The Authorized Ender Companion

by Black, Jake

  Tolo, Abra (EG, EE)

  Eleven-year-old Abra Tolo was the son of original colonists in the first human settlement of a former Formic world, Shakespeare. Very good with his hands, he worked hard on mechanical issues in the colony. He hero-worshipped Ender Wiggin and traveled with the colony’s governor to explore an area near Shakespeare that would be suitable for new colonists.

  Abra and Ender discovered a region of the planet that looked like a human giant had died there. Ender recognized the place as one from a game he played as a child. Abra, confused, asked Ender what it meant. Ender wouldn’t give the boy any answers except to say that it was not a suitable spot for a colony.

  Tolo, Ix (GB)

  Ix Tolo was a xenobiologist on the former Formic world that was Ender Wiggin’s first gubernatorial assignment. He had a wife, and a son named Po. He sent Po to accompany their friend, Sel Menach, on his study of the planet.

  In Sel’s absence, Ix became the acting governor of Shakespeare Colony. In this position, he greeted Ender Wiggin when the hero of the Formic War arrived to become the official governor of the colony.

  Tolo, Mother (EE)

  Mother Tolo was a woman of Chinese ancestry who lived in Shakespeare, the first human colony on a former Formic world. She was married to Ix Tolo, and they had several children together.

  Tolo, Po (GB)

  Po Tolo, the son of xenobiologist Ix Tolo, was a young man born on the former Formic planet that became a human colony and Ender Wiggin’s first assignment. He traveled with senior xenobiologist Sel Menach and with him, discovered the Gold Bugs. He grew up to be a xenobiologist himself, devoting his life work to studying the Gold Bugs.

  Po married Alessandra Toscano, one of the first wave of settlers to arrive at Shakespeare. They had at least one child together.

  Toscano, Alessandra (YM, EE)

  Thirteen-year-old Alessandra Toscano and her mother Dorabella were selected to be among the first colonists of the International Fleet’s Dispersal Project to colonize former Formic worlds after Ender’s victory. Alessandra was Italian, living in Monopoli. She didn’t want to go to the new colony, but her mother tried to sway her with the prospect of finding a nice young man to marry among the other colonists.

  Alessandra was so desperate to stay on Earth that she approached her estranged grandmother, seeking familial asylum. The encounter only furthered the rift between her mother and grandmother. Once her grandmother refused to take her in, Alessandra came to better understand her mother’s relationship to her grandmother. Through this process she came to accept the idea of leaving with the colonists. She was particularly excited that Ender Wiggin would be their governor, though she didn’t think she would marry him as her mother did.

  She and Ender developed a friendship aboard their transport ship to the Formic world. Their relationship began when Ender met with all of the passengers so he could get to know them all individually before he was to be their governor. He and Alessandra got along very well, even though Ender worked very hard to prevent any romantic feelings from developing between them. Alessandra and her mother convinced Ender and Valentine to start up a play reading to help the passengers pass the time on the spaceship.

  The ship’s commanding officer, Admiral Morgan, thought the play was subversive, and canceled it. After meeting with Ender, however, he relented, and Alessandra was able to play Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew opposite Ender. The performance went well, and Alessandra’s affection for Ender continued to grow.

  Alessandra was shocked to see her mother flirting with Admiral Morgan after the play. She realized that her mother had set her eyes on the commanding officer and was going to convince him to marry her.

  Her mother was also teaching Alessandra how to convince Ender to marry the young girl. Though Alessandra had feelings for Ender, she knew that he didn’t fully return them. As the twoyear space journey drew to a close, Dorabella taught Alessandra how to flirt with Ender so he would be interested in her. It didn’t work, however, and Ender and Alessandra did not end up together. They remained friends, but were never lovers.

  Once the colony ship arrived at Shakespeare, Alessandra chose to stay with the other settlers. Her mother was livid, but was forced to accept the law. Dorabella returned to the ship and her new husband, Admiral Morgan. Alessandra, though not involved in a relationship with Ender, was glad to be free of her mother’s influence.

