- hyperempathy syndromenounChapter 1 →
A condition, invented in this novel, in which a person physically feels the pain and pleasure that other people around them are experiencing, as if the sensations were happening to their own body.
“I feel what I see others feeling or what I believe they feel. Hyperempathy syndrome is what the doctors called it.”
- EarthseednounChapter 3 →
The personal belief system Lauren invents, built on the idea that God is Change and that humanity's destiny is to spread life beyond Earth.
- go-bagnounChapter 5 →
A pre-packed bag of essential survival supplies kept ready so a person can flee immediately in an emergency without stopping to gather anything.
“I've begun to put together what I think of as a go-bag—a pack of things I'd need if I had to leave in a hurry.”
- psychological crutchphraseChapter 5 →
Something people rely on emotionally to feel safe or stable even though it provides no real protection or practical help.
“The neighborhood wall is a joke. It's a psychological crutch—nothing more.”
- pyronounChapter 6 →
In this novel, a street drug that makes its users experience intense pleasure from watching or setting fires, turning them into compulsive arsonists.
- paintsnounChapter 6 →
Slang in this novel for a drug (also called Pyro) whose users are recognizable by the paint-like discoloration it leaves on their skin; it causes an addiction to fire.
- empathnounChapter 1 →
A person who involuntarily feels the physical sensations — especially pain — that others around them are experiencing, as Lauren does because of her hyperempathy syndrome.
- supernaturaladjectiveChapter 9 →
Belonging to a realm beyond the natural, physical world — here used to describe gods or divine beings whose power cannot be explained by nature or science.
“Earthseed deals with ongoing reality, not with supernatural authority figures.”
- propertynounChapter 8 →
A person treated as an object owned by someone else, with no rights or freedom — used here in the context of slavery or forced servitude.
“'I am not property,' I said. 'I'm not going to be property.'”
- sacredadjectiveChapter 13 →
Regarded as holy or spiritually significant, deserving deep respect because of a connection to something divine or to profound human experience.
“This land has already swallowed people I loved. I don't know whether that makes it sacred or cursed.”
- cursedadjectiveChapter 13 →
Believed to carry a supernatural evil or misfortune, bringing suffering to those connected with it.
“This land has already swallowed people I loved. I don't know whether that makes it sacred or cursed.”
- intentional communityphraseChapter 12 →
A group of people who deliberately choose to live together and share resources according to a common set of values or beliefs, rather than simply ending up as neighbors by chance.
- deformitynounChapter 10 →
Here used figuratively to mean an abnormality or flaw — something about a person that sets them apart from others in a way that can be a burden rather than an advantage.
“My hyperempathy syndrome is a deformity, not a gift. But it's what I have.”
- pick offphraseChapter 9 →
To kill or eliminate individuals one by one, especially when they are isolated and therefore easy targets.
“We're all refugees. The question is whether we're going to act like it—scattered and easy to pick off—or whether we're going to do something smarter.”
- lastingadjectiveChapter 1 →
Continuing or enduring permanently, without fading or ending — used here to contrast everything that changes with the one truth that does not: Change itself.
“The only lasting truth / Is Change. / God / Is Change.”
- barricadedverbChapter 1 →
Blocked off and fortified a place with barriers to keep dangerous outsiders from getting in.
- refugeesnounChapter 9 →
People forced to flee their homes because of violence, disaster, or the collapse of the conditions that made life there possible.
“We're all refugees. The question is whether we're going to act like it—scattered and easy to pick off—or whether we're going to do something smarter.”
- feudalismnoun
A social system in which powerful lords or corporations control land and resources, and ordinary people must work for them under exploitative conditions with little freedom or recourse.
- arsonistsnounChapter 6 →
People who deliberately set fire to buildings or property, often as an act of destruction or crime.
- distractedadjectiveChapter 9 →
Pulled away from clear thinking or effective action by something that takes up mental energy — here, by false beliefs that prevent people from dealing with real problems.
“Worship of supernatural authority figures tends to keep people confused and distracted.”
Parable of the SowerNovel by Octavia E. Butler