"You know how many times we've talked about
the Earth, how she's not doing too well because of the way humans have
mistreated her. You also know there were many of us
who tried to convince people to set aside their differences and
work together to heal this dying world. The truth is, John,
every one of us is responsible for the Earth's troubles and, deep down, I'm sure
every human being knows that all it would take to return her to a paradise
would be to leave her alone and let her heal. But, every time she's
on her way to healing, we make her sick again."
"We keep picking at the scabs," said John, matter-of-factly,
remebering how he'd done just that when he'd had chicken pox as a kid. He'd
scratched a few of the welts, though his Mom had warned him not to, and wound
up with two tiny, crater-like scars on his forehead. He felt the pock marks with his
fingers as he waited for George to respond.
"That is exactly right, John," said his grandfather.
"And now, it has been decided that it is too late to save this precious jewel of a planet.
Instead of looking at the problem with our common sense, that natural intelligence we carry
within each of us, we have looked at it with our fear.
"As you know from our lessons, fear kept us from giving up fossil fuels
and nuclear power, though we already knew how to produce energy cleanly and
safely from the sun and the wind. Because of our fear of change, we allowed our food,
our water and the very air we breathe to be polluted. It was pollution that destroyed
the fingernail-thin layer of ozone protecting us from the sun's
deadly rays.
"And that's why the Shield Web was created," said John,
finishing George's sentence, reciting the words the same way he chanted the Lord's
Prayer in church.