Download the Book - Islam and Science Fiction

Had we forced them to it, they certainly would have destroyed the
ship. Their only chance to avoid such drastic action was to spring one
of their traps. But the trap took time to set, and I gave them precious
little of it. The crew-members we murdered laid down their lives
willingly so that their crew-mates would have that time. That poor
woman in engineering, whom I tortured so mercilessly, watched her
friends die knowing she must, rather than letting us take the ship.
I am told she has taken her own life. Evidently I was effective in
convincing her that those deaths really were her responsibility. Add
her death to the tally against me, as certainly as if I had pulled the
trigger myself.
The compassion of the crew went far beyond dedication to each
other, though. They were dedicated to humankind. Not one of them
would have allowed their ship to be used for the destruction of Earth,
even at the cost of a horrible death.
Recognizing that fact has led me to another realization, one
which may startle even you. Most people, yourself included, would
probably also be prepared to make such a sacrifice under similar
circumstances. I am not referring to some noble act to save a small
group of imperiled strangers, although some of you would probably
sacrifice yourselves even then. I am talking about saving all of
humanity from almost certain destruction. For most of you, faced
with the stark facts, the equation is an easy one, even if you do not
recognize it now. Sixteen billion equally worthy lives to one
personally cherished existence. You could not live with your
conscience if living cost you your brothers.
That equation came up negative for me. Remember that I was
trained to despise much of the world's population. I would never have
laid down my life for the human race. I have always been taught that
you are weak, decadent, and unworthy. I believed that you were
divided against one another, and that your hatred and selfishness
would make it impossible for you to make such a sacrifice. I blinded
myself to the fact that, due to mindless hatred, I was divided against
the world.
The third reason we did not succeed is the most important. All
things happen according to God's will.
When I was first put into this cell, I found in it a copy of the
Koran. It was marked to a page of "The Night Journey" which
contained the following passage:
And walk not the earth exultantly; certainly thou wilt never tear
the earth open, nor attain the mountains in height.
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