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Author Topic: were the buggers cheating?
Lupus
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I decided to reread ender's game today, and I am to the point where Ender is fighting the buggers (but thinks he is still practicing). I noticed a few things 1) When he dreams, he is dreaming of buggers and 2) He had a conversation with Mazor saying that Mazor was cheating in the simulations. Ender noticed that the computer knew his strategies ahead of time. He thought it was because Mazor watched his practice sessions and programmed Enders strategies into the computer. Mazor told him, no most of the strategies are from the computer anyway, and that the computer was set to counter Ender's strategies when he used them in battle, not before. Ender then said that the computer must be cheating. From the future books we know that the Hive Queens had bridged his mind, I wonder if when he was sleeping they were able to pull some of his strategies from his mind. Of course it was not enough to win, but it was enough for Ender to think something was up.
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Kabederlin
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I don't think it was really likely. Ender was a Tactician, not a strategist. He never looked at anything in the long run really. He thought of all his tactics in the battle. They couldn't have pulled much from his mind because Neder never knew what the next battle would be like, and to top it off he didn't even know he was really fighting so I doubt he had much strategy to pull.
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Lupus
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quote:
They couldn't have pulled much from his mind because Neder never knew what the next battle would be like, and to top it off he didn't even know he was really fighting so I doubt he had much strategy to pull.
He said in the practice sessions he practiced certain stratagies...those were the stratagies that he accused Mazar of pluggin into the computer for the battles.
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T.J.
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ie the little doctor im assuming right lupus?
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Anthro
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No, just strategies. Battle format. The little doctor they had never seen until he used it on them in one of thier first battles.
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Kabederlin
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Even so I think that Ender made most of his plans up as he went.
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Lupus
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quote:
Even so I think that Ender made most of his plans up as he went.
Ender said that he did work on specific things in practice, and that the opponent (which he thought was Mazor) was always ready for them in the battles. He thought it was because Mazor watched his practice sessions, and that is why the computer is ready. Mazor said that was not true, and that the computer was scheduled to only be able to counter Enders "inovations" after Ender used them in battle. Ender then said that in that case the computer was cheating. There were of course certain things that he did on the fly...and did not practice (ie blowing up the planet) but he was clear that he did practice some things with his squad.
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Telperion the Silver
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And even if the Buggers were using telepathy, nothing is cheating in the battle to save your race from annihilation.
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Lupus
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true, I really just used the word cheating, as that is the word Ender used
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mr_porteiro_head
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It's bad enough to cheat, but to cheat and still lose... that's just embarassing.
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Lupus
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LOL, very true
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Telperion the Silver
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[Wink] good one Potato man...
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kaioshin00
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wait... I thought cheaters never win and winners never cheat
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JohnKeats
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They did have a connection to his mind--through the game, which became sentient through bugger efforts.

I don't think the conversation in question tells us that the buggers were SPYING on Ender to try and win. I think the conversation is hinting at the fact that the battles are, in fact, real. The computer would appear to learn Ender's strategies because the buggers were actually fighting Ender's strategies.

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Kabederlin
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I think though if the Buggers could read Ender's Mind then they must have known already their defeat was inevitable. They only planted those dreams so their race would not be entirely wiped out.
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T.J.
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while reading that part again (in my 4th read thru) this thing popped up and in the Speaker series we find out that the Buggers were trying to find and speak to ender, would it be to get him to know that they werent coming again, maybe before they were "killed off", just a thought
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