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SAKATA
I want his executive officer to
take command of the Waitangi and
put Rackham under arrest
immediately.
O'CASEY
I had Rackham in training. He told
me once that a soldier should obey,
not the words, but the purpose of
the order.
SAKATA
My purpose was to keep my reserves
concealed, and he just revealed
their position!
AIDE
His exec reports that as soon as he
fired that missile, Rackham placed
himself under arrest.
O'CASEY
That's Rackham.
SAKATA
We're in combat. There'll be no
trial. He is to be executed as
soon as he can be transferred to
another ship.
INTERCUT between simulator and actual ships
and missiles. The single missile erupts into
twenty, differently targeted.
SAKATA (V.O.)
No! He used a multi-warhead! Why
didn't he just put up a neon sign?
The warheads disperse. We follow one, which
goes for a while, then suddenly changes
course and heads straight for a small,
insignificant-looking Formic ship.
The Formic ship continues to fire toward the
main Earth fleet, never responding in any way
to the warhead coming up from behind. The
warhead goes up the rocket nozzle.
The Formic ship is silently obliterated. One
moment it's there, the next it's just
sparkling dust.
All firing from all Formic ships stops
immediately.
INT ADMIRAL'S BRIDGE
Admiral Sakata is the first to realize what
is happening. He holds up one hand to
silence the buzz of conversation, and points
at the display with the other.
AIDE
They've stopped firing.
O'CASEY
They're not retreating, either.
Undefended now, several more Formic ships
blow up.
SAKATA (cont.)
Cease firing! Everybody!
Several aides speak into their mouthpieces
and punch keys. All firing stops from the
Earth fleet.
SAKATA (cont.)
I want a boarding party on one
Formic ship. If it's a trap, be
prepared to blow the thing up.
EXT FORMIC BATTLE CRUISER SPACE
A dozen Remora-class landing pods whirl
around the Formic cruiser and attach to it.
INT REMORA LANDING POD
A dozen marines in space suits watch as a big
laser carves through the surface of the
Formic ship like butter. When it's
completely severed from the hull, the disc
that was cut out flies up to attach to a
magnet on the drill. The marines dive
headfirst through the hole, weapons ready.
INT FORMIC BATTLE CRUISER
The marines fire at the first few Formics
that they see, but none of them fire back. A
marine walks up to one sitting at a console
and shakes him. The Formic topples over.
INT ADMIRAL'S BRIDGE
Dr. IMANUJAM, in civilian clothes, is
reporting to Admiral Sakata, O'Casey, and
other top officers. Aides watch nervously,
occasionally responding softly to chatter on
their headsets.
IMANUJAM
Some Formics were still alive, but
they did not respond in any way.
They all died within hours.
SAKATA
What was it, chicken pox?
IMANUJAM
Our best guess is that the entire
hive was controlled by the will of
a queen. When she was killed, the
whole hive died.
O'CASEY
Dr. Imanujam, do you know when the
hive queen was killed?
Imanujam leads them to the Simulator display,
then turns to an assistant, also in civilian
clothes.
IMANUJAM
Play it back for them.
We replay Rackham's missile killing the
Formic ship. All Formic firing stops. An
AIDE listens intently to headset.
O'CASEY
Looks like we've identified the
hero of our great victory, sir.
Unless he's already been shot.
SAKATA
I don't care who plays the hero.
We have to know how he figured out
which ship was the hive queen.
AIDE
They want to know if Rackham is
still under arrest, sir.
SAKATA
Bring him here immediately.
Sakata strides away from the group. O'Casey
follows, talks privately to him.
O'CASEY
So. What do you want to bet Mazer
Rackham is in command when the
Formics launch their next invasion?
SAKATA
The nearest Formic planet is
thirty-five lightyears away. The
commander of the human fleet in the
next invasion probably hasn't been
born yet.
TITLE: "Fifty years later."
ESTABLISHING SHOT: FUTURE GREENSBORO, DAY
A swanlike shuttle glides high over the green
surface of Earth. We drop down, see a city
amid dense forest and patches of rolling
farmland, a few high spires rising above
transparent domes. We zoom close to a glass
bubble projecting from the tallest spire.
INT CONFERENCE BUBBLE DAY
MR. WIGGIN (27) and MRS. WIGGIN (25) are
seated across a small table from Dr. DELOGER
and two men in International Fleet (I.F.)
uniforms, with no insignia of rank. On the
other side of a glass partition, CHILD PETER
(5) and CHILD VALENTINE (3) are playing.
DELOGER
Peter and Valentine scored among
the ten most talented children
we've ever seen.
MR. WIGGIN
So why did you reject them for
Battle School?
DELOGER
Valentine is too compassionate for
command. We don't believe she
could ever send men to die.
MR. WIGGIN (dryly)
Why do I suspect that isn't Peter's
problem?
DELOGER
It isn't bad that Peter's
aggressive. But he's also impatient
and ruthlessly ambitious. He would
endanger the lives of his men.
MR. WIGGIN
He's too naughty, she's too nice.
MRS. WIGGIN
So you'll leave us alone to raise
our family in peace?
DELOGER
We want to give you a waiver to
have a third child.
(Beat)
If you sign in advance that we get
him if he tests positive for us.
MRS. WIGGIN
But what if he turns out as ...
unsuitable as the other two?
DELOGER
You raise three children in peace.
The Wiggins turn to look at Child Peter and
Child Valentine, just as Peter pushes
Valentine and knocks her down. She doesn't
fight, she just sits up and turns her back on
him. He gives her another shove with his
foot, then settles down to play with the toys
she had been playing with.
DELOGER
Or at least as much peace as they
let you have.
DeLoger pulls out various papers and puts
them in front of the Wiggins to sign.
