Parable of the Talents - Octavia E Butler Page 0,89
thus we must have no trees nearby except those that produce the fruit and nuts that our “teachers” like to eat. Funny how that worked out. The orange, lemon, grapefruit, persimmon, pear, walnut, and avocado trees were good. All others were wicked temptations.
This is what Harry told me, bit by bit, during the times we managed to be near one another in our work.
“They used the collars, you know?” he said. “On that first day, they waited until we were all conscious. Then they came in and one of them said, ‘We don’t want you to make any mistakes. We want you to understand how this is going to work.’ Then they started with Jorge Cho, and he screamed and writhed like a worm on a hook. Then they got Alan Faircloth, then Michael, then Bankole.
“Bankole was awake, but not really alert. He was just sitting on the floor, holding his head between his hands, staring down. They had taken all the furniture out by then, and piled it in a heap out where the trucks were. So none of us fell on anything but the floor. When they used the collar on him, he didn’t make a sound. He just toppled over onto his side and twitched, sort of convulsed. He never screamed, never said a word. But he went into worse convulsions than any of the others had. Then he was dead. That was all. Michael said the collar had triggered a massive heart attack.”
Harry didn’t say more for a long time—or maybe he did, and I just didn’t hear it. I was crying in spite of myself. I could be quiet, but I couldn’t stop the tears. Then I heard him whisper, as we passed one another again, “I’m sorry, Lauren. God, I’m sorry. He was a good guy.”
Bankole had delivered both of Harry’s children. Bankole had delivered everyone’s children, including his own daughter. Without believing in Earthseed, or even in Acorn, he had stayed and worked hard to make it all work. He had done more than anyone to make it work. How stupid and pointless that he should die at the hands of men who didn’t know him or care about him or even intend to kill him. They just didn’t know how to use the powerful weapons they possessed. They gassed Zahra to death by mistake because they didn’t take her size into consideration. They shocked Bankole into a heart attack by mistake because they didn’t take his age into consideration. It must have been his age. He’d had no heart trouble before. He was a strong, healthy man who should have lived to see his daughter grow up and maybe later father a son or another daughter.
It was all I could do not to fold up among the rows of plants and just lie there and moan and cry. But I stayed upright, somehow managed not to attract our “teachers’ ” attentions.
After a time, I told him about Zahra. “I really believe it was her size,” I finished. “Maybe these people don’t know much about their weapons. Or maybe they just don’t care. Maybe both. None of them lifted a finger to help Teresa.”
There was another long, long silence. We worked and Harry got himself under control. When he spoke again, his voice was steady.
“Olamina, we’ve got to kill these bastards!”
He almost never called me Olamina. We’d known each other since we were both in diapers. He called me Lauren except during the more important Gathering Day ceremonies. He had called me Olamina for the first time when I Welcomed his first child into the Acorn community, and into Earthseed. It was as though for him the name were a title.
“First we’ve got to get rid of these collars,” I said. “Then we have to find out what happened to the kids. If…if they’re alive, we have to find out where they are.”
“Do you think they are alive?”
“I don’t know.” I drew a deep breath. “I’d give almost anything to know where my Larkin is and whether she’s all right.” Another pause. “These people lie about almost everything. But there must be records somewhere. There must be something. We’ve got to try to find out. Gather information. Seek weakness. Watch, wait, and do what you have to to stay alive!”
A “teacher” was coming toward us. Either he had spotted us whispering as we worked or he was just checking. I let Harry move past me. Our few moments of talk were over.