Today, one of the brothers asked me: Is it a terrible prison, not to be able to move from the place where you're standing?You answered...I told him that I am now more free than he is. The inability to move frees me from the obligation to act.You who speak languages, you are such liars.
In this excerpt from Orson Scott Card's "Xenocide," a poignant discussion takes place between two brothers. One brother questions whether being physically unable to move is akin to being trapped in a terrible prison. The other brother responds by suggesting that his limitations have actually granted him a new sense of freedom. He feels liberated from the pressures and obligations that come with being active and mobile.
This perspective challenges the conventional understanding of freedom. The narrator implies that true freedom might not solely be about physical movement but also about the choices we face and the burdens we carry. In essence, embracing one's circumstances can lead to a different, perhaps more profound, understanding of what it means to be free.