descolada

The Descolada is a fictional virus described in Orson Scott Card's Enderverse, most prominently in Xenocide. It is encountered on the planet Lusitania among its native inhabitants, the pequeninos (piggies). The virus is presented as a pathogen with unusual properties: it can integrate into host genomes, influence development, and, for the pequeninos, appears essential to their reproductive cycle and social communication. Some descriptions suggest it has a quasi-sentient or symbiotic quality, participating in the species' biology rather than simply causing disease.

In-universe, the Descolada is both a mystery and a threat to humans; it complicates colonization, bioethics, and intercultural contact. Human researchers seek to understand and control it, but eradication could threaten the pequeninos' survival and the planet's ecology. As the story unfolds, the virus becomes central to questions about language, consciousness, and the boundaries between life forms. The Descolada also has cross-species variants that can infect humans or other organisms, raising concerns about disease and cross-cultural exchange.

Scholarly and fan discussions treat the Descolada as a focal point for themes such as xenolinguistics, biosocial ethics, and the responsibilities of scientists toward sentient ecosystems. It has appeared across multiple books in the Ender series, with its biology and symbolism used to explore cooperation between previously incompatible biological communities and the possibility of peaceful coexistence.