TITLE: "10 years later"
ESTABLISHING SHOT: FUTURE GREENSBORO, DAY
New domes and towers appear; the city has
grown.
INT CLASSROOM DAY
ENDER WIGGIN (9) sits at a desk in a
traditional classroom traditional except
that the teacher, MISS PUMPHREY (30), is
demonstrating a point about the pyramids by
"peeling" layers from a large hologram at the
front of the room. Ender is the youngest and
smallest in the class by a couple of years.
CLOSE on the back of Ender's neck. A tiny
red-blinking machine, the monitor, sits under
the hairline, just to the right of the spine.
A tiny folded note lands on Ender's desk. He
unfolds it.
NOTE: "Hey, Third. Let me copy."
Ender glances back at STILSON (11), who threw
the note. Stilson looks as innocent as can
be.
Miss Pumphrey suddenly touches her ear,
listens, and walks to Ender's desk, where she
retrieves the note, looks at it.
PUMPHREY
Mr. Stilson ...
Pumphrey is about to lecture him, but
something in her earpiece interrupts her.
She hands a hall pass to Ender.
PUMPHREY
To the school doctor. Apparently,
Mr. Wiggin, you're having a medical
emergency.
Ender gets up, leaves.
EXT BREEZEWAY DAY
All the classrooms open into a garden-like
breezeway. As Ender passes, GRAFF [male] and
ANDERSON [female], officers responsible for
Battle School, are heard in voiceover.
ANDERSON (V.O.)
What are you doing?
GRAFF (V.O.)
Ender Wiggin is ready.
INT SCHOOL MEDICAL CENTER DAY
THE MONITOR LADY (50) greets Ender with a
phony medical smile as he enters.
MONITOR LADY
Andrew, I suppose by now you're
just absolutely sick of having that
horrid monitor. Well, I have good
news. It's coming out today.
Ender reaches up to touch the monitor.
MONITOR LADY (cont.)
It won't hurt a bit.
THE DOCTOR (40) enters, all bustle and cheer.
DOCTOR
Climb up and lie on your tummy.
Ender climbs up on the examining table.
DOCTOR (cont.)
For a few days, you'll have a
feeling of something missing. But
that feeling will quickly pass.
He attaches the extractor, a machine as big
as Ender's head, and flips it on. It whirrs
as tiny metal arms and tentacles go out and
probe under the skin, inside the bone.
Suddenly Ender's back arches, his mouth agape
in agony. Convulsions.
DOCTOR
Get me the muscle relaxant!
The monitor lady dives for a blackjack-like
injector already waiting on the counter. The
doctor whacks it against Ender's bare arm.
In moments, Ender goes still. The doctor
affixes a bandaid to the back of his neck as
Ender wakes.
MONITOR LADY
There now, Andrew. Are we all
right?
Ender sits, touches the bandaid at the back
of his neck.
ENDER
Does this mean I failed?
INT CLASSROOM DAY
Ender comes back into class. Everyone is
taking a test at their desks. Stilson
notices the bandaid, the lack of a monitor.
In a mock sports announcer voice he intones:
STILSON
Third-boy strikes out.
Ender doesn't turn around. But everyone else
looks.
EXT BREEZEWAY DAY
School's out. Kids pour out of the door,
Ender among them.
ANDERSON (V.O)
He'll be younger than the other
students. He'll have a hard time
adjusting.
EXT WIGGIN FRONT YARD DAY
In a row of smallish but well-kept-up houses,
a large tree has scrap lumber nailed to it: a
ladder up to a treehouse. Ender, carrying a
nearly-empty backpack, trots along the
sidewalk and up the front walk toward the
door.
ANDERSON (V.O., cont.)
Colonel Graff, it never works to
advance a child ahead of schedule.
GRAFF (V.O.)
Have you ever tried it with Ender
Wiggin?
ANDERSON (V.O.)
Battle School has been functioning
for more than forty years. You've
been in command less than a month.
GRAFF (V.O.)
Is there a trial period?
ANDERSON (V.O.)
No, but there's a learning curve.
Ender pauses at the corner of the house,
peels the bandaid off his neck. He walks
along the side of the house to the door and
goes inside.
GRAFF (V.O.)
Do you know what orders I received
when I was made commander?
ANDERSON (V.O.)
No, sir.
GRAFF (V.O.)
Then you don't know everything yet.
PETER (15) drops from the treehouse, goes to
the bandaid, picks it up, grins. Then he
drops the bandaid to the ground again and
grinds it savagely under the heel of his
shoe.
INT WIGGIN KITCHEN DAY
VALENTINE (13) is making cookies. Ender
comes in and dips a finger into the batter.
Valentine slaps at his hand, but he gets a
taste into his mouth. Then he grimaces.
VALENTINE
Yeah, well, if you'd asked I would
have told you it's nothing but
sugar and shortening and eggs.
Ender dips again, methodically, and this time
makes a show of savoring the dough.
VALENTINE
I'm going to puke.
ENDER
It's a boy thing.
VALENTINE
It's a perverted wacko circus geek
thing.
Ender takes a bow to imaginary applause. She
sees the back of his neck. Touches the spot.
ENDER
Oh, yeah. They bounced me today.
She hugs him, delighted.
VALENTINE
Oh, Ender! Mom and Dad have been
so worried, they were afraid they
were going to lose you!
ENDER
(Bitterly)
So it's a good thing I failed?
VALENTINE
Let some other kid go up into space
and play army!
PETER (O.S.)
So everybody guessed wrong about
Ender.
Peter enters, carrying a fearsome Formic
mask. He smiles benignly.
PETER (cont.)
Now we can play together all the
time!
Peter holds up the mask. Ender tries to hide
his dread of what's coming.
PETER (cont.)
Let's play astronauts and formics!
Since you're never going to be an
astronaut, you have to be the
woolly ant!
