Malcolm Azania

"Novels are long-term relationships, and short stories are flings. In art, as with life, I always opted for relationships."

"When we are creating art, we’re not forensically documenting reality, but rather creating doodles and caricatures expressing often passionate arguments about how one could view the world, but not necessarily our own true convictions."

"Sometimes we take an extreme position in art, but that may have more to do with expressing our emotions at the time of creation than of our true moral or strategic convictions."

"And night descended, October releasing winter to creep forth from its crypt."

"“I caint believe how foolish—!” “Yes. It was foolish,” said Tirhakah. “But freedom alone does not make men intelligent, nor do chains alone make them fools.”"

"And how did you propose to pay for the apple, if you had no hands? she asked. And the Devil said, Credit. And she asked, Who would give credit to the Devil? And the wicked one answered unto her, You’d be shocked, Toots."

"There it was again: “-25%”. Four lousy, stinking, meaningless, ugly, putrid, festering, deranged little figures on a page. How was it that something as meaningless is a meaningless scribble on a meaningless paper in a meaningless course with a meaningless professor could have so much damn meaning? Oh, right. Philosophy."

"It was sunset. It didn’t matter. Whatever aesthetic or soular value sunset once possessed in the collective mind, it had long since been scraped into shreds and dust by concrete and reinforced steel. Scraped and scrapped. The sun and moon had long since been overthrown by Argon, Xenon and Neon."

"Duty often had undesirable consequences, but if it did not it would be self-indulgence and hedonism."

"You only fight when someone try walk allova you—but when dey do, you fight wit all you got."

"The ground I sit on is not the ground I sat on. The ground I sat on breathed and moved and shuttered and moaned. The ground I sit on is still and silent. The ground I sat on pushed out green things and was crawled on by all manner of crawling things and walked on by walking things. The ground I sit on feels no pad nor hoof nor foot nor claw. The ground I sat on was belly-earth, was food-land, was eating-soil. The ground I sit on is soot and silt and frost and weed. So I stand."

"Everyone tensed. Rhetorical fingers twitched at the ragged leather of cerebral holsters."

"“Knowledge,” he said with overwhelming confidence, “can be dismissed as a collection of beliefs, or as you say, dogma, only by those so deluded with solipsism as to have no faith even in their own existence, let alone the existence of external entities—” “Inaccurate—” “I’m not done. ‘Knowledge’ is clearly the conscious affirmation, or verbal, or textual statement of that which is right and true and that of which scientific inquiry informs us.”"

"“The desire to assert that knowledge is pure subjectivity or that knowledge is never more than mere ill-founded belief is rooted in a twisted admiration for moral relativism, or perhaps worse, in an egocentric belief that ‘the universe is a product of my mind, and nothing else.’”"

"“You equate education with a desire to harm learners? Were you a human, I’d say your radicalism were driven by testosterone. In your case, I’d guess motor oil. “Education is not driven by a desire to delude learners or to harm them. On the contrary, it is our noblest activity; we import information—yes, information, the building blocks of knowledge—to students, such that they might assemble their own knowledge-acquisition drives and skills and modes. We educate such that the educated may educate themselves and others. “Indeed, we create the only perpetual motion machine: the self-aware, extra-aware cognitive engine, whose fuel is the world, whose ignition is lesson! We engage not in authoritarianism, but in liberation, for once genuine ignition is achieved, the engine discovers its own fuel; the vehicle, its own momentum."

"Experience exists and therefore is true in its mere existence, but perhaps not beyond. It may not be truthful in reference to anything beyond itself. But it may, in unprocessed form, be representative of truth in that it has not become crusted over with the false encoding of theory. And in art, one may, perhaps, create a distillation of experience, which, by being less rigidly composed and dogmatically-formed than science, be flexible enough to represent or transmit truth, or at least, to point towards it."

"In science, one becomes so obsessed with the number of feathers in a bird’s wing or its mass or muscular strength that one forgets the fact of the bird’s flight, or its beauty, or its existence. One forgets the truth of those things. Similarly, the artist who looks only within, without looking to the minutiae of the bird or the air in which the bird flies or the earth below the air, forgets those apparently solid details that may also lead him to truth. If he never bothers to examine a bird’s mass and strength, then his painting or poem can speak only of his own narcissism."

"You cannot look within, or rather, you refuse to. You fear to. So all of your manipulation of the exterior is ultimately meaningless, because it is devoid of any examined motivation. You seek to change your environment because you fear to gaze at that which makes you want to change it, because you fear that you may have to change yourself."

