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Enderverse, Characters, Characters introduced in Ender's Game, International Fleet
Mazer Rackham
SPOILER WARNING: First/Second Formic War, Ender Quintet, and Shadow Saga plot details follow.
122 BX
Jailor Rackman
Known relatives
Kim Arnsbrach (formerly)
Pahu Rangi
Pai Mahutanga
Grandchildren:
Kahui Kura
Pao Pao Te Rangi
Mazer Taka Aho Howarth
Struan Maeroero
Physical information
5' 8" (Film)
Short (Novels)
Dark brown (Film)
Bald (Film)
NZSAS Lieutenant (formerly)
WAMRED Breach Team Captain (formerly)
International Fleet Admiral
Planet of residence
Luna (formerly)
Kiwi (New Zealander)
Earth Unaware
Earth Afire
Earth Awakens
Shadow of the Giant
Ender in Exile
Mazer Rackham was an admiral in the International Fleet[1] and the mentor to Ender Wiggin.[2] He was first introduced in Ender's Game.
Mazer was born in 122 BX to a Maori mother and an English father. As a young child, Mazer grew up with his mother who taught him about Maori culture. When she died, Mazer's father took Mazer back to England and did not allow Mazer to embrace his Maori heritage.[3]
The First Invasion
In the years before the First Formic War, Mazer was a soldier in the NZSAS - the New Zealand Special Air Service. In 100 BX he was screened by Wit O'Toole for the Mobile Operations Police along with four other members of the NZSAS. Mazer was the first of the NZSAS to participate in a test where he was tortured by Wit. After an hour, Wit switched off the torture device and informed Mazer that he had failed the test; he should have attempted to escape the facility.[4]
After being scouted for the MOPs, Mazer was assigned to test the experimental Heavy Equipment Recovery Copter for the NZSAS to use in combat. His team included Fatani, Patu, and Reinhardt. In one test, the team was sent by Colonel Napatu with 36 hours of no sleep to retrieve a Copperhead tank. After retrieving the tank with the HERC, the team discovered that the tank was not a fake and had two live passengers, Burnzel and Captain Shenzu. The training mission was not a test for the tank, but a display of the HERC for the Chinese. After the test, Mazer and his team were ordered to leave within the day to help train the Chinese to use the HERCs.[5]
After receiving news of his departure, Mazer went to tell his girlfriend Kim Arnsbrach that he was being ordered to leave for China. He broke up with Kim as they talked because he did not want to marry her and be an absent husband and father. Before leaving the room, Kim gave Mazer a version of the med-assist, so he could hear her voice.[5]
On the way to China, Mazer and his men flew with several HERCs to deliver the them to the Chinese safely. Mazer also learned during the trip that his team would be trained to use self-propelled drill sledges during their stay in China. Mazer and his team were greeted by Captain Shenzu upon arrival, who displayed the drill sledges to the NZSAS team while explaining how they worked. Shenzu allowed Mazer to be the first of the NZSAS team to ride in a drill sledge, accompanied by Lieutenant Wong.[5]
When the alien Formics arrived in Earth's orbit, Mazer attempted to contact Colonel Napatu in order to receive a live feed of the event. Mazer was unable to talk with Napatu as he was in a meeting, but Sergeant Major Manaware spoke to him instead. Manaware informed Mazer that he should ask Captain Shenzu for a connection to the feeds, as Manaware had to keep every possible line open for communication; however, the Chinese were jamming the lines. Mazer and his team felt it necessary to obtain intel about the current state of the Formic scout ship, and they stole a Chinese HERC. Shenzu discovered that Mazer had stolen a HERC and sent them a warning, but Mazer and his team did not respond and continued to fly outside the range of the Chinese jamming systems.[5]
The next morning, Mazer and his team witnessed the scout ship release several landers, each a kilometer across. The landers plummeted to Earth, landing throughout China, with one being relatively close to Mazer's location. Mazer messaged Shenzu stating that his team would aide in the rescue efforts with the Chinese HERC, but Shenzu demanded that they come back to base, so Mazer contacted Napatu, who ordered his team to return back as well. However, Napatu did not make the time frame of his order specific, so Mazer's team assumed Napatu was giving the team permission to help.[5]
Heading towards the impact zone of one of the landers, Mazer ordered Fatani to connect the HERC to all news feeds, and to try and hack into the Chinese systems. Mazer gave each team member the choice to leave, due to the high chance of a court martial after the invasion. They all decided to stay, and began to move injured people out of the vicinity of the nearby lander. One of the many people Mazer helped was Bingwen, a young Chinese boy who was stuck under a tree branch with his grandfather, Ye Ye Danwen.[5]
At this point the world had seen the feeds that Mazer's team had been recording of the incident, and they were horrified. Shenzu then contacted Mazer, congratulating him on his good work in order to save face and told him to take the victims to a nearby barn as a temporary hospital.[5]
Mazer sees a Formic soldier for the first time.
