The Hive Queen (Ender's Game)
Encyclopedia
The Hive Queen is a fictional character, the central consciousness and physical embodiment of the group mind
the Formics
from Orson Scott Card
's Ender's Game series
.
Along with the rest of her kind, the Hive Queen is regarded as the second-discovered ramen species. Physically, she controls her large colony of insect
-like entities through faster-than-light
philotic connections, rendering the individuals of the race as extensions of her body.
The Hive Queen is also the title of a fictional book
written by Ender Wiggin
under the pseudonym, Speaker for the Dead, usually sold coupled with The Hegemon
.
It is revealed that the Hive Queen's philotic connections allow her to communicate directly to Ender's mind. This is difficult at first, because as a queen she never needed words to communicate- the Formics instantly understood her. She gradually learns to communicate with him, however, and he promises to find her a new home for her to respawn her species. In addition, the Hive Queen helps Ender to write down the information concerning her life and the misunderstanding that led to the war. His finished work, titled "The Hive Queen," and published under the name "Speaker for the Dead," creates great sympathy for the Formics which generally leads humanity to come to regard Ender's actions as an evil act of xenocide. Ender travels to two dozen of the Hundred Colonies in this search, which due to the effects of relativistic space travel takes around three thousand years. While Ender aged only a few decades over this period, the Hive Queen is shown to have been fully aware in real time due to her philotic nature. She has become anxious to be released.
colony on the only planet of the third-discovered sentient race, the Pequeninos
(the Piggies). Due to the fear of damaging the culture of the Piggies, the colony is restricted in growth as ordered by the Starways Congress. The Hive Queen points out to Ender that this makes the planet the best candidate for a new home, although he is unsure of whether the three races will be capable of living together in peace. Nonetheless, he agrees to investigate the possibility.
On the planet, the Hive Queen occasionally makes cryptic statements to Ender that she has made contact with the Pequeninos (philotically) and has shared information with them and agreed to live there in peace. After Ender and the Lusitanian colonists become more familiar with the culture of the Pequeninos, they form a treaty and agree to release the Hive Queen from dormancy once they can find a way to protect her from the native virus, the Descolada. At the conclusion of Speaker for the Dead
, the Hive Queen is finally able to come forth and release her thousands of eggs, "undoing" Ender's act of xenocide.
Group mind (science fiction)
A group mind, hive mind or group ego in science fiction is a single consciousness occupying many bodies. Its use in literature goes back at least as far as Olaf Stapledon's science fiction novel Last and First Men ....
the Formics
Formics
The Formics, also known as Buggers, are a fictional insectoid alien species from the Ender's Game series of science fiction novels by Orson Scott Card.The term "Formic" is derived from formica, the Latin word for ant...
from Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...
's Ender's Game series
Ender's Game series
The Ender's Game series is a series of science fiction books by Orson Scott Card. The series started with the novelette "Ender's Game", which was later expanded into the novel Ender's Game. It currently consists of eleven novels and ten short stories...
.
Along with the rest of her kind, the Hive Queen is regarded as the second-discovered ramen species. Physically, she controls her large colony of insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
-like entities through faster-than-light
Faster-than-light
Faster-than-light communications and travel refer to the propagation of information or matter faster than the speed of light....
philotic connections, rendering the individuals of the race as extensions of her body.
The Hive Queen is also the title of a fictional book
Fictional book
A fictional book is a book that sometimes provides the basis of the plot of a story, a common thread in a series of books, or the works of a particular writer or canon of work. A fictional book may also be used as a mode of conceit to illustrate a story within a story.-Prominent fictional...
written by Ender Wiggin
Ender Wiggin
Andrew "Ender" Wiggin is a fictional character from Orson Scott Card's science fiction story Ender's Game and its sequels , as well as in the first part of the spin-off series, Ender's Shadow...
under the pseudonym, Speaker for the Dead, usually sold coupled with The Hegemon
Hegemon of Earth
In the Ender's Game and Shadow series by Orson Scott Card, the Hegemon is the ruler of the planet. Even though the planet is still divided into countries, the Hegemon has power over them all....
.
Ender's Game
During the Third Invasion, it became evident to the Buggers that they could not survive the war with the humans. In order to prevent their total destruction, The Formics prepared a location on one of their colonies for the Hive Queen to be left dormant as a cocoon. Using ansible communication, the Hive Queen accessed the memories of the human race's child prodigy and unknowing battle commander, Ender Wiggin, to better understand him. Using what they learned, the Formics made the landscape on one of their colonies close to Earth to look like that of Ender's most powerful memory (Fairyland, from the pseudo-sentient Mind Fantasy Game). Arriving as a colonist to that world, Ender eventually discovers the Hive Queen and takes her with him while exploring other colonies.It is revealed that the Hive Queen's philotic connections allow her to communicate directly to Ender's mind. This is difficult at first, because as a queen she never needed words to communicate- the Formics instantly understood her. She gradually learns to communicate with him, however, and he promises to find her a new home for her to respawn her species. In addition, the Hive Queen helps Ender to write down the information concerning her life and the misunderstanding that led to the war. His finished work, titled "The Hive Queen," and published under the name "Speaker for the Dead," creates great sympathy for the Formics which generally leads humanity to come to regard Ender's actions as an evil act of xenocide. Ender travels to two dozen of the Hundred Colonies in this search, which due to the effects of relativistic space travel takes around three thousand years. While Ender aged only a few decades over this period, the Hive Queen is shown to have been fully aware in real time due to her philotic nature. She has become anxious to be released.
Speaker for the Dead and onwards
Eventually Ender responds to a call for a Speaker for the Dead from Lusitania, a small CatholicRoman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
colony on the only planet of the third-discovered sentient race, the Pequeninos
Pequeninos
The Pequeninos , or piggies, are a fictional alien species in the Ender's Game series by Orson Scott Card. They are first introduced in the book Speaker for the Dead. The Pequeninos are written as forest-dwelling and technologically primitive, but incredibly intelligent, able to learn languages...
(the Piggies). Due to the fear of damaging the culture of the Piggies, the colony is restricted in growth as ordered by the Starways Congress. The Hive Queen points out to Ender that this makes the planet the best candidate for a new home, although he is unsure of whether the three races will be capable of living together in peace. Nonetheless, he agrees to investigate the possibility.
On the planet, the Hive Queen occasionally makes cryptic statements to Ender that she has made contact with the Pequeninos (philotically) and has shared information with them and agreed to live there in peace. After Ender and the Lusitanian colonists become more familiar with the culture of the Pequeninos, they form a treaty and agree to release the Hive Queen from dormancy once they can find a way to protect her from the native virus, the Descolada. At the conclusion of Speaker for the Dead
Speaker for the Dead
Speaker for the Dead is a science fiction novel by Orson Scott Card and an indirect sequel to the novel Ender's Game. This book takes place around the year 5270, some 3,000 years after the events in Ender's Game...
, the Hive Queen is finally able to come forth and release her thousands of eggs, "undoing" Ender's act of xenocide.