"And I slept, and dreamt that I gazed through an electron microscope at the surface of the Guernica. I awoke to moonlight, and was troubled, and did not easily return to sleep."

"Thursday is practically Friday and Friday is Friday."

"“MAY THE FORCE—” “—FEED YOUR HORSE!”"

"We challenge ourselves to try at least four new bizarrities in every week’s groceries."

"Loopier than a snake in a garden hose."

"I’m not saying Hamza’s cheap, but if the only thing standing between our solar system and a fleet of intergalactic enslavers was Hamza’s wallet crunched inside his fist, we’d all be drilling methane wells on Pluto right now."

"There’s only two types of people in the world, Ye, weird and boring."

"People are so lazy, they want everything to be simple, but nothing is simple. Nothing."

"People get accustomed to evil like they get accustomed to smog or noise or graffiti! But it doesn’t change what it is."

"They’re everything that’s wrong in this instant-coffee and microwave age. ‘I want it now.’ There used to be that romantic image of going off to Tibet and climbing the mountain to speak to the wise man. And when you got to the top, he could tell you the truths of the universe. Now people wanna take a helicopter to the top—or e-mail him!"

"Sky’s so big and dazzling and buzzing and crackling and moaning with all that black silence, I feel like my skull is open to space, all that way-beyond soaking directly into my brain. Stars and stars and stars...some of em planets, some of em satellites. All of em out there, alone, untouchable."

"All organic. No chemicals here, no way. The red globe grapes, $8.99 a kilo. I take a pawful, pop em, one at a time. They crunch. This is my only wine. This is my Sunday sacrament...sweet and honest and decent. No lies from chemists, or from priests. You wanna heal your soul? Step one is healing your soil."

"It is better not to know and to know that one does not know, than presumptuously to attribute some random meaning to symbols."

"Good people get hurt—bad people get ahead, get rich, get your girl. Good doesn’t triumph over evil. So, do I believe in God? He doesn’t believe in me."

"Good triumphs over evil when it’s better organized, better trained, better armed, sneakier, and gutsier than evil."

"How odd—disturbing, in fact—to hear someone address a god with such profane irreverence. But I suppose that the history of mythology is nothing if not proof that celestials are the instructors of man’s worst sins."

"Nothing like hope to doom you."

"It’s a special kind of hugging, the kind where deep down you’re facing the unspoken fact that this’s the last time you’re gonna hold somebody, and so you make your cells hold on, make em drink in somebody’s scent and texture, so you can keep em with you after the world has taken em away."

"I know I’m not the same man I was eight days ago. And I know it’s time to find out who I am."

"That uncountable myths and legends and ecclesiastical operas and dirges have at their core, if not in their trappings, near identical mechanisms, performances, and outcomes is proof most solid of the centrality of the panhuman subconscious—or superconscious—experience of the myriad and manifold wonders and terrors of the cosmos."

"Much has been dissected from among the myths to explore the significance of the mortal endurance and experience of pain. Pain, we are told, purifies the body, expands the mind, prepares the novice for the tests of life and therefore for initiation into the clan, the sect, the tribe, the gang, the squadron, the priesthood, the academy, the coven, or the board. It is clear that such suppositions regarding physical or emotional pain are true; little more need be said on such matters."

"The history of human development can neatly be divided into two epochs: (1) the feminine, yin, agro-sedentary pastoral idyll of the old-to-late Paleolithic Mother-Earth-Goddess religions and (2) the masculine, yang, technomobile hunter-gatherer-warrior field effect of urbanized, late-Neolithic-to-Modern Father-Sky-God religions."

"“You know, in my experience,” said Kareem, caging his fingers and drawing out his words, “the jokers...who talk the most about ‘playing the race card’...are the people who own all the diamonds...who’ve picked up the clubs...to beat down the spades...because they’ve got no heart.”"

"Paranoia speaks to a deeper drive than fear. Paranoia is a defiant charge to a cold, unfeeling cosmos: “Hear me! I exist! I’m important!” Because after all, if someone is actually orchestrating the chaos of the universe against you personally, then you do matter. When no one seems to care anymore, at least “enemies” give you the comforting illusion that you count."

"“Babydoll, when ain’nuthin funny, eat what’s sweet. That’s my philosophy.”"

"“What do I ‘feel’?” he sneered...Did you actually ask me what I ‘feel’? I ‘feel’ I’m surrounded by morons!”"

"As Carl Jung said, avoidance of legitimate suffering is the root of all mental illness. And one truth you must suffer is that everything and everyone you love will eventually die. Even gods."