Flying back towards the lander, Mazer noticed that the Chinese had arrived with reinforcements; however, many of the humans were quickly shot down by the Formics. When the aliens released troop transports and skimmers, several Chinese fighters began to fire upon the transports, but the Formics quickly retaliated. Mazer then ordered Reinhardt to land the HERC near a fallen Formic troop carrier. Mazer, Fatani, and Patu investigated the wreck to find one living Formic, which promptly began spraying the surrounding area with a defoliant. Mazer shot the Formic, and ended the investigation after obtaining a piece of metal from the Formic troop carrier.[5]
After cleansing themselves of the defoliant, Mazer ordered Reinhardt to begin finding villagers to relocate to the barn. They carried ten villagers to the barn, where Mazer put a villager in charge of operations. As Mazer was leaving to find more villagers to relocate, Bingwen asked what he should do in case Mazer did not return, but Mazer simply told Bingwen to wait.[5]
While looking for villagers, Mazer and the team noticed a second wave of Formic skimmers and troop carriers leave the lander. Despite Reinhardt's quick flying, the Formics decimated the HERC with speed. After the HERC crashed, Mazer retrieved the rifle from Patu's dead body to shoot down the skimmer. He used the med kit in an attempt to heal himself, but his wounds were too severe and he passed out.[5]
Bingwen found Mazer lying unconscious beside the HERC and brought him to the barn to help him. At the barn, the midwife Mingzhu began to perform intestinal surgery. Partway through, Kim was contacted through the med-assist to ask for medical assistance. Kim obtained the help of a gastroenterologist to perform a shadow surgery on Mazer.[5]
Mazer woke up four days after his surgery and was greeted by Bingwen and his grandfather. Danwen explained to Mazer that the other villagers in the barn decided to leave and head to a safer location, but Bingwen wanted to stay and ensure Mazer's safety. Mazer rested several more days with Bingwen and Danwen before they decided it was time to leave the barn. Unfortunately, that night Mazer and Bingwen had to make a quick escape when the Formics appeared and killed Danwen with the defoliant.[5]
Mazer and Bingwen headed north, but eventually fell short on food and water. At one point they discovered a group of people eating a Formic, who threatened Mazer and Bingwen. Eventually Mazer and Bingwen found a family who was willing to allow Bingwen to travel with them, so Mazer provided Bingwen with his contact information and made arrangements with the family before heading south towards the Formic landers.[5]
On his way south, Mazer was running low on water and found a Chinese pilot, who Mazer scavenged for his supplies. After gathering the pilot's supplies, Mazer heard someone screaming for him, which turned out to be Bingwen who had left the family after they were ambushed by Formics. Bingwen then convinced Mazer to allow him to travel with Mazer on his quest to destroy the Formic lander.[5]
While scouting the Formic lander, Mazer and Bingwen noticed that the Formics went through tunnels to get past the shield surrounding the lander, indicating that the shield did not go underground. Soon enough the two were ambushed by a Formic troop carrier. Mazer quickly picked up Bingwen and slid down the hill to try and escape the Formics, but was nearly caught by the Formics before Wit O'Toole and Calinga and the rest of the Mobile Operations Police rescued them. After Mazer recovered, he realized that the Chinese drill sledges would be able to attack the Formic lander from underneath and asked if Wit's vehicles could travel to the Chinese base.[5]
Mazer guided Wit and the MOPs to the Chinese base, where they found a functional HERC and the three self-propelled drill sledges. Mazer quickly trained Wit and Calinga in how to use the devices before planning the attack. They used the HERC to transport the drill sledges close to the Formic lander in order to drill beneath it. Before leaving to go to his drill sledge, Mazer told Bingwen to obey the MOPs while he was gone. Mazer, Wit, and Calinga then went to the drill sledge, burrowing underground towards the Formic lander. The three were not able to penetrate the Formic lander directly, due to a giant air pocket beneath it. Mazer and Wit formulated a plan to allow Calinga to get his sledge through by melting a hole into the Formic lander with the hot ejecta from the drill sledges. While Wit prepared the drill sledges for the attempt, Mazer fended off the drills from Formics, which appeared in full force just as Wit was finishing. The plan succeeded, allowing Calinga to make his way in with the tactical nuke. Calinga sacrificed himself by detonating the nuke inside, his escape being blocked by swarms of Formics. When Mazer and Wit arrived back on the surface, Mazer was greeted by Captain Shenzu, who proceeded to arrest Mazer for illegally trespassing into China, stealing government property, and detonating a nuke.[5]
After several days of being held in custody outside of Lianzhou, Captain Shenzu came to pick up Mazer and then Wit from their tents to take the to see General Sima. Sima proceeded to condemn Mazer and Wit for taking actions into their own hands and not allowing China to handle the situation themselves. During the conversation, Sima revealed that the MOPs team had been pinning the success of the destruction of the Formic lander on Sima, who was reluctant to take credit for the attack since it was a lie. Mazer and Wit along with Shenzu, who stepped into the conversation, convinced Sima to corroborate the story to help boost the world's morale. Mazer and Wit then agreed to work under Sima's command, so Sima gave them a mission to escort bioengineers to the Dragon's Den.[3]
The next morning, Mazer and Wit met with Captain Shenzu after the dozers cleaning the path to the Dragon's Den for the bioengineer convoy were destroyed by the Formics. Hunyan provided Mazer, Wit, and Shenzu with a HERC and other necessary resources for a mission to save the surviving driver. After arriving, Mazer stopped the HERC at the remains of the armored transport where they found the driver eviscerated with his intestines pulled out of his body. After wondering why the Formics eviscerated the man, the team went back to rescuing the survivor. They provided him with medical assistance and asked him to drive the new dozer if he was capable. Mazer then flew the HERC to the Dragon's Den.[3]
