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I am a thirteen year old boy, and have been thinking about whether or
not religion has a bad or good affect on human lives. You tend to bring up
religion in some way or another in most of your books, and you are a religious
man, so I thought that you would be a good person to ask. From what I can tell,
religion has caused more death than saved life, more pain than pleasure, and
created more evil that it ever has good. To me, it seems like religion has a
negative affect on human survival. I could go on and on with reasons to back
myself up, but I'm sure you have already heard most of the arguments I could
come up with. I just wanted to know what you think about it. I am not closed
minded, and will be very interested in what you have to say.
| -- Submitted by Dylan Black |
OSC Replies - September 4, 2000 |
Religion features prominently in many of your books, certainly more so
than in the books of most SF authors. You write with understanding and you seem
to suggest that no one religion has a monopoly on truth. From reading your work,
I would guess that you do not consider one religion to be the only path to
Heaven/salvation/Nirvana etc.
My question is this: How do you reconcile this view with your own religious
beliefs? Do you subscribe to the view that all paths lead to God, or do you believe
Mormonism to be right but wish to cause no offense?
| -- Submitted Anonymously |
OSC Replies - September 4, 2000 |
My question is about the connection between ethics and religion. I do
not dispute the need for ethics. The 10 commandments form an very compactly
stated ethical system. Why not take that system and follow it because it is sensible
and leads to an ordered and happy society. Why follow it because it was divinely
revealed?
You are devout follower of the church of Jesus Christ of LDS. In your opinion, is
it not possible to separate the ethics form the divinely revealed parts of a religion?
Why would you choose to believe something there is so much scientific evidence
against? Is it not enough to take the message, the ethics and work from there.
PS: I'm not saying that I have scientific evidence that there is no God. Nobody
can proof or disproof that. There is however plenty scientific evidence that there
is no supernatural involvement such as handing over stone tablets etc.
| -- Submitted by Bert Corluy |
OSC Replies - September 4, 2000 |
In the Homecoming series, What was your inspiration for Basilica, the
"City of Women"?
Was it simply an ideology that you explored whilst writing the series or is it based
on fact, either historical or contemporary?
| -- Submitted by Chris Riding |
OSC Replies - September 4, 2000 |
I'll be the first to admit I have a tendency to "jump the gun" as it were,
but I've read some of the posts you've made here and something caught my
attention, and that's not always an easy thing to do.
You presented, in an answer to one of the questions here, an exhausting list of
authors that you have read, and who out there doesn't have such a list; however,
the list of authors you currently read blew my mind.
I fancy myself a budding writer, though the secrets hidden within that bud have
yet to fully reveal themselves. I read constantly, though very little contemporary
literature. In fact, with the exception of Ann Rice and yourself, very little indeed.
The most contemporary works I have read recently, outside of studying, for school
or personal reasons, is Frank Herbert and Tolkein.
Bear with me, I am coming to a point, and if you post this, if it pleases, use only
the snippets you need out of this plethora of rambling. I have recently noticed a
difference between my two favorite contemporary artists. While you seem to have
enough to read to keep you busy for a lifetime and more, Ann Rice reads very
little modern literature, and in fact considers all reading to be study. She says, "I
read almost no contemporary fiction at all. I don't like it. It hurts my head. It
makes me sad. It upsets me."
My point, my question if you will, is the following: "What are your views on
modern literature, compared to 50 or 100+ years ago? Also, is this merely a stage
you are currently in, reading as much contemporary literature as you do, or have
you always delved into modern fiction with a vigorous appetite?"
| -- Submitted by Chris Lynch |
OSC Replies - September 4, 2000 |
What was the very first story about that you scribbled down on a sheet
of paper late one night? Was it something you just crumpled up and tossed a few
days/months/years later, or did you ever do anything with it?
| -- Submitted Anonymously |
OSC Replies - September 4, 2000 |
You have written books of many genres. Sci-fi, fantasy, historical
fiction, suspense fiction, etc. What is most enjoyable for you?
