How we cite our quotes: (Part.Section.Paragraph)
Quote #10
Their memories, their projections and computations flooded in to Gerry, until at last he knew their nature and their function; and he knew why the ethos he had learned was too small a concept. For here at last was power which could not corrupt; for such an insight could not be used for its own sake, or against itself. Here was why and how humanity existed, troubled and dynamic, sainted by the touch of its own great destiny. Here was the witheld hand as thousands died, when by their death millions might live. And here, too, was the guide, the beacon, for such times as humanity might be in danger; here was the Guardian of Whom all humans knew—not an exterior force, nor an awesome Watcher in the sky, but a laughing thing with a human heart and reverence for its human origins, smelling of sweat and new-turned earth rather than suffused with the pale odor of sanctity. (3.21.27)
If you write a novel and make the ultimate guardian of humanity (Homo Gestalt)a laughing thing with a human heart rather than something filled withstrict rules like those of Doctor Barrows or Miss Kew—then you've written a book in which compassion and forgiveness play a huge role.