34 quotes found
"He took his time strapping on his customized armor and loading his weapon magazines, rifle, pistol, and assorted knives. For him, preparing for battle was a divine ritual, a blessing and sacrifice to the Holy Ones. He intended to show his devotion by expunging as many of the enemy as he could.."
"When someone asked Roen what he did, he explained that he typed incoherent commands that performed virtual tasks to create intangible objects. At the end of the day, Roen wasn’t sure what he did or why he did it—just that every two weeks, he received a paycheck for the hours of his life wasted, building these imaginary things on some server located somewhere."
"You’re not being paid to like your work."
"“God, he’s trying to kill me!” Doubtful, he is most likely aiming for a non-vital area. “Every part of me is vital!”"
"She is so far out of your league that you are not even playing the same sport."
"“The world spins despite me, not because of me,” he muttered."
"Enlightenment and peace can never be achieved by force."
"Everyone laid a hand on him and closed their eyes. It reminded Roen of one of those healing prayer circles he attended in college church. No one ever got healed, but it was a good way for him to get close to some girls."
"Conflict does breed innovation, but so does diversity and cultural development. Bringing people together to share ideas is just as powerful a catalyst."
"I’m not one to fall for religious psychobabble, but then I’ve always had a problem with a rabbit that lays painted eggs."
"“Always comes down to money, huh?” Makes the damn world go round."
"Every time I think you guys can’t get any more ridiculous, you prove me wrong."
"The biggest mistake of the twentieth century. Go. “I’m going to have to say that art school rejecting Hitler’s application, leading him toward the career choice of becoming a mass murderer. That or New Coke. You?”"
"Symmetry, of course, was the scientific formula of beauty."
"Roen was speechless. “You… were spying on me!” Stephen laughed. “Let’s say we used you as an unpaid intelligence consultant.”"
"Do not separate authority from responsibility."
"Jill blanched. Shooting a RPG was not part of her training. It is easy. Point and pull the trigger, like operating a vacuum cleaner. “I don’t know what sorts of house cleaning you’re used to, but the ones I have—”"
"The level of dumb you humans can achieve is quite mind-boggling."
"“Well, old boy, the world is in a bit of a jam. Seems aliens as a whole are just a step below taxes on the world popularity scale.” Roen grunted. “At least the Quasing are still above politicians then.” “I would put them about even,” said Marco."
"“Tao, I don’t understand why I need to know this.” Advanced mathematics opens doors to many fields of study. More importantly, it expands the way you think."
"When there is no one else left to fight, then there will be nothing left but peace."
"Conquering a kingdom is always the easy part. It is keeping it that is difficult."
"“I don’t know how many ways I can say no before it sinks into his concrete head.” The rich rarely accept “no” as an answer."
"Fate is created, not ordained."
"She was at the same time extraordinarily sweet and completely vapid. She spent half of her time at school staring at her cell phone and the other half staring at herself."
"You, somehow, have the greatest potential of all my hosts, and are one of the dumbest, at the same time. “Gee, thanks for the confidence booster.” On the contrary, it is brave stupid people who change the world. The smart ones are usually too smart to even try."
"He was also designated the tactical lead during this operation, simply because everyone else had an accent, which would give them away in a heartbeat. Well, everyone except for Chase, who was from Dallas, but that guy couldn’t lead children to an ice cream truck, let alone a last-minute multi-faceted ambush."
"He ducked when he could, blocked when he had to, and gave up ground faster than the French in World War II."
"I tried to warn you about her. “You’re not helping.” But nope, teenage humans. The worst, most ill-conceived creatures in the universe. “Other than turkeys, right?” Yes, nothing beats those morons."
"Once you spend three thousand years in the same place, you are pretty much done with it forever."
"He was an awful liar. Tao often lamented how bad he was at it, citing it as an Achilles heel in his future career as a secret agent. It’s true. Lying, charm, and a well-fitting suit are the traits that distinguish James Bond from every other asshole with a gun. “I don’t think I even own a suit.” You do not own the other two either."
"Then someone said the magic words. “The Internet is down!”"
"“What’s the trick?” It is easy. The trick is I am much smarter than you."
"“Son, you hungry?” Roen said, coming up behind him. “I found this pizza joint a few blocks away. It’s French pizza—” he made a face “—but French pizza’s better than no pizza. Interested?”"