Book Blogging - Ender's Game: Chapter 4

In this chapter Ender meets Graff, the school superintendent, on the way to IF training school.  We find out what Ender's education is going to be like: the training is going to be harsh, possibly fatal, but it's necessary.


Graff starts giving personal attention to Ender by calling him the best which aliens him from his classmates. His classmates then start picking on him and Ender understands that is what Graff wanted to do. At first Ender tries to ignore the teasing but then fights back and breaks a kid's arm. The training to make Ender into a military leader has begun.

As a leader, Ender cannot become part of the crowd, he must stand apart. Graff tells Ender, "Individuals human beings are tools that others use to help us all survive." Leaders must see people as tools otherwise they may not do all they can to achieve the mission. Ender will be made into the finest military commander and the fate of the world will be on his shoulders

Graff also warns Ender not to be ignored that he should be too good to be ignored.  


Ender discovers about himself that fear makes him serious. This seems to foreshadow an ability to perform well in high stress combat situations. 

Looking back at Earth on the way to the training school in orbit, Ender sees it as just another planet and not as his home. Ender has become detached from his home completely.

Book Blogging - Ender's Game: Chapter 3

An officer from the International Fleet (IF) shows up to talk to Ender and gives us the overview of the world in which all the characters live.

Eighty years ago there was an attack by the "Buggers," an alien race, from space that nearly wiped out all of humanity. The only thing that prevented extinction was an under appreciated  genius by the name of Mazer Rackham. The Buggers had superior numbers and technology so the humans needed something to balance that and the global fighting force was then structured to find and train genius kids that could win with strategy. The world government sets up a system of population control and manipulation to advance that end and creates the implant program that we saw in the first chapter.

The IF officer informs Ender that he has passed the last phase of the test, which was what happens after the implant is removed, and invites Ender to IF officer school. There are no toys or games in school except the War Game, the greatest game of all. If Ender accepts and completes the training he is guaranteed to be a ship or fleet commander but he can never see his family again.

Next we see the framing, lying and manipulation of the IF officer and the IF in general. There is the removal of the fear of bullies because the school will not have any and getting away from Peter, his biggest bully. Next the officer tries to disconnect Ender from his family, he tells Ender that Ender was baptized in defiance of the law and his existence is a reminder to his parents of that shameful act of disobedience. He says that Peter hates him because he is living proof that Peter wasn't good enough, that he had potential but it didn't work out. The simple fact that Ender was born was proof that Peter and Val were promising but didn't make the cut. The officer conspicuously says nothing about Val. Of course all of this is mostly lies but "necessary" to cleave Ender off from his family.

Once Ender is framed as being an outsider to his own family, the IF officer next frames Ender as the next big savior of humanity. The Buggers will attack again and there is a very real possibility they will be successful in eliminating every human being that is mass death including the death of Ender's family.

Ender gives his answer and it ends up being a reflection of the officer's spiel. He says yes because he can protect humanity for its bullies, the Buggers. Also, it's his raison d'être and he wasn't meant to be part of his family because he was an extra birth. He says he doesn't want to go but he realizes that he has to grow up and do what he has to do, not want he wants. It is a very grown up sentiment from quite a young kid.

At the end of the chapter Val tells Ender that he loves him and she always will, Val tells Ender to come back to her. Even though Ender is going to school, Val's words makes it feel very much like a send off to war.

Beyond the revelations and the plot development, this chapter also gives us philosophical and political points to dwell on:

First is the value of genius. After the end of the Second World War, the planet was divided into three parts, the First World (America and her Allies), the Second World (the USSR and its allies) and the Third World (unaligned nations). The Soviet Union recently destroyed a very large part of the Nazi war machine at the Battle of the Kursk, the largest battle in history, using overwhelming numbers and abundant war materiel manufacturing. A line was drawn down the middle of Europe between Soviet occupied territory and First World nations called the Iron Curtain. If the Soviet Union wanted to march across Europe to the Atlantic Ocean there wasn't much stopping them except certain technologies owned by the US and UK, namely the Atom Bomb. A stalemate was in place and the Cold War was born. 

Knowing that it was very unlikely that the First World could match the Second World's numbers and geographic superior position, the USA developed the counter strategy of technological superiority (including Sci and Tech education emphasis) and extinction stakes (nuclear weapons program). In Ender's world we see two large foes in an extinction stalemate with capabilities on each side that doesn't directly match each opposing capabilities. We see the Earth peruse a genius program just like the West sought to create better scientists and engineers, including the West's efforts to find the next Einstein or VonBraun.

Second, knowing that the generals tend to prepare for the last war makes us feel uncertain about humanity's fate because the IF is so invested in their genius program almost as if putting all their eggs in one basket. We cannot presume that the book ends with the Ender winning and saving humanity, the obvious plot direction at this point. There is a possibility of Ender becoming an Adama like character trying to save a defeated humanity.

