Becoming the Enemy

Just like in War of the Worlds, the arrival of an alien presence in Ender's Game signals the loss of humanity for all mankind. The difference is that in Ender's Game the aliens are not only not evil, they simply did not understand that they were killing us. Every time they killed a human being, they did not understand the significance of their actions. They simply believed they were removing the agent of another Queen. The humans on the other hand, believed that every time they killed a bugger they were killing another sentient creature, and for the most part the humans reveled in it. The fact that both species were wrong about what was actually happening is irrelevant. What is important is what they believed they were doing. It is also important to note that when the buggers finally realized that they were killing a sentient with the death of every human, they left mankind alone. They regretted what they had done, and we find out through the Hive Queen, they even wished to be forgiven. It is important to point out that the buggers knew that the humans posed a risk to them, and they still left them alone after realizing they were all sentient. They could have tried to wipe us out when they realized the truth, knowing that there was a good chance we would do it to them if they didn't, but they chose to leave us and hope for peace.

The humans on the other hand chose to not only attempt genocide because the buggers might be a threat, but they tricked a child, a child they knew to be especially empathetic, into doing it for them. The humans in the book are constantly claiming that the ends justify the means, turning children into weapons and putting them through brutal psychological games. This shows us a pattern in sci-fi literature: the presence of the alien causes humans to abandon humanity. The human cannot be humane, even to children of its own species, if there is an "Other." The Other is a threat that turns us into the monsters we saw the buggers as. Much like the mirror at The End of the World, our acts turned us into our worst enemy. The human fleet comes from nowhere, it is unstoppable, using weapons and technology the buggers had never seen, and it cannot be reasoned with. It is even pointed out that Ender's battle style resembles bugger tactics by this point. The message is clear: watch out how you fight your enemy, or you will inevitably become him.