We care about moral issues, nobility, decency, happiness, goodnessโthe issues that matter in the real world, but which can only be addressed, in their purity, in fiction.
Orson Scott CardO my son Absalom,' Bean said softly, knowing for the first time the kind of anguish that could tear such words from a manโs mouth. 'my son, my son Absalom. Would God I could die for thee, O Absalom, my son. My sons!
Orson Scott CardYour dream is a good one. [. . .] The desire that is the very root of life itself: To grow until all the space you can see is part of you, under your control. It's the desire for greatness.
Orson Scott CardI be crazy too, little buddy, but at least when I be craziest, I be floating all alone in space and the crazy, she float out of me, she soak into the walls, and she don't come out till there be battles and little boys bump into the walls and squish out de crazy.
Orson Scott CardHis vices were the vices of his time and culture, but his virtues transcended the milieu of his life.
Orson Scott CardDo the gods of different nations talk to each other?...Is there some annual get-together where they compare each other's worshippers? Mine will bow their faces to the floor and trace woodgrain lines for me, says one. Mine will sacrifice animals, says another. Mine will kill anyone who insults me, says a third. Here is the question I think of most often: "Are there any who can honestly boast, My worshippers obey my good laws, and treat each other kindly, and live simple generous lives?
Orson Scott Card