  While living in Shakespeare, Alessandra met Po Tolo and fell in love with him. They were married two years after Alessandra arrived at the colony, and had at least one child together.

  Toscano, Dorabella (YM, EE)

  A poor Italian woman, Dorabella Toscano applied, and was accepted, to be among the first wave of colonists to settle former Formic worlds. She planned to take her thirteen-year-old daughter Alessandra with her.

  Dorabella had a very negative relationship with her mother, and becoming free from that was her primary motivation in seeking to leave Earth and go into space. She also hoped her daughter would find a respectable young man to marry among the colonists—notably their announced governor, Ender Wiggin.

  On board the colony ship, Dorabella set about trying to be the matchmaker for her daughter and Ender. She flirted on Alessandra’s behalf, and even tried to get Ender and Alessandra to play opposite each other in a dramatic reading of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. The play reading was not popular with the ship’s commanding officer, Admiral Quincy Morgan, who briefly canceled it. Once it was back on, Dorabella set her own sights on Admiral Morgan. She wanted a husband for herself, and not just any husband—she wanted the commander of the ship. She used her performance as the lead in the play to start him down the path of falling in love with her.

  She continued to press Alessandra to pursue Ender. Even as their two-year space journey was drawing to a close, Dorabella wanted Alessandra to marry Ender. It was really so Dorabella would have connection to whatever power was strongest in the colony—Admiral Morgan or Ender—and she was insistent that Alesandra make a play for the young man with prospects. She even taught her daughter how to flirt.

  The flirting didn’t work, Alessandra and Ender were never lovers. Ender gave Alessandra the confidence to leave Dorabella’s side, however. Dorabella did not stay on Shakespeare colony, but returned to the spaceship to rejoin her husband as he, having been humiliated by Ender, left for another colony. Alessandra chose to stay at Shakespeare, saying good-bye to her mother forever. Dorabella was livid, but could do nothing as Alessandra was abiding by the law.

  Triumvirate (ES)

  The “triumvirate” was the term given to the top three government leaders in the world government called the League. It encompassed the Hegemon, Strategos, and Polemarch.

  Trondheim (See Hundred Worlds)

  Tsutsumi, Yasujiro (CM)

  Yasujiro Tsutsumi was a former student of the wise philosopher, Aimaina Hikari, on the planet Divine Wind. Yasujiro was a member of a wealthy, influential family on the Japanese world, and Hikari called upon him to use his family’s wealth to change the minds of Starways Congress away from destroying the planet Lusitania.

  Yasujiro was hesitant to try to make any kind of political movement, but Hikari told him how doing so would benefit his family and their wealth. Yasujiro agreed to at least explore the possibility with the rest of his extended family, who controlled the wealth.

  Tsutsumi, Yoshiaki-Seiji “Yes Sir” (CM)

  Yoshiaki-Seiji Tsutsumi, or “Yes Sir” as he was better known, was an influential Japanese business man among the Hundred Worlds. He held great power among the leaders of the Starways Congress. He was one of the great leaders Yasujiro Tsutsumi approached, hoping to dissuade the Starways Congress from destroying Lusitania.

  Though Yes Sir did not speak, but had his friend and adviser Eiichi speak for him, his presence in the meeting implied his condoning of Yasujiro’s goal.

  Tug Captain (EG)

  The tug captain was responsible for taking Ender and Graff to Command
School at Eros. He was angry because the assignment meant he was to forever remain at Eros, no longer able to do what he loved—fly.

  Ugarit (See Hundred Worlds)

  Ulysses (ES)

  Ulysses was a small bully on the streets of Rotterdam, Netherlands, whose position and authority in the culture of homeless children was challenged by Achilles Flandres and Sergeant. Achilles and Sergeant led a beating on Ulysses that resulted in a broken rib and a punctured lung. More, it served to prove Achilles’s dominance among the other bullies. Ulysses’s return to the streets from the hospital heralded a new unity among the bullies who hoped to gang up together against Achilles.