While en route, Mazer, Wit, and Shenzu were informed of a second wave of Formics from the Formic scout ship. Mazer discovered one of the troop carriers was heading close to the Dragon's Den and decided to destroy it. He grabbed it in mid air with the talons of the HERC, and several Formics attacked him as Wit cut a hole through the ship. It was destroyed with grenades after the HERC dropped it. Mazer began to release chutes to slow down the descent of the HERC after it was damaged in the attack.[3]
Mazer safely landed the HERC in the rice fields. While Shenzu went radio in for information, Wit applied first aid to Mazer, and Mazer looked to see if the HERC was reparable, but the avionics were shot and several other systems were irreparable as well. When Shenzu returned, they learned the convoy and Lianzhou were attacked by Formics. Due to the bioengineers being killed in the attack, Wit and Mazer decided they should contact the bioengineer Dr. Gadhavi, who lived in India. Shenzu disapproved since Dr. Gadhavi was the resident of a foreign nation, but he agreed to help. Shenzu led them to Shoagun Air Base.[3]
At the air base, Mazer found an undamaged biosuit,a Goshawk C14, and supplies, Wit and Mazer formulated a plan to attack a Formic transport to obtain one of their defoiling, or "goo" guns. When tracking one of the transports to attack, the team discovered a goo refilling station. Wit and Shenzu rigged the refilling station with electrodes, and the next morning the team successfully killed several Formics in the trap.[3]
Once Mazer, Wit and Shenzu had a sample of the defoliant, they flew to India, where the military threatened to shoot them out of the sky before escorting them to a safehouse. When Dr. Gadhavi developed a counteragent, Wit, Mazer, and Shenzu were driven to a government facility where Wit introduced them to Khudabadi Ketkar. Ketkar discussed their plan for introducing the counteragent to the world. Ketkar then took them too see Dr. Gadhavi, who showed them a working counteragent and explained the potential for quickly mass producing the different elements of the counteragent.[3]
The next day, Ketkar held a press conference, and he, Dr. Gadhavi, and Shenzu all spoke at the conference. Mazer, Wit, and Shenzu then went to the Dragon's Den, where they helped command a counteroffensive called Operation Duck Sauce. While at the Dragon's Den, Mazer took a quick break to greet Bingwen when he arrived on the premises before going back to restricted areas.[3]
A few days later, Mazer was meeting with Shenzu when Colonel Chua interrupted. Chua had brought Bingwen with him, as Bingwen had tricked him into believing that one of the Anglo soldiers were leaving the restricted area. Realizing what Bingwen had done, Mazer told Chua that he would punish Bingwen and the girl, Pipo, who was with him. Mazer then took Bingwen to a mess hall where they discussed Imala Bootstamp and Victor Delgado's proposal to attack the Formic scout ship. Realizing its potential, Mazer called Wit to come talk about the possible mission as well. Mazer and Wit agreed that in order to turn the tide of the war they needed to attack the Formic ship.[3]
In a group call, Lem Jukes introduced Victor and Imala to all the MOPs. Lem Jukes then explained the mission to infiltrate the Formic ship, which included staying in a cocoon-shaped ship for several days that was disguised with junk. After the call, the MOPs debated the safety of the mission. Mazer thought the idea was good as Juke Limited was a spacefaring company that knew how to build ships and had the resources to do the mission Lem Jukes proposed.[3]
Mazer informed Bingwen that Shenzu had arranged for Bingwen to be taken to a military school up north. Bingwen agreed, but also asked Mazer if he could come with him, but Mazer said that was not possible.[3]
Mazer went with the MOPs to Luna, where he had to sign liability forms in order to join the mission. They then went to the Valas, where Victor finally debriefed the MOPs about the mission; the goal was to kill all the Formics by using their gamma plasma against them. Victor trained Mazer and the MOPs in how to operate in zero gravity. After training was over, Mazer was selected to join the team to infiltrate the Formic ship.[3]
Mazer was the last one to arrive at the Formic ship, and he discovered that everyone else had already covered all the gun turrets by the time he got there. Mazer headed inside the ship to the bay, where he helped keep a look out for Formics. Mazer spotted the first few Formics coming out of of a shaft and had Victor shock them. Several minutes later, Formics started swarming the bay. Wit then ordered Mazer and Cocktail to clear a path to their exit shaft, so they could leave once the nozzles were all turned. Mazer and Cocktail used a discarded wall plate as a shield to clear the path. While clearing the path, Mazer heard reports that ZZ and Bolshakov were dead. Seconds later Cocktail was killed by a Formic doilie weapon.[3]
Mazer finished clearing the corridor. A little later, the remaining members of the team appeared in the corridor that Mazer had cleared of Formics. Wit then gave Imala the order to start flying in order to activate the Formics' plasma gun. When the team realized that the plasma would not turn off, Wit sacrificed his life to go to the helm to turn off the plasma gun. Mazer wanted to go in Wit's place, but Wit would not allow him due to his smaller size. Wit then gave Mazer command of the team, believing that Mazer was as much a MOP as any other member of the team.[3]
After Wit died, Lem contacted the team to let them know the Formic landers were headed towards the ship to retake it. The team then planned on how to destroy the landers as the radiation decreased to safe levels. Mazer led most of the group to the cargo bay, where they turned the plasma nozzles back to their original position. Each member of the team then took a cart, which they guided to the launch bay, and Mazer had Shenzu help Benyawe with her cart as he noticed they moved sluggish.[3]
