This launches both Earthseed and her influence nationwide and at the same time, as she is hopeful for the future of humanity amongst the stars, she gradually abandons hope that she will find Larkin and gives up her search. She gains a significant following among the affluent in Portland, Oregon, and one of her more ardent supporters helps her publish Earthseed: The First Book of the Living, which contains the verses she wrote defining the religion. At the same time, she decides to re-establish Earthseed by teaching individuals about the religion during her travels and training them to educate others. Lauren looks for Larkin for over a year, travelling throughout Northern California and Oregon in her search. By 2036, President Jarret is defeated after a single term due to public dissatisfaction with the ' Alaska– Canada War' and revelations of his role in witch burnings. To avoid retribution, they are forced to disperse into hiding. In 2035, Lauren and her followers eventually rebel and kill their captors. Lauren and several of the women are also regularly raped by their captors, who regard them as 'heathen'.

Their Christian American captors exploit them as forced labor under the pretext of 'reforming' them. For the next year and a half, Lauren and the other adults are enslaved and forced to wear 'shock collars'. Virtual reality headsets known as 'Dreamasks' are also popular since they enable wearers to escape their harsh reality.ĭuring the course of the novel, Acorn is attacked and taken over by Christian American 'Crusaders' and turned into a re-education camp. Slavery has resurfaced with advanced 'shock collars' being used to control slaves. Seeking to restore American power and prestige, and using the slogan ' Make America Great Again', Jarret embarks on a crusade to cleanse America of non-Christian faiths. The novel is set against the backdrop of a dystopian United States that has come under the grip of a Christian fundamentalist denomination called 'Christian America' led by President Andrew Steele Jarret. Five years after the events of the previous novel Parable of the Sower, Lauren has founded a new community called Acorn centered around her religion, Earthseed, which is predicated on the belief that humanity's destiny is to travel beyond Earth and live on other planets in order for humanity to reach adulthood. The novel consists of journal entries by Lauren and Bankole and passages by Asha Vere. Parable of the Talents is told from the points of view of Lauren Oya Olamina, her daughter Larkin Olamina/Asha Vere, and Lauren’s husband Taylor Franklin Bankole. It is the second in a series of two, a sequel to Parable of the Sower. Parable of the Talents is a science fiction novel by the American writer Octavia E.

Parable of the sower octavia butler