One More Update to Go (351-400)

Bean went to talk to Ender, and tried to sympathize with him. Bean learns that Ender is going to Command School, and skipping Tactical and Pre-Command. Bean made a speech at his first meal at the Commander's mess hall. He said that they should have the teachers disconnect the score boards, because that just turned the kids against themselves, when the only thing that they would really have to fight were the Formics, or Buggers. They finally agreed and the score boards were taken down. Then Bean returned to the barracks of his newly acquired army and tried to relate to them a little.

Then a member of his army showed him the other new person that they had gotten. It was Achilles. Bean was very scared, but had a plan that would hopefully work. He talked to him like he didn't know that Achilles had killed Poke, so he hoped that Achilles wouldn't kill him too quickly. Sister Carlotta was very mad and scared that Graff had allowed Achilles to go to Battle School. When talking to Sister Carlotta, Graff finds out that Achilles is a serial killer and has killed at least 4 people. Bean called Achilles into his quarters, and showed him what he and Ender had supposedly done. He took him into the air vents and lead him too a small unlit room where he told him to put the dead line around him. He did and then Bean gave his gang the word and they pulled the cord lifting him off the ground. They gave Achilles the choice to either die of dehydration, or confess to killing everyone that he had killed. He chose the latter, and they recorded it and gave it to the teachers. He had actually killed 7 people in his life, and would now get Bean whenever they met again. Bean got transferred to Tactical School, and said good bye to his army that he had for only 8 days. They hadn't won any of their five games, but he learned what he needed to and then he left into space.

Update # 7 (301-350)

The teachers couldn't interpret their only shot at bean with the mind game, but it looked as if he was very scared or had some other relation to Achilles. Bean tried to recruit Nikolai, his best friend to be on the special team, but he refused, someone else from toon C would have to take his place.

Graff, Dimak, and Dap had made a meeting room in the entrance to one of the battle rooms. Bean went to find them, and because they were arguing when they heard his quiet knock, they thought he might have been listening for a long time. Bean wanted to have access to their supply areas. They first told him no, but he argued with them and was very close to being iced when they finally gave in. His reasoning was that since the other teams didn't have to follow any rules, that they shouldn't have to either, so they should be able to make something unique to fight with. He chose some dead line that was used for holding janitors working on the outside of the ship from falling away.

Graff was also being irresponsible, because he wouldn't protect Bean and Ender from the physical danger that they were in because of Bonzo. Bean noticed when several members of the Salamander Army were coming closer to Ender on their way back from practice. He had all of the toon leaders and seconds come stand around Ender to protect him. Then when they passed Rabbit Army's barracks, he knocked on the door and yelled, "Salamander's making a move against Ender." They rushed to help, and the Salamanders gave up for now. Bean had someone stay with Ender at all times, to make sure that he didn't leave without someone knowing. Then the next day at lunch, Ender said he didn't feel hungry, so he would stay.

At lunch Bean made this big speech about how you are to blame if you follow your commander's orders to do something illegal, but the commanders ate in a different room, so it was no help. By the time Bean made it to the bathroom after lunch, Ender had already killed Bonzo. The teachers didn't want anyone to know, so they didn't let anyone in there, but Bean made his way in pretending to not have seen what actually happened. Then after Ender made it to his room, he had the orders that they had a battle against two armies at once. This is when he used Bean's troop. First Bean used the rope to make it look as though he was flying around the star. Then they made a screen thing with their own frozen soldiers and maneuvered their way around to the other teams gate, and won the game. Ender was so depressed and tired that he didn't want to do anything, and wasn't even happy that they won. Then after the army returned to their barracks, all of the toon leaders and seconds had notes that they were transferred to be the commanders of other armies. After they made Ender go through killing someone and facing an impossible scenario of battle, they took away all of his leaders. Bean was assigned to command Rabbit Army. That is as far as I have got.

The Sixth update (251-300)

Sister Carlotta knew that she couldn't get any useful results by interviewing Dr. Volescu again, so she looked into who his family was. She visited the house of Julian and his wife, who was a relative of Volescu. It turned out that their boy was in battle school, and that the 23 children that Volescu was trying to raise were actually their fertilized eggs. She told them about what had happened to them and that one of their other children was still alive. Bean and their boy were identical twins, except that Bean's DNA had been slightly altered.

Dragon Army had only been practicing one month before they had their first battle. They won it. Bean and Ender both caught on to why the teachers were pushing them through the classes and putting them into battles so fast, but the rest of the children didn't get it. Bean was tricked into playing the fantasy game at the arcade, because it was one of the games that no one else was playing, except he was a mouse, and the giant that gave them drink choices had Achilles head. Then after he caught on to what the game was, he started to leave, but was intercepted by Bonzo Madrid. He mouthed off to him about how dumb he was, which made Bonzo mad and resulted in Bean being pinned against the wall by his throat. He said that Ender's army would crush his, and they did.