They were only able to fill one of the launch tubes before the time came to fire upon the second Formic lander. After firing the launch tube, the team was attacked by oncoming Formics, which entered the ship through the launch tubes. Caruso died before the launch tubes were closed by Bungy and Lobo. The team finished killing the Formics in the launch bay before heading elsewhere in the ship[3]
Mazer left the Formic ship by means of a Juke mining vessel, and he and several of the other MOPs had gathered the remains of their comrades. On the Juke vessel, the newly named Strategos Yulian Robinov contacted Mazer to ask him not to reveal his part in capturing the Formic ship, so that Robinov and others could use the MOPs as propaganda for the newly formed International Fleet. Mazer agreed and said he would join the International Fleet as a soldier if Robinov sent him paperwork.[3]
When Mazer came home, he went directly to see Kim instead of going to the military base. Mazer interrupted Kim while she was in a meeting and took her across the street to an old gazebo in the park. Mazer professed his love for Kim and asked her to marry him. Kim agreed, but Mazer's only condition was that they have a Maori wedding.[3]
The Second Invasion
After the formation of the International Fleet, Mazer spent one year working at CentCom, the command center of the Fleet on Luna. While he worked there, he and Kim tried to have a baby three times, but they all ended in miscarriages. The week after, Mazer left to work at WAMRED, the Fleet's Weapons and Materials Research Division as the captain of a breach team.[6]
For the next two years, Mazer test piloted disguised capsules, intended to be used to fly near a Formic ship and infiltrate it. In one instance, after finding the pattern in his capsule's spin, he was hailed on the radio by both Shambhani and Rimas, the other members of his breach team. After performing the manuever and landing on a derelict ship used for testing, he set up the Gravity Disruptor and leaped upwards away from the ship using a technique of his Nan-Ooze boots. He and Kaufman, another member of his team, took out the rest of the simulation Formics and ended the exercise.[6]
On their flight back to the WAMRED Space Station, Mazer and his team discussed what they could have done better in their simulation battle and new ideas for technologies for their use in war including a shield based off of nanomachines. Once back in his barracks, Mazer browsed the IF's forum for new posts, and later uploaded an idea for a nanoshield that he and his team had devised.[6]
After checking the forum again, Mazer was surprised to see a large influx of news posts. In a vid, the Hegemon Ukko Jukes announced that one of the eight Parallax telescopes, Copernicus, was destroyed by a Formic fighter ahead of the main alien fleet. Mazer discussed the news with the rest of his breach team.[6]
Some time later, Mazer was ordered to report to Colonel Vaganov's office. He and Vaganov made small talk about life at CentCom and how Mazer communicated with Kim, who was still on Luna. However, Vaganov suspected that he put his personal life with Kim above his soldier duties, which he saw as a good quality in an officer. Vaganov stated that he thought the Fleet would lose the coming war because of incompetent leadership, and revealed that he had set up the officer socials to identify soldiers like Mazer, who couldn't stand bureaucracy. After mentioning that he believed Mazer's breach team was the best in the Fleet, he asked how he thought of the Gravity Disruptor device. Mazer expressed his concerns with the device, and then showed Vaganov his design for a nanobot shield. After telling Mazer not to share his ideas with junior officers, Vaganov asked Mazer to bring the designs to him first. Mazer was then informed that he would begin testing live Gravity Disruptor charges the next day, when he had just listed the various problems with the device. Mazer protested, but was shut down by Vaganov and dismissed.[6]
The following morning, Mazer and his team set out to test the live Gravity Disruptor charges. However, one of the four cubes was faulty; Mazer radioed to mission control asking to abort the mission, but his request was denied. The resulting explosion ripped the test ship apart, sending shrapnel in all directions. One piece sliced into Shambhani's calf, creating a gaping hole in his suit. His suit sealed itself, but abandoned his leg from the knee down. The team was taken back to the station in a medic ship, but there was little chance of saving Shambhani's leg. After leaving and showering, he was informed that Shambhani lost his leg.[6]
Mazer went to Colonel Vaganov's office, where he saw him showing the Hegemon Ukko Jukes, the Hegemon, a series of holos of the breach teams testing the Gravity Disruptor. However, the clip of Mazer's team was edited so that the explosion did not look as violent and Shambhani did not make an appearance. After meeting Hea Woo Han, the director of Gungsu Industries, Mazer was told by Vaganov to wait in his office. After returning, Vaganov was confronted by Mazer when he realized that the defective cube was deliberate, giving the most skilled breach team the harder test. After some discussion of the matter, Vaganov insisted that the nanoshield design would be developed by Gungsu, against Mazer's objections. When Mazer refused to accept a liaison position with Gungsu, Vaganov ordered two MPs to take Mazer into custody. He was confined to private quarters until he was to be transported to Luna for a court-martial.[6]
After being sent an email from Victor, Mazer learned that Asteroid 2030CT had been colonized by the Formics. He considered uploading the information to his forum, but decided against it as Vaganov had ordered him to come to him with new information. He sent an email to Vaganov's aide, asking to meet with the colonel.[6]
Once in Vaganov's office, Mazer explained the images in the email. He expressed his concern that the asteroid may be used as a missile to be launched at Earth. Mazer suggested that the International Fleet form an assault team specializing in asteroid combat.[6]
