Fact: Orson Scott Card hates gay marriage. He hates it a lot. In fact, he hates it so much that he sat on the board of the National Organization for Marriage for four long years.

Fact: Orson Scott Card wrote a very popular science-fiction novel called Ender’s Game, which is now a major motion picture, scheduled for a November release.

Fact: Orson Scott Card recently called the debate over same-sex marriage “moot“, glumly acknowledging that our team won the day. It’s probably a complete coincidence that he came to such a conclusion right around the time that Geeks Out called for a boycott of Ender’s Game, which would put a big dent in Card’s profits from the upcoming film.

Fact: Audi and its team of designers supplied an important virtual vehicle for Ender’s Game, despite the fact that Audi is a gay-friendly automaker. From Audi’s glowing, giddy press release: “With its visionary design, the Audi fleet shuttle quattro blends easily into the world of the science fiction feature film and combines futuristic design with groundbreaking technology.”

Given those facts, why in the name of Edie Windsor would Audi crawl in bed with Ender’s Game and the lighting rod known as Orson Scott Card? Alas, it was probably a marketing ploy to get the attention of young drivers and their parents, the same way that Volvo aligned itself with Twilight.

The only difference is, Twilight wasn’t written by a tinfoil hat-wearing nutjob whose antigay tirades have inspired boycotts. (As in, more than one.)

Now, Audi finds itself in the same unenviable position that many sponsors of Russia’s 2014 Winter Olympics find themselves: aligning its product with a big ol’ bunch of gay hate.

Which raises an important question: as LGBT consumers, straight allies, and other interested parties, what should our reaction be to Audi’s participation in Ender’s Game?

• Ignore it, as most folks will surely do.
• Boycott Audi, which seems unlikely and vaguely unfair. (Though really, someone in Audi’s marketing department should’ve seen this coming.)
• Encourage Audi to be more aggressive in its support of LGBT advocacy and organizations. Who knows? Maybe Audi could drag its sister, Porsche, into the 21st century. (NB: We’re not holding our breath.)

We’ve asked Audi to comment on its participation in Ender’s Game, but we haven’t yet received a response. We’ll post it when/if it arrives.

[Thanks to Joe.My.God. for the links and John Voelcker for the tip.]