Octavia E. Butler - Earthseed, Book 1 -… [714]

Dad gave him a sad smile. “Not now,” he said. “Not at first.” He shook his head. “Kagimoto, Stamm, Frampton: Japanese, German, Canadian. When I was young, people said it would come to this. Well, why shouldn’t other countries buy what’s left of us if we put it up for sale. I wonder how many of the people in Olivar have any idea what they’re doing.” — , Octavia E. Butler - Earthseed, Book 1 -…, 714

Note

The chapter’s sharpest turn: “Not now… Not at first” answers Marcus’s confidence by relocating slavery into time rather than status — the danger is the interval. The corporate names recited flatly as a national obituary, then the bitter rhetorical “why shouldn’t” that treats the country as merchandise offered by its own sellers.