After Vaganov asked to see the rest of the images in Mazer's email, he noticed that all his other correspondence were missing. Vaganov thought this meant he was concealing the fact that he was talking about Vaganov to others, which Mazer denied. Paranoid, Vaganov revoked Mazer's net access and declared that he would handle transferring the information to the rest of the Fleet. To avoid Vaganov's bureaucracy impeding the sharing of the information, Mazer signed into his forum on the holofield and sent the information out to the junior officers of the Fleet. Furious, Vaganov assigned Mazer a MP to guard him at all times and dismissed him.[6]
Over the next week, Vaganov assigned Mazer an impossible amount of tasks, which he could not complete each shift. For his last shift, Vaganov assigned an MP named Nardelli to watch over Mazer. At the beginning of the his shift, Nardelli tried provoking Mazer by taking his ear piece and scuffing his boots on the floor. Mazer did not fight Nardelli and finished the shift with no more problems. After Mazer's shift ended, Nardelli escorted Mazer to an officer and reported Mazer's work progress. The officer then had Nardelli take Mazer to a health officer, who proceeded to give Mazer a physical. After the physical, the health officer reported that he was not recommending Mazer for duty due to previous injuries sustained in the First Formic War. After questioning the doctor, Mazer discovered that Vaganov likely hired the officer, as he would not recommend Mazer for duty in war. Nardelli then escorted Mazer to the cargo bay, where Nardelli attempted to fight Mazer; however, Mazer did not fight back, but resisted injury due to being knowledgeable of zero gravity combat. Mazer then left Nardelli in the cargo bay and went to his shuttle, which took him to Luna for his court martial.[6]
On the way to Luna, Mazer replied to Victor's email with his thoughts on the exoskeleton armor he had made for exploring Asteroid 2002GJ166.[6]
When he had arrived on the moon, he met Lieutenant Prem Chamrajnagar, who was his appointed attorney for his court martial. After adjusting to Luna's gravity, he was surprised that he was assigned someone so young and new as his attorney. However, he soon realized that Prem was intelligent and resourceful, as she knew things about his record that most other IF officers did not. After discussing his court martial and the judicial system of the Fleet on a rover ride to the shuttle terminal, Prem and Mazer parted ways for the time being.[6]
Mazer met Kim outside of the security perimeter. After embracing, they went their favorite noodle shop in the Old Town of Imbrium, which was owned by a Japanese couple they were good friends with after Kim saved their daughter's life. After getting seated and ordering their food, they discussed Mazer's future in the IF. Soon, however, Kim brought up the topic of trying to have a baby again. Mazer was wary at first, for the miscarriages were difficult to get past for the two of them. He didn't want the child to grow up with the Formics still a threat, but Kim persuaded him to think otherwise.[6]
Later, Mazer met Prem at CentCom for his court arraignment. Prem gave him advice for how to act in the courtroom and told him that another doctor had cleared him for combat readiness in the Fleet. When told that the prosecuting attorney Reginald Ravenshaw had threatened to charge him with espionage, Prem took Mazer to the cafeteria to explain why that charge and others that had been filed against him were bogus. Prem suggested that they show the jury that Mazer was trusted by the Strategos for his involvement in the final battle of the First Formic War, but Mazer remembered he was told not to reveal that to anyone and rejected the idea.[6]
Mazer and Prem then left and headed to the courtroom, where they were greeted by Ravenshaw as he sat on their table. After insulting Prem's inexperience as an attorney and Mazer's Maori heritage, he went to the prosecutor's table as Colonel Michio Soshi arrived in the courtroom. After settling in, Soshi addressed Prem and asked if the defense wished to enter a plea, to which she said that Mazer plead as not guilty. Soshi acknowledged this, adjourning the court for three weeks. After joking with Prem and Mazer, Ravenshaw left the courtroom as well.[6]
Mazer and Prem took a taxi to Gungsu Industries, where Mazer intended to convince the company to give financial compensation to Mustafa Shambhani who had invented the nanoshield that was sold to them by Vaganov. Mazer planned to sell Shambhani and Victor Delgado's inventions to Gungsu, which would supply them with funds and Mazer with freedom from his court martial. They entered Gungsu Industries' headquarters where they requested a meeting with Hea Woo Han.[6]
They were met by Woo Han's assistant, who inquired into the point of their visit. Lying, Mazer said that the International Fleet was forming an asteroid assault team and wanted new tech developed by Gungsu. Prem was worried that pretending they had IF business would hurt Mazer's case for his court-martial if caught, but he brushed her off. The assistant returned and brought them into Hea Woo Han's office. After offering them tea, Hea Woo Han thanked Mazer and his team for testing the gravity disruptor and expressed her condolences for Shambhani's injury due to it.[6]
After discussing Hea's military background, Mazer asked what she thought the IF's greatest weakness was. She addressed the Fleet's lack of warships and experienced crew, but Mazer expressed his thoughts on the bureaucracy that was hindering the IF's development. He then showed her some of Victor Delgado's technology that he had engineered, offering a development and production contract with Gungsu. Mazer explained that the nanoshield tech that had been given to her by Vaganov was in fact designed by Shambhnai, and Woo Han offered to give him and his family financial compensation. Mazer asked if Hea could use her influence with Vaganov to end his court-martial, but she explained that that was out of her abilities. Understanding, Mazer finished the meeting and left Gungsu's headquarters.[6]
Prem and Mazer got in another taxi and headed to the offices of Juke Limited. During their ride, Prem expressed her feelings on Mazer's actions in the meeting with Hea Woo Han. After arriving, they met with Lem Jukes, where Mazer introduced Prem to the CEO. Mazer showed Lem a 3D model of a suit that Victor had designed, asking Juke Limited to develop it. Lem agreed to produce the suits for the asteroid strike team.[6]
