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Is the link between Ender and the Roman Catholic belief in God intentional? It struck me one day as I was thinking about your books, that there is an uncanny parallel. God, The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three beings, one God. Ender, Ender, Peter and Val. Three people, one philote. Ender is clearly father to the others. Peter is his son. Val is a pretty holy spirit as far as Ender is concerned. Was this intentional, or am I reading way too much into your writing?

-- Submitted by Luke DeSmet

OSC REPLIES: - September 4, 2000

Cool parallels. I never thought of it that way. I just knew that it seemed right to have Ender, given the chance to create something from the core of his being, give a new life to his two siblings (though of course the original Valentine was still alive!). To me, of course, the doctrine of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost is not Catholic -- it's Christian. We Mormons believe in them, too <grin>. But I had no conscious plan to analogize Ender with God. That doesn't mean that these insights aren't valid -- only that I had no such conscious plan.

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