Ender in Flight (short story)

Infobox short story |
name = Ender in Flight
title_orig =
translator =
author = Orson Scott Card
country = United States
language = English
series = Ender's Game series
genre = Science fiction
published_in = "Intergalactic Medicine Show"
publication_type =
publisher = Hatrack River Enterprises
media_type = Electronic (HTML)
pub_date = 2008
english_pub_date =
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"Ender in Flight" is a story by Orson Scott Card set in his Ender's Game universe. It takes place in between "A Young Man With Prospects" and "The Gold Bug". It tells the story of a power struggle between Ender and Admiral Quincy Morgan on the voyage to the colony world Shakespeare. It appears in Card's Webzine "InterGalactic Medicine Show".

Plot summary

Ender and Valentine Wiggin are on their way to the new human colony planet Shakespeare where Ender is to become the governor. Most of the passengers on board have decided to be put in stasis for the two year duration of the flight. Alessandra and Dorabella Toscano are among the colonists who chose to stay awake. During the trip they befriend Ender because Dorabella wants Ender to fall in love with and marry her daughter. The captain of the ship, Admiral Quicy Morgan, has a power struggle with Ender who he considers to be nothing more than a spoiled teenager. However, as soon as the ship lands the captain is reminded by Ender, and his superiors from the International Fleet, that Ender is his superior officer on the planet and that he has to return to Earth.

Characters

*Admiral Quincy Morgan
*Valentine Wiggin
*Governor Andrew Wiggin (Ender)
*Ensign Akbar
*Colonel Jarrko Kitunen - passenger liaison officer
*Dorabella Toscano - mother
*Alessandra Toscano – daughter
*Ensign – unnamed
*Ix Tolo - acting governor
*Commodore Vlad das Lagrimas - executive officer
*Ship’s crew – unnamed
*Marines - unmamed
*Colonists - unnamed

Relationship to "The Gold Bug"

According to Card he came up with the idea for this story while he was writing "The Gold Bug". While working on that short story he started to think about how Ender got to the colony and came up with the idea of a power-struggle between Ender and the ships captain. [http://www.intergalacticmedicineshow.com/cgi-bin/mag.cgi?do=issue&vol=i4&article=_card-essay Orson Scott Card, "How One Story Can Give Birth to Another"] "Intergalactic Medicine Show", February 2007.]

Publication

"Ender in Flight" was published in the April 2008 issue of "Intergalactic Medicine Show". [http://www.intergalacticmedicineshow.com/cgi-bin/mag.cgi?do=issue&vol=i8&article=_card Orson Scott Card, "Ender in Flight"] "Intergalactic Medicine Show", April 2008.]

References