Ender's Game Question: How Did His Friends Get To The ah heck World So Quickly?

[Adam8281]

Just finished Ender's Game, and one question is bothering me:

How did his friends from battle school make it to the ah heck Home World by the time Ender was at Command School? Earlier in the novel it had said that human shifts departed towards the ah heck World over 50 years ago. My impression was the ah heck world was many, many years away.

Yet in Ender's "game" (the simulations that actually were real battles he was commanding), he was commanding ships manned by his friends. If he was commanding his friends, who were fighting against the ah heck home world, how did they get there so quickly?

Similarly, how did his friends get back to Eros (where Ender was) so quickly after the final battle that defeated the Buggers? Ender fell into a "coma" like sleep after the battle, and the novel said he might have slept for days, weeks, or months. But I didn't have the impression that he slept for the years necessary for his friends to make it back to him.

Perhaps the answer is that in the present day, ships were able to travel much faster than 50 years ago when the humans launched the first ships towards the ah heck home world, so his friends (on the modern ships) would have been able to reach the ah heck world in just a year or two.

 

[MH2007]

My understanding was that his friends were operating under his command but were controlling their ships by remote, just like Ender was. Mind you, it's been ages since I read that book so I may we way off ...

 

[Adam8281]

That's interesting. So if that is the case, I wonder if they knew they were controlling REAL ships, or if they thought they were merely in a simulation too.

 

[SWScorch]

That's interesting. So if that is the case, I wonder if they knew they were controlling REAL ships, or if they thought they were merely in a simulation too.

If you read Ender's Shadow, Bean figures out that they are controlling real ships by ansible. I don't think he told the other kids though.

 

[sdifox]

That's interesting. So if that is the case, I wonder if they knew they were controlling REAL ships, or if they thought they were merely in a simulation too.

The kids (other than Bean) didn't know. That is why it traumatized Ender.

 

[Adam8281]

So none of Ender's friends were actually piloting the ships that attacked the Buggers, correct? They were remote-controlling ships by ansible? Were the ships they were controlling manned, just without an active pilot, or were they drones?

 

[sdifox]

So none of Ender's friends were actually piloting the ships that attacked the Buggers, correct? They were remote-controlling ships by ansible? Were the ships they were controlling manned, just without an active pilot, or were they drones?

No, they were all commanders of fleets.

 

[Mo0o]

So none of Ender's friends were actually piloting the ships that attacked the Buggers, correct? They were remote-controlling ships by ansible? Were the ships they were controlling manned, just without an active pilot, or were they drones?

Didnt all this get explained in the book?

Ender and his friends were all fighting via remote.

The ships were manned with actual people. Ender could control each ship individually or give groups of them various commands and the people actually piloting the ships would try to do the tasks themselves.

 

[Adam8281]

Didnt all this get explained in the book?

Ender and his friends were all fighting via remote.

The ships were manned with actual people. Ender could control each ship individually or give groups of them various commands and the people actually piloting the ships would try to do the tasks themselves.

Right, but the way the book put it, I thought the "people actually piloting the ships" were his friends, who he was talking to on the intercom system. But if I understand what you guys are saying, Ender was talking on the intercom to his friends, who were also on Eros in simulators, and they, in turn, were issuing orders to the pilots who were actually flying the ships.

 

[Glitchny]

Didnt all this get explained in the book?

Ender and his friends were all fighting via remote.

The ships were manned with actual people. Ender could control each ship individually or give groups of them various commands and the people actually piloting the ships would try to do the tasks themselves.

Yes it is explained in the book, it's pretty clear.

 

[Adam8281]

Right, but then what was his friend's role? Were they intermediary commanders? So he would issue an order to his friends, who would in turn give the various commands to the actual pilots?

 

[mrCide]

They (friends) were a team with Ender at the top commanding several teams of live ships via ansible. From what I understood.

 

[Adam8281]

They (friends) were a team with Ender at the top commanding several teams of live ships via ansible. From what I understood.

And they, like Ender, did not know the "game" was real?

 

[Brigandier]

And they, like Ender, did not know the "game" was real?

Yes, except for Bean.

 

[Glitchny]

Right, but then what was his friend's role? Were they intermediary commanders? So he would issue an order to his friends, who would in turn give the various commands to the actual pilots?

yes exactly. It mirrored how they fought during training by designating others to lead sections of the whole force. Ender was the General and his friends were all his sub-commanders issuing orders on a more finite level. And only Bean new it was real.

 

[sdifox]

seriously, did you even read the book? kids were in Battle School thinking they are doing simulation training. People were dying on the other end of the terminal. Ender did a lot of sacrificing one fleet to advance the mission type of decision.

 

[novasatori]

I was just going to ask if you even read the book, but I see sdifox covered this question.

Maybe you should read it again.

 

[Crono]

Yes, except for Bean.

Yup.

Bean knew for sure, though (IIRC) Ender kind of (subconsciously) knew that the sims were real. He just was so tired, so exhausted of it all that he wanted to end it quick.

Which is why he was plagued with guilt for such a long time afterward.

EDIT: weird, I didn't know that Orson Scott Card made 2 novels after Shadow of the Giant. And another one is in the works.

 

[FallenHero]

You might want to actually read the final chapters again instead of a cliff notes version. Or at least pay attention. It pretty clear in the book what was going on and why Ender went into a deep depression after he found out that he had controlled actual humans in battle and wiped out an entire species.

 

[Praetor]

You might want to actually read the final chapters again instead of a cliff notes version. Or at least pay attention. It pretty clear in the book what was going on and why Ender went into a deep depression after he found out that he had controlled actual humans in battle and wiped out an entire species.

This.

The book is a fairly quick read, and a very good read. It's well worth reading the real book if you've just read cliffs notes or a Wikipedia article. If you did read it the book, re-read it. It deserves to be read a few times to fully grok the story.

 

[nageov3t]

Joseph Smith did it.

 

[Leros]

At the end of the book, it is revealed that Ender's dreams were attempted communications from the Buggers. He also able to communicated with the unborn ah heck queen. Does it every explain how the Buggers can communicate with Ender?

 

[WelshBloke]

Just finished Ender's Game, and one question is bothering me:

How did his friends from battle school make it to the ah heck Home World by the time Ender was at Command School? Earlier in the novel it had said that human shifts departed towards the ah heck World over 50 years ago. My impression was the ah heck world was many, many years away.

Yet in Ender's "game" (the simulations that actually were real battles he was commanding), he was commanding ships manned by his friends. If he was commanding his friends, who were fighting against the ah heck home world, how did they get there so quickly?

Similarly, how did his friends get back to Eros (where Ender was) so quickly after the final battle that defeated the Buggers? Ender fell into a "coma" like sleep after the battle, and the novel said he might have slept for days, weeks, or months. But I didn't have the impression that he slept for the years necessary for his friends to make it back to him.

Perhaps the answer is that in the present day, ships were able to travel much faster than 50 years ago when the humans launched the first ships towards the ah heck home world, so his friends (on the modern ships) would have been able to reach the ah heck world in just a year or two.

In the UK "ah heck" has a specific meaning which makes this thread hilarious. :thumbsup:

 

[Fayd]

In the UK "ah heck" has a specific meaning which makes this thread hilarious. :thumbsup:

yeah, i'm not really a fan of the vocabulary used in ender's game. it really detracts from the reading experience for me.

 

[nageov3t]

In the UK "ah heck" has a specific meaning which makes this thread hilarious. :thumbsup:

the idea of killing off all the "buggerers" completely fits in with Orson Scott Card's bigoted world view.