Speaker for the Dead

Speaker for the Dead (1986) is the second book in the Ender sextet written by Orson Scott Card. Card is a renowned American science fiction author and has won numerous awards for his writing, including four for Speaker of the Dead—the Hugo Award for Best Novel, the Nebula Award for Best Novel, the Science Fiction Chronicle Reader Award for Best Novel, and the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.

Speaker for the Dead is set 3,000 years after the events in Ender’s Game. Andrew Wiggin, also known as Ender the Xenocide and The Speaker for the Dead, is living on the planet Trondheim when he is called to speak for Pipo, a deceased xenologer, or alien anthropologist, who lived on Lusitania. Ender departs Trondheim, leaving his sister Valentine behind, and heads for Lusitania. Traveling at light speed, the trip takes only a few days of his life, though the immense distance means that he arrives on Lusitania 22 years after he was first called. He integrates into the Ribeira family, who called him to speak for three individuals, and he learns about the pequeninos—an intelligent, non-human species native to Lusitania—and their unique biology. Shortly after Ender arrives, Starways Congress discovers that the current xenologists have been sharing technology with the pequeninos, and Ender steps in to help the community and prevent the spread of the deadly Descolada, an incurable virus that has the potential to destroy all life if it escapes from Lusitania. However, to protect humanity means to defy Starways Congress.

This guide uses the e-book version of Speaker for the Dead published by Tom Doherty Associates in 1991.

Content Warning: This source text and this guide depict domestic violence, incest, and suicidal ideation.

Plot Summary

Lusitania is inhabited by a colony of Brazilian Catholic humans who live within a fenced community, Milagre. The rest of the planet is inhabited by an intelligent but technologically primitive species called pequeninos, or piggies. Pipo Figueira, a xenologist, and his son and apprentice, Libo, are the only humans allowed to interact with the pequeninos, but their research is limited by the Starways Congress, a governmental authority whose laws require minimal contact between humans and other species. Novinha, the daughter of the late xenobiologists who created the Colada that suppresses the Descolada virus, takes a test to become the colony’s xenobiologist when she is 13. She works alongside Pipo and Libo, and one day the trio finds a helpful pequenino, Rooter, disemboweled outside the fence with a tree growing from his body. Not long after, Pipo is killed in a similar fashion, but without the tree, after Novinha shares her Descolada research with him. She locks her files to protect Libo from the same fate, and she realizes she can’t marry Libo despite loving him, as her spouse can access her files.

Ender, also known as Andrew Wiggin and the Speaker for the Dead, hears of Pipo’s death while living on the planet Trondheim with his sister Valentine. He sees that Novinha has called for a speaker—someone who will come to learn about Pipo and speak about his life. Jane, a lifeform living within the ansible communication network, encourages Ender to go, hoping that if Ender can convince humanity to accept the pequeninos, he can convince them to accept Jane. Ender relates to Novinha’s guilt, as he feels guilty for killing almost all the formics when he was a child in Battle School. Both Jane and the last cocooned hive queen, which Ender is carrying, say the hive queen can be restored on Lusitania. Eager to be near Novinha, Ender leaves Trondheim after an emotional parting with Valentine.

Over 20 years pass on Lusitania and Trondheim while Ender is traveling near lightspeed, but only eight days pass for Ender. When he arrives at Lusitania, he learns that Novinha has canceled her call, but two others have called for speakers. Novinha’s son, Miro, called a speaker for Libo, and Ela, Novinha’s daughter, called a speaker for Marcão Ribeira, her father. After settling in, Ender finds two of Novinha’s children, Olhado and Quara, who take him to their home, where he is attacked by the youngest Ribeira, Grego, and yelled at by the devout Quim. Ela speaks of Marcão’s abuse, and Ender waits for Novinha to arrive home. When she arrives, Novinha is upset by the Speaker’s presence in her home. She doesn’t want Ender to speak for Pipo or Marcão.

Ender investigates Marcão’s life, discovering that he was infertile as a result of the Descolada virus and that Novinha’s children were fathered by Libo. Novinha refused to marry Libo to prevent him from opening her Descolada files, as she believed that his doing so might have gotten him killed by the pequeninos.

While speaking with the leaders of the order The Children of the Mind of Christ, Ender shuts off the jewel he wears in his ear that connects him to Jane. Jane is temporarily injured but rebuilds herself. She forgives Ender but refuses to interact with him after he turns on the jewel, and, after reading Novinha’s files, she notifies Starways Congress that the xenologers are sharing human technology with the pequeninos. Congress decides to disband Lusitania.

Olhado teaches Ender how to perform searches on the terminal, and Ender uses what he learns to attempt to access Novinha’s files. Novinha confronts Ender, and Ender argues that ignorance can’t protect Novinha’s loved ones. He asks for the truth, but Novinha refuses and leaves, followed by Olhado, who resents Ender for using what Olhado taught him to betray Novinha.

The pequeninos, enticed by promises from the hive queen, are impatient to meet Ender. Miro wants to bring Ender to the forest, but Ouanda, Libo’s daughter and Miro’s girlfriend, does not trust the speaker. After arguing in front of the pequeninos, they decide to bring Ender, worried that Human, a pequenino, will be killed if they do not. Meanwhile, Ender learns about the Descolada from Ela, who has compiled a series of questions regarding the few species present on Lusitania. That afternoon, Ender meets with the pequeninos and admits to having authored The Hive Queen and the Hegemon. He agrees to help the pequeninos after he learns more about them, but he hasn’t decided if he will restore the hive queen.

Ender speaks about Marcão’s death, revealing the Ribeiras’ family secrets. After, the Mayor, Bosquinha, tells Ender that Starways Congress has demoted her, seized Ender’s ship, called for the xenologers’ arrests, and copied and destroyed Lusitania’s files. Ender arranges a meeting with Lusitania’s leaders, himself, and Novinha, during which they discuss a plan to rebel against Congress, who will likely destroy Lusitania to prevent the Descolada from spreading to other worlds. The meeting is interrupted by Ouanda and the pequenino Mandachuva, who say that Miro is badly injured after climbing over the fence encircling Lusitania. They all go to the fence, where the decision is made to have Jane hide the ansible connection so they can shut off the fence and save Miro. Ender meets with the pequenino wives, or females, and they make a treaty, after which Ender must take Human into the third life by disemboweling and planting him, so he can grow into a tree.

Miro’s condition improves, but he is permanently impaired. Jane asks Ender to introduce her to Miro, and she quickly becomes close to him and starts helping him. Valentine calls and says she is resuming writing as Demosthenes, and she is coming to Lusitania. Miro leaves Lusitania to travel in space, and he will return when the Lusitania fleet is closer. During his travels, he will meet up with Valentine. Ender restores the hive queen in a remote location, writes The Life of Human, and marries Novinha.