Part 2, Launchy: Ready or Not, Ender's Shadow, Exploration, Good Student, Chapters 5-8 Summary

While on his way to the Battle School in Chapter 5, Bean witnesses an adult purposefully humiliating a new student, known as a launchy. The boy thinks that he knows better than the adult, an officer in the IF, and the officer tries to show how the boy's thinking is flawed. The officer then targets Bean in a similar manner, but fails to humiliate him. Bean refuses to play along and let his emotions interfere with his strategy, which is to not stand out within the crowd. However, he has the disadvantage in being far smaller than the other students. While talking with the officer later on, Bean learns that he is Captain Dimak.

Chapter 6 opens with a discussion between Captain Dimak...