| -- Submitted Anonymously |
OSC Replies - September 4, 2000 |
Is the link between Ender and the Roman Catholic belief in God
intentional? It struck me one day as I was thinking about your books, that there is
an uncanny parallel. God, The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three beings, one
God. Ender, Ender, Peter and Val. Three people, one philote. Ender is clearly
father to the others. Peter is his son. Val is a pretty holy spirit as far as Ender is
concerned. Was this intentional, or am I reading way too much into your writing?
| -- Submitted by Luke DeSmet |
OSC Replies - September 4, 2000 |
Is the Ender universe one in which America "lost" the Cold War? I am
asking this in response to several things in the books. One is the mention of the
Warsaw Pact in Ender's Game. Another in the policy in which only two children
are allowed per family. That sounds like the One child policy in communist
China, which might be the case if we had lost a war to a communist country.
Thirdly, in the second chapter of your new "Ender" book about Petra, the
characters include America as a nation which used to have power but does not
anymore. Anyway, I was just curious if these books were set in an universe where
the U.S. lost the cold war, since it never actually says this in the books.
| -- Submitted by Sara Chatfield |
OSC Replies - September 4, 2000 |
Is Han Tzu related to Han Qing-Jao? The family name is the same, so I
wondered if Han Tzu were an ancestor of Qing-Jao's.
| -- Submitted Anonymously |
OSC Replies - September 4, 2000 |
When I originally read the Ender's Game series yeas ago, I was
absolutely fascinated with the beauty of the theory of philotic physics as presented
in Xenocide. Recently in my philosophical studies I have begun reading about
Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz's monadic theory. The similarities between this
theory and the fictional concerns of the characters in Xenocide are remarkable.
My question for Orson is, are you familiar with monadic theory and were you
conscious of it in any capacity when developing your fictional theory for
Xenocide?
| -- Submitted Anonymously |
OSC Replies - September 4, 2000 |
I have read every book in the Ender Series, finishing "Ender's Shadow"
just today. Because of my love of the series, I managed to work it into a research
paper topic for school. I love the didactic motif that I've identified in the novels.
Therefore, I'm using that as my basis for the research paper.
I read several reviews of "Ender's Game" that mention the delineation of good vs.
evil being a matter of empathy. One does the same act, and the motive for the act
is what really makes it good or evil. I identified that in "Ender's Game." What is
your take on this and what were your intentions in the novel by its inclusion?
Also, it is my interpretation that Ender's book, "Speaker for the Dead" in which he
told the story of the Buggers, and caused humanity to feel great sorrow for their
destruction, ultimately turning the populous against him, was very similar, and
symbolic in my opinion, of the Catholic Sacrament of Reconciliation. I would
really like to use this argument in my paper. Am I on track?
Did Catholicism have any basis in your writings for the Ender Series? I also
noticed the religious conflict between the parents, and the placing of Saints'
names on all the children, in accordance with the Catholic requirement of raising
children in the Catholic Church.
Any comments you could offer would be greatly appreciated.
| -- Submitted by Hazel Warde |
OSC Replies - September 4, 2000 |
The more books of yours I read the more curious I get -- how many
languages do you speak? And how well? Every time I read a book of yours I'm
determined to go out and learn a new language!
In Ender's Game you portray children as innocent humans that are taken
advantage by adults. Do you think this statement would be correct and if so, to
what extent does your portrayal compare to traditional views of children?
Do you ever find yourself writing the same elements into your stories?
(A good example being the similarities in The Worthing Saga and The
Homecoming Series.) If so, would you say that maybe your way of understanding
LDS scripture is reforming it into ideas more comfortable, or more personal, to
yourself? As I read more and more I wonder if you ever just write something and
then later go, "Dang! (That) is so much like (this)."
Please don't take this the wrong way, I really enjoy your stories and am practically
wetting my pants waiting for the nest Alvin Maker series book and Shadow of the
Hegemon, it's just that a lot of elements in your stories seem to repeat themselves
just a little and I would like your opinion.
