Decisions in Ender's Game: Children of the Mind

All Must Be Considered

A decision can make everything: life or death, yes or no, win or lose. Every choice has an outcome, and that outcome could change life as we know it. Ender Wiggin, the main character of the Ender’s Game series, is a man who makes many decisions throughout the three-thousand years of his life that dramatically affect the universe, many that have chosen the fates of billions. He had to evaluate every possible scenario and how it would affect each sentient species involved. The fallout of his choices is written about in Orson Scott Card’s Children of the Mind where his children and his “clones” fight for the survival of three sentient species. The consideration of religion, survival, and conformity all heavily influence their decisions. With the greater good constantly in mind, it is evident that the characters all relatively have a moralist viewpoint.

Our main character throughout the whole series is Andrew (Ender) Wiggin. Most of the intense decisions are made by this strong-willed soul who accounts for everything. Writer Michael R. Collings gives us an excellent summarization of this man’s role in the universe. “The epitome of the sacrificial Christic figure in Card's fiction is Ender Wiggin, whose very existence meets the needs of the larger community, and whose career as military genius, as itinerant interplanetary mediator and advocate, as apostle to aliens, and as human link with the generative powers of God is based on serving larger and larger communities.” Ender has a history of over three thousand years due to him traveling from planet to planet at relativistic speeds. He is responsible for nearly wiping out and saving whole alien races. When he was a child, he was sent to a battle school to be trained as a commander. He excelled and was sent to play an advanced game that, unbeknownst to him, was fighting real battles. In his last “Test” he decided to use the Molecular Disruption Device (MD Device), an all powerful, all destroying bomb. Then there was outrage in the masses. Was it right to annihilate another sentient species without making contact? Many discussed this and there are views from both sides; it is an argument about compassion versus survival instinct. On one hand, total war is immoral, especially when peace has not been considered. Also, they argued that the use of the MD Device was unfair and unjust. Total obliteration without hope of survival. On the other hand, many consider the formics to be varelse: A term on the hierarchy of foreignness meaning totally alien and unable to cope with. They say that they cannot be in the same universe knowing that the other exists. But anybody with any decent morals at all could not have consciously made the decision to pull the trigger. This is why the International Fleet requires people to renounce their religion and swear to obey orders no matter what they are. They do their best to make you your worst self.

Human reactions are based on natural and habitual behaviors. Throughout the Children of the Mind, Orson Scott Card discusses the causes of many of these natural responses that humans act on. He makes observations that apply to most all humans; “Religion is tied to the deepest feelings people have. The love that arises from that stewing pot is the sweetest and strongest, but the hate is the hottest, and the anger is the most violent” (Card 132). These observations help us understand a person’s motive and the causes of their emotions. Peter and Wang Mu are especially good at using these responses to get what the want. They manipulated a leader name Aimaina Hikari by abusing his devotion to the “gods.” With the help of their computer bound friend, Jane, they appeared in the computer networks one day and were gone the next, after their conversation with him. He was convinced that they were sent by the gods to direct him into stopping the attack of the Lusitania fleet. Peter and Wang Mu used mind