Bean (Ender's Game)

Bean is a major character in Orson Scott Card's science fiction novels revolving around Ender Wiggin. He is an important supporting character in "Ender's Game" and the main character of the eponymous "Bean Quartet" (or "Shadow Saga" as it is officially known), consisting of "Ender's Shadow", "Shadow of the Hegemon", "Shadow Puppets", and "Shadow of the Giant". He will be one of the two main characters in the "Ender's Game" movie.

"Shadow of the Hegemon"

Bean's tranquil life with the Delphikis is short-lived. While the family is on vacation, Achilles, who, since the events of "Ender's Shadow", has used his considerable intellect to gain influence and power in Russia and other empire-minded countries, tries to kill them outright. Bean and the Delphikis separate; Bean goes into hiding with Sister Carlotta, and the Delphiki family disappears with the help of Graff. Bean later learns that Achilles has captured all of Ender's "jeesh" (the command group that was with Ender during the final battles of the Formic Wars) except for Bean (whom he tried to kill) and Ender (who is among the first attempts to colonize a former bugger world). Bean later allies himself with Peter Wiggin to combat this threat. Bean is most concerned for Petra's welfare, and finds a coded message sent by Petra that leads to the release of all of Ender's jeesh except for her.

Bean travels to Thailand, where he helps train a strike force under Suriyawong (a member of Ender's Dragon Army). He assumes the name Borommakot, the name of a former Thai king. Another assassination attempt on him (and Suriyawong) leads Bean to request Sister Carlotta's presence. Achilles, however, shoots down the plane in which she is traveling. Near the end of the novel, Bean engineers a rescue mission in which he successfully, and without casualties on either side, rescues Petra from Achilles. A following scene at Sister Carlotta's cenotaph foreshadows Bean and Petra's future romance. Finally, Peter Wiggin, newly-elected Hegemon, bestows the office of Strategos on Bean. Peter relocates the main Hegemony offices to Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, where Bean and his family are reunited.

"Shadow of the Giant"

In this novel, Bean is around sixteen years old (the exact age is unknown because Volescu destroyed all of his records). Anton's Key has caused his body to undergo rapidly accelerated growth; he is becoming a giant, and is nicknamed the African Giant by the Rwandans, due to his noticeably African features. Bean's time on Earth is very limited; there is simply not enough time left to him to find a cure.

As commander, Bean plays a pivotal role in helping Peter unite the world under the Hegemony. Peter creates the Free People of Earth (FPE) organization. To join, the population of a country must hold plebiscites to vote to ratify the FPE constitution as their own. Once part of the FPE, a country is protected by FPE military forces. Rwanda is one of the earliest countries to agree to join FPE. However, Felix Starman, the head of Rwanda, requests that Giant Julian lead the Rwandan army. Aside from Bean being the greatest military mind in human history, having a commander with some African heritage and features would play to the patriotic side of the Rwandan soldiers. Bean turns the Rwandan army into an irresistible force. The effectiveness of his leadership initially frightens many countries into holding plebiscites to discuss joining FPE rather than getting defeated by an army Bean commands.

From the advice of the Minister of Colonization Graff, Bean follows in Ender's footsteps to live at relativistic light-speed along with three of his children who share his disorder, in the hope that a cure can be found for the condition, while Petra and Bean's five 'normal' children remain on Earth. It is revealed that a ninth child of Bean's, who also has Anton's Key, was birthed by and is under the care of a woman named Randi, who plans to take the child with her to a colony world and raise him as Achilles' heir. By the end of the novel decades later, a cure has still not been discovered, and it is unknown how Bean lives the remainder of his life, nor is the fate of Bean's ninth child revealed.