Speaking for the Nerds

    

         I love science fiction. The genre lends itself to a layered writing style where there are different aspects of the book that you can go back to and re-read, but appreciating the book’s story in new ways each time. 

One of the finest series that does this is the Ender series by Orson Scott Card. The first book, Ender’s Game, focuses on the childhood of Ender Wiggin, who is sent to a military academy called Battle School which teaches genius children of the world how to defend the world from impending alien invasion. While the plot of this book is relatively straightforward, Card carefully weaves in ethical dilemmas and scientific concepts into the stories of the fascinating characters he creates. One of the book’s sequels, Ender’s Shadow, highlights a different character and leans into the political side of the story that extends after Ender’s time on Earth is done.

The next part may contain spoilers to Ender’s Game, which I think you should read regardless.

The main sequel to Ender’s Game is called Speaker for the Dead. After Ender’s mission is completed, he goes away from Earth carrying the last seed of the enemy he defeated. While he travels at relativistic speeds, stopping at different planets along the way, he only ages 20 years while over 3000 years pass. In that time, he wrote about the defeat of the aliens and now the accomplishments of “the Ender” are shameful. Humanity feels remorse for their genocide of an entire species of intelligent beings but they don’t do anything differently. The writer of these books is called the original Speaker for the Dead, and his writings spawn a semi-religion of other Speakers who wish to learn about the lives of the dead, and to shine a light on the lives of the living.

That is, until they discover a new intelligent species on the far-off world of Lusitania. This world has only one town, and features a mysteriously simple ecology. The Pequeninos, or the Piggies, are viewed as humanity’s chance to redeem themselves. Thus, the colony is allowed to study the Piggies very sparingly and limit any outside information regarding human culture. Even so, those who study the Piggies create friendships as they try to learn about each other. 

However, when the Piggies murder one of the researchers, the colony’s contact with the piggies is greatly restricted. Ender is drawn to Lusitania to discover the secrets of the Piggies and, for once, speak for the living. 

This book displays not only an enticing plot and a brilliant cast of characters, but the book also incorporates biology, physics, mystery, ethics, and ecology into the story. The different aspects of this book blend together to create one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time, complete with drama, suspense, and moments of brilliance which only seasoned authors can hope to replicate. I hope you read this book if you’ve read Ender’s Game, or check out this author if you haven’t already. Thanks for reading!

-Sam Bhalerao