"As for you..." Nicodemus paused. "We haven't talked about whether you should stay."
Racso had never really considered the possibility that he would not stay at Thorn Valley. For a moment he was at a loss for words. Finally he said weakly, "I want to stay."
"Why?" Nicodemus asked.
Racso hesitated. He wanted to speak well, but he was scared. After a while he said, "I want to be a scientist. I want to be a hero, like you."
Nicodemus looked genuinely startled. He laughed briefly. His good eye was open wide, and he regarded Racso with quite amusement. "I am not a hero," he said. "And Thorn Valley is not in the business of raising heroes. Heroes are creatures of adversity – war, fire, accident or disaster. Our dreams for Thorn Valley don’t include the tragic circumstances that produce heroes. What we want is a community where rats cooperate to provide food and shelter, where work and pleasure are part of everyone’s life."
"But you'll need heroes," Racso argued. "You'll need leaders."
"Leaders, yes," Nicodemus nodded. "But leaders are no more heroic than the rat who carries more grain than she really has to, or the student who does not lose his temper when another rat takes what is rightfully his."
No comments:
Post a Comment