Octavia E. Butler - Earthseed, Book 1 -… [384]

“Into the abyss, Daughter.” But I wasn’t in trouble any more. Not at the moment. “You’ve just noticed the abyss,” he continued. “The adults in this community have been balancing at the edge of it for more years than you’ve been alive.” … “Maybe it’s time to look down. Time to look for some hand and foot holds before we just get pushed in.” — , Octavia E. Butler - Earthseed, Book 1 -…, 384

Note

The chapter’s governing metaphor arrives as an ordinary father-daughter exchange: the abyss is not a revelation but a fatigue the adults have normalized. Holding them upright is the shift from ‘you’ve just noticed’ to ‘time to look down’ — the same precipice re-framed from dread to a climbing problem with hand and foot holds. The mundane ‘hand and foot holds’ keeps the cosmic image workable rather than ornamental.