VALENTINE
Leave him alone.
Peter sweeps the mixing bowl from the
counter, spilling the dough out onto the
floor.
PETER (mock friendly)
Valentine, you silly goof, you
better clean that up before Mom
gets home.
Valentine tries to pretend it's all a joke.
VALENTINE
Just for that, Peter, no cookies
for you.
PETER (savagely)
They're all for widdo Endo, so him
doesn't feel so baddums about
getting bounced from the pwogwam.
He grabs Ender by the hair and puts the mask
over his face.
PETER (cont.)
Look! He's so scary! The monster!
Ender tries to shove the mask away.
ENDER
I don't want to play.
Peter shoves him brutally across the room.
Ender falls against the wall.
PETER
You play whenever I say. You got no
angels watching over you now.
VALENTINE (yelling)
The whole time he wore that thing
you hated him because he still had
a chance. Now he's out, a loser,
just like me. Just like you.
Peter bends down, scoops up a double handful
of batter.
PETER
And they said you were the nice
one.
He smears it all over the front of
Valentine's clothing.
PETER (cont.)
If he's not better than us, he's
got no reason to exist.
He turns to Ender, pulls him to his feet and
drags him toward the stairs.
INT ENDER'S AND PETER'S BEDROOM DAY
Peter shoves Ender into the room. Ender rips
the mask off.
PETER
Put it on.
Ender frisbies the mask across the room.
PETER (cont.)
Just how stupid are you?
He grabs Ender and drags him to the mask.
PETER (cont.)
Put it on.
Valentine appears in the doorway as Ender
struggles to get free.
VALENTINE
I'm calling Mom.
PETER
Tell her that Ender's being a
disobedient little brat.
Peter flips Ender onto his back, presses a
knee into his belly. Ender gasps, struggles
like a bug on a pin.
VALENTINE
I'll call Father!
PETER
He's never in.
Peter presses harder. Ender breathes in
short little gasps that don't get enough air.
PETER (cont.)
I could kill you like this.
VALENTINE
You're not a murderer.
PETER
No, I'm an exterminator. The law
is two children per family. We
never needed him.
VALENTINE
This isn't funny.
PETER
You can't stop me from killing him.
VALENTINE
You'd never get away with it.
Ender's hand reaches a softball lying on the
floor. He smacks Peter's head with it.
Peter shrugs off the blow.
PETER
I'll tell them I didn't mean to do
it. I'll cry.
Tears come to his eyes. While still pressing
on Ender's stomach, he sobs, absolutely
believably:
PETER (cont.)
I didn't know it would hurt him.
He was laughing. It was part of
the game. I would never hurt
Ender. I ... loved him so much.
It's terrifying to Valentine how believable
he is.
PETER (cont.)
They were sure right about you.
You wouldn't fight even to save
your baby brother's life.
In reply, Valentine kicks at Peter's face.
He lets go of Ender's shoulders and catches
her foot, twists her leg, knocks her off her
feet.
PETER (cont.)
You are both so stupid!
With his arms free, Ender punches Peter
solidly in the groin. Peter swings at Ender;
Ender dodges. As Peter writhes on the floor
in pain, Ender grabs a baseball bat from the
floor and prepares to hit Peter in the head.
ENDER
Don't make threats, Peter. It
gives the other guy a chance to
strike first.
Valentine catches the end of the bat,
stopping him.
VALENTINE
No, Ender!
PETER
Do it, Ender! Beat me till my
brains splash out!
Ender tugs at the bat.
ENDER
It's him or me!
VALENTINE
He's your brother, Ender.
A voice from downstairs.
MRS. WIGGIN (O.S.)
We're home! Is Ender here?
Valentine rushes to the door.
VALENTINE
We're upstairs! In the boys' room!
Footsteps on the stairs. Peter speaks
rapidly, softly.
PETER
I'm going to kill him one day,
Valentine. When you've forgotten
all about this. There'll be an
accident and we'll all cry, me
loudest of all, and then at the
grave you'll remember today, and
you'll wonder for a minute, and
then you'll say, No, not Peter!
He's not a murderer.
VALENTINE
If you hurt him, I'll kill you.
PETER
You? My gentle sister Valentine?
ENDER
Bullies like him are all cowards.
Ender and Peter gaze steadily at each other.
Both are expressionless. Master chess
players, assessing each other.
Mr. & Mrs. Wiggin enter the room. Mrs.
Wiggin goes straight to Ender, kneels, scoops
him into a vast embrace. Mr. Wiggin lifts
the hair on the back of Ender's neck, looks
at the tiny mark.
MR. WIGGIN
We're so happy it's over.
MRS. WIGGIN
Now we'll always be together!
MR. WIGGIN
(Playfully)
Family hug! Family hug!
The DOORBELL rings. Ignoring it, the kids
gather around Mrs. Wiggin, hugging each
other. Mr. Wiggin bends to embrace them all.
The DOORBELL rings again.
ENDER
I'll get it.
He pulls out of the hug and runs from the
room.
INT WIGGIN FRONT ROOM DAY
Ender gets to the door as the bell rings
again. He pulls it open. Standing there is
GRAFF (35) in full dress uniform a
recruiting poster with a Mona Lisa smile.
GRAFF
Hello, Ender.
FADE TO:
Mr. and Mrs. Wiggin sit on the sofa with
Ender between them. There are tears on her
cheeks.
MRS. WIGGIN
We thought it was all over.
GRAFF
Only the waiting is over.
Mrs. Wiggin turns her face away, weeping
silently.
MR. WIGGIN
But he's barely nine years old!
GRAFF
You agreed before he was born.
ENDER
I didn't.
GRAFF
Mr. and Mrs. Wiggin, will you
excuse us, please?
It takes a moment to realize that he expects
them to go. They rise and comfort each other
out the door.