I have been wondering (especially after reading the first 5 chapters of
Shadow of the Hegemon) if you truly believe or have associated with brilliance of
children measuring up to those in Ender's Game/Shadow or Battle School,
excepting the genetically altered minds. The quick thinking and analyzing
demonstrated by the young Battle School alumni is something that almost makes
me feel inadequate as a teenager. I would have thought you to be one of those
children yourself, except for the obvious fact that it is much easier to interpret
situations with responses in writing-time as opposed to real-time. I'd like to know
who you base your genius characters' brains off of or if it's purely your
imagination. Also, do you believe children as young as your characters are
capable of cruel intentions as portrayed in Peter, Achilles, Bonzo, etc?
In Ender's Game, and even more so in the sequels, you depict a very
detailed view of the human response to an unknown life form. Do you believe
that the response (both political, on earth and militarily) is accurate, considering
human nature and the political state of the world?
| -- Submitted by Preston Thomas |
OSC Replies - August 2, 2000 |
When you wrote Ender's Game, were you criticizing anything about
humans or the world as we know it today?
How much of Pastwatch is real fact and/or the speculations of real
scientists? Atlantis, Tlaxcalan, Colombus, his father's involvement in Genovese
power struggles, his early career, his possible attack on the Muslims? I thought
that the speculations were very interesting and was wondering how much of them
was real 'fact' and how much was your own conjectures as a science fiction writer.
| -- Submitted by Luke DeSmet |
OSC Replies - August 2, 2000 |
Does Mormon doctrine teach that Jesus Christ, God, and the Holy Spirit
are one in the same forming the Blessed Trinity the way that Roman Catholicism
does. Is it taught completely differently, or a variation?
| -- Submitted by Luke DeSmet |
OSC Replies - August 2, 2000 |
Do you think that children are capable of being as intelligent as Peter,
Bean and Valentine? Are children smart enough to use propaganda for their own
benefit, or are children just innocent? (This includes teens as well.)
| -- Submitted by Colin Gatenbee |
OSC Replies - May 12, 2000 |
I am a gay man who has loved your books since I was introduced to
Ender's Game in middle school. Your stories have provided me with the passion
to write and I am currently hard at work on my first novel. My question is in
regards to the Homecoming series. Zdorab is a gay man that lives his life the early
part of his life in shame, but, once away from the gay culture, spends the rest of
his life content to be married and love his best friend Shedemei. Were you trying
to make a statement about gay culture or homosexuals in general and what relation
does that have to the priest that rapes Ilihiak in Earthborn?
| -- Submitted by Gregory Hambrick |
OSC Replies - May 12, 2000 |
What inspired you to write Ender's Game?
Who are your favorite authors and what are your favorite books.
This might be a stretch, but is Mazer Rackham's name derived at all
from "Ockham's Razor" -- the scientific principle that states that when all
possibilities are explored, the best answer or solution is the simplest (or something
like that)? It seems that Mazer Rackham followed that principle in his victory
over the Buggers in the 2nd invasion.
What are your scientific beliefs? Do you feel that science is a bad thing
or a good thing?
I am not a student, just a housewife, but I have a question that might be
of interest to students doing research on OSC's writings.
I am intrigued by OSC's use of "the outsider" in some of his stories. I have
noticed that "the outsider" is often the key to bringing a cohesiveness and healing
to characters in the stories. There are many examples: Ender in the Speaker for
the Dead series when he marries; Neeraj in Lovelock; some of the stories from
Folk of the Fringe, etc.
Is this a conscious decision on your part to have someone from outside the
group (family, religion, society, culture) bring a new dimension to the character's
lives so that they can change and evolve the way they want and need to? As
opposed to the characters sorting things out amongst themselves?
| -- Submitted by Bobbie Barry |
OSC Replies - May 12, 2000 |
A reader asked earlier about your depiction of "communist-style"
governments in some of your stories. Since you were a missionary for two years
in Brazil during a long period of political turmoil in that country, I would like to
know whether you had any interesting experiences that were a result of the
situation in Brazil. You use the Portuguese language in a couple of your novels,
and the colonists on Lusitania are descended from Brazilians. Are there other
examples of your experiences in Brazil that you include in other stories?
| -- Submitted by Robert Henderson |
OSC Replies - April 26, 2000 |
Can you describe your experience when you were a missionary for the
Mormon Church in Brazil?
| -- Submitted by Kenan Aker |
OSC Replies - April 26, 2000 |
How has your religion and the upbringing you received influenced the
person you are today and what you believe in?