"Even if victory were possible, it still couldn’t provide meaning or genuine happiness, because saying “I want to be the best” is simply the polite way of saying “I want everyone else to be worse.”"

"I never sought glory. Basic respect would suffice."

"The id isn’t satisfied with “enough,” because enough is never enough. The id always needs more, or specifically, more than anybody else. So “enough” becomes “more than” which becomes “all.” And even then, the id fears that all can be taken away; therefore crushing the capacity of others to resist becomes paramount."

"It’s inevitable that worship decays into contempt, because worship is ultimately about being trapped, being a slave."

"Believing in anyone more than you believe in yourself causes you to suspend your own judgment, which leads to counter-self-actualization, or self-deactivation."

"Take responsibility for your own happiness, rather than claiming telepathy you don’t have (unless you are telepathic) or ascribing to others ugly thoughts you can’t verify, and aiming endless, nonspecific blame for your mediocrity at the Trilateral Commission, “the media,” SKULL, the RAND Corporation, the long-disbanded Treemasons, the MAN, the Black Helicopter Legion, or the perennial favorite of paranoiacs, “Them.”"

"The self-delusion that mysterious forces and persons unknown are conspiring against us is, surprisingly, a comforting belief, because it means we’re significant enough in this anarchic world to warrant someone’s enmity. That delusion saves us from the far more difficult to accept reality: that we’re not that important to anyone. That the universe just isn’t “into” us. Paranoia is the emotive-psychestructure’s response to feeling ignored, unloved, or forgotten in an existence filled with random acts of destructive indifference emphasizing the inherent futility of life and struggle. If you’re ever to achieve serenity, ultimately you must accept that in such a vast cosmos, you simply don’t matter very much."

"Lack of verifiability was a paranoiac’s playground paradise."

"All of them cite that toxic spew, even though there’s not a syllable of supporting evidence. Because the controversy itself became news. Save a country, save a world, save a child—it doesn’t matter. You don’t need proof or even evidence to burn down a man’s soul. All you need is accusation."

"When dysfunctional self-distraction devolves into delusional self-destruction, neurosis turns into psychosis."

"We spent too much damn time getting down. Now it’s time to get up."

"The two former lovers finally looked at each other, their faces crawling with the crabs of conflicting emotion."

"Hnossi glowered at her daughter, a look cold enough to freeze sunshine and shatter it on the pavement."

"That diabolical deviant is smarter than he smells."

"When people are suffering, they usually hurt the people closest to them, because those are the only ones left around."

"“Never,” said the man to Rap’s silent consideration, “underestimate the stupidity of anybody who wants to be a saviour.”"

"There’re two types of the people in the world. Those who do what they say they’re gonna do, and everybody else."

"“You know what supernovas are?” “Yeah,” said JC. “Like, super-duper huge mega-stars. That explode.” “That’s right, young brother. Where’d you learn that?” “Star Trek,” he said. “Good,” chuckled Mr. Ani. “Me too, probably. In the olden days. So let’s transform all this. “People are born lead, and most people stay that way their whole lives. They’re the Leadites. “And they’re easily led astray by those who’re turned into—or who turn themselves into—the Pyrites. The Pyrites are like pirates because they hijack people, keep em hostage, steal their treasure, and prevent them from ever getting where they’re supposed to go, even dumping them on islands in the middle of nowhere or drowning them at sea. “And any gold they find, they steal it and hoard it, and even bury it in chests under the sand.” The boys nodded, grasping fragments, knowing that others were just beyond their fingertips. “So who’s left? Gold. From supernovas, light-sources so powerful they can outshine entire galaxies. Gold is knowledge: the most precious thing in the universe. “If you have everything and don’t have knowledge, you can’t use what you do have or appreciate how much it’s worth, so to you, it’s actually worthless. If you don’t have true gold, you spend your whole life chasing after and stockpiling pyrite thinking it’s worth something, when actually, it’s worth nothing.”"

"“You think this is what the gods want? What the gods won’t punish?” Great. One of those religious weirdos. “Gods this” and “punish that.” At least in my mum’s camp, I didn’t have to listen to that crap. She used to laugh at people like that. “What good are the gods?” she’d say. “Don’t be thanking them. I’m the one who got you this food.”"

"The Master said, “The ancestors scatter their wisdom like a sower his seeds, and those who would feast must first sweat beneath the sun.”"

"But women aren’t like, like…computers or suh’m. You can’t just get an access code and then programme em to do what you want em to. Trust me. About three billion guys’ve had to learn the same lesson."