  Achilles killed Ulysses nearly a year later. The murder was done secretly, and Achilles was never discovered as the killer, though Sister Carlotta figured it out. Achilles specifically confessed to killing Ulysses when Bean and his Rabbit Army trapped him at Battle School.

  Uphanad, Captain (ES, SP)

  Captain Uphanad was a teacher at Battle School during Ender’s and Bean’s time there. Bean stole Uphanad’s computer password and used it to sign on as a teacher and obtain confidential information. Uphanad was chastised for the security breach, but was allowed to stay in his position at the school.

  When Battle School was converted into the Ministry of Colonization after the Formic War was over, Uphanad stayed at the space station serving as the head of security.

  He assisted the Wiggin family when they traveled to the Ministry for a brief period while hiding from Achilles Flandres. During their time on the station, someone used Uphanad’s computer to send a message to Achilles on Earth saying the Wiggins were on the station. Uphanad claimed someone had logged on as him, like Bean had years before, and sent the message. Hyrum Graff and the Wiggins believed it was Uphanad himself, though, who had exposed the Wiggins location.

  Achilles had blackmailed Uphanad into being the mole at the Ministry. Hyrum Graff, with the help of the International Fleet’s Digital Security Force, exposed Uphanad’s treacherous actions. Peter Wiggin forgave Uphanad, understanding the challenge he faced with his family, but Graff was forced to fire him from the Ministry.

  Utlannings (See Hierarchy of Alienness)

  Van Hoot, Congressor Jan (SD)

  A high-level political figure in the Starways Congress, Congressor Jan Van Hoot had written essays defining the power and authority of the Congress over the human colonized planets of the system known as the Hundred Worlds.

  Varelse (See Hierarchy of Alienness)

  Varsam (XN)

  Varsam was the youngest child born to Valentine Wiggin and her husband Jakt on the planet Trondheim. At age sixteen, he accompanied his parents on their journey into space, hoping to protect the world Lusitania from annihilation.

  He was a member of Ender’s search party that went into the pequeninos’ land on Lusitania, hoping to save Ender’s stepson, Quim, from being killed by the so-called piggies.

  Vatican Contact (SH)

  The Vatican contact was a go-between for Peter Wiggin’s political pundit alias Locke, and the nun-in-hiding Sister Carlotta and Bean. The contact joked that he would not read the e-mail messages that went back and forth, because working in the Vatican had taught him to keep his eyes closed on confidential matters.

  Victorious Fleet (EG)

  “Victorious Fleet” was the nickname given to the fleet of spaceships Ender Wiggin commanded through simulators that defeated the Formics.

  Vid (PL, TP, EGS, EG, ES)

  Vids was the name for all video media. A vid could be any movie, news broadcast, war film, or any other moving visual media.

  Vidman (SG)

  The vidman was the name given to the equivalent of a television cameraman. He was responsible for filming vids for airing on the nets. He filmed Alai’s speech to the Muslim world.

  Vila Alta (See Hundred Worlds)

  Vila Atrás (See Hundred Worlds)

  Vila das Aguas (See Hundred Worlds)

  Vila dos Professores (See Hundred Worlds)

  Vila Última (See Hundred Worlds)

  Vila Velha (See Hundred Worlds)

  Vinicenze, Enzichel (IC)

  Enzichel Vinicenze was a conglomerate with many holdings on the planet Sorelledolce.

  Virlomi (EE, SH, SP, SG)

  Virlomi was a Battle School graduate who completed her time at the School before Ender arrived. She was a talented military strategist from India and was given a good job within the Indian military.

  During her time at Battle School, she met Petra Arkanian, who was several years younger. After Ender’s victory over the Formics, and when Achilles Flandres positioned himself in power in India, Virlomi saw that he’d brought Petra with him. Virlomi could see, though, that Petra was an unwilling participant in Achilles’s plans for world domination.

  After Petra made an offhanded comment to Virlomi that implied she was Achilles’s prisoner, Virlomi searched the computer networks to see for whom Petra really intended the message. Virlomi was successful in discovering the forum where Petra intended the message to be posted and left it there for its intended target to find.