Less than a week later, Mazer and Prem went to court for the hearing. Judge Ravenshaw acquitted the charges because the only witness for the prosecution fell through, so Colonel Soshi had no evidence to use against Mazer. However, Ravenshaw did allow a letter of reprimand to be placed on Mazer Rackham's file, infuriating Prem because she believed that implied to the jury that Mazer was guilty. Furthermore, Mazer and Prem parted ways after Mazer convinced Prem she could fight the injustices she saw within the system by being the best lawyer possible.[6]
Before heading to CentCom for reassignment, Mazer met with Kim in the lobby, where they discussed their future. Kim had realized that Mazer would likely be reassigned off of Luna, and she urged him to stay. She also told him that she was not pregnant before parting ways. Mazer told Kim he would see her later that night, but after he went to CentCom, he was told to go to LOG 41. Upon arriving at the cubicle, the office worker informed Mazer he had been assigned to Colonel Li. Mazer then had to head directly to his assignment in shuttledock 14.[6]
Upon meeting Colonel Li, Rackham discovered he had met the man briefly during the First Formic War, and that Li had been training Bingwen over the past 3 years. Rackham disagreed with Li's leadership style and told Li directly that he disapproved of Li using Bingwen and several other boys for the purpose of war. Despite this, Li forced Captain Rackham to fight with Bingwen to prove the skill of Li's soldiers. After acting like he agreed with Li by losing the fight, Rackham apologized to Bingwen for abandoning him over the past three years before they headed to TAG.[6]
Before launch, Mazer managed to call Kim for five minutes to inform her on why he had not come home and to say goodbye. Mazer also attempted to warn Kim about the IF's upcoming attack against the Formics. Before the call was forcibly ended, Mazer sang an old song to Kim and told her that he loved her.[6]
Mazer took a shuttle to a cargo ship in the atmosphere above Luna. Vaganov, now a rear admiral, came to greet Mazer in his quarters and told Mazer that he had learned about his past during the First Formic War. Vaganov then attempted to convince Mazer to spy on Colonel Li and Rear Admiral Zembassi. Vaganov believed the two to be potential threats and that they had a downward career. Mazer did not agree to help Vaganov with spying for the reason of being loyal to a commanding officer.[6]
After the tenuous meeting with Vaganov, Mazer went to confront Colonel Li, believing he needed to go ahead and start training the boys in zero-g combat. Mazer convinced Li that one of the cargo bays could be turned into a training facility for tunnels, while the outside of the ship could be used as a battle room for open area combat.[6]
Mazer Rackham's plan for the tunnel training and battle room on the ship successfully went through. He would randomize the tunnels daily in order to challenge the boys under Li's command. For the battle room, Mazer organized the marines on the ship into teams and scored points based upon the winners. Mazer had Bingwen and the other boys watch the battles between the marines in order to teach lessons on tactics and strategy.[6]
One day, Mazer and Bingwen were called in to come talk with Rear Admiral Zembassi. The conversation revolved around the Formic asteroids that were thought to be heading for Earth, as it had been realized that none of them were. Mazer and Bingwen convinced Zembassi to attack an asteroid named Castalia instead of the group's original target.[6]
After months of traveling to Castalia, the ship finally arrived and the battle room was opened again for the men to train with. The plan of attack on Castalia was organized by Li, but the details were set by Mazer and Bingwen. However, soon after their arrival Vaganov confronted Zambassi with the problems in his plan, as he believed that by blowing up the Formic-created atmosphere around the asteroid they would destroy any discoveries about the bioengineered Formic bugs that could be obtained. Mazer and Zembassi were against the idea of sending in men to the asteroid, as the volatile atmosphere presented a high risk, but Vaganov had already conferred with the Polemarch and Strategos, and after detailing the fact that the cadet program was secretive and nobody would know if all the cadets died on the asteroid, Vaganov took his leave back to his quarters, and his plan was to be implemented. Through discussion with Zembassi and Li, Mazer decided to take fellow soldiers Kaufman and Rimas with him on the mission into the asteroid, along with Bingwen as he could fit into the tunnels.[6]
Two days later, the breach team was ready to go. They planned to kill the crew of the Formic Miniship, collect the bioengineered "bugs", and then send in Bingwen once the threat was eliminated. After shuttling to the resin shell of the asteroid, Mazer cut an entry point and went inside, followed by Kaufman and Rimas. After finding no Formics on the surface, he called Zembassi on his HUD, who ordered Bingwen to be sent in. Mazer ordered Kaufman to leave and transfer his supplies to Bingwen, and then wait in the shuttle craft. After realizing that Mazer and Rimas could not fit in the tunnels, Bingwen suggested they give him their supplies and wait out in the shuttle for Bingwen to finish investigating. Mazer did not like the idea, but he knew it was the best course of action.[6]
After going further in the tunnels, Bingwen came upon a wide and darkened cavern in the middle of the asteroid, with a metal wall of Hulmat blocking his view. Bingwen came to the realization that the asteroids were being used as factories to make ships by the Formics, not missiles. However, after discussing with Mazer, he realized that the miniship crew of five was not enough to pilot the ships that would be made inside the asteroid. Zembassi ordered Bingwen to proceed, and he came upon a Hive Queen being birthed. After the workers began to swarm him, he pulled out an ignitor and sparked the atmosphere, destroying the asteroid. Mazer, Rimas, and Kaufman rushed in and recovered Bingwen, who had survived the blast and took him back to the ship.