"No such things as magic or miracles, the old man’d told him. Just the universe giving you endless chances to reflect and learn something through your Daily Alchemy. Up to you whether you actually did."

"I’m a daughter, like all mothers are. And I’m a sister. One day I might even be a mother myself. So even though I’ve got rights and responsibilities in two of those roles now, I’m also preparing for the rights and responsibilities I’ll have as a mother."

"Rap knew he was expected to say something. Knew what Moon taught him: if all you’ve got is dumb answers, ask a smart question."

"“Raiders?” “Gun men. Men who plannedt to kill us or rape us or sell us into slavery, or rape us and then kill us—” “Who were they? I mean, which side were they on?” “Men with guns are always on the same side,” she said. “Whoever paidt for the guns.”"

"Them boys are so street they aint got asses—they got asphalt!"

"Maybe if they weren’t constantly being injection-fed MTV/MuchMusic bling and videhoes, some of them’d dream of becoming scientists instead of…whatever the hell it was they dreamed of."

"“You’re still down with NWA?” “Why not?” He didn’t even mess with Moon’s implication. “The beats are dope. And they’ve got great flow. You can’t deny that.” “Hitler had great flow, too. And way more fans.”"

"Your spirituality is what you do with the fires that burn within."

"But khetiuta as insane as they were? They slithered with snakes just as full of isfet as they were. Khetiuta looking to make names for themselves, who didn’t know shit about cause and effect, or that every time they aimed the barrel, it stared back at them. And men too stupid to know that were dangerous beyond measure."

"But why? I asked. Since before I was born, why this mission of destruction? What threat could we possibly pose to him? Anyone who shows he can survive outside the realm of Set, proves it can be done. That another, better world is possible…there is no greater threat to a tyrant than this truth."

"We expect you to debate everything. Question it all. Turn it upside down. They are your tools for investigating the universe. Don’t hide em away. Use them, all the time. The truth can always be questioned. Only lies die in the light."

"And then once you started overturning everything, how are you sposta to know when you could stop?"

"“C’mon, now. You know I’m right. Look at history. How many butchers got butchered? How many super-thieves paid back the people they ripped off and then set the people up in mansions? And how could anybody ever pay you back for taking the life of someone you loved? “So Golden Falcon prepares us. Says, ‘forget payback. Forget ‘good triumphs over evil. Ain’gon happen. South Africa after apartheid? Right. Got millions who can’t even count on water or electricity. “So the story shoves our faces right in it: what it takes to turn people into the Destroyer. That if we keep lusting for revenge cuz justice is denied, we will become Destroyers. Probably of everything we believe in and everybody we care about.”"

"J*Justice: “Justice is equality of rights in treatment, proportionate compensation for labour and punishment for crime, and compassion and relief for sufferers.”"

"Q*Question: “To question is to seek information so as to expand intelligence. Failing to question is to stagnate or destroy intelligence.”"

"T*Truth: “Truth means that which actually is, as opposed to lies, incorrect beliefs, fantasies or foolishness, and exists independently of thinkers.”"

"She is being like jewelled dagger. Dazzles eye, but slits throat."

"“We have a maxim,” says Thag. “Find the tallest structure, and you will know who runs the world.”"

"I’m not converting to anything, for anybody. Ever."

"Amazing how not censoring myself puts me in a good mood."

"The actual world isn’t solidly real for you if you’ve been treading water in an ocean of lies your whole life."

"We’re lynched on the rope of company credit."

"Her weapon is her mouth. And it’s loaded and fully automatic."

"Violence in the air like the stench of gasoline."

"“The Astriarchy gives those people a nice story about how they can meet up with their favourite member of the Five Immortals on the ‘Celestial Path.’ So no, don’t worry how bad things are right now in this universe right in front of us, because your reward’s coming later! Might as well drown them.”"

"If everyone’s thinking the same thing, that’s only because no one’s thinking at all."

"There’re two reasons those cubs were able to help anybody. They believed the same thing, and they were organised. That’s the rule of history. Without people, Harq, nothing happens… but without organisation, nothing lasts."

"Pain is too strong and life is too brief, brother, to avoid the pleasures that don’t hurt us."

"The more things change, the more the speed up in changing."

"The creature with the strongest armour has the softest innards."

"::::And on the surface of the ancient home, they die in scores of wars and by legions of plagues, and against the poets’ and prophets’ promises for unity born in fear of doomsday, they fight like Tyrannosaurs raging and ripping the life from each other’s scaly necks while the comet smote the firmament, and murdered the skies to doom them all."

"Because there are no second chances. Which is the most tragic sentence I think English can form."