Ender's Game Project

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rDOFvsVhlQ&context=C3a4264eADOEgsToPDskJffRoaVl1tntBHQq1uEv2h

Ender #4 (The end of the book)

The last chapters of Ender's Game By Orson Scott Card were a few of the best in my opinion. Ender realized that he was both the destroyer and savior of a race. Had he realized that he was actually killing them he would have stopped because there is so much empathy in him and because they never picked a fight with him first, he had no reason to destroy them. Since his teachers all knew that, they did not ask him if he wanted to to kill them. They just tricked him and said it was just his final test in the games. He ended up obliterating their home planet just thinking it was all a game, but it almost destroyed him after he found out. The Buggers left Ender a message that only he would understand and be able to figure out what to do. They left an egg for him to find that had a queen inside who could be the mother to a reborn race.  and they also explained to him that they had not planned to come back to Earth to fight again because they had realized that were are as intelligent, if not more so, than them. They realized their mistake, but the humans didn't know that. Being so xenophobic we weren't going to take any chances of them coming back again, so we (as humans) decided that we were ending it once and for all. Ender was just thrown in it as the Commander of the fleet because of his intelligence and because he was just so good at what he did. He defeated the enemy when he was just an eleven year old boy. Yet, no one asked him what he wanted to do or asked him even if he would. In the end, it was great to see that a boy who had no control over his life eventually grew to help determine the future of human space colonies and the future of an entire species.

Ender's Game #3

In Chapters 10-12, let's just say a lot happens. Ender (only nine) became commander of an army that had been inactive for years, the Dragon Army. Usually commanders are much older, everyone thought Ender would be a commander, but not this early. When he went to see his army there were no veterans, they were mostly just launchies who had no idea what to do in battle. But that didn't stop Ender, right off the bat he started doing things differently, He put the younger ones closer to the door instead of having them in the back like usual going unnoticed. He made them learn the way he does things by when he says "move!" they'd better move. When they got to their first practice, he didn't start with formations like usual; in fact he never did formations at all. When he created the toons in his army, instead of the normal four he created five. They usually gave the commanders three months to get their army ready for battle but no, the games started changing once he got command of the Dragon Army. They only gave him three and a half weeks; but Ender thought they were ready even before he got the sheet telling him he had a battle. From that day, on they were getting battles daily and never once did his army lose, not once. They were the highest rank in every category, they were untouchable. After a couple of months they started giving him two battles a day, that was unheard of. Then the school tried everything they could to try to make him lose just one game but Ender was too smart and getting tired of there games. They made is army face two armies at once. Ender was done, he had the smallest but brightest solider, Bean, help with what to do. Finally Ender thought of a way to throw them off, it was to create a formation. They have never once practiced a formation so it took Ender all of five minutes to explain to everyone how it was going to work. If they can change the rules of the game, then there are no rules. They came out from behind the stars and it was throwing off the armies just how they planed it would, but they were so focused of the formation none of them saw that six soldiers had slipped away and now going through their own gate winning the game before they knew it. After that all of Ender's toon leaders became commanders of other armies and he thought they were screwing with him again, taking all of his good man, but they weren't. That graduated Ender to Command School, but the thing is you have to go through pre-command school first, Ender didn't he went straight there. Only people who were at least sixteen went there but still he was only nine. At this point we realize Ender has actually killed two people, a fact that would truly crush him if he knew.

