The Gold Bug (short story)

Infobox short story |
name = The Gold Bug
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 = 2007
english_pub_date =
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"The Gold Bug" is a story by Orson Scott Card set in his Ender's Game universe. It tells the story of how Sel Menach steps aside as leader of a colony world to let Ender Wiggin take over as governor. It appears in Card's Webzine "InterGalactic Medicine Show".

Plot summary

"The Gold Bug" is the story of Sel Menach. Sel was a fighter pilot in the Formic war, a xenobiologist and eventually the governor of one of the former Formics worlds. When a colony ship from Earth arrived carrying many people, including Ender Wiggin who was to be the new planetary governor, Sel decided to go on an expedition into the unexplored lands so that it will be easier for Ender to take over as governor. While on his expedition he discovered some caves with large golden bugs. Sel believed the bugs to be a cross between the Formics and a parasite native to the planet. He established some limited contact with the hybrid creatures and discovered that they were hungry and wanted to be fed. While Sel was bringing food to the bugs Ender showed up, arranged for the bugs to be fed and took Sel back to the colony where he went back to work as a xenobiologist.

Characters

Humans

*Sel Menach (second governor)
*Mazer Rackham
*Admiral of expedition (first governor) - unnamed
*Ramon - Sel Menach’s friend
*Ender Wiggin (third governor)
*Ix Tolo – xenogeneticist
*Po - Ix Tolo's son
*Graff - Minister of Colonization
*Soldiers who came with Ender - unnamed

emi-intelligent aliens

*Gold bugs
*Gold bug larva

Relationship to "A Young Man with Prospects"

According to Card while he was writing this story he started to think about how Ender got to the colony. As a result he came up with a story idea which involved a power-struggle between Ender and the ships captain. However, since Card didn't want the story to be only about Ender and the captain he decided to put a mother and daughter on the ship. When he first began writing about the two women it was suppose to have been the opening for that story, but as he sat down to plan the scenes they developed into the story "A Young Man with Prospects". [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

"The Gold Bug" was published in the July 2007 issue of "Intergalactic Medicine Show". [http://www.intergalacticmedicineshow.com/cgi-bin/mag.cgi?do=issue&vol=i5&article=_card Orson Scott Card, "The Gold Bug"] "Intergalactic Medicine Show", July 2007.] It was also adapted into a comic and can be found as an added bonus in the Marvel Comics hard cover edition of "".

References