posted
I thought I read in one of his essays somewhere that OSC was no longer interested in what happened with the descolada, and felt that the series had reached it's conclusion with CotM? I think it was something to the effect that the descolada was a means of driving the conflict, but OSC had little interest in the actual Descolada planet. Does anyone remember reading something like that? I would love another in the series, though. SftD, Xenocide and CotM are my favorites!
Posts: 31 | Registered: Aug 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
I thought I detected hints of disinterest when I read Children of the Mind, but what was in there was what I found particularly fascinating. Sentient species communicating with one another in the manner of cells: RNA-like messages that affect the protein factories of other organisms.
It seemed to me that OSC was going to pull another symbiosis-harmony ramen. Only this time without the exotic, though equally interesting, proposal that the universe is made of souls and through true connections between all the souls they can be made one.
Another thought I had was perhaps the Descoladores weren't walking, breathing, visible creatures, but rather microscopic bacteria that, unlike the Descolada, their creation that they learned to make once they started working together on a planetwide basis, are not able to infect organisms and link species together, but are more developed in communication with one another through RNA darts.
Conceivably, even bacteria colonies could build a spaceship, especially if they have virus-tools they engineer that can manipulate multicellular organisms.
I don't understand why Card isn't utterly fascinated by the home of the Descolada, especially since pretty much all of his series have some virus that is engineered to change nature, whether it be improve mankind or link species together.
Posts: 1029 | Registered: Apr 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
I always found the idea of the Descoladores to be one of the most fascinating alien ideas in fiction I'd seen so far.
For me, it's a benchmark of how crazy, how different, plausible otherworldly life could be. It's a reference point to what other strange entities could exist in our universe.
Posts: 1577 | Registered: Sep 2005
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by grammargoddess: I thought I read in one of his essays somewhere that OSC was no longer interested in what happened with the descolada, and felt that the series had reached it's conclusion with CotM? I think it was something to the effect that the descolada was a means of driving the conflict, but OSC had little interest in the actual Descolada planet. Does anyone remember reading something like that? I would love another in the series, though. SftD, Xenocide and CotM are my favorites!
posted
It was said that the descolada was so complex it must have been made by someone. I always wanted to know if it was natural or man-made. Has OSC stated whether it was man-made or who made it, or is that a mystery left to to the readers?
Posts: 5 | Registered: Sep 2010
| IP: Logged |
posted
I listened to the 4 Enders Saga audiobooks and the 4 shadow saga audiobooks, so I have listened to Children of the Mind. Though occasionally my mind wanders when I am listening to an audiobook or reading one and so it is entirely possible that I missed the part that explained whether or not the descoladas was natural or man-made and if it was man-made, I missed who made the descolada. I do know someone said it was so complex that is was probably man-made, but I don't remember anyone saying for sure.
Could someone please tell if the descolada was man-made or natural and if it was man-made who made it?
Whoever answers could write spoiler alert before the answer saying you are giving away part of the book so people who haven't read the book and don't want to don't read the answer don't look at it.
Posts: 5 | Registered: Sep 2010
| IP: Logged |
It was engineered by an alien race which apparently uses organic molecules as a means of communication, and sends the descolada to worlds in order to terraform them. In CotM, a number of the main characters find their home world and there's some debate over whether they are raman or varelse. We don't really learn any more about the "descoladores" or their motives, although many people hope that OSC will revisit them in a post-CotM novel.
Posts: 1569 | Registered: Dec 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
@Nick: The rumor I've heard places that potential book in between Shadow of the Giant and Speaker for the Dead. More than likely after Ender In Exile.
Posts: 2 | Registered: Nov 2010
| IP: Logged |
posted
Rumors aren't enough to go by, I have been waiting a long while for this next book, so I leave my assumptions to be just that assumptions and wait as the master artist Card inspires paper.
Posts: 461 | Registered: Nov 2010
| IP: Logged |
posted
IF OSC plans to write a book to tie together and bring to a conclusion these two series, I definitely need to go back and read again to refresh all the details up to this point in my mind. It's been a while since I read CotM and SotG. In the middle of Lost Gate right now. Excellent read as expected.
