《安德的游戏》——少年英雄成长记

持梦菲

优胜劣汰，苦与难

50年前人类遭遇来自外星的虫族（Formics）入侵，导致数以百万计的人伤亡，一位伟大的指挥官Mazer Rackham在关键时刻英勇献身，拯救了全人类。为了抵御虫族的再次进攻，确保人类的安全，国际舰队遴选世界上最聪明的孩子组成预备军团，让他们从小在战争游戏的砥砺中长大。

作为预备军团中的一员， Ender兼具哥哥Peter的凶狠和姐姐Valentine的善良，同时非常善用战术和策略，还有一个与众不同的特质——能洞察敌人的意图，从敌人的角度思考问题。这让Ender一直深受通过监视器关注他的Graff上校的赏识，但他在战争游戏中屡屡获胜也招来了其他成员的嫉妒、仇恨和排挤，甚至被污蔑在游戏中作弊。

一天，Ender在应对战争游戏中手下败将的挑衅时表现出的镇定、果敢和胆识坚定了Graff上校选拔他进入下一阶段训练的决心。当晚，Graff上校突然来访，邀请Ender前往更高级别的战斗学院学习。他坦诚地告诉了Ender自己相邀的真实目的。

Graff： The Formics might have wiped us out the last time， you know. A brilliant commander is the only thing that saved us.

Ender： Mazer Rackham.

Graff： Mazer Rackham. We need minds like yours， Ender. Young people integrate complex data more easily than adults. If there is a chance that， because of you， the Formics might leave us alone forever， then I have to ask you to come with me.

Graff上校希望Ender能在哥哥Peter的凶狠和姐姐Valentine的善良之间找到平衡点，以担重任。就这样，Ender进入了位于太空的战斗学院。脱离地心引力的太空站游离在蓝色星球上空，如同警觉的巨人卫士。太空战斗学院意味着更严苛的训练、更复杂的学习内容和更残酷的筛选，心机深重的Graff上校千方百计地孤立最出色的Ender，想把他训练成一位优秀的领导者。高负荷的体力与脑力训练磨砺着Ender的身心，加上种种疑虑，自幼与姐姐Valentine感情深厚的他此时迫切需要姐姐的鼓励和支持，于是他给姐姐发了一封邮件。

Dear Valentine，

So this is Battle School. Every day hours of training and far more homework than we ever had on Earth. We train in hand-to-hand combat. It keeps us in shape and aggressive. I feel Peter in me whenever I fight. I wish I didn't. We've been studying Formic flight patterns for three months now， but they seem entirely random. The truth is we really don't understand our enemy. And no one ever adequately （充分地） explains how Mazer Rackham actually defeated the entire fleet. The Colonel （上校） said he expects me to lead. But how？ What makes a good leader？ Everyone here is very different. So many， many things to learn. Always very little sleep. Please write back. I haven't heard from you. How are you？ Is Peter behaving？ Are you getting my e-mails？ I miss you.

迟迟没有收到姐姐回信的Ender当众质问Graff上校，他与同伴们发往地球的邮件是否被刻意拦截。Ender虽然得到了答案和解释，却因问了不合理的问题和顶撞James中士而受罚。不过，他在这个过程中所表现出的胆识、善良和才华也让一直被刻意孤立的他赢得了同伴的信任和支持，领导者的天赋日益彰显。

步步惊心，怕与爱

Ender深谙战斗学院的目标就是培养他们打破规矩，利用一切手段取得胜利。通过他在一个意识游戏（将大脑和电脑连接，游戏场景和剧情由大脑创造）里的表现，Graff上校认定他是一个预备指挥官的完美人选，把他提拔进了更高级别的火蜥蜴队。而脾气暴躁、狂妄自大的火蜥蜴队队长Bonzo却极力排斥这位毫无经验的新手，严厉禁止Ender参与比赛，甚至不允许Ender参加训练。好在火蜥蜴队里善良的女孩Petra主动向Ender伸出了橄榄枝，还私下指导Ender学会了射击。Bonzo发现以后暴怒不已，声称要马上换掉Ender。但是聪明的Ender当众表示服从，却在与Bonzo私下谈话时巧妙地说服了Bonzo让他参赛。

Ender： Listen， I know you want to trade me. But no one will take me if I don't know anything. Let me practice. You can get rid of me sooner.endprint

Bonzo： I already gave you an order！

Ender： I know. In front of everybody， and you don't want your soldiers to think that you backed down. So， for tonight， you can say that you won this argument. Then tomorrow， you can tell everybody that you changed your mind. You'll look generous. I'll get to train. We both win. Deal？

Bonzo： You'd better watch your back， Wiggin.

