Earth Government

Lore & Background

Following the First and Second Invasions, which repelled the buggers by narrow margins, the Earth Government established a two-child policy to manage population control. This era saw the creation of the International Fleet (I.F.) as the primary space military force. To prepare for the third invasion, leaders implemented a covert program training gifted children at orbiting Battle School and Command School. The government authorized the removal of monitoring devices from candidates like Andrew "Ender" Wiggin when they were six years old if deemed unsuitable, yet retained the power to recruit them later based on their potential. Secrecy defined the administration's strategy during Ender's training. Leaders, including Colonel Hyrum Graff and Mazer Rackham, deceived cadets into believing they participated in simulations while actually directing real spacecraft against bugger fleets via an ansible. This deception extended to Ender's final test at Command School, where he destroyed the bugger homeworld, ending the war through xenocide. The government's political landscape also shifted; by 1991, Card updated facts in a new edition of the novel to account for the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.

In Their Own Story

In the shadowed halls of power, Earth's leaders watched as a ten-year-old boy named Ender Wiggin maneuvered fleets he believed were virtual. The government had manipulated his isolation, promoting him from a new army to command against multiple opponents simultaneously. When Ender viciously retaliated against bullies like Stilson and Bonzo Madrid, the administration covered up the resulting deaths, telling Ender only that his rivals were sent back to Earth. On the surface, the government managed political discourse through figures like Peter Wiggin, who used the pseudonym "Locke" to post essays on a global communication system. His sister Valentine published as "Demosthenes." Together, they influenced public opinion and eventually rose to power; Peter became the leader of Earth and 77 before dying of heart failure. Meanwhile, Ender's final simulation turned real when he fired a Molecular Disruption Device at the bugger planet, a move authorized by the I.F.'s commanders who celebrated his victory without revealing the truth until it was too late.

Reader's Guide

Its primary objective is defense against the bugger threat through the International Fleet (I.F.). Key institutions include Battle School and Command School, where children are recruited to become elite officers. To maintain order, the government enforced a two-child policy on Earth, granting exceptions only for children with exceptional intellect like Ender Wiggin. They authorized the use of psychological manipulation, isolating candidates and hiding the reality of the war. The administration kept the alien threat hidden from the general populace to prevent panic. In the post-war era, the government recognized Ender's actions through his writings as "Speaker for the Dead" under the alias "The Hive Queen." Peter Wiggin, having risen to become leader of Earth and 77, commissioned a book about himself titled The Hegemon, cementing the new type of funeral tradition known as the Speaker.

Did You Know?

• Ender's Game was the first science-fiction novel published entirely online, appearing on Delphi a year before its print publication on January 15, 1985.
• The term "buggers" used by humans in the original novel is referred to as "Formics" in the movie adaptation and subsequent novels.
• Ender Wiggin was born a "Third," a rare exception to Earth's two-child policy allowed due to his siblings' high intellect.
• Colonel Hyrum Graff removed Ender's monitoring device when he was six years old, seemingly ending his chances of Battle School before later recruiting him.
• The novel includes an updated version released in 1991 where Card changed political facts to reflect the dissolution of the Soviet Union.