Ender’s Game

In the future, Earth is invaded by an alien race  known as the Formics, killing a good hunk of   humanity. The invasion was stopped by a pilot  known as Mazer, who crashed his plane against   the Formic queenship at the cost of his life. For  the following fifty years, the International Fleet   is created and it recruits children to become  soldiers who one day will guide a new fleet to a   counterattack. These kids are trained through war  games and are watched over by a monitor connected   to their necks. One of their best players is  Ender, whose skills sometimes make other kids   think he's cheating, however he never raises  to the taunt. Colonel Graff thinks Ender is the   hero they need, but Major Anderson is skeptical  because they need more than just battle skills,   they also need the personality of a leader. One  afternoon, Ender is called to the infirmary to get   his monitor removed, which means he's out of the  program. After the very painful procedure's done,   Ender's surrounded by jealous kids that drag him  into a classroom as they accuse him of cheating   and want to beat him up. Now that he doesn't have  the monitor anymore, Ender doesn't hesitate to   defend himself and beats the leader up before  threatening everyone. Graff and Anderson are   still watching all this through other cameras,  and Graff is proud of Ender for his reaction.   When Ender returns home, he tells his  sister Valentine about what happened,   feeling bad over how violently he reacted because  he doesn't want to become like his brother Peter,   who was kicked out of the program for his bad  attitude. Valentine tries to comfort Ender, but   their conversation is interrupted by Peter, who  comes to challenge Ender to a fight for getting   kicked out too. However Ender doesn't react, and  he's left alone when he shields. Later during   dinner, Ender's parents try to remind him there's  nothing to be embarrassed by when suddenly,   Graff and Anderson show up at their door. It turns  out that taking out the monitor had been a test   to see how Ender behaved without it and, after  asking him a few questions, they confirm he passed   because his decision to beat up the other kid had  been tactical: he didn't fight because he enjoyed   hurting other people, he did it to stop them from  bothering him in the future. Graff thinks Ender's   mind is as bright as Mazer's and wants him to  come back, if he accepts he'd be graduating to   Battle School without the monitor. Ender accepts  and he's taken to the shuttle that will carry him   and other graduated kids to Battle School. There,  Ender meets Bean and Alai, who can't help throwing   up when the shuttle takes off. Graff comes to  check on everyone and when Ender makes a joke,   Graff informs the group that Ender is the smartest  kid in the class, which puts everyone's attention   on Ender in a rather awkward way. When they arrive  at the school, Ender tells Graff that his little   announcement made everyone hate him, but Graff  explains the army needs their own Cesar to win   this war. Afterward, Ender goes to his room, where  he's met by some of the students already teasing   him for thinking he's better than everyone.  Their conversation's interrupted by Sergeant Dap,   who teaches them the rules of the place in a  rather condescending way and reminds them that   teamwork is the key to survival. Later in class,  Graff reminds everyone of their responsibilities   and plays a video of Mazer's victory, which Ender  find weird. The next morning, the team is taken   to the Battle Room, which has Zero-G. Graff makes  Ender go first to demonstrate, and the rest of the   kids quickly follow him, slowly getting used to  the lack of direction. Ender and Ben get together   and decide to try out their weapons, discovering  that the shots freeze any body part they touch.   After some minutes of practicing, Graff calls  everyone back and explains this is the room   where they'll be competing against other school  teams. Then Dap explains the rules of the game:   they get one point for a hit to a limb and six  for a torso hit, but if either side gets one cadet   through their enemy's gate unharmed that army  will win regardless of points. For the following   three months Ender spends his days training in the  school and writing e-mails to Valentine, although   he never gets a reply. The training includes  studying Formic flight patterns and hand-in-hand   combat, which keeps them aggressive and makes  Ender feel like Peter. Ender's still not sure   anyone truly understands their enemy, especially  because nobody tells them properly what Mazer did   to defeat the entire fleet last time. Graff tells  Ender he wants him to lead, but Ender doesn't know   how to do that when everyone's so different and he  always eats alone. One evening, Graff informs the   class that some people in the higher ranks have  failed to meet the standards to get into Command   School, so now there's a chance for students in  this