Third, we see this unsettling power that the government has over breeding and religion. People are forbidden to follow religion or have more than two kids by law. The IF views all kids as potential IF personal as if they have eminent domain over people's bodies and lives. This also echoes the Cold War, especially physically education programs that prepare kids for army training. The President's Physical Challenge has kids compete in events that are all common in Army Basic Training; this program was instituted by President Kennedy who was an active Cold Warrior and WWII vet. 

The America founded on the Enlightenment principle of the People creating a government with their power and their consent (the source of America Exceptionalism ) does not exist in Ender's world. People exist to serve the government, its needs are supreme and it has the power over people's minds and bodies including what they believe and how they breed. All this is done in the name of possible and perhaps exaggerated threat of extinction which is an echo of Nuclear Annihilation. 

The stage has been set, the basic outline of Ender's world has been revealed to us. Now we get to see how it changes Ender and how Ender changes it. 

My 9/11 Story - Part I

In Fall of 2001 I was supposed to resume my co-op internship at Mars inc but did not due to a problem with paperwork.  I had to work fast with the co-op office to find a new job. Luckily I was able to find a job working in NYC and my first day was September 5th. After two days of taking the 7:30 train I found that I could take the 8:05 train and still get to work before 9am. My father suggested that I take the earlier train in case I missed the early train I could take the later train but I decided against it because I valued my sleep more.

I remember waiting for the train on September 11th, the weather was perfect and there was not a cloud in the sky. I grabbed the 8:05 train and switched over to the PATH in Hoboken. There are three PATH tracks in Hoboken and during morning rush hour two of them are used exclusively for the WTC line. As soon one train filled up, the doors would close and the train would pull away and before the other train was full a new train would arrive. I once read that 250,000 people a day used to commute through the trains at the WTC and I can believe it. It was a sea of humanity moving like fluid over to the business capital of the world. Since Hoboken was the first stop I was able to get a seat and quietly sat out my commute reading Clive Clussler's Raise the Titanic in the corner.


At the WTC stop nothing seemed unusual at first, I remember the smell of diesel fumes but thought nothing of it because I was in a train station. There were several flights of stairs and escalators to get to the lobby/mall and then a short walk to the "Tower Lobby" for WTC1 where I worked on the 95th floor. Walking up the first flight of stairs some homeless man was running down the stairs in the other direction saying someone "set off a bomb." I didn't really give it serious thought considering the source and journeyed on. The lobby/mall of the WTC had many twist and turns and it was easy to get lost but I figured out that as long as I did a 180 once I got to the top of the last escalator and walked straight it would take me to the tower elevators. When I got the top of the esculators that day I knew it wasn't going to be a normal day. The mall was filled with white smoke but not enough to be blinding. I figured someone must have set off a pipebomb at one of the stores, I guess the bum was right, and then I turned to go to the tower lobby but it was cordoned off. I assumed the incident happened between here and the lobby and that I should try to walk around it.

After a couple of twist and turns I ended up in the tower lobby only to find elevator maintenance guys standing there along with the cops. That's when I decided to go grab breakfast somewhere and not go up 95 floors on elevators in need of possible repair. It turns out that I was in the wrong lobby anyway so I wandered out of the lobby for WTC2 and back into the mall. I started looking for a way out when I saw a crowd of people coming down the hall. They were moving fast but not running & screaming. I remember thinking whatever is chasing those people I don't want it chasing me, maybe it's a gunman of some sort. I saw cops standing sentry and helping the crowd. A lady got tripped up and the cop nearby helped her up. Things kind of seemed under control. I turned down another hallway and saw signs for the Subway but decided to head outside and hit up the Burger King across the street for something to eat instead.

When I got outside the first thing I noticed was the ground was covered all around with office papers.That's when someone said or someone told me that a plane had hit the building and I looked up to seeing a whole floor or two engulfed in flames. I knew a plane once hit the Empire State Building by accident so I assumed a similar situation; the impact site was on the other side of the building so I had no idea it was a 757 or any plane of significant size. My company at the time, Marsh inc, occupied floors 92-99 so I tried to quickly determine if the flames were coming from around there but it looked lower than that. Standing there with my head craned back starring at this surreal scene, that was from a movie and not from real life, I was not alone.

It was difficult to look away but I realized that any debris falling from that height could be very harmful so I walked away knowing that the image would always be with me. I figured that three or four blocks in any direction would be good enough for safety so I just started walking away with my back to the WTC. As I was walking I started looking for my company letter head on the papers on the ground without success which relieved me. Maybe my co-workers would be okay, maybe the fire would be put out, and while there will be on the scar on the building that would be fixed.

And then I heard the most awful sound, it sound like a someone took a dozen steel girders and snapped them like twigs. I decided to start running but it turned out I was already running. Due to the fact that I didn't see anything I could only assume the top of the tower had toppled over and was now heading to the ground. I quickly tried to the math in my head to determine how far I would have to run and how long it would take for the top of the tower to reach the ground. I was pretty certain that this was the end for me and that whole life flashing before your eyes thing happened. It's funny though, it's not really everything only the peaks and valleys, all the unimportant stuff gets tossed out and this it was it, the book's end. Still trying to figure out how much time I had, I was multiplying the number of floors by the height of an average commercial story when I realized that enough time had passed that I wasn't going to get crushed.