I'm doing a research paper on you as an author. I have read many of
your books including Ender's Game and Songmaster. I was wondering whether
you were attempting to make a statement about children, and the effects of being
pushed too hard (growing up before they are ready). I was just wondering whether
you were making some kind of statement.
| -- Submitted by Ellena Fickett |
OSC Replies - April 26, 2000 |
In both Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow, were you trying to portray
Ender and Bean as how powerful and how intelligent the human race can be? And
if so, then were you and are you trying to send a message to today's youth?
| -- Submitted by Kaseem Bristow |
OSC Replies - April 26, 2000 |
Could you tell me some things about your childhood that maybe
brought your interest in writing?
Are you worried at all that the movie Ender's Game may not be as
powerful and brilliant as the novel? The book is amazing to read and for example,
while the beatings of Stilson and Bonzo are very violent and obviously wouldn't
be very pleasant to watch, they are necessary events for the development of
Ender's character. What if the omission of some things like this takes away from
the brilliance of the story.
| -- Submitted by Emily Jones |
OSC Replies - April 5, 2000 |
I loved "Enchantment" and enjoyed the "Homecoming" saga very much.
It seemed that both had tremendous amounts of Russian culture. I was wondering
if something made your books take on these great Russian flavors. Do you have a
Russian Heritage, or do you just know a lot of cool stuff about the culture of
Russia that you put in your books?
I have noticed that in several stories you have written, you illustrate
communist-like governments that can easily be taken as an evil in the story. For
example, these governments force the lawbreakers to admit their wrongs on live
broadcast or face several deaths ("A Thousand Deaths" in Flux); control TV
viewing for the good of the people ("We Try Not To Act Like It" in Flux); and
suppress religion and limit the number of children a family can have (Ender's
Game). Are you trying to make a point with these strong examples, or is it merely
coincidental that this element appears in your stories?
| -- Submitted by Justin Ng |
OSC Replies - February 2, 2000 |
In Ender's Game, are the names of the characters symbolic?
| -- Submitted by Thomas Thompson |
OSC Replies - February 2, 2000 |
After reading Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers and Ender's Game, I
have noticed them to be very similar. The enemy is similar. The training is similar.
There is some similar philosophy, or at least it seems the way of philosophy
expressed in dialogue is similar. You have said yourself that you have read
Heinlein's work. My question is: to what extent is Ender's Game, if any,
influenced by Starship Troopers?
| -- Submitted anonymously |
OSC Replies - February 2, 2000 |
For a digital media class, I have chosen to report on the ansible
"internet," the existence of Jane, and other technological communication devices
and their psychological influence on the characters in the Ender quartet. I was
wondering if your representations of computers, technology, and public reaction
are in anyway based upon real life opinions of you or anyone else. Are things
symbolic, or only as symbolic as the reader makes them?
| -- Submitted anonymously |
OSC Replies - January 11, 2000 |
I would like to know information on who Locke and Demosthenes
really were and what the Warsaw Pact is.
| -- Submitted anonymously |
OSC Replies - January 11, 2000 |
Many young readers recommend and read Ender's Game. Did your use
of youthful protagonists anticipate a young adult audience?