ENDER
Why did you let me think I failed?
Graff ignores his question.
GRAFF
Would you really have smashed in
your brother's head with that bat?
ENDER
What answer will get me out of
Battle School?
Graff leans close to him.
GRAFF
Who stopped the formics when they
invaded fifty years ago?
ENDER
Mazer Rackham.
GRAFF
Where is he now?
ENDER
Dead, I guess.
GRAFF
So who'll stop them next time?
Ender's defiance fades into serious thought.
GRAFF (cont.)
I hope we have the greatest
military commander the world has
ever known, to outthink them,
outfight them, destroy them before
they scour humanity off the face of
the Earth.
ENDER
I'm just a kid.
GRAFF
What's inside you, Ender? What can
you become? What if you're the
only hope?
Ender studies Graff's face.
ENDER
Do you say this to all the kids you
recruit?
GRAFF
No. I tell them not to come.
Because there's no turning back.
We take your childhood. You might
never see your family again.
(cont.)
GRAFF (cont.)
But if you come to Battle School,
maybe you'll have something to do
with keeping them alive.
ENDER
I guess it's what I was born for.
Graff studies him a moment longer, then
stands up.
GRAFF
On your feet ... soldier.
Ender stands up. They face each other in
silence.
EXT WIGGIN FRONT YARD DAY
The family all but Peter are kissing and
hugging Ender good-bye. Graff stands beside
a limo at the curb, watching.
ANDERSON (O.S.)
After growing up in that family,
how stable is he going to be?
Graff talks softly into a tiny palm-held
mouthpiece. The other half of the phone is
worn like a hearing aid.
GRAFF
Therapy is your job.
Ender pulls away from his family, heads down
the walk. Graff holds out his hand. Ender
reaches out, at first like a child, to hold
on; then like an adult, to shake hands.
Graff clasps Ender's hand when Valentine
bursts from the family group and runs partway
down the walk.
VALENTINE
I love you forever, Ender!
Graff ushers Ender into the back seat of the
car and closes the door. As Graff walks
around the car, Peter drops down from the
treehouse and runs to the car window.
ENDER'S POV
Peter leans close to the glass, staring at
Ender. Ender stares back. The car pulls
away. Peter is left behind.
ESTABLISHING SHOT: SPACEPORT, NIGHT
Several heavy cargo rockets and two passenger
shuttles on the tarmac. The ground opens up
and spits out a hoverbus.
EXT SHUTTLE NIGHT
The hoverbus rises thirty feet, up to where
the horizontal-takeoff shuttle sits like a
plane on the tarmac. A bridge appears in the
air between the doors of both a force field
you can stand on. Children ages 11-13 file
across the bridge. Ender crosses early
clearly the smallest of the children. Soon
after him come SEBASTIAN (French, 11) and
ALAI (Senegalese-French, 11). (Though some
have accents, all the children speak fluent
English.)
ALAI
Just like on television.
SEBASTIAN
Look, they're letting babies in.
ALAI
No, he's our instructor.
They laugh.
INT SHUTTLE CABIN NIGHT
Ender is coming up the center aisle. Their
laughter rings in his ears. Graff points to
his seat. As Ender slides into place ...
ENDER
You're coming with us?
GRAFF
I have to or I'll lose my job.
ENDER
What is your job?
GRAFF
Commander of the Battle School.
Think of me as the principal, with
the power to shoot deserters.
Graff goes back to pointing out seats to
students. Ender identifies which harness
straps are his and fastens himself in.
Sebastian and Alai end up in the next row
back.
SEBASTIAN
Look! Our instructor!
He raps Ender on the head with his knuckle.
Ender winces, tries to duck away but the
harness won't let him.
SEBASTIAN (cont.)
Did you hear that? Empty!
He raps Ender again.
SEBASTIAN (cont.)
A church bell? An empty bottle?
Several other kids laugh nervously.
SEBASTIAN (cont.)
I know! A septic tank!
He raps again. The laughter is more open.
But Alai reaches out a hand as if to restrain
Sebastian. The joke has gone on long enough.
Sebastian shrugs him off.
SEBASTIAN (cont.)
I'm only trying to get knowledge
out of the head of our instructor!
GRAFF
Eyes front!
At once the kids face Graff at the front of
the shuttle.
GRAFF (cont.)
I thought you were told to enter
the shuttle, take the seat you were
given, and strap in. Why is it
that only Ender Wiggin, the
youngest of all, knows how to obey
an order?
SEBASTIAN
(defensive)
I didn't think it was an order.
Other kids nod, murmur their agreement.
GRAFF
What did you think it was?
SEBASTIAN
An ... instruction.
GRAFF
If you're really that dumb I wonder
how you find your butt to wipe it.
Sebastian's face reddens, but he doesn't look
away.
GRAFF (cont.)
You're in the I.F., now, children.
The International Fleet. All
instructions are orders. All
suggestions are orders. All hints
and wishes and secret yearnings of
a superior are orders!
SEBASTIAN
How do we know who's our superior?
GRAFF
Every human being in the I.F.
uniform is superior to you.
SEBASTIAN
Even if they
Graff's fingertips press against Sebastian's
lips.
GRAFF
The only appropriate answer when a
superior vilifies you is "Yes sir."
Or, if you're really pissed off,
you can add, "Thank you, sir."
He removes his fingers from Sebastian's lips.
SEBASTIAN
Yes sir. Thank you, sir.
GRAFF
You can dish it out, can't you,
Sebastian? But you can't take it.
SEBASTIAN
I thank you, sir.
GRAFF
Little Ender Wiggin, he can take it
without complaint. Guess who looks
more like a soldier to me.
Ender glances at Graff, then looks straight
ahead, furious.
ENDER
(Quietly)
Thank you, sir.
