One
day I was planting in the garden for my second spring
in Humping when a man came up on a horse. The mere
possession of such an animal made him important; when
he identified himself as Lord Barton's servant, Vran
immediately rushed out of the house, called for me,
urged me to come quickly. "It's a man from the cliff
house," she said, afraid. I came.
"My master wishes to see you," said the mounted man.
"When the planting's done," I said.
"Lord Barton is unaccustomed to waiting."
"Then he should rejoice, for he'll learn something new today." I went back to the garden. Soon the servant left.
Pages 196-197
Orson Scott Card
Treason
It was the face that made me ache inside. He thought he had known pain, and he had, to a degree greater than many men. His face showed maturity beyond his years, and kindness, and compassion. But I had seen my own face in mirrors, had studied what time and my own acts had done to me, and my face was not kind or compassionate. I had seen too much. I had killed too often. There was no sweetness left in me, not to look at, and I yearned to be as innocent as he.
Impossible, I reminded myself. That choice was made years ago in the sand at the border of Schwartz. And I began to suspect that the ultimate sacrifice isn't death after all; the ultimate sacrifice is willingly bearing the fullest penalty for your own actions. I had borne it, and I couldn't hope not to have the scars show in my face and my body.
Page 268
Orson Scott Card
Treason
"My master wishes to see you," said the mounted man.
"When the planting's done," I said.
"Lord Barton is unaccustomed to waiting."
"Then he should rejoice, for he'll learn something new today." I went back to the garden. Soon the servant left.
Pages 196-197
Orson Scott Card
Treason
It was the face that made me ache inside. He thought he had known pain, and he had, to a degree greater than many men. His face showed maturity beyond his years, and kindness, and compassion. But I had seen my own face in mirrors, had studied what time and my own acts had done to me, and my face was not kind or compassionate. I had seen too much. I had killed too often. There was no sweetness left in me, not to look at, and I yearned to be as innocent as he.
Impossible, I reminded myself. That choice was made years ago in the sand at the border of Schwartz. And I began to suspect that the ultimate sacrifice isn't death after all; the ultimate sacrifice is willingly bearing the fullest penalty for your own actions. I had borne it, and I couldn't hope not to have the scars show in my face and my body.
Page 268
Orson Scott Card
Treason
"What sort of egomaniacal monster are you?""A human being," she said.
"The worst
kind of monster," he said. "We're all monsters, living
in utter isolation, sending out words like ambassadors
that beg for tribute, for worship. Love me, love me. And
then when the words come back, 'I love you, I worship
you, you are great and good,' these monsters doubt,
these monsters know that it is a lie. 'Prove it,' they
say. 'Obey me, give me power.' And when they are obeyed,
the monster grows hungrier. 'How do I know you aren't
manipulating me?' cries the monster. 'If you love me,
die for me, give all to me and leave nothing for
yourself'! "
"If human beings are all monsters, why should I sacrifice anything for them?"
"Because they are beautiful monsters," he whispered. "And when they live in a network of peace and hope, when they trust the world and their deepest hungers are fulfilled, then within that system, that delicate web, there is joy. That is what we live for, to bind the monsters together, to murder their fear and give birth to their beauty."
Pages 66 - 67
Orson Scott Card
Wyrms
"If human beings are all monsters, why should I sacrifice anything for them?"
"Because they are beautiful monsters," he whispered. "And when they live in a network of peace and hope, when they trust the world and their deepest hungers are fulfilled, then within that system, that delicate web, there is joy. That is what we live for, to bind the monsters together, to murder their fear and give birth to their beauty."
Pages 66 - 67
Orson Scott Card
Wyrms
(3)
I’ll tell you what I know of you. Many humans, most humans, cringe in their solitude, frightened and weak, struggling to bring into themselves as many things and people as they can. To own so much that they can feel large and believe, falsely, that they are not alone. But you. You are not afraid of your own voice in the dark.
Page 180
Orson Scott Card
Wyrms
"I find out what I really want by seeing what I do," said Ender. "That's what we all do, if we are honest about it. We have our feelings, we make our decisions, but in the end we look back on our lives and see how sometimes we ignored our feelings, while most of our decisions were actually rationalizations because we had already decided in our secret hearts before we ever recognized it consciously.
Orson Scott Card
Children of the Mind
(from a forwarded e-mail)
(4)
“How do you know God doesn’t want Unwyrm to win?” asked Angel.
“If he wins, we’ll know God wanted him to.” Will smiled. “Reality is the most perfect vision of God’s will. It’s discovering God’s will in advance that causes all the trouble.”
Page 290
Orson Scott Card
Wyrms