class to get a promotion. Ender asks Graff   if their e-mails are being blocked, and Graff  confirms all communication is being temporarily   held back because people on Earth don't need  to know what's happening here. Afterward,   Dap makes Ender do push-ups while insulting him,  reminding him not to speak unless spoken to. After   Dap leaves, Ender is surprised to see the other  kids now look at him with respect. The next day,   a teacher informs them there are only three  passing scores on the deep space navigation test:   Alai, Bean, and Ender, causing Bernard to accuse  them of cheating. The teacher wants to go over   some exercises and asks Ender to demonstrate, but  Ender says Alai and Ben understand the concept   better, and the teacher calls for Alai instead.  While Alai explains his answers, Bernard writes   insults about Alai's weak stomach that appear  on everyone's screens, so Ender writes something   about Bernard and sends it back, making him mad.  The teacher hears him complain and when she sees   what's happening, she tells Bernard not to dish  it out if he can't take it. Later during lunch,   the class comes to sit with Ender, leaving Bernard  behind. In the evening, Ender finds a game on his   tablet and tries it out while Alai watches him.  In the game, Ender plays as a rat that must   choose between two goblets, but no matter what  Ender chooses, the rat dies. He then decides to   make the rat attack the troll handing out the  goblets, which allows him to pass the level.   Alai doesn't understand why, and Ender explains  the academy is training them to be violent. This   game is being watched by Graff and Anderson  because it's another test, and Anderson is   surprised by Ender's solution because it's never  happened before. It also confirms Graff's belief   that Ender is the perfect soldier, thus Ender  instantly gets promoted to the Salamander Army,   which is known for being undefeated. When Ender  finds his new quarters, he meets Petra, the only   girl in the Salamanders, and the leader Bonzo,  who is angry to see Ender is his new team member   because he thinks he's skinny and useless. Bonzo  informs Ender he'll trade him as soon as he can,   and for now, he doesn't want him getting in the  way. During matches, Bonzo wants Ender to enter   the Battle Room and stay in a corner without  doing anything until the team is ready to move   through the gate. Afterward, Petra informs Ender  that the Battle Room is open for practice 24/7,   so she can help him with the training if he  wants. Ender accepts and the two of them end   up in the Battle Room, where Petra shows Ender a  few tricks to be a better shooter. When Bonzo sees   them return to the room together, he gets furious  and tells Ender that he isn't allowed to practice   at all. Ender asks him to speak in private and  explains he'll respect every order Bonzo gives   him during training, but he won't allow for his  free time to get controlled by him too. Besides,   if Bonzo wants to trade him, it'll happen faster  if Ender shows growth. Ender offers a simple deal:   Bonzo can pretend he won this argument, and the  next day he can tell anyone he changed his mind,   that way he keeps his respect as a leader and  Ender still gets his free time. Bonzo insults   Ender for being impertinent, but the next morning,  he does exactly as Ender said. Sometime later,   the first match begins, and at first Ender stays  in his corner like Bonzo asked. However their team   begins to lose, so Ender jumps in to help Petra  and make a plan together. Petra pushes Ender   while he pretends to be frozen, this allows him  to steal two guns and start a one-man attack that   takes the enemy by surprise and gets the victory  for the Salamanders. Graff is watching all this   and is delighted to see Ender shine. During lunch,  the other Salamanders call Bonzo out for holding   Ender back, humiliating him. Later, while Ender  and Petra are practicing hand-to-hand combat,   Bonzo interrupts them to punch Ender, threatening  to kill him if he ever makes him look like a fool   again. When it's time to go to bed, Ender picks up  the game on his tablet again and the rat finds a   bug-like creature that wants him to do something  he can't understand. Then the creature transforms   into Valentine, who suddenly has to run away  when the area finds itself under attack. The   rat follows Valentine into a fallen building and  after transforming into Ender, he finds a weird   sphere with Valentine inside in the middle of  the room. Then the carpet becomes a monster and   attacks Ender's avatar, causing Peter to appear  in the sphere and call Ender a killer. Terrified,   Ender immediately closes the game. Meanwhile Graff  is furious with Anderson because he thinks her   game is pushing Ender's psychological state to the  edge. Anderson explains she doesn't understand how   these images got into the game and that she can't  modify them, so Graff makes her delete the game   entirely. Afterward, Graff