| Children of the Mind | |
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| Author | Orson Scott Card |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Ender's Game series |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Tor Books |
| Publication date | 1996 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
| Pages | 349 pp |
| ISBN | 0-312-85395-5 |
| OCLC Number | 33971186 |
| Dewey Decimal | 813/.54 20 |
| LC Classification | PS3553.A655 C48 1996 |
| Preceded by | Xenocide |
| Followed by | A War of Gifts |
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Children of the Mind (1996) is the fourth book of Orson Scott Card's popular Ender's Game series, a series of science fiction novels that focus on the character Ender Wiggin. This book originally started as the second half of Xenocide before that book became so long that it was split off into its own novel.
Plot summary
At the start of Children of the Mind, Jane, the evolved computer intelligence, is using her newly discovered abilities to take the Formics, humans and Pequeninos Outside the universe and back In instantaneously, to distant habitable planets to colonize them. But she is losing her memories and concentration as the vast computer network connected to the ansible is being shut down. If she is to survive, she must find a way to transfer her aiúa (or soul) to a human body.
Peter and Wang-Mu travel to the worlds of Divine Wind and Pacifica to convince the Japanese-led swing group of the Starways Congress to revoke their order to destroy Lusitania. By tracing the decision making trail backwards (strangely going down in ranks, a concept which is explained in the afterword) they are able to convince a philosopher of his influence in the Starways Congress. Although with some complication the philosopher gets the Starways Congress to stop the Lusitania fleet, which was already nearly a swing vote. Regardless, the admiral at the head of the Lusitania fleet disobeys their order and does what he believes Ender Wiggin, the first Xenocide, would have done even if he knew that he was actually destroying the Formics, not training, and fires the M.D. Device. He further misjudged that thinking he was protecting all human life from the descolada even though it was eradicated and replaced by the recolada, so all species could live naturally on Lusitania.
However, Jane is granted possession of Young Val's body, so she is not destroyed by the ansible shutdown. She is then able to continue transporting starships instantaneously by borrowing the vast mental capacity of the simple-minded Pequenino mothertrees. She is then able to get Peter and Wang-Mu close enough to the M.D. Device so that she can find her way back and transport the Molecular Disruption Device itself to the Lusitania fleet, where it is then disarmed and disabled.
Ender's aiúa had left his body (which then deteriorated) to live in Peter. Jane falls in love with Miro, and Peter with Si Wang-mu. Both couples get married under one of the mothertrees of the pequeninos, the same day as Ender's funeral. Peter's efforts finally come to fruition, and the destruction of Lusitania is averted. The story ends with the two new couples being taken Outside by Jane herself and back In to an unknown destination.
See also
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Children of the Mind |
- List of characters in the Ender's Game series
- Concepts in the Ender's Game series
- List of works by Orson Scott Card
External links
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