Card mentions a number of examples of this strange development. As Card has Alvin searching his mind for a possible explanation for the gathering going on in Hatrack River, some of his readers may quickly find the explanation that escapes Alvin. Skilled craftsmen and those with knacks for needful things flocked to a city known as Nauvoo and Card begins the tale of just such a miraculous gathering as he prepares to write the story of the Making of a Crystal City and, ultimately, the death of its Maker. And as in Nauvoo, where not only the good in heart gathered, so too in Hatrack River the forces of Unmaking gather as well. Card weaves this glistening thread masterfully into the main fabric of his cloth.
Card also writes about redemption.
In AJ, Card points often toward the ultimate redemption of America. Peggy Larner, Alvin's one-time teacher, has taken up the challenge to change the hearts of slave owners in Appalachee. But Peggy's actions lead not just toward liberty for the slaves but toward war as well. A redemptive, cleansing war. A war that would wash a nation clean in the blood of many saviors.