This is topic How many embryos?? Inconsistencies in Shadow series/Ender in Exile??? in forum Discussions About Orson Scott Card at Hatrack River Forum.
(I wish to apologize in advance if these questions have been previously discussed). I've just finished reading "Ender in Exile", and think I may have found an inconsistency between it and "Shadow of the Giant". Ender mentions to Achilles/Randall during their fight at the end of the book that his three brothers and sisters with Anton's key are named Ender, Cincinnatus, and Carlotta. I thought I remembered Bean saying in the note that was left to Petra at the end of Giant the three children were to be called Ender, Petra (Poke), and Carlotta. (and I can't find my copy of Giant right now to double check). Could someone please correct my thinking on this?
Another thing that's always been stuck in the back of my mind is that in Shadow Puppets, there WERE nine embryos, but Bean watched as three of those embryos with "Anton's key" turned were destroyed...leaving 6 embryos. However, in all the subsequent books Bean/Petra/Graff/Ender are looking for (and find) all nine embryos--did I miss something? (sorry, I know these are trivial details, and I'll probably catch the answers to them when I re-read the series...but for the time being, I'm really curious).
Thanks!
Posted by Damian313 (Member # 11916) on :
*In advance forgive any spelling errors as my experience with most of the books is Audiobook form only!*
Everything Valesku said or did was basically a Lie everytime he spoke except when he told what the specific effects the Turning of Anton's Key would create(such as Bean's continued learning and growth).
The count of nine embryos may have been correct and he "chose" 3 or seemed to choose 3 and had them "discarded." In other words he lied and simply gave them a petri dish dish saline solution in it(& nothing else) and SAID that there was three embryos in it. No way to tell unless you VERY carefully check the dish yourself with a microscope and see them for yourself!
The other possibility is he actually extracted 12 embryos originally and genuinely DID discard three of them. Just dont count on anything the doctor ever said to be true. The bastard was an embryo stealing infant murderering liar through and through.
Posted by cynb (Member # 11922) on :
There were initially 12 embryos, 3 were discarded, one implanted and eight stolen. The baby that was named Petra (Poke) was not one with Anton's key turned. That child stayed on Earth with Petra. The third child on the starship with Bean I don't think was ever named. I just went back through quickly and couldn't find a name, so if that child is named in Exile, I don't see any contradiction there.
Posted by CRash (Member # 7754) on :
I'm pretty sure cynb's right, the last child with Bean was never named. For some reason I had thought it was a girl too until I read EinE. Bean sure has a bundle of baby boys, doesn't he?
Side note: It strikes me as somewhat funny that, after having to live with the name Bean, he names his son after an ancient Roman dictator named Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus. Maybe the baby has curly hair or something. I suppose "Ender" would end up being a strange name to have too, but at least that kid was named after somebody Bean actually knew, as was Carlotta.
On the embryo issue, I thought that there were only ever 9 embryos and that Volescu faked the discarding of three somehow (does Bean mention this in Puppets?) but I'm not sure about that.
And as long as we're discussing baby inconsistencies, I'd like to know how Valentine goes from having five children in the beginning of Speaker to only three by the end of the book. If it's not an continuity error then I'd be interested to know what happened to the missing two (I think one of them was called Ren). Actually, I personally would like to see a lot more of Valentine's children in Shadows in Flight, as they were pretty much shunted aside in Xenocide and Children. Poor Syfte is only mentioned 3 times in the former and not at all in the latter.
Posted by cynb (Member # 11922) on :
Embyros...I was wrong, there were only nine. I looked it up last night, I think pg 140 in Puppets.