635: Locke and Demosthenes - Revision history

Youforgotthisthing: this was changed by an anonymous edit 9 years ago and never restored

2025-10-23T20:37:41Z

this was changed by an anonymous edit 9 years ago and never restored

FaviFake: removed Category:Ender's Game using HotCat

2025-05-18T09:21:52Z

removed Category:Ender's Game using HotCat

FaviFake at 16:10, 25 February 2025

2025-02-25T16:10:55Z

DocJens: /* Explanation */ Never said it was Peter

2024-07-06T22:49:23Z

‎Explanation: Never said it was Peter

172.70.214.165 at 08:52, 23 November 2023

2023-11-23T08:52:45Z

FaviFake at 13:20, 28 August 2023

2023-08-28T13:20:15Z

172.70.90.227: Undo revision 282650 by Donald Trump (talk)

2022-05-26T19:08:32Z

Undo revision 282650 by Donald Trump (talk)

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Donald Trump: Reverted edit by anti-crap user

2022-05-26T19:06:53Z

Reverted edit by anti-crap user

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Vandalbane: Reverted vandalism with User:CRLF/OneClickUndo.js

2022-05-26T17:59:39Z

Reverted vandalism with User:CRLF/OneClickUndo.js

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Donald Trump: Reverted edit by anti-crap user

2022-05-26T17:12:26Z

Reverted edit by anti-crap user

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@@ Line 31: / Line 31: @@
 :Valentine: Ender's up there saving the world, but down here it's falling apart politically. What can we do?
-:[Peter turns towards and sits down, leaning back on one hand. Valentine sits up in a similar position. Her hair looks like a mix between Megan and Hairbun's hair. The squirrel behind Peter is bending over the food Peter has thrown out for it.]
+:[Peter turns towards and sits down, leaning back on one hand. Valentine sits up in a similar position. Her hair looks like a mix between Megan and Hairbun's hair. The squirrel behind Peter is bending over and has vomited out the food.] <!--the squirrel is vomiting, per the official xkcd transcript as mentioned above: http://xkcd.com/635/info.0.json-->
 :Peter: I know — we get on the nets and anonymously post political opinions. People reading our articles will see our intelligence, recognize how clear and logical our arguments are, and insist that we be put in charge, so we can fix everything!
 :Valentine: Brilliant!

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:21, 18 May 2025
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	[[Category:Internet]]		[[Category:Internet]]
	[[Category:Fiction]]		[[Category:Fiction]]
−	~~[[Category: Ender's Game]]~~

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 ==Explanation==
-This comic recasts a scene from {{w|Ender's Game}}, by {{w|Orson Scott Card}}. This is shown in the first two panels depicting the siblings '''Locke and Demosthenes''', as [[Cueball]] and the girl. Their real names are Peter and Valentine Wiggin (and these first names are used in the [http://xkcd.com/635/info.0.json official transcript] on xkcd). In the book these two kids write their opinions on their world's version of the internet to gain extreme political influence. Below is a synopsis:
+This comic recasts a scene from the novel ''{{w|Ender's Game}}'', written by {{w|Orson Scott Card}}. This is shown in the first two panels depicting the siblings '''Locke and Demosthenes''', as [[Cueball]] and the girl, whose real names are Peter and Valentine Wiggin, per the [http://xkcd.com/635/info.0.json official transcript] on xkcd. In the book these two kids write their opinions on their world's version of the internet to gain extreme political influence. Below is a synopsis:{{spoiler|The following paragraph contains spoilers for the novel ''{{w|Ender's Game}}''. If you don’t want to be spoiled, skip this paragraph.}}In the book, Ender is an above-average-intelligence boy who is selected to become a potential leader of Earth's "Defense" Forces in the event of another {{w|Formics|Bugger}} invasion (later re-titled the Formic invasions). Meanwhile, Ender's two older siblings, Peter and Valentine decide to save the world from itself. They do this by asserting themselves as wise demagogues who comment on political events on what are known as the "free nets" which are nets open to comment by anyone in the world. They choose pseudonyms to write under, as no one would take the words of children seriously, choosing {{w|John Locke|Locke}} (Peter's pseudonym), and {{w|Demosthenes}} (Valentine's). Eventually they gain enough respect to be invited to participate in moderated political debates in the higher-class nets. By the end of the book, Peter has become the leader of the world, and Valentine runs away with Ender to a planet formerly inhabited by Buggers to live out their lives in peace.
 ''Ender's Game'' was published in 1985, when most people had never used (and some had never heard of) the internet. The first webpage set up with individual personal opinions (leaving out forums and bulletin board services) was online in 1994, the word "weblog" was invented in 1997 and "blog" in 1999. When Orson Scott Card wrote ''Ender's Game'', Peter and Valentine's plan was based on a sci-fi idea expected to occur in the near future.

@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 The title text uses Locke's full name, Peter Wiggin, and is formed as a short letter that informs him that he has become the president of the world, and that he should meet tomorrow 8:00 sharp at the {{w|United Nations}} (UN) headquarters. This is either a very child-like representation of how a presidential appointment might be announced or a sarcastic comment someone has left on his blog &mdash; either way, further riffing on the naivete of the plan in the first place. Also note that the note is addressed to "Peter" rather than "Locke"; Peter's attempt to remain anonymous has failed miserably.
-During their conversation, Peter is shown feeding a squirrel. In ''Ender's Game'' the character of Peter Wiggin is a sadistic sociopath - and there is a particular scene in the book where Valentine stumbles across a skinned squirrel still twitching in pain.
+During their conversation, Peter is shown feeding a squirrel. In ''Ender's Game'' the character of Peter Wiggin is a sadistic sociopath - and there is a particular scene in the book where Valentine stumbles across a squirrel skinned by Peter still twitching in pain.
 xkcd has referenced Ender's Game before this, specifically in [[241: Battle Room]], dealing with Ender's experience during his training, and [[304: Nighttime Stories]], dealing with the sequels to Ender's Game.