  Achilles also saw the message and planned to execute Virlomi for posting it, but Virlomi disappeared before Achilles had the chance to kill her. She escaped to what she knew would be a potential target of the Thai military, led by Bean and Suriyawong on their offensive into India.

  She waited there for them, and spoke with Suriyawong, offering her services of intelligence on Achilles’s headquarters and Petra’s location. Suriyawong, in an effort to win the trust of the soldiers loyal to Virlomi, bowed before her. He took her to a helicopter where the act of obeisance stopped. Virlomi there guided Bean to Achilles. She helped plan a rescue mission for Petra and an assassination of Achilles.

  Though not a big part of the mission itself, Virlomi witnessed Petra’s safe return and Achilles’s escape. Reunited with Petra, she felt mixed emotions: joy for Petra’s return, but also sadness as India had been taken over by the Chinese. She vowed to work with her people to free India from the Chinese oppressors.

  Virlomi was brought to Brazil to live in the secure compound of the Hegemony, but had to go back into hiding when it was revealed that Achilles Flandres was to arrive in Brazil, too. It made Suriyawong sad as he’d fallen in love with her and wanted to marry her. Virlomi found Suriyawong annoying and had no interest in him.

  Unlike the rest of the people who went into hiding when Achilles reached Brazil, Virlomi did not go into the custody of the Minister of Colonization, Hyrum Graff. Instead she made her way back to India where she planned to subvert the Chinese occupation of her homeland.

  The Chinese were only able to control the rich, ruling class of Indian citizens and virtually ignored the common folk. Virlomi sought opportunities to live in villages that had not been occupied. In one of these villages, she saw a small boy slowly placing pebbles in a road. He was building a small imaginary wall to protect “his” property from invasion.

  Virlomi took this idea to heart, and rebuilt the boy’s wall the next day, despite anger from those who kept the roads clear of pebbles. Virlomi made it seem that such walls were being created all over India as a symbolic gesture to keep the Chinese out of the villages. The walls represented the heart of India itself.

  Many people began building stone walls in the roads in every village Virlomi visited. Her goal of causing a nonviolent uprising among the common people against their Chinese occupiers was working. The walls were getting the attention of the Chinese and rallying India against them.

  Her “walls of India” had proven so unifying that Virlomi knew that she had great influence over the entire nation of India. She offered her people’s help to Peter Wiggin and Bean in their efforts to free India from China’s occupation. Bean, in turn, offered the help—with some concern—to Alai, the Muslim Caliph who was planning a military attack on China to free India and the rest of Asia.

  Virlomi used her influence among the people of India to build an army of m
en that attacked the Chinese occupation force. They would attack bridges and kill as many soldiers as they could. Politically savvy, Virlomi easily convinced her people that the sacrifices they would make to drive the Chinese from India were worth it. Their acts of insurgency against their occupiers was designed to allow the Muslim soldiers of Alai’s armies to do their work in China and the rest of Asia unimpeded.

  Once the Muslim armies freed Asia, a small governing force was put in place in India. Virlomi faded from public view once again. She watched to see if her people were truly free, or if a new threat had entered her homeland. If they were free, she was happy. But if the Muslim forces needed to be pushed back, they would be, too. And Virlomi would again lead her people.

  She had become a virtual goddess to her people, and even referred to herself as such. She used her divinity to cause great unrest among her people. They fought back against the Muslim occupiers that lived in India. Many Indians were killed, and they destroyed many of their own crops to prevent Muslim access to them. They killed many more Islamic soldiers than they lost of their own people.

  It was a ploy by Virlomi to increase her position in the world. She appeared in the vids, calling on her people to fight the Muslims. But what she had really done was symbolically propose marriage to the Muslim leader Alai or possibly to the Chinese emperor Han Tzu. Whichever took her as his bride, they would have vast resources to conquer the region in which they lived—and much of the world. They would declare war together on the one who did not marry her.

  Virlomi broadcast more vids of the violence the Muslim “liberators” were doing to her people. She called on Alai to stop the violence, or at least speak out against it. It caused Alai to travel to India where he executed the general who was leading the armies in their seditious acts.