Speaker for the Dead

Synopsis

Following the xenocide of the Formic species by his own hand (in Ender's Game), Ender Wiggin writes a book under the pseudonym "Speaker for the Dead" called The Hive Queen, describing the life of the Formics as described to him by the dormant Formic queen which he secretly carries. As humanity uses faster-than-light travel to establish new colonies, Ender quietly travels with them along with his sister Valentine to find a home for the Formic Queen to restart her species. Ender's older brother, the aged Hegemon Peter Wiggin, recognizes Ender's writings in The Hive Queen, and requests Ender write for him once he dies. Ender agrees, and authors The Hegemon. These two books create a new religious movement for Speakers of the Dead who have full authority to investigate a person and their work after their death, and speak with judgement about the essence of them in eulogy.

Some three thousand years after the xenocide, a human colony is established on the planet Lusitania. The planet is home to a sentient species of mammalian forest dwellers called "Piggies" which proves to be of great interest to xenobiologists. However, shortly after the colony's founding, many of the colonists die from the Descolada virus before a cure is found. The colony is strictly regulated to allow only limited contact with the piggies to those xenobiologists, and to not share human technology with them.

Xenologer Pipo and his son Libo raise Novinha whose parents died from Descolada. Pipo has developed a friendship with the piggies, finding that it is a matriarchal society with the females segregated from the males, and that their belief system centers around the trees of the forests. Pipo finds one of the males dead, his body eviscerated and a sapling planted within the body, believing this to be their funeral rites. Meanwhile, Novinha discovers that every lifeform on Lusitania carries the Descolada virus, and while lethal to humans, appears to serve a beneficial purpose to native lifeforms. When Pipo learns of this, he suddenly has an insight, and before he tells the others, races off to talk to the piggies. Pipo's body is later found cut open, but no sapling planted within the body. As the Pipo's death appears unprovoked, the piggies are now considered a threat by the Starways Congress and a fence erected to protect the colony with access strictly regulated. Novinha, having fallen in love for Libo but fearing that he will find out from Pipo's files what led to his death, marries another colonist Marcos Ribeira as to lock her files from being open under colony law. Emotionally driven, she then makes a call for a Speaker for the Dead for Pipo.

Ender responds to Novinha's call, as as Valentine is pregnant with her child, he decides to travel alone save for an artificial intelligence named Jane that appears to live in the ansible network that enables faster-than-light communications. After relativistic travel, Ender arrives at Lusitania 22 years later, finding that Novinha had canceled her request for a Speaker, but in the intervening time, Libo has also died in a similar manner to Pipo, and Marcos has also recently died, and Novinha's children, Ela and Miro, have requested a Speaker for Libo and Marcos. Ender, gaining access to all of the appropriate files, learns of tension since Pipo's death; Novinha has turned away from xenobiology to study crop growth, which created a loveless relationship with Marcos, while Miro has secretly worked with Ouanda to continue to study the piggies, including providing them access with human technology. With Ender's arrival, Miro tells him that one of the piggies, Human, has taken a great interest in Ender, and Ender becomes aware that Human can hear messages from the Formic Hive Queen. Ender and Jane discover that Marcos was infertile and all six of Novinha's children, including Miro, were from Libo. Ender also learns what Pipo had seen in Novinha's data.

As word of Miro's and Ouanda's illegal sharing of human technology with the piggies is reported to Congress, Ender secretly goes to meet with the piggies. They know his true identity, and they implore him to help them be part of humanity, while the Formic Queen tells Ender that Lusitania would be an ideal place to restart the hive, as her race can help guide the piggies. By the time Ender returns to the colony, Congress has ordered Miro and Ouanda to be sent off-planet for penal action and the colony to be disbanded. Ender delivers his eulogy for Marcos, revealing Novinha's infidelity. Miro, distraught, attempts to escape to hide with the piggies, but he suffers neurological damage as he tries to cross the fence. Ender reveals to the colony what he discovered that Pipo had learned: that every life form on Lusitania is paired with another through the Descolada virus, so that the death of one births the other, and in the case of the piggies, they become the trees when they die. Libo and Pipo learned of this but their deaths were a misunderstanding by the piggies. The colony leaders recognize Ender's words, and agree to rebel against Congress, severing their ansible connection and deactivating the fence, allowing Ender, Ouanda, and Ela to go with Human to speak to the piggy wives as to establish a case to present to Congress.

The piggy wives help Ender to corroborate the complex life cycle of the piggies, affirming that the death ritual Pipo observed was to help create "father" trees that fertilize the piggy females to continue their race. The piggies thought they were helping Pipo and Libo become father trees, but Ender explains that humans lack this "third life", and if the piggies are to co-habitate with humans, they must observe this practice. To affirm their understanding, Human allows Ender to perform the ritual of killing him to make him a father tree, providing Ouanda with confirmation needed to present to Congress.

Miro recovers from most of his damage, but he is still paralytic. Valentine and her family inform Ender they plan to help Lusitania with the revolt, and are traveling to help; Ender has Miro meet them halfway. Novinha, having gained understanding into the death of Pipo and Libo, finally absolves herself of her guilt, and she and Ender marry. Ender plants the Hive Queen as per her request, and he writes his third book, a biography of the life of the piggy Human.

Lack of film adaptation

At the Los Angeles Times Book Festival (April 20, 2013), Card stated why he does not want Speaker for the Dead made into a film: "Speaker for the Dead is unfilmable," Card said in response to a question from the audience. "It consists of talking heads, interrupted by moments of excruciating and unwatchable violence. Now, I admit, there's plenty of unwatchable violence in film, but never attached to my name. Speaker for the Dead, I don't want it to be filmed. I can't imagine it being filmed."

Influence

Card writes in his introduction to the 1991 edition that he has received letters from readers who have conducted "Speakings" at funerals.

Awards