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 ==Explanation==
-This comic re-imagines a scene from {{w|Ender's Game}}, by {{w|Orson Scott Card}}. This is shown in the first two panels depicting the siblings '''Locke and Demosthenes''', as [[Cueball]] and the girl. Their real names are Peter and Valentine Wiggin (and these first names are used in the [http://xkcd.com/635/info.0.json official transcript] on xkcd). In the book these two kids write their opinions on their world's version of the internet to gain extreme political influence. Below is a synopsis:
+This comic recasts a scene from {{w|Ender's Game}}, by {{w|Orson Scott Card}}. This is shown in the first two panels depicting the siblings '''Locke and Demosthenes''', as [[Cueball]] and the girl. Their real names are Peter and Valentine Wiggin (and these first names are used in the [http://xkcd.com/635/info.0.json official transcript] on xkcd). In the book these two kids write their opinions on their world's version of the internet to gain extreme political influence. Below is a synopsis:
 '''Spoiler alert!''' <br>

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 '''Spoiler alert!''' <br>
-In the book Ender is an above-average-intelligence boy who is selected to become a potential leader of Earth's "Defense" Forces in the event of another {{w|Formics|Bugger}} invasion (later re-titled the Formic invasions). Meanwhile, Ender's two older siblings, Peter and Valentine decide to save the world from itself. They do this by asserting themselves as wise demagogues who comment on political events on what are known as the "free nets" which are nets open to comment by anyone in the world. They choose pseudonyms to write under, as no one would take the words of children seriously, choosing {{w|John Locke|Locke}} (Peter's pseudonym), and {{w|Demosthenes}} (Valentine's). Eventually they gain enough respect to be invited to participate in moderated political debates in the higher class nets. By the end of the book, Peter has become the leader of the world, and Valentine runs away with Ender to a planet formerly inhabited by Buggers to live out their lives in peace.
+In the book, Ender is an above-average-intelligence boy who is selected to become a potential leader of Earth's "Defense" Forces in the event of another {{w|Formics|Bugger}} invasion (later re-titled the Formic invasions). Meanwhile, Ender's two older siblings, Peter and Valentine decide to save the world from itself. They do this by asserting themselves as wise demagogues who comment on political events on what are known as the "free nets" which are nets open to comment by anyone in the world. They choose pseudonyms to write under, as no one would take the words of children seriously, choosing {{w|John Locke|Locke}} (Peter's pseudonym), and {{w|Demosthenes}} (Valentine's). Eventually they gain enough respect to be invited to participate in moderated political debates in the higher-class nets. By the end of the book, Peter has become the leader of the world, and Valentine runs away with Ender to a planet formerly inhabited by Buggers to live out their lives in peace.
 <br>'''End spoiler alert!'''
@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 The joke hinges on the underwhelming reversal of Peter and Valentine's expectations. It forms both a parody of science fiction that has been rendered outdated by technology, and also a parody of the expectations well-intentioned people have going onto the internet to express their opinions.
-The titles of Peter's blog posts parody the arrogance of internet commentators, with names beginning with things like "Everyone's wrong about..." This further underscores the lack of influence his WordPress blog would have and his naivete, as this is a typically unconvincing way to speak to people about politics, but someone with the arrogance to think everyone will naturally see their genius and insist they be put in charge of the world would not realise it.
+The titles of Peter's blog posts parody the arrogance of internet commentators, with names beginning with things like "Everyone's wrong about..." This further underscores the lack of influence his WordPress blog would have and his naivete, as this is a typically unconvincing way to speak to people about politics, but someone with the arrogance to think everyone will naturally see their genius and insist they are put in charge of the world would not realise it.
-In the bottom right corner there are links to other blogs. One is for Demosthenes, but the other is for {{w|FiveThirtyEight}}, a real political blog that was founded by {{w|Nate Silver}} in 2008, more than a year before this comic was released. It was still owned by Nate in 2009, the year of this comic's release, but in 2010 the blog became a licensed feature of The {{w|New York Times}} online and in July 2013, {{w|ESPN}} announced that it would become the owner. The blog takes its name from the number of electors in the United States electoral college: 538. It is a website that focuses on opinion poll analysis, politics, economics, and sports blogging. Nate Silver has been [[:Category:Comics featuring Nate Silver|referenced]], several times in xkcd, though mainly in the title text, before this comic for instance in [[500: Election]].
+In the bottom right corner, there are links to other blogs. One is for Demosthenes, but the other is for {{w|FiveThirtyEight}}, a political blog founded by [[Nate Silver]] in 2008, more than a year before this comic was released. It was still owned by Nate in 2009, the year of this comic's release, but in 2010 the blog became a licensed feature of The {{w|New York Times}} online and in July 2013, {{w|ESPN}} announced that it would become the owner. The blog takes its name from the number of electors in the United States electoral college: 538. It is a website that focuses on opinion poll analysis, politics, economics, and sports blogging. Nate Silver has been [[:Category:Comics featuring Nate Silver|referenced]], several times in xkcd, though mainly in the title text, before this comic for instance in [[500: Election]].
 The title text uses Locke's full name, Peter Wiggin, and is formed as a short letter that informs him that he has become the president of the world, and that he should meet tomorrow 8:00 sharp at the {{w|United Nations}} (UN) headquarters. This is either a very child-like representation of how a presidential appointment might be announced or a sarcastic comment someone has left on his blog &mdash; either way, further riffing on the naivete of the plan in the first place. Also note that the note is addressed to "Peter" rather than "Locke"; Peter's attempt to remain anonymous has failed miserably.