Everyone is rocked backward as the shuttle
starts to move.
EXT SHUTTLE NIGHT
The shuttle is towed to its starting place at
the end of the runway. The engines are
fired.
INT SHUTTLE NIGHT
The acceleration presses them back into their
seats.
EXT SHUTTLE CHANGEOVER
The shuttle rises past the knife edge of the
Earth's shadow, and suddenly it is in bright
sunlight. A huge fuel tank section peels off
the bottom of the shuttle. Small rockets
maneuver the shuttle toward a high orbit.
INT SHUTTLE SPACE
Graff walks down the aisle. Some of the kids
are nauseated by weightlessness. One starts
vomiting. Graff helps him.
The moment Graff is behind them, Sebastian
tries to smack Ender's head again. The
harness restrains him. He unfastens it,
grips the back of Ender's seat, and raps the
top of his head but hard this time, all his
anger and humiliation in it. Ender recoils
in real pain.
SEBASTIAN
I still say it's empty.
Alai grabs at Sebastian's clothes as
Sebastian makes a fist and prepares to hammer
it into Ender's face.
Ender reaches upward, grabs the hand that is
holding Sebastian in place, and yanks forward
and down. Propelled by Ender's pull and his
own hammering motion, Sebastian at once spins
upward, ass-over-teakettle, and yells in pain
as he bounces off the "ceiling," breaking his
arm.
Graff arrives quickly, snatches him deftly
out of the air.
GRAFF
You unfastened your harness,
soldier.
Sebastian's only answer is to yell again in
pain.
GRAFF (cont.)
Furthermore, you attacked an enemy
without taking into account the
possibility that he might defend
himself. Do you know what we call
commanders who do that?
A Japanese kid nearby pipes up.
SHEN
Stupid!
GRAFF
We call them heroes. On the
monuments over their graves.
Graff lifts Sebastian's writhing body up by
the good arm like a captured toad being shown
to a science class.
GRAFF (cont.)
Don't you get it yet? Everybody on
this shuttle qualified as one of
the thirty or forty smartest kids
on Earth, out of three hundred
million kids your age. And who do
you think tested highest of all?
Could it be the one who's entering
Battle School a year ahead of his
age group? Could it be the one
that this bully decided to pick on?
With his free hand, Graff is pointing at
Ender. Everyone looks at Ender with varying
degrees of loathing, resentment, jealousy, or
awe. Ender has no friends in this launch
group now, and he knows it. He looks away,
lonely and afraid.
EXT BATTLE SCHOOL STATION SPACE
Earth is moon-sized in the distance. When
the shuttle spins in synch with the station,
it is drawn inside.
INT CORRIDOR "DAY"
In bright artificial light the kids jog along
behind Graff. Graff stops at a door and the
kids file in.
INT LAUNCHIE BARRACKS "DAY"
A long, narrow room sloping up at the back,
lined with triple bunks. Each bunk has a
locker.A lot of the kids goof around or
quarrel over who gets bottom. Everyone
ignores Ender, who has taken a bottom bunk
near the door.
Ender turns to his locker. Inside it is a
"desq" a flat computer with a holographic
display on its top surface. When Ender
touches it, words appear in the air above it.
ENDER'S DESQ
COMPUTER TEXT: "Enter name"
ENDER TEXT: "EnderWiggin"
COMPUTER TEXT: "EnderWiggin is this
correct? Y or N"
Ender types N, and reenters his name as "
Ewiggin" [with a space before E]. Again the
computer echoes his name.
WIDE
Graff stands at the door with boyish officer
DAP (23).
GRAFF
This is Lieutenant Dap. As long as
you're in launchie barracks, Dap is
your mother.
Some laughter. Graff notices that Ender is
ignoring him.
ENDER'S DESQ
A long list of names now forms a column on
the display: Forms of Ender's own name.
Other people's names.
GRAFF (V.O., cont.)
Dap is also your father, your
trainer, your nursemaid, and your
worst nightmare. Obey him the way
you'd obey God, or you're iced.
WIDE
A few kids titter at that. Dap looks at them
with terrifying blankness. They fall silent.
Graff exits.
DAP
The bunk you are on right now is
yours. If you're not on a bunk,
the closest one is yours. No
trading, no arguing, that's it.
SHEN'S BUNK
Sebastian tries to drag Shen off the bottom
bunk. Alai is on the bunk above.
SHEN
No trading.
SEBASTIAN
You knew that was my bunk.
Dap is on them instantly.
DAP
Top bunk, Sebastian.
Sebastian holds up his broken arm.
DAP (cont.)
There are lower bunks at the back
of the room.
ALAI
I'll go back there with you.
DAP
I said no trading!
Sebastian walks toward the back. Dap walks
toward the door.
DAP (cont.)
Sign on to your desqs. Explore the
system. You've got an hour.
ENDER'S BUNK
Ender looks down at his computer.
ENDER'S DESQ
A one-inch-high, 3-D fullcolor holographic
boy in a SAILOR suit appears above the desq.
The desq simulates his speech using "shaped
sound," so only Ender can hear him.
SAILOR BOY
When you play the fantasy game,
I'll be you and you'll be me. If
you don't want to be a sailor boy,
press the arrow keys.
Ender cycles through: A knight. A dog. A
dragon. A samurai warrior. Ender chooses a
bear. Not a teddy bear, not a slavering
grizzly, just your ordinary brown bear.
SEBASTIAN'S BUNK
Sebastian sits on the very last bunk in the
room, deeply pissed off. Alai is leaning on
the back wall. Shen comes walking up to
them.
SEBASTIAN
What do you want, thief?
SHEN
Just that I'm sorry. I knew it was
your bunk, I only sat there to tie
my shoe.
SEBASTIAN
Go take your butt somewhere else.