Is the choice of a computer simulated environment (The Giant's Game, 3D Fighter
Simulation) to develop/measure Ender's character related to this audience?
| -- Submitted by Shan Thayer |
OSC Replies - January 11, 2000 |
In Ender's Shadow you mentioned the book "Makers of Modern
Strategy: From Machiavelli to the Nuclear Age." Is this where you received most
of the tactics that Bean and Ender display in the books?
| -- Submitted by Michael Dumler |
OSC Replies - January 11, 2000 |
What was your main influence for the brilliant "A planet called
Treason"?
| -- Submitted by Stephen Farrelly |
OSC Replies - January 6, 2000 |
I just finished reading Stone Tables and could not help but notice
that the relationships between Moses, Miriam and Aaron somewhat resembled
those of Ender, Peter and Valentine. (Youngest brother given preferential
treatment in the world, Older brother jealous, Older sister caring and
understanding.) Knowing that some of the research you conducted for Stone
Tables preceded that of Ender's Game, is it possible that the relationships for the
siblings in Stone Tables was the precursor for the relationships of the siblings in
Ender's Game?
| -- Submitted by Patrick Poyfair |
OSC Replies - January 6, 2000 |
I don't suppose you could just lay out for me the entire metaphor of the
mind game (in Ender's Game). I'm very curious; I've been thinking about it for
a long time, some pieces are obvious and that's no problem. It's other things
that just don't make sense. You mention plenty of times the fact that the mind
game is developing with the child, etc., and in that sense you can see how it
works with Ender in some stages. But what I'd like to know is how those very
peculiar scenes fit in (e.g., the giants corpse, how it grows old with time, how it
becomes a home for the buggers, Ender and Valentine walking down the stairs
with all those fairy tale creatures, etc.).
| -- Submitted anonymously |
OSC Replies - December 20, 1999 |
I was wondering if you could write me back a brief response of some
important events in your life, when they occurred and where. Also, if they
influenced your writing at all that can also help.
| -- Submitted anonymously |
OSC Replies - December 16, 1999 |
So when are we going to see your "Secular Humanist Revival Meeting" published again? We're swinging into another election year and the religious nutcases are likely to be out in force again, and I think it'd be a wonderful addition to your Web site. I'd heard a tape of one performance, and I'd love to see the thing transcribed into text.
| -- Submitted by Rich Bartucci |
OSC Replies - October 5, 1999 |
I'm enrolled in a class teaching aspects and ideas behind Aerospace Art and all its derivatives (namely Space Art). What were your influences and driving ideas behind the ansible, the art conveyed in and on the covers of your books? More to the point, how is it you have been able to imagine detailed plans of the battle school, the ships flying near relativity, mid-flight reanimation from suspension, and the ability to "float down the wire" of the "ansible" to any world instantaneously? The new worlds the "Buggers" left for the Human Species to develop and cultivate surely brings new ideas and scenes of futuristic societies with different suns and other planetary bodies as backdrops. What were your "mental images" also trying to convey to us?
| -- Submitted by A. J. Werner, Jr. |
OSC Replies - October 5, 1999 |
I finished Ender's Shadow. It seems as everybody loves Ender so much because in game you made him out to be this innocent kid who couldn't help but to kill people and win and all that stuff. In shadow you made him seem all cold and unfeeling . . . was that because he really was cold or was it because that's the way Bean perceived him?
It seems as though in some of your books you have a hard time with a character doing anything without an intricate explanation of his/her motives. Do you have motives in mind before deciding on the specific actions of a character or do you write specifically to a story then decide on the motives of the characters as your explaining them.
| -- Submitted by Josh Bowen |
OSC Replies - October 5, 1999 |
The question deals with character conflicts amongst each other. Wolverton calls these conflicts prods, and envisions a rose with thorns wound together. It's most evident in the buddy cop movies, where you have two cops working together but they almost hate each other.
In analyzing Star Wars New Hope vs. Phantom Menace, I noticed that New Hope is filled with these internal conflicts. They are minor, but they are everywhere. Darth Vader and his generals bickering, the generals themselves bicker, C3PO and R2D2 never stop, Han and Leia go at it, Luke and Han to a degree over Leia's affections, etc. They are constantly bickering with each other. Han and Obi Wan.
But Phantom Menace lacks this kind of bickering, this interaction. Obi Wan and Qui Gon Jin are boring. They get along so well it's ridiculous.
