Worthing Inn
Encyclopedia
Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...
. It only appears in his short story collection The Worthing Saga
The Worthing Saga
The Worthing Saga is a science fiction book by American writer Orson Scott Card, set in the Worthing series. It is made up of the novel The Worthing Chronicle and nine related stories...
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Plot summary
Little Peter lives in the Worthing Inn with his immediate familyFamily
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
and his uncle Elijah. While he was still a little boy he discovered that he could hear the thoughts of everyone around him except his uncle. Although he was unable to read his uncle's thoughts Peter could sometimes feel hatred coming from Elijah. As a result he started to hate and fear his uncle. One day when Peter stumbles on a wasp’s nest and gets stung he discovers that he can kill the wasps
Wasp
The term wasp is typically defined as any insect of the order Hymenoptera and suborder Apocrita that is neither a bee nor an ant. Almost every pest insect species has at least one wasp species that preys upon it or parasitizes it, making wasps critically important in natural control of their...
with his mind. That night he tries to kill his uncle using the same power, but discovers that his uncle is more powerful than he is. Elijah hurts Peter to teach him a lesson and then tells him to never use his power again. At first Peter stops using the power because he is afraid of his uncle but as he grows older and becomes a man he restrains himself out of love and respect for Elijah.
Connection to the Worthing Saga
This story takes place several years after the events in the story "Worthing FarmWorthing Farm
"Worthing Farm" is a short story by Orson Scott Card. It only appears in his short story collection The Worthing Saga.-Plot summary:One of Jason Worthing’s decedents Elijah lives on the Worthing Farm with his wife and two sons. Because there is a severe drought and nothing will grow Elijah’s wife...
". Orson Scott Card wrote a very different version of this story in chapter 10 of his novel The Worthing Chronicle
The Worthing Chronicle
The Worthing Chronicle is a science fiction novel by Orson Scott Card set in the Worthing series. This book by itself is out of print having been published along with nine short stories in the collection The Worthing Saga .-Plot summary:...
. In the previous version, Elijah has two children: one of them, Adam, is the one child with telepathic powers, while Elijah's innkeeper brother, Mathew, has the gift to shut his mind to telepathy. One night, while Adam tortured the citizens of the small town of Worthing, Elijah tried to stop his son and Adam attacked him. Mathew eventually saves Elijah from his own son, who flees to another city, where he begins a political career using his gift to manipulate and blackmail others.
The cruelty of Little Peter as a child and adult despot (Adam in Worthing Saga), and his later redemption at old age are very similar to Peter Wiggin's, the Hegemon from Ender's Game
Ender's Game
Ender's Game is a science fiction novel by American author Orson Scott Card. The book originated as the short story "Ender's Game", published in the August 1977 issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact. Elaborating on characters and plot lines depicted in the novel, Card later wrote additional...
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