Alai gives Shen a nod and a little salute.
Shen walks away.
SEBASTIAN (cont.)
(Loudly)
Look! Shen wiggles his butt like a
girl when he walks!
Utterly mortified, Shen hurries down the
aisle, which only makes things worse.
Everybody is looking at his butt.
CLOSE ON ENDER
Ender sees what's happening, then starts
typing on his desq.
CLOSE ON SHEN
Shen reaches his bunk, sits on it, then
slides in, keeping his butt out of view.
WIDE
Every kid who's using his desq gets a text
message at the same time. They start
laughing, calling others' attention to the
message.
SEBASTIAN'S BUNK
Sebastian pulls his desq onto his lap.
SEBASTIAN
What are they laughing at?
SEBASTIAN'S DESQ
COMPUTER TEXT: Message from: God
Cover your butt.
Sebastian is watching.
God
Sebastian leaps to his feet, livid.
SEBASTIAN
Coward! Sign your real name!
The other kids stifle laughter.
SHEN'S BUNK
Shen looks down at his desq, hoots with
laughter.
SEBASTIAN'S BUNK
Sebastian and Alai both look at the new
message.
SEBASTIAN'S DESQ
COMPUTER TEXT: "Message from: Sebastian
North, south, east, west,
I like butts best.
Sebastian"
[Note extra space before " Sebastian"
in both places]
SEBASTIAN
I did not write that! I can't even
type with my arm like this!
Alai is struggling not to laugh as he
deadpans:
ALAI
It's your name, Sebastian.
SEBASTIAN
Get away from my bunk, Alai.
ALAI
It's a joke, man. Just grin.
SEBASTIAN
Some friend you are.
Sebastian walks away from him, down the
aisle, looking at each kid he passes, daring
them to meet his gaze. Most look away, like
junior chimps submitting to the alpha male.
But Ender meets his gaze without expression.
SEBASTIAN (cont.)
It wasn't enough you broke my arm?
Sebastian shoves Ender, rocking him back on
the bunk.
SEBASTIAN (cont.)
The most brilliant kid on Earth.
Sebastian prepares throw a punch. Alai
arrives in time to catch his arm.
ALAI
You already got Graff and Dap on
your case!
Sebastian lets Alai drag him back to his own
bunk. Shen comes to Ender's bunk, sits
beside him.
SHEN
If it was you, thanks. He's such
an eemo.*
*eemo: hick, dolt [Japanese 'potato']
INT OBSERVATION DECK "DAY"
Graff, wearing an undershirt, is seated at a
table cluttered with communications devices,
papers, his desq, and whatever parts of his
uniform he's not wearing at the moment
including his shirt. He is watching his
desq, which is showing a brown bear standing
on a table before an evil-looking giant.
INT LAUNCHIE BARRACKS "DAY"
Ender is playing the fantasy game on his
desq, which shows the same scene.
ENDER'S DESQ
Ender-Bear is offered two drinks by the
giant.
GIANT
Choose right, and you won't die.
Ender-Bear chooses the one that looks like
milk in a glass, drinks it. At once he turns
to powder and collapses in a pile as the
giant laughs.
INT OBSERVATION DECK "DAY"
Graff shakes his head. Ender-Bear arrives
again before the Giant, who presents two
different drinks.
GRAFF'S DESQ
Ender-Bear chooses the steaming teacup and
drinks. He bursts into flame as the giant
laughs. A BUZZER sounds.
WIDE
Graff looks up, sees a light blinking beside
the door. He puts a finger on an unmarked
spot on the table and the door opens.
ANDERSON, 30, a woman in a major's uniform,
enters.
GRAFF
What have I done now?
She glances down at Graff's desq. Ender-Bear
drinks from a loving cup, inflates like a
balloon, and pops.
ANDERSON
Ender went straight to the giant's
drink, didn't he?
At once the giant offers another choice.
Ender-Bear drinks a green liquid and turns to
stone. The giant picks him up and crushes him
to gravel in his fist.
GRAFF
It took him maybe five minutes.
ANDERSON
Has he done anything else?
GRAFF
How many ways can one bear die?
ANDERSON
It's a sign of despair.
Loneliness. Self-destructive
tendencies. The giant's drink is a
marker for attempted suicide.
GRAFF
You don't make a great commander by
coddling him.
ANDERSON
Is there some scientific basis for
this special training program
you're creating for Ender? Or are
you just ... pulling wings off
flies to see what they do?
Annoyed, Graff looks back down at his desq.
Ender-Bear has turned into a fly and is
swatted by a giant flyswatter.
ANDERSON (cont.)
Ouch.
Graff drums his fingers on the table. She
leaves.
INT LAUNCHIE BARRACKS FLASH SUIT MONTAGE
A cart filled with flash suits bursts through
the door.
Flash suits are tossed into the arms of the
kids.
Straps are tightened around arms, legs,
torsos. Helmets go on heads, boots on feet,
gloves on hands.
The dao* or lightgun does not look like an
assault weapon. It slides onto the back of
the hand, with a cord running into the
control unit that nests in the fingers. We
see daos being slid into their slots, fingers
closing over the controls, and test shots
being fired, only faintly visible in the
bright light of the barracks.
*dao: Vietnamese for weapon
All the launchies are lined up, daos on their
favored hand (ten percent of them are on left
hands instead of right). They break into a
simultaneous jog.
INT CORRIDOR "DAY"
Dap stands beside the door. The line of
armed launchies emerges. Ender is shorter
than the others. Sebastian's arm is in a
cast, the sleeve cut from his flashsuit.
INT LAUNCHIE BATTLEROOM ENTRANCE "DAY"
The launchie line reaches the end of a
corridor. The end wall is a forcefield
steely brown, but with continuous swirling
and deforming of subtle colors in mandelbrot
patterns. Then, when Dap presses a button on
his "hook," the door dilates instantaneously.