The Dragon Army had a battle every day, which was more than any other Army. Then one day they had two battles in the same day. Ender was very mad. Almost everyone else was also mad because of their unheard of schedule. Then that night after their two victories in the same day Ender sent Bean a message on his desk. It told him to come to his quarters right away. There Ender gave Bean an assignment to choose five people, one from each toon, and use them in his own special toon. They would only be used on special occasions, but Bean was very happy anyway. He was longing for Ender to approve of him or to promote him and he finally had. Ender had seen how he was smarter and quicker at thinking than any one else, but had waited until now to give him an assignment.

Fifty MORE pages (201-250)

Bean was so smart that he advanced very rapidly in his classes. Sister Carlotta talked to Dr. Volescu, who had run the illegal, what seemed to have been, organ growing plant. It turned out that he had actually genetically altered 23 fertilized eggs and were keeping them there, when he was discovered and as a result, killed all but Bean with poisons.

Since Graff and the other teachers knew that he had been using that teacher password, they thought that he knew a lot about all of the kids. They gave him the challenge of creating a roster for a new army. From the moment that they told him, he knew that it would be a real army, and that they would bring back the Dragon Army. He wanted to use the Army as a way to get closer to Ender, so that he would have some importance at the Battle School. The new army wasn't to have any soldiers in other armies, but only soldiers that were on transfer lists, or the launchies.

Sister Carlotta suspects that Dr. Volescu was lying about the whole operation, so she asks Dimak and Graff to look into it more closely. Ender, after they were first assembled told them to get dressed and them three minutes later had them run to the Battle Room for practice. There he singled out Bean during the exercises, and made him feel resentful towards Ender. Then after the free time's practice, he waited for Ender to tell him how he felt. He said, "I can be the best man you've got, but don't play games with me. Or I'll be the worst man you've got." Ender didn't seem to take much heed to that, because Bean wasn't put in charge of anything, even though he plainly said it later in their conversation.

Sister Carlotta reported back to Dimak with news that Dr. Volescu was lying about the fact that he was Bean's twin, but he was somehow related to Bean. In the barracks, Bean heard a commander say that Enders move of splitting the army into small sections was a bad move, so he commented and as a result got a little fight going. Nikolai tried to help, but was also small. Then both Fly Molo, who was the commander that commented and Bean made up for it by explaining what they thought. Sorry again, but this time it also went longer than I expected.

Fifty Pages IV

I don't think that I am supposed to post as long of summaries as I have been, so I will try to make it a bit shorter. So as I left off, the leaders were just beginning to realize how outrageously smart Bean is. They wonder why he doesn't play that fantasy game. He doesn't want to be analyzed. They ask what he is doing when he is "reading," and he tells them that he is analyzing the things that he reads. He also told Dimak that by reading the books, he figured out that it doesn't make any sense to fight defensively, and if the humans were smart they would have made some strong troops and left immediately after our victory, so that the buggers wouldn't have time to prepare for another battle, because they would have only received the news a little bit before they were attacked again.

Back on Earth, Sister Carlotta dug deeper into what Bean's origins might have been, and she discovered that he probably was an experiment, in which a gene had simply been turned on, but he probably wouldn't live very long. Bean crept into the vents one night and went to the teachers quarters, to find what he could. He got some one's password, and overheard Dimak and the other boss talking about someone that might be an alien or other species of primate, living on the station.

He hacked into their computers and made an account for himself. They figured it out, but thought that it would be better if they let him think that he wasn't caught. They could then maybe learn more about him through his actions with his account. He then learned that if he wanted to ever be very important that he would have to act and form social networks like Ender Wiggin. He started to look at every kids actions and descriptions on the computer. He then talked to some of Ender's friends to learn more about him, so that he could have a place. He couldn't fathom why lots of kids valued Ender so much that they would die for him. Sorry again, because I rambled too much this time as well, but this time I at least tried harder to be brief.

50 page update: Number Three (pgs. 101-150)

Bean asked if the heart monitor was in their clothing, but didn't get a sufficient answer. He figured out how hard he must work to get his heart rate up, then they had supper. He couldn't finish it all, so he tried to throw it away, but the dietitionist caught him and told him that he better eat it all the next meal they had. Then since he had some extra time he thought that he would explore. He went up several levels, and then got to some of the older kids dorms. Petra took him back down to his area, but then he ran away and went to the game room. He saw an airvent and tried to fit inside, and he learned that he could even though it was only 15 centimeters in depth.

He then went back to his room, and the teachers figured out that he had left. They didn't tell him, because they wanted to figure his personality and reasons out on their own. Then after their nap, the leader gave them a tour, but Bean already had seen almost all of it on his own, so it didn't interest him. When ever the bigger kids saw him they said that he reminded them of Ender Wiggin, so he wanted to find out who Ender was. In the game room, he found Bonzo Madrid, a kid that hated Ender, and asked him about him. He purposely doesn't play "The Game" on the desk, because he knows if he does they will find out something about him. He had a dream about some ants, that got squished, but when the foot came off, it was actually Achilles and his whole gang.