虽然Ender为自己争取到了参加与美洲豹队模拟作战的机会，但Bonzo命令他守在门口，不许插手作战。在一旁“观赛”的Ender在战斗的关键时刻，不忍看队友孤立无援，不顾Bonzo的禁令出手相助，与队友Petra合作扭转了战局，为火蜥蜴队赢得了胜利。但他出色的表现和对Bonzo权威的无视彻底惹怒了Bonzo。

鉴于Ender优异的成绩及他与 Bonzo的矛盾，Graff上校任命他为飞龙队的队长，希望他能领导这支由不合群的人组成的战队打破零胜利的纪录。没有谁能比曾饱受冷眼和排挤的Ender更懂得“己所不欲，勿施于人”的可贵，新上任的Ender既不严厉也不苛刻，却深得人心，很快就让飞龙队成为一支战绩显赫的队伍。随着与虫族的决战日益临近，国际舰队指挥学院迫切需要一个人选进入下阶段的终极训练。在一场飞龙队同时对抗火蜥蜴队和美洲豹队的比赛中，聪明的Ender巧用战术，带领队员打了漂亮的一仗，让飞龙队一举跃居所有战队之首。这再次印证了Graff上校对他的期望，他是完美的领导者。可对昔日的“常胜将军”火蜥蜴队队长Bonzo而言，Ender的胜利是对他的羞辱，气急败坏的他想要教训Ender一顿，不料却被Ender失手打伤，可能再也醒不过来了，只能被送回地球。善良的Ender无心伤害任何人，他自责不已，濒临崩溃，想要退出战斗学院和整个计划。Graff上校无奈之下把Ender带回地球，并请来他的姐姐Valentine做说客。伴着美丽的景色，Ender对姐姐敞开了心扉。

Ender： I've been sitting by Bonzo's bed， waiting for him to wake up. But he may never wake up.

Valentine： Ender， he attacked first.

Ender： And I fought back， just like Peter taught me. I've had a lot of fights， Val. I've won because I've always understood the way my enemy thinks. When I truly understand them ...

Valentine： You also love them.

Ender： I think it's impossible to truly understand someone and not love them the way they love themselves. But in that moment ...

Valentine： You beat them.

Ender： I destroy them. I make it impossible for them to ever hurt me again.

Valentine： Ender， they want me to talk you into going back.

Ender： I told them I won't cooperate.

Valentine： I don't think you're hiding here just because you care about Bonzo. I think you're hiding because you're afraid， afraid you don't know your enemy， afraid you might lose. But what if you're the next Mazer Rackham？ You can't hide here forever. But if you stay here， if you don't try， then we'll all be lost.

一招制胜，险与败

在姐姐的开导下，Ender决定重回太空战斗学院。不料，Graff上校这次直接把他带到了虫族母星附近的高级指挥基地，开始终极训练。在这里，Ender遇到了传说中的指挥官Mazer Rackham。原来他不仅没有在50年前的那场战斗中牺牲，还发现了消灭虫族的关键所在。在终极训练中，指挥官Mazer Rackham负责模拟虫族战略与Ender领导的战队对抗。Ender和同伴们被告知，随着虫族种群数量的快速增长，虫族母星的资源面临枯竭，因此虫族不断加强军力以扩张到其他星球，对人类的威胁日趋紧迫。在模拟战争的磨砺中，Ender的指挥才能日益成熟。但随着模拟战争越来越多，越来越复杂和真实，距离真正开战的时间日益临近，Ender和同伴们的睡眠时间越来越短，Ender的压力也越来越大，有时难免会有失误，在模拟战争中失败，招来Graff上校和Mazer对他的失望甚至斥责。终于在一次大败后，三个人都忍不住爆发了。endprint

Mazer： We can't absorb these kind of losses！ War isn't a game where you get to reboot and start over！

Ender： Sir， I can't win if I don't take any risks.

Graff： Nobody's saying not to take risks. Just don't try and control everything. Let Bean （一名队员） improvise in the mop-ups. You focus on the big picture.

Mazer： Delegate （授权） more to your teams！

Ender： My teams are burned out！ How can they be effective if they don't get any sleep？

Mazer：Sleep deprivation is part of your training！ A battle with the Formics could last for days！ If I'd been smarter， I could have annihilated （歼灭） Petra's Little Doctor （指进攻的核心武器） while you were micro-managing Bean！ That can't happen， understand？

Ender： Yes， sir.