After the asteroid was destroyed, Zembassi met with Mazer in his office to discuss the discovery. They inferred that the Hive Queen Bingwen saw was a "general" of the army, so to speak, and that either the further a Hive Queen from her workers the less control she had over them, or the more workers under her control the weaker her command of them. They mentioned the Formic ship that survived the blast due to its Hulmat composition, and that Vaganov had been promoted to vice admiral after the incident, making him the commanding officer of the vessel.
Mazer checked his email and saw one from Imala, who was heading out into deep space on a secret mission. She told him that she was pregnant, and to pass the news on to Victor, who would be arriving on the Fleet warship Vandalorum in a year or so. Mazer watched as the marines all saluted Bingwen one by one, and his thoughts drifted to Kim in New Zealand, and of their future children.[6]
The Invasion Begins
Mazer piloting his ship during the Second Invasion in Ender's Game (Film).
When the Second Formic War had begun, Mazer piloted a poorly-armed supply ship in the rear echelons of the human fleet's formation. As he flew through the swarms of Formic ships, he noticed that they centered around a single craft. Going against orders, he fired a missile at it, destroying it and unknowingly killing a Hive Queen. This ended the invasion with a human victory.[1]
Mazer in Prison
Following the war, Mazer was placed in one of the International Fleet's courier ships and sent into the stars where his only exercise consisted of electrical stimuli to his muscles. He traveled at nearly the speed of light to keep him young enough to command the human fleet in the future. The ship was programmed to return after a preset amount of time and distance. He would have aged only five years, though decades passed on Earth; upon his return to his home planet, he would be expected to command the human invasion fleet, currently heading to the homeworlds of the Formics.[1]
Mazer alone in his starship.
Though his victories in the war had become the Fleet's greatest propaganda tool, and his legend had been perpetuated through the vids that everyone saw, Mazer's time in space was lonely. He had made the decision to take this short trip alone.[1]
He utilized the ansible for communication with the International Fleet headquarters. Through this method, he communicated with the then-lieutenant Hyrum Graff, informing him on the newly-organized Battle School. Graff had been assigned as the head of recruitment for the school, and was to look for a candidate who had the same traits as Mazer. Graff had located Mazer's family on Earth and used them to convince Mazer to help him. Mazer was angered that his family, to whom he was considered dead, was used in such a fashion. He was sent bandwidth-costly visual messages via the ansible of his daughter and the rest of his family. Along with the visual, he received letters from his family. However, through the letters he learned that his ex-wife, Kim Arnsbrach, had remarried.[1]
The Computer Voice that provided his only companionship in this stage of his journey reported back to the Fleet of Mazer's emotional responses to the letters from his family. It also reported that he had reprogrammed the ship and computer to allow him complete navigational control. The Fleet had grown concerned over these reports and sent shrinks to evaluate him via ansible. Mazer had decided that he would not be coming back to Earth.[1]
Mazer instructed the Fleet to give Hyrum Graff sufficient authority to truly find and train a successor to him as commander of the human forces against the Formics. Then, and only then, would Mazer return to Earth, promising to help train his successor a few years earlier than the original plan. The Fleet had no option but to agree, and promoted Graff. Mazer fulfilled his part of the bargain, returning to Earth to train the new commander.[1]
The Third Invasion
Mazer met his protégé at Command School on Eros. The boy, Ender Wiggin, had been sent to this highest of military schools at a very young age, and Mazer was assigned to teach him to defeat the Formics.[2]
Mazer introducing Ender to the simulator in Ender's Game (Film).
In 0 BX, one year after Ender's arrival at Eros, Mazer entered Ender's room and waited for him to wake up; when he did, Mazer sat silently until Ender moved near him, grabbing his leg and knocking him down. This made Ender more cautious of Mazer, but the old man did not speak until the end of the day, when Mazer lashed out in fluid movement and immobilized Ender within two seconds. Mazer informed Ender that he would be his teacher and mentor from then on, and that he would be programming the simulator that Ender would train with.[2]
Mazer pushed Ender past his limits, but Ender rose above the pressure. In his "final exam" at Command School, Ender fired the Molecular Disruption Device at the Formic Homeworld, unknowingly committing xenocide but securing a victory for humanity. Mazer revealed to Ender that the exams and simulations had all been real battles, devastating Ender and making him pass out for five days.[2]
After the Xenocide
After the Third Invasion was won and the League War resolved, a court-martial was held for Hyrum Graff, in which Mazer testified for the Battle School officer. Mazer and Ender had several conversations about the Formics, Graff, and Ender's role in the deaths of Bonito de Madrid and the boy named Stilson. Mazer would never directly confirm any of Ender's theories, but his lack of denial was always enough for Ender to know he was right.[7]
Mazer was chosen to be the pilot of the first colony ship in the new Dispersal Project, colonizing the former Formic worlds. Ender was also placed in this project as the new governor of a planet later named Shakespeare. It was all a lie, however. Mazer never left the Sol System again. He continued to work with Hyrum Graff in the Ministry of Colonization.[7]
