Parable of the Talents

project—or rather it's hundreds of projects. Maybe thou­sands. And with no guarantees of anything. Politicians, on the other hand, are short-term thinkers, opportunists, some­times with consciences, but opportunists nevertheless. Business people are hungry for profit, short- and long-term. The truth is, preparing for interstellar travel and then send­ing out ships filled with colonists is bound to be a job so long, thankless, expensive, and difficult that I suspect that only a religion could do it. A lot of people will find ways to make money from it. That might get things started. But it will take something as essentially human and as essentially irrational as religion to keep them focused and keep it going—for generations if it takes generations. I suspect it will. You see, I have thought about this.'

Len thought about it herself for a while, then said, 'If that's what you believe, why don't you tell people to go to the stars because that's what God wants them to do—and don't start explaining to me that your God doesn't want anything. I understand that. But most people won't under­stand it.'

'The people of Acorn did.'

'And where are they?'

That hurt like a punch in the face. 'No one knows better than I do how miserably I failed my people,' I said.

Len looked away, embarrassed. 'I didn't mean it that way,' she said. 'I'm sorry. I just mean that what you're say­ing just isn't something people are going to understand and get enthusiastic about—at least not quickly. Did people join Acorn for Earthseed or in the hope of feeding their kids?'

I sighed and nodded. 'They did it to feed their kids and to live in a community that didn't look down on them for being poor or enslave them when they were vulnerable. It took some of the adults years to accept Earthseed. The kids got into it right away, though. I thought the kids would be the missionary teachers.'

'Maybe they would have been, if they'd had the chance. But that way didn't work. What are you going to do now?'

'With Jarret's Crusaders still running loose? I don't know.' This wasn't entirely true. I did have some ideas, but I wanted to hear what Len had to say. She had been inter­esting and thoughtful so far.

'You're good at talking to people,' she said. 'They like you. Hell, they trust you. Why can't you just preach to them like any other minister? Preach the way Jarret does. Have you ever heard any of his speeches? Most of them are ser­mons. Newspeople have a hard time opposing anything he wants because he's always on God's side. Guess whose side that puts them on?'

'And you think I should do that?'

'Of course you should do that if you believe what you say.'

'I'm not a demagogue.'

'That's too bad. That leaves the field to people who are demagogues—to the Jarrets of the world. And there have always been Jarrets. Probably there always will be.'

We walked in silence for a while, then I said, 'What about you?'

'What do you mean? You know where I'm going.'

'Stay with me. Go somewhere else.'

'You're going to Oregon to see your brother and find your child.'

'Yes. And I'm also going to make Earthseed what it should be—the way we humans finally manage to grow up.'

'You intend to try again?'

'I don't really have any choice. Earthseed isn't just what I believe. It's who I am. It's why I exist.'

'You say in your book that we don't have purpose, but potential.'

I smiled. She had a photographic memory or nearly so. But she wasn't above using it unfairly to win an argument.

I quoted,

'We are born

Not with purpose,

But