Monsters and Muse

We watched the the Twilight Zone episode called Monsters Are Due On Maple Street. In this episode, the signs of xenophobia were endless. When they lost power to everything, within a few minutes they were in a panic. They were trying to figure out what had happened and then they started thinking that a family on the street were really aliens who had come beforehand to spy on their world. They start blaming the families who are just a little odd and paranoia seemed to take over. But you have to ask yourself, isn't any family just a little weird or odd in a different way? When fear takes over, people seem to stop thinking rationally. Xenophobia will probably be the cause of any other war or chaos we might have in the world because there are a lot more Maple Streets out in the world just waiting to have something happen so they can blame the people that are different from themselves.
We also read the short story Muse by Dean R. Koontz and this story was kind of sad. This innocent guy who was a host for this alien life form was beaten badly by his own father, just because his father thought that is was evil and taking over him. Then the father told his son, after he ripped it off of his back and threw it down on the ground repeatedly until it moved no more, that he could offer whatever the alien slug offered him but he couldn't. The son told his father that the alien was the one who created his songs he performed; the alien only wanted to create music. Since the alien was only like a slug it didn't have vocals or hands to do it himself. It's not like the alien took him over and did what it wanted, the son wanted to help it. Because of the father's xenophobia he broke that connection, the "muse," and could never be replaced. It wasn't till after the father did what he did that he realized maybe it was harmless. That is our problem as some of us humans, the fear of the unknown blinds us from making rational decisions.

Ender's Game #2

As we continued reading Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card chapters 6-9, I started to realize while I was looking for examples of xenophobia, and coming up short was when I noticed that they aren't very many spots that stand out, because their whole society is xenophobic. That's why they have this battle school of their', it's to defend themselves from outside beings, like the 'buggers'. The battle school is pretty much their whole reason for existing to prepare for when "they" come, especially Ender's because he is the third in his family, and therefore never would have been born if it wasn't for the societies pursuit in finding the best commander, army man, or any other leader position that would help defeat the buggers.
It's really amazing that no matter where Ender ends up, because no army thinks they want him, they try to get rid of him fast in battle so they don't have to deal with him. The Rat army commander sent him out first, but in every situation Ender spun it right back on them and pretended that that was the plan all along and it was a good idea too.
I still really like this book and it's cool how time in this book is going by so incredibly fast because when the book starts he is five and halfway through he is eight. I wonder how old he will be at the end of the book. If this book keeps going like this and just keeps getting better, it will probably get five stars from me.

Puppet Show

In class we read Puppet Show by Fredric Brown. I really kinda liked this story, the way it was presented. This story was about a test, a test of how we humans are xenophobic, or if we are not. In the story they started to pass the test, and then the colonel said something about how he was glad the master race was human and probably destroyed our chance of joining the federation.
I know if was given that test I would probably pass it because I could care less what other people look like and where they come from, and I don't think I would have blurted out a stupid remark. I don't like judging people, even though sometimes we all do it subconsciously. Sometimes it seems like we are wired to think in terms of "us" and "them," but I try not to base my outward behavior on someone's appearance.  I don't hold it against them and think of myself as better then they are.

Ender's Game #1

In my sci-fi class we have begun to read Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. I really like this book so far, the way it is writen and how young the main character, Ender, is. It makes you think differently and makes you pay attention. Since Ender is only six in the beginning of the book, you underestimate him; and when you get into the book, you start to see him not older or bigger, but for what he really is: a smart kid who knows when he is being lying to and who is able to win against older kids just becasue he knows how to sit back, watch and observe.
I also enjoy this book it makes me laugh and keeps me guessing what Ender will think of next. The way he strategizes and watches everyone fascinates me and reminds me of myself. I would rather sit back and watch how others act then try and join them, faking excitment.
In the first five chapters I have noticed that everyone is afraid of these things called buggers and it's not only because they are trying to kill the human race but because they are different. Xenophobia  means a fear of strangers or foreigners or that which is strange. So yeah, there is a lot of xenopobia going on here. I am curious to see if it is justified.
Ender wants to be a leader but doesn't know that he already is one. Leaders are not people who tell others what to do or get a group together just to leave someone out. Leaders fight back when its needed and only respond when being provoked. When they have a message for you they won't hand it to you on a silver platter, but they won't make you work for it either.
The intelligence that this kid has is amazing, they way he sees things and watches them and the questions he asks, so far beyond what a six year old should be deeply thinking about.
This book definitely fits our class definition of science fiction because this very well could happen. Many of the extrapolations, such as the use of video games for military training, have already come true. This society could very well become our present. This is no fantasy story.