Inside is a large space, dimly lighted.
DAP
Welcome to the battleroom,
children.
INT BATTLEROOM "NIGHT"
The children enter gingerly, becoming
weightless the moment they pass the
threshold. They cling to handholds and move
hand-over-hand along the wall, near the
floor, trying to keep their body movements
under control. Legs are useless.
DAP (V.O.)
The moment you enter the battleroom
you're in freefall. There are
handholds on all the walls
including the floor and ceiling.
NEAR ENDER
Ender lets go with one hand. Still clinging
to a handhold with the other, he pushes off
with his feet. Immediately he flips around
the fulcrum of the handhold and his body
smacks into the wall. Shen is amused.
SHEN
What are you trying to do, kill
yourself?
ENDER
Try it. The suit keeps you from
hurting yourself, and you can
control your bouncing with your
legs, like this.
Ender flips himself over again, and again,
with amazing rapidity. That annoys Shen, who
immediately flips himself just like Ender
but too hard. He bounces back, yelping.
Ender gets his legs under him and squats over
a handhold as if he were trying to lift the
wall he's standing on. Then he pushes off,
launching himself across the room.
WIDE
Ender flies across the room. He tries to
catch himself against the other wall, but
there's no way he rebounds at an oblique
angle. At the next wall he catches himself.
NEAR ALAI
Alai and Sebastian gather themselves for a
leap.
NEAR SHEN
Shen, seeing them, launches first, but
clumsily.
WIDE
Three more kids fly across the room, in three
random directions.
DAP (V.O.)
Battle School is centered around
the war games in the battleroom.
When you graduate from launchie
barracks, you will be assigned to
an army.
During the voiceover, we see kids collide in
midair, spinning off crazily. Some try
gymnastic moves. One kid throws up. When
they get flashed by a dao, their arms or legs
or whole bodies freeze in awkward positions,
the lights on the suits going dark in the
area where they were shot.
DAP (V.O.)
Someday you might even command one.
NEAR ENDER
Ender glides quickly along the wall,
handhold-to-handhold. Shen follows, till he
sees that they're heading toward Alai and
Sebastian.
SHEN
What are you doing? They hate us!
ENDER
The formics are the only enemy.
SEBASTIAN
Look. It's God and his favorite
butt.
ENDER
What happens if four guys are out
in the middle and they push off
from each other?
ALAI
I don't know.
ENDER
(grinning)
Neither do I.
ALAI
Let's find out.
Alai grabs Sebastian's good arm, pulling him
away from his handhold. With his other hand
he grasps Ender, and Ender seizes Shen.
ALAI
(To Ender)
So we all put our feet together and
push off?
ENDER
One guy pushes off from the other
three. Sebastian.
ALAI
You're smallest. You'll go faster.
ENDER
Sebastian is strongest.
Sebastian gets foot-to-foot with the other
three, holding on to their feet with his good
hand. Then he pushes off. They move a
little, but he rockets away at nearly full
speed.
ALAI
Salaam, Ender.
INT CORRIDOR "DAY"
The launchies pour out of the battleroom,
running along the corridor. Ender, Alai,
Shen, and Sebastian come out as a foursome,
running down the corridor like Ben-Hur's
chariot horses. When Alai jumps up to touch
the ceiling, the others do it, too. Ender is
too short to touch it trying too hard, he
falls in a heap. The others laugh, but
Sebastian and Alai drag him to his feet and
bring him along.
FANTASY GAME
Ender-Bear stands before the giant. He
drinks from an eyedropper. His fur falls
off. Then his skin sloughs off, exposing
bloody muscle.
GRAFF (V.O.)
Who programmed the game to do that?
ANDERSON (V.O.)
The game is self-altering.
The muscles peel off, revealing the skeleton.
The organs spill out of the belly.
GRAFF (V.O.)
Why were those images in the game?
The bones separate and fall into a pile.
ANDERSON (V.O.)
A biology animation. The fantasy
game can pull anything from the
system.
Ender-Bear drinks from a demitasse. He turns
into a fish and the giant guts and debones
him.
GRAFF (V.O.)
Sick.
ANDERSON (V.O.)
The game? Or the child?
Ender-Bear stands before the giant again.
But he does not drink. Instead, he kicks
over one glass. Then the other. The giant
starts pounding the table with his fists,
trying to crush Ender-Bear.
ANDERSON (cont., V.O)
He's not trying anything that
hasn't been done before.
Ender-Bear leaps up onto the giant's beard.
For a moment, the giant's animation freezes,
while Ender-Bear continues to climb up onto
the giant's face.
GRAFF (V.O.)
Has anybody tried this?
ANDERSON (V.O.)
It won't work. That's what it's
for. To see how soon they learn to
cut their losses and move on.
Ender-Bear plunges his paw into the giant's
eye and burrows in, flinging out eye-stuff
like cottage cheese. The giant waves its
hands ineffectually, then opens its mouth in
a silent scream and keels over backward.
ANDERSON (V.O.)
This violates the whole purpose of
the giant's drink!
INT LAUNCHIE BARRACKS "NIGHT"
Ender is the only one awake in the darkness.
He sits on his bunk, hunched over his desq.
The giant is lying on its back. Ender is
sweating, panting, as if he has just finished
a race.
GRAFF (V.O.)
Surprise surprise. The game's
supposed to break Ender, but Ender
broke the game. What happens now?
ANDERSON (V.O.)
(shaken)
I have no idea.
In the game on Ender's lap, Ender-Bear climbs
out of the giant's eye. He turns toward the
giant's ruined face.
ENDER
I'm sorry.
FANTASY GAME
Ender-Bear looks around. The giant's corpse
lies on its back in a meadow, surrounded by
forest.