Meanwhile, back on earth, Sister Carlotta, the person that took him in in Rotterdam, was trying to figure out how he was so smart, and where he came from. The clean room that he talked about was actually an organ farm for babies, and the person that took him in at first was the janitor for the farm. Then she asked the IF, Interstellar Fleet, leader if they had done any human genome modification projects recently, but she didn't get a good answer.

Bean gets the highest grades of anyone on all of his tests. Then the IF leaders are concerned about what Bean is studying, so they look into it. Bean, hacks into their computer system, by using other kids passwords, so he won't get caught. He uses their accounts to get a better map of the Space Station. There are levels that everyone else doesn't know about, that he wants to explore. Then Dimak, his adult leader, suddenly tells everyone to change their passwords and to let no one see what their new ones are. Then he talks to Bean about how his life is going here, and that he should make a social network if he ever wants to become an officer.

Reading History

I used to read a lot when I was younger, like in elementary and middle school, but now I am pretty busy and only read when I have to. I have read lots of little books in elementary school, such as the Series of Unfortunate Events, and some choose your own adventure books. I also read The Chronicles of Narnia. They were very good books. I also read Eragon and Eldest. They were pretty good, but Eldest was a little boring in the middle. In school I have read Touching Spirit Bear, All Quiet on the Western Front, Petey, The Outsiders, Old Man and the Sea, Fahrenheit 451, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Crucible, The Scarlet Letter, and Ender's Game. I stopped reading, because I was busy and had other things to do, such as homework and soccer practice.

My favorite novel was Ender's Game, because it was intriguing, and had a twist ending that I really wasn't expecting. It gave a strange picture of what space life could be like, which was also interesting. The worst book that I have read was Old Man and the Sea. It was a very boring book, and wasn't too in depth with its plot. The old man went fishing and caught this huge marlin, and it took him out to sea. Also the guy told about his earlier life when he arm wrestled for a day or so, straight, but finally they ended it. I usually read in my room or in our basement. If I read in my room, I lay on my bed and read the book sideways, but if I am reading downstairs, I sit in the Lazy-boy recliner, and read. I usually read right before I go to bed at about 9:00 to 10:00 or later. I mostly read, because it is an assignment for school, but sometimes I read for fun and to entertain myself.

The Next Fifty (pgs. 51-100)

The lady that worked at the soup kitchen that Bean and the others in his gang went to was happy that the kids were starting to act more civilized. She looked for the person that started this and she came up with Achilles. Then, after looking into it further she realized that it was Bean. She tested him, but the first time, he did it bad on purpose, so that she wouldn't know he was smart and single him out. Then when she told him that he would be able to go to space if he did well enough he tried a lot harder. He did better than everyone for how old he was, so she sent in the scores. They didn't believe that the scores were real, so they gave him some other tests. They had the lady teach him, until he was five, then he went to space.

In the shuttle he paid attention to everything about everyone, just to learn how to act with the rest of the children. Then the adult in the shuttle singled Bean out because he had the highest scores on all of the tests. He also made fun of him a little, because he was by far the smallest of all the others on the shuttle. He arrived at the Battle Station and then observed other things such as the desks which were all electronic, the barracks, and the exercise room. He watold that each day they must exercise at least one half hour in the gym that had stronger gravity than the rest of station or they would lose their bone sturcture. The teacher also told them that if their heart rate didn't rise before they were in the room for five minutes, his computer would be allerted and they would be made an example for their laziness. This is in the middle of chapter six.

The First Fifty Pages

The setting of the book is in the slums of a city called Rotterdam. There is a small group of small children that are in a gang. The larger kids, bullies, always steal food from them, so they are always very hungry. Then along comes this child without a name. The leader of the gang, whose name is Poke, said he wasn't worth a bean. That name stuck, so now he is called Bean. Bean came up with this plan to get a bully to work for them, so all of the little children trapped a large kid and started beating him with stones. He used them as a way to get into the soup kitchens, and the little kids got to have some food also. The gang, with Achilles as the leader, had to prove themselves to the rest of the bullies, so that they would be taken seriously. Then all of the other bullies were mad at Achilles and his "children." One of the bullies threatened Achilles, so he ran away to be safe. Then Poke, who by the way is a girl, went to see him, because she knew where he was. He killed her, because he kept a grudge since the first time he saw her, when she and her gang took him down and made him feel powerless.

Beginning A Blog...

We are reading books for English, and have to do assignments about our book and post them. We are doing this, so everyone can follow along. The book that I am reading is Ender's Shadow, which is a sequel to Ender's Game. It was written by Orson Scott Card. The version that I have is 467 pages long. It was published in 1999 by Tor Books.