Chapter 8 "Rat" Summary

Colonel Graff and Major Anderson discuss compromising the fairness of the games. Graff wants to manipulate the games so that Ender receives an increasingly difficult series of challenges, thus accelerating his training. Anderson disagrees, concerned about compromising the pedagogy of the games. Graff argues that if Ender isn't ready by the time the fleet reaches the bugger home world, it won't matter whether or not their training methods are unethical. Anderson threatens to report Graff's actions to the Strategos and Hegemon. Graff convinces Anderson that the stakes are too high to call in the bureaucrats and politicians.

The Rat barracks is loud and cluttered. Rose the Nose, Ender's new commander, greets him with customary disdain and crudity of an older soldier speaking to a launchie. Rose orders Ender to quit training with his old launch group, explaining that he...