The following four Enderverse short stories are not physically published. They are only available via a subscription to Orson Scott Card’s online magazine, The Intergalactic Medicine Show (IGMS).
“Ender’s Stocking” by Orson Scott Card
Release Date: October 2007
Description: This story is about Peter Wiggin and his family at Christmas time, while Ender is still in battle school. Part of this short story has been included in chapter two of A War of Gifts.
“‘Ender’s Stocking’ is the story of Peter Wiggin while he was a boy in high school. Two days before Christmas Peter was in the library and he decided to try and act friendly to one of his classmates. After the girl rejected him, Peter went home and had a fight with his mother because she was sad about Ender being away at Battle School. Later that day Peter went for a walk and began to think about why people didn’t like him. He came to the conclusion that people hated him because they were afraid of him and because he frequently tried to use force to get people to do what he wanted. It then occurred to Peter that the best way to get people to do what he wanted was to convince them that he cared about them and that he wanted to help them. After trying this family on his family, Peter found that it worked and started doing it to other people as well.
“Ender’s Homecoming” by Orson Scott Card
Release Date: January 2008
Description: This is the story of how Ender’s parents and sister conspire to keep him from returning to Earth so he will be safe. Parts of this short story appear in chapters one and two of Ender in Exile.
“When Ender’s mother, Theresa Wiggin, receives a letter from Colonel Hyrum Graff she is shocked to learn that he thinks that Ender might need protection. After she thinks about it and discusses it with her husband, John Paul Wiggin, she realizes that Ender would never be safe on Earth. Since they cannot come right out and say that they want their son to stay in space they decide to get their super-genius children to help persuade people that this is the best thing to do. Theresa sends the letter from Graff to Ender’s sister Valentine which helps her to realize that Ender won’t be safe on earth. John Paul makes a comment to Peter suggesting that he will always be in Ender’s shadow if he returns to Earth. As a result, Valentine and Peter begin a media campaign to keep Ender in space. Valentine then writes a letter to Graff asking to be sent into space to be with her brother.”
“Ender in Flight” by Orson Scott Card
Release Date: April 2008
Description: This story is about a power struggle between Ender and Admiral Morgan on the way to the colony where Ender is to become governor. Parts of this short story appear in chapters 7-10, 13, 14 and 16 of Ender in Exile. It also appears in comic book form in the Ender in Exile Marvel Comics.
“Ender and Valentine Wiggin are on their way to the new human colony planet Shakespeare where Ender is to become the governor. Most of the passengers on board have decided to be put in stasis for the two year duration of the flight. Alessandra and Dorabella Toscano are among the colonists who chose to stay awake. During the trip they befriend Ender because Dorabella wants Ender to fall in love with and marry her daughter. The captain of the ship, Admiral Quincy Morgan, has a power struggle with Ender who he considers to be nothing more than a spoiled teenager. However, as soon as the ship lands the captain is reminded by Ender, and his superiors from the International Fleet, that Ender is his superior officer on the planet and that he must return to Earth.”
“The Gold Bug” by Orson Scott Card
Release Date: July 2007
Description: This is the story of how a former soldier steps aside to allow Ender to become the governor of his planet. It was adapted into an Ender comic and can be found as an added bonus in the Marvel Comics hardcover edition of Red Prophet: The Tales Of Alvin Maker. Parts of this story also appear in chapters 14-16 of Ender in Exile.”
“‘The Gold Bug’ is the story of Sel Menach, a fighter pilot in the Formic war, xenobiologist, and eventually the governor of one of the former Formics worlds. When a colony ship from Earth arrives, carrying Ender Wiggin, the new soon-to-be governor, Sel decides to go on an expedition into unexplored lands so that it will be easier for Ender to take over as governor. On the expedition, Sel discovers some caves with large golden bugs, which he believes to be a cross between the Formics and a parasite native to the planet. He establishes some limited contact with the hybrid creatures and discovers they are hungry and want to be fed. While he brings them food, Ender shows up, arranges for the bugs to be fed, and takes Sel back to the colony and his work as a xenobiologist.”