decides to accelerate  some promotions in the program to be ready in   time. He calls Ender to his office and asks him  if he'd like to command his own team, the Dragon   Army, which was a name that got discontinued four  years ago because they couldn't win. Graff thinks   Ender can have his own team of freaks like him,  and Ender accepts. After Dap shows Ender his new   quarters and finally treats him with respect,  Ender meets his new team, which includes Alai,   Bean, and Bernard. Ender surprises everyone  by asking for mutual respect and to be told   of any ideas they may have because teamwork  is the most important. From then on, Ender   pushes his team to work hard, making something  even out of Bernard, and they soon reach third   place in the team ranking. Anderson reminds Graff  their higher-ups are impatient and want a decision   on which team will advance any day now, but Graff  hates that the Dragons haven't reached first place   yet. To fix this, Graff proposes something that  has never been done before: a battle with three   teams, including the three first places: Dragons,  Salamanders, and Leopards. The team receives the   news out of nowhere, and in their hurry to get  ready, one of the guys hurts his ankle. Ender   sends him to the infirmary and gets ready to  approach this challenge with a smaller team,   but luckily, Graff sends Petra as the replacement.  Ender first sends Petra out with a boy as a shield   so her shooting skills can get rid of the campers  by the gate. Then, he ties a rope around Bean and   makes him scout the room for intel, this gives  enough information for Ender to make a plan:   the whole team makes a meat shield around Alai and  they move straight to the enemy's gate, winning   the game. After the game, Bonzo approaches Ender  in the showers, asking him to fight. Ender doesn't   want to but has no choice and he defends himself,  accidentally pushing Bonzo too hard and making him   hit his head on the floor. An unresponsive Bonzo  is immediately taken to the infirmary for surgery,   and Anderson and Petra try to comfort Ender,  but Graff interrupts them to talk to Ender   alone. He swears Bonzo is going to live, but  Ender doesn't believe him, so Graff admits   Bonzo will be sent back to Earth for recovery.  Ender wants to go with him and see his sister,   but since Graff refuses to give him time off,  Ender quits. Afterward, Anderson calls Graff out   for not seeing their students like the children  they are, but Graff reminds him he needs to see   them as soldiers if they want humanity to  survive. Sometime later on Earth, Valentine   arrives at her home to find Graff there, asking  her for a favor. Valentine knows Graff wants to   use her to make Ender re-join the army, and Graff  simply replies he wants Ender to save lives. Then   Graff takes Valentine to see Ender, who takes  her on a boat ride so they can speak in private.   Ender explains how bad he feels for having to  destroy lives because to understand an enemy,   he needs to love them. Valentine reminds him that  hurting Bonzo was self-defense and explains that   she refuses to convince him to re-join like Graff  wants her to, but she does think Ender is here   because he's afraid. She points out he can't  hide here forever and that if he doesn't try,   everything will be lost. Ender accepts to go  back to the army, but only if Graff doesn't   block his e-mails anymore. Instead of going back  to Battle School, Ender is taken to the command   base near the Formic home planet, where he has  earned the right to train for the final test. If   all goes well, Ender'll get to command the entire  invasion fleet. This base is on a planet that used   to belong to the Formics until the humans drove  them away almost three decades ago. Ender doesn't   understand why they need to keep attacking the  Formics if they're contained in their own planet,   and Graff explains it's in order to stop them from  attacking again in the future, the same reason   why Ender had beat up those students months  ago. Dap shows Ender to his new room, which   includes an oxygen tank in case there's a need for  an evacuation. The next morning, Ender is startled   by the sudden appearance of a weird tattooed man  that jumps on him and reminds him to trust nobody,   not even his teachers. This man turns out to  be Mazer, who isn't dead after all, so Ender   gets to comment on what has been bothering him:  whenever they show the video of Mazer's victory,   they cut the footage right after he destroys  the carrier and he doesn't understand why.   Mazer takes Ender to watch the whole recording  and it's revealed that after Mazer destroyed   the main carrier, all the other Formic ships  stopped attacking and began falling out of the   sky. Mazer explains Formics are compared to ants  for a reason: they also depend on their queen,   and if the queen is out of commission, the others  can't think for themselves and die. The reason why   this is kept classified is that they aren't  100% sure Mazer destroyed the queen's ship,   meaning they can't depend on that strategy yet.  