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The two men, Graff and somebody else, are discussing Ender. Now that the Giant’s game has been won and now that Ender has taken care of his issues with Bernard, they are ready to continue with Ender’s training.
The scene shifts to Ender. Alai asks for Ender’s help in hacking the computer’s security system. When Ender tries to get to his computer-desk in his locker, he realizes that he cannot open his locker. A note has been left for him and it lets him know that he is moving on with his training. He’s progressing a few years earlier than he expected. He will be joining the Salamander launch group. Ender, in a fit of sadness, hugs Alai and he comforts him.
Ender gets away from his pain by escaping to the Fairyland within the game world. There, he finds the decomposed body of the Giant. He moves away from the Giant and onto a playground with other kids. Ender attempts to play on the equipment there, however, nothing seems to work for him. He falls off of every piece of equipment; nothing, not the slide, the merry-go-around, nor even the monkey-bars, allow him to stay put without falling to the ground.
Frustrated, Ender leaves the playground and follows a path through a forest. He reaches a well where he encounters the children from the playground who now have become wolves. He is killed by the wolves. He tries the game again and again, but the wolves keep on killing him.
Ender, then, returns to the playground where he forces the children to fall off of the same equipment as he does. The children fall and die, only to rise from the dead as wolves who kill him.
When Ender tries the game again, he finally has the sense to take the bodies of the wolf children to a nearby brook where they disintegrate in the water. One by one, he kills the children and then he disposes of their bodies in the water.
Finally, wolf free, Ender returns to the well in the forest. He goes down into the well to explore its cave-like atmosphere. He walks through the cave, encountering some potential games, but he ignores them. Finally, he comes to “the end of the world” door and he goes inside to find a fairytale-type kingdom.
From there, Ender takes a ride on a cloud into a castle. There, he encounters a rug that turns itself into a snake.
Before Ender has a chance to confront the snake, he is thrown out of the game world. He’s thrust back into reality by a message on his desk. It seems that Ender is late to his first encounter with his new launch group.
Ender moves onto the barracks where he will now be staying. Once in the correct bunk area, other boys quickly question him. One girl, though, Petra stands up for Ender. The other boys act surprised that Petra is vocalizing herself.
All of the teasing comes to a complete halt when the leader of the Salamanders enters. Bonzo Madrid is a handsome young man who seems more sophisticated than the others. He quickly questions Ender on his experiences so far at Battle School. A hesitant Ender, lets Bonzo know how inexperienced he is.
Bonzo isn’t too surprised that Ender is there. He knows that the leader of the games, Major Anderson, is likely to throw these kind of things out into the launch groups. Just as Salamander was improving itself, Anderson threw Ender at them. Bonzo is intent on trading Ender to a different launch group.
Bonzo instructs Ender on what to do when they battle other groups. He is to wait at the launch gate until a few minutes into the game. Only then can he immerge.
Ender heads off to his bunk where he’s met by Petra later. They quickly form a bond since they both are different among the group of Salamanders (Ender is only six and Petra is a girl). She offers to train him in the Battleroom whenever they have free time.
BROWSE CONTENTS
ENDER'S GAME -- CHAPTER 7: SALAMANDER
Later, when Ender is about to go to the restroom, a boy near his bunk fills him in on some of the rules. They must wear their uniform all the time when they leave the bunk, they can’t speak to others in different launch groups, and they can’t be nude around Petra.
Ender makes it to the restroom where he ignores other boys who tease him. One of the boys, though, recognizes Ender. It turns out that Ender has a reputation among the children (they know of him).
Later, Petra meets up with Ender to train in the Battleroom. Ender tries to question Petra on how the Battleroom works, but she warns him by saying that boys who question such things too much get themselves in danger with the adults.
In the Battleroom, Petra throws balls around to use as target practice. She shows Ender how she does it and she tries as he unsuccessfully tries to shoot the balls.
Later, during his first venture into the Battleroom with the Salamander Army for a practice drill, Ender is forced to sit out of the fight by Bonzo. Ender observes four different platoons, groups, which the Salamander is broken up into. Each platoon, toon for short, is led by a leader who has a mixed group of people under his command. All of the toon leaders follow the commands of Bonzo.
Ender, who was supposed to be studying at his desk in the Battleroom, instead observes the Salamanders practice. He learns how to maneuver about in the Battleroom. He also notes the weaknesses of the toons, primarily their inability to alter their routines in order to adapt to the enemy’s tactics.
After observing the practice drill, Ender wants to practice some more with Petra. Unfortunately, she has time constraints, so he decides to get his old friends together in the Battleroom for some training. Such an action is unheard of since Ender is now a true soldier and no longer one of the Launchies; however, it is not against any of the rules. During his free time, Ender practices with his old friends.
Bonzo quickly learns of what Ender did. He reprimands Ender in front of the other Salamanders, forbidding him from working with the Launchies again.
Ender takes a moment to speak to Bonzo in private. He reminds Bonzo that he cannot tell Ender what to do during his free time. Ender recommends that Bonzo undo his actions in front of the Salamanders. If he does not, Ender will speak to the Battle School’s administrators and get him in trouble. Later, Bonzo does as Ender recommended.
Soon, the time comes in which the Salamanders are to face another army, the Condors. Ender is to only observe as the armies battle it out. In the Battleroom, large, brown boxes drift here and there. The soldiers call these boxes stars. It turns out that the Salamander Army has no idea how to use the free-floating stars to their advantage, so they are quick to lose soldiers during the battle.
After a while, Ender comes out of hiding. He floats about and gets shot in the legs. His legs are frozen but the rest of his body can still move. He was told earlier by Bonzo not to use his gun, so the enemy doesn’t bother with him any further.
Finally, the Salamander Army is defeated by the Condor Army. To conclude the game, four enemy soldiers opened the Salamander gate and another enemy went through the door. The enemies needed a minimum of five unfrozen people to win the game in this manner.
Ender knew that he could have caused a draw by icing any one of the five Condors who opened the gate; however, he also knew that according to his orders he wasn’t to shoot his gun.
Since Ender was only disabled and not defeated in the game and since he had no shots fired, his record stands at the top of the other soldiers. It is something that Ender is quite proud of.
Eventually, Ender’s seventh birthday comes around. He is issued a new suit that fits him better, a kind of birthday present. Other than that, no mention of his birthday comes from anywhere. He longs for Valentine on his birthday and he longs for one of the cakes that she once baked him. However, here there are no such observances for birthdays or any days for that matter. It is a difficult, emotional birthday for Ender to get through alone.
Finally, the time comes for Ender’s fourth game against a newer army, the Leopard Army. The fresh army has some new tactics that Salamander is not familiar with. The Salamanders are iced with an imminent defeat looming; however, Ender acts and he is able to bring down five of the remaining nine members of the Leopard Army. The Leopards are forced to pull a draw since they haven’t enough soldiers to initiate and enter the gate.
Bonzo becomes furious at Ender for disobeying orders. Shortly after, he is finally able to trade Ender off to the Rat Army. Bonzo told those who traded for him about Ender’s statistics and they were led to believe that Ender was good.
Ender thanks Bonzo and, still displeased, Bonzo hits Ender. He chastises Ender for disobeying his orders.
Unfortunately for Bonzo, the reaction by the other Salamanders is a bit disapproving. The other soldiers know that they didn’t lose because of Ender’s actions. They are not too happy at Bonzo for the way he just treated Ender.
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by Orson Scott Card
