A Prayer for the Crown-Shy: A Monk and Robot Book (Monk & Robot 2)

Building a canvas for others to explore themselves on was rather the point of monastic service, after all.

That doesn’t sit right with me, not at all. I’d just be a leech if I did that.” Mosscap looked confused. “What’s wrong with being a leech?” “You know what I mean,” said Dex. “I don’t,” said Mosscap. Dex sighed. “A leech is a person who takes without giving back. It’s a metaphor.” Mosscap considered that. “I don’t think it’s very kind to use an enti

You don’t have to have a reason to be tired. You don’t have to earn rest or comfort. You’re allowed to just be. I say that wherever I go.” They threw a hand toward their wagon, its wooden sides emblazoned with the summer bear. “It’s painted on the side of my home! But I don’t feel like it’s true, for me. I feel like it’s true for everyone else but

Mosscap was deep in thought as well, but evidently on a different thread. “So, you prefer to be uncomfortable?” Mosscap said. “Of course not,” Mx. Avery said. “But I think there’s such a thing as too comfortable.” They grinned. “I’m guessing our tea-slinging friend here would disagree.”

Mosscap gave Dex a reproachful look. “All parasites have value, Sibling Dex. Not to their hosts, perhaps, but you could say the same about a predator and a prey animal. They all give back—not to the individual but to the ecosystem at large. Wasps are tremendously important pollinators. Birds and fish eat bloodsucks.”

“On the contrary, our way of life shows you how comfortable the world is on its own. Paring things down makes the small comforts all the sweeter.

“Nobody should be barred from necessities or comforts just because they don’t have the right number next to their name.”

Welcome comfort, they reminded themself, rubbing the little pectin-printed bear with their thumb. Without it, you cannot stay strong.

“You’re saying that instead of a system of currency that tracks individual trade, you have one that facilitates exchange through the community. Because … all exchange benefits the community as a whole?”