ENDER (V.O.)
I didn't mean to kill you, I just
... you wouldn't let me by.
A bat flies up, lands on the giant's nose.
GAME BAT
How did you get here? Nobody comes
here.
ENDER (V.O.)
I killed the giant.
The bat flies up and away.
GAME BAT
Welcome to Fairyland!
Ender-Bear comes upon a playground in the
woods, with children swinging and sliding and
climbing the monkey bars. Ender-Bear tries to
join in the game. The children see him,
point at him, start to shout.
GAME CHILDREN
A bear! A bear!
The children all run to the edge of the
woods. Ender-Bear is left alone. Then, one
by one, the children transform into huge
wolves that slink around the edges of the
playground. Ender-Bear tries to move off in
another direction. But he is surrounded.
The wolves leap on him.
INT LAUNCHIE BARRACKS "NIGHT"
Ender slams his hand down in the middle of
the desq. The game goes away. He is
trembling as he puts the desq away.
GRAFF (V.O.)
I thought this game was supposed to
help the kids.
ANDERSON (V.O.)
It isn't therapeutic, it's
diagnostic.
Ender throws himself back onto his pillow and
lies there, staring at the ceiling, clenching
and unclenching his fists.
INT ANDERSON'S QUARTERS "NIGHT"
Anderson's quarters are designed to do double
duty as office and berth. She sits on her
bed and Graff sits in the guest chair, both
hunched over Anderson's desq on a small table
between them, replaying the game.
GRAFF
So what's the diagnosis?
ANDERSON
There's no literature on this. It
never happened before.
GRAFF
Something you don't understand?
ANDERSON
And that makes you happy?
GRAFF
You never understood. I'm happy
you finally realize it.
Anderson blows up.
ANDERSON
I have always understood more than
you! You're so busy training the
commander that you don't realize
what you're doing to the child!
GRAFF
He's smarter than any of the people
who made up this Battle School. He
sees right through your plans. The
only way to stay ahead of him is to
take blind leaps into the dark.
ANDERSON
That's not science.
GRAFF
That's right. Science deals with
laws, with generalities. We're
trying to create an exception.
ANDERSON
Why? Science works!
GRAFF
I hope you're wrong, because
science tells us we have no chance
of beating the formics in the end.
Anderson is stunned.
GRAFF (cont.)
Of course, that information is so
classified that if you even think
it in front of someone else you
could be shot.
(beat)
I wish you'd stop fighting me,
Major Anderson. I wish you'd help.
Graff leaves. Anderson hugs her knees,
thinking.
INT LAUNCHIE BARRACKS "NIGHT"
Ender is asleep, a child after all, one fist
clenched up near his face.
Dap comes and stands by his bunk in the
darkness. Wakes him gently. Hands him a
uniform. Blinking, Ender gets up, looks at
the uniform, realizes what it means.
ENDER
What about Alai? Shen? Sebastian?
Dap puts a finger to his lips.
DAP
Each in his own time.
Ender starts to dress, full of misgivings.
INT SALAMANDER BARRACKS "DAY"
The soldiers of Salamander army are just
getting dressed. Some of them are still in
bed. It's a sloppy barracks. And not a
happy one. BONZO (12) sits on the first bunk
by the door, surrounded by soldiers.
The door opens. Ender stands there in
Salamander uniform.
BONZO
Por todos los santos.
PETRA ARKANIAN (11), a girl with close-
cropped hair and no sign of puberty, steps in
front of Ender.
PETRA
How did you get a Salamander Army
uniform?
Ender holds up a piece of paper.
ENDER
Orders.
Petra reaches for them. Ender holds them
back.
ENDER (cont.)
I'm supposed to give them to Bonzo
Madrid.
The room falls silent.
PETRA
Not BAHN-zo. BONE-so. Aqui
hablamos espa�ol.
ENDER
Are you BONE-so?
Some nervous laughter from other kids.
PETRA
I'm Petra Arkanian. The only girl
in Salamander Army. With more
balls than any boy in the barracks.
This is greeted with hoots of derision.
Bonzo comes up behind Petra, pushes her
contemptuously out of the way, and reaches
for the order slip.
BONZO
What are they doing to me?
L�grimas de Cristo! Mboto!
MBOTO, a lanky African kid, slides off his
upper bunk.
MBOTO
Sir?
BONZO
They've transferred you to Eagle
and this is your replacement!
Mboto tousles Ender's hair and chuckles.
MBOTO
Good luck.
Without a backward glance, Mboto leaves.
BONZO
How old are you?
ENDER
Nine.
BONZO
You're not even supposed to be in
Battle School.
PETRA
He must've got lost on his way to
ground school.
BONZO
Calla-te, Putra.
(To Ender)
I don't know what the teachers
think they're doing, but I'm not
going to keep you. I'm trading you
as fast as I can, even though I'll
probably have to trade away a good
soldier to do it.
ENDER
What do I do in the meantime?
BONZO
Nothing. You understand me? Just
stay out of the way.
ENDER
But I can train with you, right?
BONZO
I said nothing! Nada! Compreende?
ENDER
Yes sir.
BONZO
You sleep in the back! You stay
out of my sight! I deserve more
respect than to have them send me a
soldier like you.
PETRA
Maybe it's an honor. Maybe they
thought you were the best commander
to train an underage kid.
BONZO
(to Petra)
I've already tried to trade you
away but nobody wanted you!
PETRA
You couldn't train anybody.
Bonzo slaps her across the face. Petra
glares at him.
BONZO
You going to report me?
She sullenly shakes her head. Bonzo turns to
Ender.
BONZO
Last bunk on the left. You don't
use your desq. You don't wear your
flash suit. You don't exist.
Ender walks down the long aisle between
bunks. The soldiers stare at him or look
away.
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