Earth Abides

by George R. Stewart

Biologically, man has for too long a time been rolling an uninterrupted run of sevens.

When the opportunity was at your hand, you did not dare to seize it. When the opportunity was lost, it became precious.

Maurine herself was a Catholic, and so was Molly. They could still cross themselves and say a Hail Mary, but otherwise they were in a bad situation, having no confessor and no way of celebrating mass. As Ish reflected, the Catholic Church had considered almost all possibilities, but apparently never the one of getting reorganized after the Apostolic Succession was broken and only two women remained.

“Genius is the capacity for seeing what is not there.” Of course, like every other definition of genius, that one could be shot to pieces also, because it obviously included the madman, as well as the genius.