Off to a good start (Ch. 17-20)

It seems to have been a good couple of days for Lauren and Earthseed. A few chapters ago, I thought it was very possible that Lauren and the other two remaining community members wouldn't survive the end of the book, because they were often narrowly escaping death and making some serious mistakes. Now, though, I think we can probably assume that the group is going to make it to the north, because they've swelled in size and ability. They were even able to fend off an attack by a large group of people after they rescued the two sisters from the collapsed building. The group seems like it's in a good place moving forward, with many capable and trustworthy people who will protect each other (and also are starting to believe in Earthseed). 

On a completely unrelated note, Laruen is an interesting religious leader. Like most people who found religions, she seems to have a mystical ability, her hyperempathy. Usually, this mystical ability is related to the religion (like, for example, it's granted by God), but I'm having trouble connecting Lauren's empathy to Earthseed. Maybe she can feel the change in other people's feelings? Please comment something if you can think of a better connection haha. Anyway, her hyperempathy seems like it's not that useful to her anyway, so maybe it's not as big a deal as it seems (though as she says, if everybody in society had it, the violence that plagues them would go away).