Mazer： Do you？ 'Cause I've trained others. Each one so hopeful. Each one ultimately a failure.

Graff： All right， Colonel. He understands.

Ender： So I'm not the first？

Graff： No.

Mazer： But you will be the last. There's no time to train anyone else.

Graff： Son， tomorrow Colonel Rackham will run your final simulation.

Ender： And if I win tomorrow？ What happens？

Mazer： You will be ready to face the real enemy.

Graff： And you will be the finest commander we've ever trained.

一席争论后，Ender得知，如果他能赢得最后一场模拟战争，就可以毕业作为指挥官参加与虫族的决战了。他深知真正的战争意味着什么，他在内心深处一直渴望和平，希望能够了解虫族，与虫族沟通，从而避免战争，但真正的战争迫在眉睫。

弄假成真，荣与耻

这场模拟战争的地点设在虫族母星附近的空间。Ender沉着冷静，信心满满。开始时，虫族并没有像在以往的模拟战争中那样先发动进攻，似乎在等待什么。Ender虽有犹豫，还是下达了进攻的命令。这场终极模拟战争惊险刺激，跌宕起伏，Ender这位天才指挥官不负众望，出色地完成了任务，还给了所有人一个意料之外的结局——虫族女王们藏身的母星被彻底摧毁，星球表面燃起了熊熊大火，大屏幕上的模拟画面突然熄灭。当Ender和他的队友们大声欢呼庆祝胜利时，却看到熄灭的屏幕重新亮起，展现的是真正的虫族母星上岩浆纵横、山崩地裂的真实画面。原来他们被骗了，所谓终极模拟战争其实是与虫族之间的生死大决战。悲惨画面的冲击让Ender和队友们无法承受，毕竟这场战争牺牲了众多的国际舰队队友，更灭绝了整个虫族。整个指挥学院军官们的祝贺让他们感到更加悲伤和痛苦。愤怒的Ender彻底爆发了。

Ender： If I had known it was real， I would ...

Graff： What？ Call for a dialogue？ They can't even speak.

Ender： Watched them！ What were they thinking？ Were they building an army for a second invasion？ Or ... or simply preparing to ... defend themselves ...

Graff： Ender， stop.

Ender： From us？ They came to Earth to establish a colony. We chased them away. And in 50 years， they never returned.

Graff： Makes no difference now.

Ender： I will bear the shame of this genocide （灭绝种族的大屠杀） forever.

Graff： No. You will be remembered as a hero！

Ender： I will be remembered as a killer！

原本是师生关系的二人却有着截然不同的价值观，令Ender痛心的是自己最终却以受骗者和千古罪人的双重身份实现了老师的期待。他深信这是一场可以避免的战争，而现实则偏偏与自己的愿望相反，这一切他已无力掌控，无法改变。歇斯底里的他被注入镇静剂沉沉睡去，梦到了他曾经玩过的意识游戏和以前梦境中的场景。Ender突然明白了，原来虫族女王曾经试图通过意识游戏跟他沟通，用姐姐Valentine的形象告诉他，她需要保护和帮助。Ender不顾一切冲出去找到了奄奄一息的虫族女王，向她承诺会保护虫族唯一的遗种，为尚在虫茧中的最后一个虫族女王找到新的家园。

影片以Ender写给姐姐的邮件结束：Dear Valentine， You won't be hearing from me for a while. I need to find out if I'm as gifted at peace as I am at war. They've awarded me the rank of Admiral and left me to my own devices， which suits me fine. I'll travel the universe and carry with me a precious cargo， because I have a promise to keep.

我们可以确定想要保护全人类的Graff上校永远无法理解Ender在奄奄一息的虫族女王面前流下的眼泪，正如他无法理解为何Ender会因为失手打伤Bonzo而濒临崩溃，却无从知道Ender是否能得到虫族的原谅，幸存的虫族是否会归来复仇，人类能否真的一劳永逸。信守承诺、肩负责任的Ender开着飞船在茫茫宇宙中寻觅的身影留给我们太多思考。一个能够读懂敌人从而对敌人心怀同情的天才少年独自踏上了救赎之路，被成长中的教训磨砺过后，在痛苦中闪耀着过人的光芒，我们看到了耀眼光芒环绕下的那一颗炽热的心，使他终将完成少年英雄的完美蜕变。endprint