The question however, is not about whether these ‘prods' are good or not. The question is ... why are they good? Why do prods work in a story? They do, we can site thousands of examples. But why do they work? What's the reason they create interest in the audience?
As I am reading Ender's Shadow, I noticed that Bean disapproves of Ender's choices quite often. Does 15 years of hindsight and experience as an author cause this, or is it just Bean's character? More specifically, is Bean a method of correcting your younger self without changing your original work?
| -- Submitted by Mark Knapp |
OSC Replies - October 5, 1999 |
I was wondering if there was any real basis to the terminology "philotic effect?" Are there any real theories in quantum physics that deal with this concept?
In many of your books the characters are trying to find peace within the human race. For example: In Earthborn there is a struggle for peace between three species. The earth people, middle people, and sky people. The Kept (those who follow the keeper) are trying to teach the people of earth to love each other despite the three species differences. Is this idea something that you hope for the human race? That one day the people will be able to live in peace, in a world where everyone follows the same god, because that is what is right.
| -- Submitted by Lyndsay Bushey |
OSC Replies - August 31, 1999 |
I was wondering, if during or before the process of writing Ender's Game you consulted research on the behavioral science of highly gifted (or, perhaps the word "brilliant" will suffice) children to supplement your ideas. It appears that you have painted a remarkably accurate picture and I am interested in how you were able to do this.
Several readers have asked this question: What is the theme of Ender's Game?
| -- Submitted by many people |
OSC Replies - August 31, 1999 |
You've said in some of your introductions that your wife helps you in your writing. Have your children helped you as well, and have you noticed a interest in writing from them?
| -- Submitted by Phiilip Sharpe |
OSC Replies - August 5, 1999 |
When reading Mr. Card's belief, I was just as hopeful and delighted as I was with reading his PASTWATCH piece. What I am inquiring though, did he have an experience in his life that compelled him to change his life as the "new" Christopher Columbus did? I'm doing a research essay for a critical thinking class about the PASTWATCH book and Card.
| -- Submitted by Jodi Jones |
OSC Replies - August 5, 1999 |
At what point did you become aware of the impact your writing has on readers, and what prompted your decision to respond to them with this degree of accessibility?
Do you have any advice for child authors like myself . . .?
If you were not a writer what would you be doing and why? What
would be your greatest statement of advise to any young up and coming writer?
How did you get into all of the exact emotions of Ender? I think that
would be very hard to get into the emotions and put them all on paper.
I am curious about the origin of the Philotic Parallax Instantaneous
Communicator, or the ansible. Did Mr. Card simply create this by himself or did
he get it elsewhere? I would be very thankful if you responded to my question.
I was wondering about the impact of Mr Card's religious awareness (religious
"mind," I don't know how to put it) in his writing -- writing available in
bookstores, not writing within the LDS Church -- on readers. Are the author's
"Mormon moral values" actively perceived by the reader? Does the reader make
a distinction between the story and the moral mindset behind it? I could
imagine a reader liking the story, the way it is told, but putting aside the
religious implications as "yet another Card moralism." Does the reader include
it as part of the author's style?
Have readers been attracted to the author's religious mindset so much as to look
for more religious writing by Card? (From reading SF Ender's Game to Lost
Boys, Saints)
I have a secret question . . . have there been readers who have gone to the
Mormon Church because of what Orson Scott Card writes -- who have felt
drawn to not only his moral values, but to the religious background? As a matter
of fact, I myself feel more and more drawn to the religious aspects within the
writer's novels -- but afraid of being attracted to the religious Card, and not to
the religion -- whose church I wonder if I want to join.
If only I could have Mr. Card tell me what he thinks (or is the word "feel" more
appropriate here) . . .
My question is, are the characteristics and skills that Ender possesses a reflection
of your views on leadership?
I was wondering how long it took you to write the Ender Series and how much
you like it compared to the rest of your work that you've done in your career?
What is your favorite series that you have written as of now?
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