Ender's Game Reflection

Going off my last comment, I still believe that the I.F. could have done more. And as practically all posts have said, it came down to a lack of communication. In a time where the ansible is possible and super-intelligent children can be "requistioned" I think the IF could have had communication side project. While Scott pointed out for the Enderverse were to remain internally consistent (one of our criteria for science fiction) the ansible could not contact the buggers, it proves that humans were able to communicate similiar to the buggers. In chapter 15 the bugger queen relays to Ender how they found him through the ansible (320). Perhaps this could have worked with another child if the IF had tried.

Does survival mean needing to exterminate the "other"? I'm all for building up defense to ensure humanity's survival, but I don't think the IF had to go hunt down the buggers and eliminate an entire race. It's as if the IF said "You know what, it's been long enough. They have nothing to offer us. Let's show them who the superior race is and destroy them". Again in chapter 15, the bugger queen says they never returned because they realized humans were sentient beings. However, the IF never acknowledge the bugger race as sentient. The closest they get is when Mazer says " In all the bugger wars so far, they've killed thousands and thousands of living, thinking beings. And in all those wars, we've killed only one" (270). Only the queen is recognized as a sentient being, and yet that doesn't deter them from attacking as it did with the buggers.

Overall, I don't believe that the IF was justified in its actions. It had acted as if attacking was its only option, refusing to acknowledge other possibilities. If I had to make this decision, I would've felt better knowing that I did everything I could before turning to ultimate destruction. Or maybe I'm being too sympathetic to the buggers. I would not have made it through Battle school.