The bastards in Orson Scott Cards' Enders Game and subsequent novels appear at first glance to be bug-eyed monsters, a science fiction cliché. However as the story develops it becomes evident that the bastards are much more than just a cliché, they develop as a sentient species, they undergo a transformation from varelse, “the real alien” (speaker 34) into raman “the stranger we recognize ”. as humans but of another species.” (34) As this transformation occurs Ender learns a lot from the buggers, so the card illustrates that there is a lot that can be learned from the transformation of varelse into raman. The first reference to the buggers is when Graff says that "If the assholes get him, they'll make me look like his favorite uncle" (Game 1) an irony that serves to remind us that even if Graff tortures Ender emotionally, it doesn't matter what pain is putting up with it, it is believed to be the lesser of two evils, and Graff knows it, in response to being called a monster. “Thanks means I'll get a raise.” (28), showing that Graff knows that the ability to be cruel is considered an asset among the military Even though “in Enders' case, both the pain and the injustice are severe” (Blackmore 125) the reader's mind is called. to the accepted opinion that bastards are worse especially during the first reading. The land at the time of Xenocide (the (termcard placed on the evident eradication of bastards in speaking of the dead) is defined by the fear of bastards. The IF is the military complex charged with defending the earth populated by humans from the bastards and as such they are the ones who "wear the only military uniform that no longer means anything" (game... half of paper...). naming the queen of the hive as raman is the ender's way of finding out who he is, and since "we are the ender of today" (game xxi) it logically follows that by accepting bastards like raman, however imaginary they may be, the people can learn a lot about who they are at the deepest levels. Works Cited Blackmore, Tim. "Extracting Enders: A Journal of Science Fiction and Fantasy 32.2 (1992): 124-42. Card, Orson Scott NY: Tom Doherty Associates, 1994.---. Speaker for the Dead NY: Tom Doherty Associates, 1994.Wheat , David L. Jr. "the alien enemy within".". 25.3 (1998):` 495-509