I decided to keep running because running away from danger felt pretty good and there really wasn't much else I could do. The problem was that I didn't know where I was running to. I looked around and a lot of other people were running too so I decided to ask someone where they were going. I tried to find someone who wasn't consumed with panic but had a determined look on his face. I found a guy and ran next to him, I asked him where he was going and if I could run next to him. He said he was going to the Staten Island Ferry Station. He said the sound I heard was a second plane and it had hit WTC2. Now it was quite clear it was no accident. We got to the ferry station and we talked some more, he told me he actually saw landing gear from the first plane on the ground and that he saw the second plane hit.

At the ferry station, someone in a pick up truck was listening to the radio so a large group of us gathered around his open window to listen. The radio said they were several planes that weren't reporting in and they couldn't determine if they were hijacked or not. At the same time we were all trying to use our cell phones to get in touch with our loved ones. We ended up showing our phones to each other and it became obvious that none of us could get signal. We actually passed our phones around as if someone had some magic touch to make them work.

The ferry was not at the dock but someone said it was on the way after the cops were done going over it with bomb sniffing dogs. From where we were we couldn't see the towers but we could see the big tower of dark smoke in the sky. Soon the ferry arrived and as I walked over to get in line I heard the metal snapping sound again, I went to start running again but I had no where to run. I looked over towards the East River to see if I could jump in and swim somewhere but there was only jagged rocks.I assumed that a third plane had hit a third building and that I was standing on a giant bulls eye and the attacks would never end.  Everyone quietly and calmly starting getting on the ferry and I followed. I sat down by the window and looked outside; the whole boat was surrounding in light smoke with ash floating around in it; I imagined that it is what volcanic fallout is like. The boat pulled out of the dock and we were underway. Still looking out the windows I didn't understand how the pilot can see where he going but I assumed he's done this route enough time he could "do it blindfolded." Looking around I noticed some people put on their life jackets and I decided to do the same because, hell, it kind of made sense.

About ten minutes out, the smoke cleared and I could see the Statue of Liberty glowing in the sunlight. I realized that it could be destroyed at that very moment and I wouldn't be very surprised. It seemed like everything was under attack. Right after that my phone rang and I looked to see it was my friend Mike calling. I quickly answer and was worried about losing signal or the call being dropped. I didn't let him talk much and I just told him that I was ok and to call my parents to tell them I was ok.

The whole time previous I felt awful that my parents didn't know what was happening with me and if I was ok. The fact they didn't know worried me greatly and once I talked to Mike I felt almost relieved. Now I could start trying to figure out how to get home from Staten Island

 Part II

Book Blogging - Ender's Game: Chapter 2

In this chapter we first see Ender interacting with his brother, Peter, and his sister, Valentine, and how his brother bullies him. It's interesting to see that Ender actually has empathy with the Buggers (the alien enemies) because they are seen less than human and Ender being a third child is seen as unusual, strange and a little less human.

The salient thing about this chapter is the bullying. When Card describes Ender watching Peter like someone watching the sky from bad weather it felt very familiar. I think this part really draws readers in and gives them something to relate to very early in the book. Peter treats Ender as a reminder of Peter's previous potential and eventual failure. In this chapter we see Peter dwelling on these failures and Ender reflects this by his own insecurities about failing even though everyone had high hopes for him. There's this weird pairing of Peter being jealous of Ender's achievements and Ender not having any.

We also learn that the experiment isn't over and when Peter apologizes to Ender, who he thinks is sleeping, we suspect that Peter is part of the experiment. I enjoyed how Peter tells Ender that he loves him, it gives Peter depth and makes him not a flat character.

Bonus: First mention of Mazer Rackham. Peter's ambition for public office

Book Blogging - Ender's Game: Chapter 1

I have previously read this book but that was many years ago. My plan is to completely re-read before the movie comes out in November and then see the movie. 

The first chapter is a short chapter which quickly introduces the main character, Andrew (the eponymous Ender), and talks about both his home life with an overbearing older brother and his school life which involves boredom with the subjects being taught and the inability to fit in with his peers. We find out that at school and at home he is bullied but having a monitoring chip that he had for three years removed has changed his life and who he is is also changing. Ender is confronted by a classmate and for the first time he fights back and he fights back viciously.

Personally, being the youngest of three, like Ender, is something I can relate to. I have an older brother who wasn't always friendly to me and I remember being in a house where it seem there was a constant competition among the children. I also remember being in class and being bored with material that I already understood (less often than half the time though). I remember getting picked on and bullied by other kids so I feel like I can relate to Ender.

With a strong opening chapter, I look forward to the next chapter and reading the rest of the book. 

Introduction

I created this blog to be a home to my few written works that are not rants. I'm going to be writing about whatever interests me or stuff I just want to put down in writing. I am hoping that practice makes perfect and that writing here will improve my general writing skills overall. I am also hoping after some time the posts here will actually be worth someone's time to read.