Gleanings (Arc of a Scythe)

by Neal Shusterman

This is what ties us to the masses, yet restrains us from being one with them. And with each new gleaning, We bleed and break anew, yet our resolve never changes.

For if my study of human nature has taught me anything, it is that truth and conviction are not comfortable bedfellows, and what one believes will often cast out that which is true. Because it is easier to believe that scythes aren’t real, and that I am a liar, and that the moon is made of cheese, than it is to admit that everything you believe about the world is wrong.

But Xenocrates didn’t seem concerned. “A small matter. It’s not as if I’ll be swimming in it.”

If you had all the time in the world to learn whatever you wanted—and people now did—did knowledge lose its meaning? And if everything was now just for fun, was anything for serious? “Wynter’s

“You, who have your students not only work on canvas, but stretch and bleach their own. You, who have drawn the enmity of your colleagues by choosing against all common sense to do what’s difficult rather than what’s expedient. You, who fight a noble battle to hold on to something that may already be lost.