But if the Formics have rebuilt their fleet, there   must be another queen on their home planet, and  the only reason why they left is to seek water.   Afterward, Mazer takes Ender to meet the team that  will assist him during the training simulations,   which includes Bernard, Bean, Petra, and Alai.  Then Mazer shows the team how the Formics have   been growing their military power at an alarming  rate, so they'll have to attack first to prevent   them from going out again even if Ender doesn't  think it's fair to go after creatures that are   keeping to themselves. The simulations will begin  with photo-real simulations to best approximate   real battles, and Ender will command the overall  strategy that he'll pass to his teammates, who   will each command a battle group formed by drones.  The most important thing is to protect the M.D.   500, a weapon that can shatter molecular bonds  and Petra is trained to fire. For the first few   simulations, Ender and his team fly through them  without issues, gathering victory after victory.   But the simulations keep getting more complex and  real, and after a few months of pure pressure,   Ender loses his first battle. Mazer yells at  Ender for his failure, and when Ender points   out he can't win if he doesn't take risks, Mazer  points out he needs to focus on the big picture   and relegate the small mop-ups to his team.  Graff also explains Mazer is frustrated because   he's trained many teams in the past and they all  lost, but Ender'll be the last because there's   no time to train anybody else. The higher-ups have  decided tomorrow will be Ender's final simulation,   and if he wins, he'll command the real fleet. In  the evening, Ender chats with Petra, explaining   he doesn't want to go to war and wishing he could  speak to their enemies to understand them better.   Petra reminds him studies on Formic bodies have  shown they don't have vocal cords, making Ender   wish he could "think" to them instead. The next  morning, Ender gets ready with his team for   the final simulation, which is watched by Graff,  Mazer, and a bunch of higher-ups. This simulation   will be staged at the Formic home planet, where  they immediately see the enemy fleet. Ender orders   Alai to engage so Petra can fire the MD 500 at the  swarm, but this only causes the rest of the Formic   fleet to leave the planet and come after them.  Since the MD 500 needs time to recharge, Ender   copies the strategy he used in the Battle Room  and surrounds their main weapon with the other   smaller ships as a shield. Then he makes Petra fly  the MD 500 toward the planet, and since the shield   begins burning when they enter the atmosphere,  Ender asks Bean to send his drones to take care   of the incoming swarm so they can at least have  a clear way and survive long enough. Once the   MD 500 is recharged and close enough, Ender makes  Petra fire the weapon, which effectively destroys   every single living being on the planet and wins  them the fight. The team celebrates their victory,   but Ender soon begins to worry when he notices  they're still seeing images of the planet burning   to the ground for some reason. Mazer and Graff  come to congratulate Ender and thank him for   saving humanity because it turns out that hadn't  been a simulation, it had been the real deal.   Ender immediately has a breakdown when he realizes  he abandoned their own soldiers to use them as a   shield and has destroyed an entire species that  may've been just preparing to defend themselves,   considering they never went back to Earth in fifty  years. The others try to call Ender a hero, but he   can only see himself as a killer. Since Ender is  starting to lose it, a nurse puts him to sleep   with an injection and they take him to his room to  rest, where Petra watches over him. In his dreams,   Ender sees the bug creature from the game and  realizes is the Formic queen, who is protecting   the sphere in the building and has always been  trying to communicate with him through his dreams.   Finally understanding what she needs, Ender wakes  up and runs out of the room to leave the base,   so Petra has to follow him to bring him an oxygen  tank before he dies. Ender is thankful but sends   her back because he must do this alone, then he  proceeds to walk into the fallen building where   he finds a Formic queen with the sphere, which  is actually an egg. The Formics never intended to   fight the humans, they had only been looking for  water for their new babies. The queen comes closer   and puts her paw on Ender, but she lets go when  she sees he means no harm. Understanding that the   queen is dying, Ender takes the egg and promises  to find a good home for it. Now the war is over,   Ender is promoted to admiral and given a  small ship as a reward, which he uses to   fly into deep space and start a new Formic  colony with the egg to make up for his sins.