Earth Government

Earth Government, from Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game series.

The Earth Government operates as the unified political authority during the critical period following two narrow victories against an insectoid alien species known as "the buggers." Facing an anticipated third invasion, this administration consolidated global resources to ensure human survival. Its international military force, the International Fleet (I.F.), recruits young children to be trained as elite officers.

Quick Facts

Base of operations: Earth
Military wing: International Fleet
Key institution: Battle School

Lore & Background

The First and Second Invasions were repelled by narrow margins, and Earth enforces a two-child policy. This era saw the creation of the International Fleet (I.F.) as the primary space military force. To prepare for the third invasion, gifted children are trained at the orbiting Battle School and at Command School. The I.F. removed Ender Wiggin's monitoring device when he was six years old, and Colonel Graff offered him a place in Battle School soon afterwards.

Leaders, including Colonel Hyrum Graff and Mazer Rackham, deceived cadets into believing they participated in simulations while actually directing real spacecraft against bugger fleets via an ansible. This deception extended to Ender's final test at Command School, where he destroyed the bugger homeworld, ending the war through xenocide. For the 1991 edition of the novel, Card changed some political facts to account for the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.

Reader's Guide

Its primary objective is defense against the bugger threat through the International Fleet (I.F.). Key institutions include Battle School and Command School, where children are recruited to become elite officers. Earth enforces a two-child policy; Ender Wiggin is a rare exception, a "Third" allowed because of the promise shown by his two older siblings. After the war, Ender writes The Hive Queen under the alias "Speaker for the Dead"." Peter Wiggin, by then the leader of Earth and 77 years old, asks Ender to write a book about him, which Ender titles The Hegemon.

Did You Know?

Ender's Game was the first science-fiction novel published entirely online, appearing on Delphi a year before its print publication on January 15, 1985.
The term "buggers" used by humans in the original novel is referred to as "Formics" in the movie adaptation and subsequent novels.
Ender Wiggin was born a "Third," a rare exception to Earth's two-child policy allowed due to his siblings' high intellect.