007.[1]
In November 2008, it was republished throughout the novel Ender in Exile. The short story is divided up between Exile Chapter 14 with a few very minor changes, Exile Chapter 15 with minor changes, and the second half of Chapter 16 with some more minor changes. "The Gold Bug" features an exclusive 2,700 word introduction, summarizing details included elsewhere in Exile.[3]
In April 2021, "The Gold Bug" was republished in the illustrated anthology Ender's Way.[2]
Story Details[]
"The Gold Bug" is the story of Sel Menach, a fighter pilot in the Third Formic War, xenobiologist, and eventually the governor of one of the former Formic worlds. When a colony ship from Earth arrived, carrying Ender Wiggin, the new soon-to-be governor, Sel decided to go on an expedition into unexplored lands so that it would be easier for Ender to take over as governor.[1]
On the expedition with Po Tolo, Sel discovered some caves with large golden bugs, which he believed to be a cross between the Formics and a parasite native to the planet. He established some limited contact with the hybrid creature and discovered they were hungry and wanted to be fed. While he brought the food, Ender showed up and arranged for the bugs to be fed, and took Sel back to the colony and his work as a xenobiologist.[1]
Trivia[]
- The comic adaptation of "The Gold Bug" was released before the short story.[4]
- According to Card, he came up with the idea for the short story "The Gold Bug" while in the pre-planning stages of "Ender's Stocking".[5]