Those who seek and those who find

"Those who seek and those who find" is the eleventh chapter in the first book of The Starless Sea. It is the seventh story in the book Sweet Sorrows and the eleventh chapter overall.

Summary
Doors to the Harbor on the Starless Sea exist around the world, many in very unlikely places. They call out to those people who are looking for them.

Those who find these doors may or may not choose to go through. When they do, they may or may not choose to stay. Some leave and never come back, eventually forgetting their experience. Others use the Harbor as a retreat from their lives above, and others remain permanently, shaping the space. Although they believe that the space will last forever, all things change in time.

Major Characters

 * None

Minor Characters

 * None

Trivia and Connections

 * The celebrations described in this chapter are later experienced by Zachary, albeit in spectral form.
 * The concept of seeking and finding is also referenced in the toast common throughout the book: "To seeking." "To finding."
 * The Algonquin Hotel Annual Literary Masquerade, sponsored by the Collector's Club, is an echo of the celebrations described in this chapter.

Analysis
This chapter does not advance the narrative, but instead presents the clearest picture we have of the Harbor in its prime. A vibrant community existed within it, accepting of everyone and formed around the boundless exercise of creativity. The doors specifically attract those who are seeking such a place, and in the Harbor, they find it. Zachary too seeks it, but when he arrives, he does not find it, or at least not in the form he expects. The final lines of the chapter foreshadow the decline of the Harbor.

Quotes

 * Those who seek will find.
 * This is their world, starless and sacred. They think it impervious. Impenetrable and eternal. Yet all things change in time.