Posts: 2 | Registered: Dec 2010
| IP: Logged |
posted
I have a theory about the Descoladores identity. I think they are Bean's descendants and I have some evidence for this. First, Shadows in Flight happens 2600 years before Children of the Mind, think of what Bean's descendants could accomplish now that they no longer grow as large in that time. Also, the Descoladores are masters of genetic manipulation, so we're the Formics, and who helped Beans children? Male Formics! I think this theory has a lot of potential and I would love to hear thoughts on this!
Posts: 3 | Registered: Nov 2015
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by LordLucifer28: I have a theory about the Descoladores identity. I think they are Bean's descendants and I have some evidence for this.
Sorry, he has already addressed this. I think most people arrive at that notion pretty naturally, but the entire point of the Descoladores is that they are decidedly NOT human. Remember that the descolada terraforms a planet in preparation for its creators to settle that planet at some distant time. Yet it is fundamentally fatal to humans. Why would Bean's descendants create an organism that is fatal to humans? Yes, Bean's descendants are arguably a new species, but they are not so far removed from Homo Sapiens that they would not be susceptible to the same genetic reconfiguring that the descolada does.
So there's the rational argument against that theory. But there's also a much more straightforward one: Card specifically stated that the Descoladores are NOT Bean's descendants:
But take heart! This means that they are far more interesting! We will once again learn of another sentient race, a 4th in the known Enderverse: Humans, Formics, Pequeninos, and Descoladores. We just don't know yet if they are raman or varelse. No doubt that will be a central issue in the plot.
BUT WHEN ARE WE GOING TO GET IT??? I hope fans of Card's other series will forgive me, but I'm getting really tired of seeing him publish books in the other series while this one goes nowhere. Hopefully he has at least recorded a good outline of his plot plan so that someone like Aaron Johnston can finish it should anything tragic ever happen to Card himself.
Posts: 1 | Registered: Nov 2015
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by LordLucifer28: I have a theory about the Descoladores identity. I think they are Bean's descendants and I have some evidence for this.
Sorry, he has already addressed this. I think most people arrive at that notion pretty naturally, but the entire point of the Descoladores is that they are decidedly NOT human. Remember that the descolada terraforms a planet in preparation for its creators to settle that planet at some distant time. Yet it is fundamentally fatal to humans. Why would Bean's descendants create an organism that is fatal to Humans?
BUT WHEN ARE WE GOING TO GET IT??? I hope fans of Card's other series will forgive me, but I'm getting really tired of seeing him publish books in the other series while this one goes nowhere. Hopefully he has at least recorded a good outline of his plot plan so that someone like Aaron Johnston can finish it should anything tragic ever happen to Card himself.
I completely agree, Shadows Alive sounds very promising, I hope it comes soon. About the idea that Bean's desendents would not be too far away from humans, I see your point. However, it is stated in Shadows in Flight that they have been going for 400 years, Ender was at 3000 years at Speaker. I think it would be highly likely that Bean's descendents would change them selves, considering they do not think of themselves as Humans. If they are not the Descoladores, I expect them to be modified in some way. Perhaps they are now incorporeal or they have transplanted their will to machines or something like that.
Posts: 3 | Registered: Nov 2015
| IP: Logged |
posted
I would also like to see something on less mentioned characters like Vlad, Dumper, Carn Carby and other Jeesh mates. Maybe even something about Mic(the older battle school student who talks to Ender when he is still a launchie) or something on Stilson, he and Bonzo both incredibly impact Ender, yet no one mentions them except in Ender in Exile(even Bonzo got a short story.) Oh, and one last question: why does it seem like several characters personalities change dramatically in very short time. Remember: The enemy's gate is down!
Posts: 3 | Registered: Nov 2015
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
Hopefully he has at least recorded a good outline of his plot plan so that someone like Aaron Johnston can finish it should anything tragic ever happen to Card himself.
