How It All Goes Down
Files
- The epigraph is a series of commands from Starways ordering Lusitania evacuated and all its files seized and read and locked… all because Jane decided to be clever in the last chapter. Again, we're not sure why it's okay for her to screw with people like this, except that Card needed to advance his plot and couldn't figure out any other way to do it.
- Olhado is helping Ender with computer stuff since Ender doesn't know anything because Jane always handled his computer business for him.
- Olhado and Ender bicker, and Olhado thinks how much cooler Ender is than his dad.
- They get into Ender's files and discover that he's got more money than anybody else ever.
- Also this: Ender's computer password is Ender, which is a terrible password (maybe password security wasn't such a big thing in the 1980s when Card wrote this book), and also kind of a joke by Jane since Ender's name is so despised.
- Ender transfers money to Olhado for helping him.
- They discover that Ender's password gets him into all files everywhere, even ones that are supposed to be locked. Again, having the word "Ender" do this is just incredibly stupid. Shmoop can suspend disbelief to accept an AI omnipotent computer program, but is having trouble with an AI omnipotent computer program that doesn't understand basic password security.
- Olhado figures that Ender is actually learning from him and will run his own searches later; he also thinks a bit about how awesome Ender is and how much he trusts him. Yeah, yeah, we know.
- Olhado thinks Ender will never do anything to hurt his family… which is foreshadowing and irony.
- We skip over to Novinha who is also thinking about Ender, Ender, Ender, and how much she dislikes him and how awesome he is.
- He broke into her files, which is why she's cranky.
- Miro and Ela and Grego are back to being cranky themselves—and in Grego's case violent—but Quara chattered in school, so Ender seems to have done some lasting good.
- Olhado is all excited about helping Ender with the searches; he and Quim quarreled because Quim still thinks Ender is of the devil.
- Quim comes to Novinha to complain about Ender. Quara's gone over to his house, and Quim and Novinha argue and Novinha slaps him.
- Then she's guilty and sorry and so forth. You know the drill.
- She goes to Ender to get Quara back.
- They walk past the river, where the water snakes are molting and making everything slimy, and they wonder why the river grass only grows by the water. These are connected, detective reader.
- Quara is hanging out while Olhado and Ender play a war game, which of course Ender wins because he's the greatest military mind ever.
- Novinha accuses him of getting into her files, and he suggests he did it to get her to come see him. Seems kind of condescending, but we guess you get to be condescending when you're the greatest military mind ever.
- He tells Novinha secrets about herself, also allowing for a recap of important plot points. She's upset.
- Olhado is upset because he taught Ender and Ender used the knowledge to access Novinha's files, so now Olhado feels like he's been betrayed.
- It seems like he has a point, but Ender just thinks about how he's wiser than Olhado and Olhado can't understand him right now.
- The Hive Queen pops up speaking to Ender's mind, mostly to remind us that she's around. She mutters something about trees.
- Quara tells Ender she hates him, and then has him watch her do arithmetic. Cute.