Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Opening Section

Two officials discuss Ender’s progress. One claims that Ender must be a monster because of what he did to the Giant. The other, who is probably Colonel Graff, points out that it is a good sign to see Ender win a game that couldn’t be won. Graff says that Ender will soon have to move on. The other voice agrees but asks Graff not to hurt Ender any more than necessary.

Main Narrative

Several weeks have passed, and Ender still refuses to admit that he sent the message signed with Bernard’s name. However, Alai knows Ender must have been responsible. After teasing Ender about it, Alai asks for help setting up a computer security system. Ender agrees, but when he arrives at his bunk he finds a note saying he has been promoted.

Ender is upset to be moved out of his launch group so early. He is still six, and most boys are never assigned to an army—which is the Battle School name for the teams the older boys play on—before age eight. Ender's launch group has just started working together, and he and Alai are becoming good friends. Ender does not want to leave, but he knows he must. Alai kisses Ender’s cheek and whispers, “Salaam.”

On his way to his new barracks, Ender stops in the game room and signs into the mind game. Ender passes by the Giant’s corpse to go to Fairyland. In the game, Ender tries to play in a playground, but unlike the other children in the game, he cannot use the play equipment. He gives up and wanders into the forest, where he is eaten by wolves. After several attempts and failures, Ender realizes that he cannot defeat the wolves, so he goes back to the playground and kills the children instead. As each child dies, his or her body turns into the body of a wolf.

After that, Ender is able to go on through the game. He comes to a door labeled “The End of the World” and steps through it. He finds his way to a castle, where a snake threatens to kill him. Before he can fight the snake, he gets a message that he must stop playing the game and go on to his new dormitory.

At the new barracks, Ender immediately finds himself an outcast. The only...