Around 2 AX, Mazer communicated with Graff in some way and discussed the luck of humanity's victories over the Formics and the possible threat of a Formic fleet coming from a world that survived the Third Invasion. Later, Graff had another conversation with Mazer where he discussed descendants, and how nothing compared to having genetic offspring compared to a child that one mentored. Mazer told Graff not to extend his life with relativistic voyages, since he had experienced one and said it was like prison. He also said he felt more of a connection with Ender than his actual great-grandchildren.[8]
Though he was not seen for years during the wars on Earth after Ender's victory, Mazer resurfaced around 8 AX to offer Han Tzu and Bean passage into space. Han Tzu refused, while Bean agreed.[9]
He accompanied Bean's wife, Petra Arkanian, to Portugal where she retrieved a girl named Bella, who had been born by a surrogate mother carrying an embryo that belonged to Bean and Petra.[9]
As Peter Wiggin rebuilt the Hegemony into the Free People of Earth, Graff and Mazer offered Ender's colleagues the opportunity to leave Earth and govern a planet. It was their fear that the Battle School graduates would be used in the worldwide conflict, manipulated by whatever political power rose to prominence, and he wanted to prevent that. Every member who received the offer said no, as they were already too involved in matters on Earth to leave.[9]
As Mazer and Peter spoke together, they agreed the time was right for the International Fleet to give Bean a personal starship,[9] the Herodotus.[10] They'd promised to take him and his genetically altered children into space to await a cure for their mutation. Mazer had located all but one of Bean's children, and under the direction of Peter, delivered them to Bean and Petra.[9]
Mazer also facilitated the divorce between Bean and Petra. He knew much of Petra's heartache at saying good-bye to her husband and children, as he'd experienced a similar period of sadness when he left Earth after stopping the Formics nearly a century earlier. Petra doubted his compassion, but Mazer reiterated his love for her, Bean, and all the other Battle School graduates.[9]
Many years later, once the Free People of Earth encorporated every government in the world save for the United States, Mazer died.[7]
Mazer's life and death were immortalized in a series of books on the history of the Formic Wars, written by Valentine Wiggin. In these books, Mazer was credited as the military hero he was, but his love for his family and the Battle Schoolers was also an important point. Humanity thought of Mazer as a hero long before Ender defeated the Formics, and they remembered him as such long after world peace was established.[7]
A military man, Mazer was dutiful to his fellow soldiers and superiors, even when they abused their power. As the Formic Wars progress Mazer slowly loses more and more of his morality, however. In 97 BX, he is apprehensive about the training of children at the Variable Gravity Acclimatization School, but by 0 BX he has no qualms about manipulating and lying to Ender Wiggin about the Formics and the "simulation" he was supposedly playing. His time spent completely alone on his relativistic journey likely led to the further deterioration of his morality as well.
In the original "Ender's Game" short story, his name is Maezr Rackham.[11]
He is portrayed by Ben Kingsley in Ender's Game (Film).[12]
Mazer had an O+ blood type.[5]
Mazer's International Fleet Military ID was 7811231002.[6]
Known email addresses:
notoccamsrazor@stayanonymous.net[6]
"I am your enemy, the first one you've ever had who was smarter than you. There is no teacher but the enemy. No one but the enemy will ever tell you what the enemy is going to do. No one but the enemy will ever teach you how to destroy and conquer. Only the enemy shows you where you are weak. Only the enemy tells you when he is strong. And the rules of the game are what you can do to him and what you can stop him from doing to you. I am your enemy from now on. From now on, I am your teacher."
— Ender's Game, Page 184
"Early to bed and early to rise makes a man stupid and blind in the eyes."
"Since when do you have to tell the enemy when he has won?"
↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "Mazer in Prison"
↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Ender's Game
↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 Earth Awakens
↑ Earth Unaware
↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 Earth Afire
↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 6.15 6.16 6.17 6.18 6.19 6.20 6.21 6.22 6.23 6.24 6.25 6.26 6.27 6.28 6.29 6.30 6.31 6.32 The Swarm
↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Ender in Exile
↑ Children of the Fleet
↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 Shadow of the Giant
↑ Shadows in Flight
↑ "Ender's Game"
↑ Ender's Game (Film)
Polemarchs: Polemarch Khudabadi Ketkar • Polemarch Averbach • Polemarch Jawaharlal Chamrajnagar • Polemarch Bakossi Wuri
Strategoi: Strategos Yulian Robinov • Strategos Shimon Levy • Strategos Julian Delphiki
High-ranking Officers: Major Anderson • Admiral Andrew Wiggin • Rear Admiral Fareed Zembassi • Captain Helena Rudolf • Admiral Hinckley Brown • Captain Hong • Colonel Hyrum Graff • Major Imbu • Colonel Li • Captain Mangold • Admiral Mazer Rackham • Colonel Michio Soshi • Admiral Quincy Morgan • Rear Admiral Shongwe • Captain Uphanad • Colonel Urska Kaluza • Vice Admiral Vaganov
Personnel: Afraima • Ensign Akbar • Carlotta • Cadet Chati • Sergeant Dap • Captain Dimak • Officer Jarrko Kitunen • Kaufman • Maria Rafaella Ochoa • Lieutenant Mustafa Shambhani • Nardelli • Lieutenant Odd Oddson • Lieutenant Prem Chamrajnagar • Lieutenant Commander Reginald Ravenshaw • Rimas • Sel Menach • Vitaly Kolmogorov
Groups: Second Formic War Characters • Ender Quintet Characters • Shadow Saga Characters • Fleet School Characters
Locations: Earth • Battle School • WAMRED Space Station • Fleet School • Variable Gravity Acclimatization School • Eros • Command School • International Fleet Schools
Ships: Condor • Gagak • IFcoltrans1 • Vandalorum
Retrieved from "https://enderverse.fandom.com/wiki/Mazer_Rackham?oldid=20192"
Enderverse
Characters introduced in Ender's Game
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1 Andrew Wiggin
2 Formics
3 Bean
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