Robert J. Sawyer

"It embodies, perhaps more clearly than anything else I've written, the central theme of all my work: namely, that clearheaded, unflinching, rational thinking is the only effective way to deal with reality."

"Afsan stood tall. “I am not afraid.” “Fear is important, young one. Fear is the counselor. Those who don’t know when to fear wind up dead.”"

"“I’ve never heard you talk like this before.” “We all change with the passing of the days.”"

"“That’s not an appealing thought.” Afsan had never worried about how appealing any given idea was, only about how accurate it might be."

"You know his dictum: nothing is anything unless it is something. That is, a concept without material reality is meaningless."

"I am a priest. It’s my job to whip individuals or groups into a frenzy."

"Science holds our answer; knowledge—real knowledge, verifiable knowledge, not superstition, not religious nonsense—will be our salvation."

"“I have no choice, do I?” Afsan turned his blind eyes on his friend. “That’s the funny thing about being a leader, Dybo: you rarely do.”"

"“We cannot be afraid to look.” “But some things are best left unknown,” she said. “Nothing is best left unknown,” said Toroca. “Nothing.”"

"I’m old, and if that has one advantage, it’s perspective: I’ve seen so much change during my lifetime."

"“There are two opposing forces—the high mind and the low—but they reside in our brains, not various parts of our bodies. The high mind contains the conscious, the understood, the learned—that of which we are aware. The low mind consists of instincts and base impulses, of drives; it’s the province of the subconscious. The struggle between high and low mind produces the personality.” “But surely the high mind is who we really are,” said Afsan. “No. The high mind may represent who we want to be, or who the church says we should be, but we are just as much our low minds as we are our high; the low mind shapes our behavior, too.”"

"Nothing is anything unless it is something. In other words, a concept without material reality is meaningless."

"The sad truth, Afsan, is that often what we intend has little to do with what we achieve."

"Only a fool fights in a building that’s on fire."

"The intelligent person must abhor violence."

"But here’s the rub: equality doesn’t necessarily mean being the same. It’s possible to be different but equal. Yes, the male may be more ornate or more powerful in many cases, but the female controls mating, choosing the male, and also, of course, it is the female who brings new life into the world. Which is better? No one can say. Equal, but different."

"“Good luck—and God protect.” I was sure that little reference to God was for the sake of the network cameras. Ching-Mei was an atheist. She only had faith in empirical data, in experimental results."

"Adjectives modify nouns, adverbs modify verbs, advertisers modify the truth."

"It turned out that big-bucks science had been a purely mid-twentieth-century phenomenon, starting with the Manhattan Project and ending with the fall of the Soviet Union."

"“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” I shook my head. “Have you ever noticed how many once-in-a-lifetime opportunities come at the end of a person’s life? Count me out.”"

"Failing to act is a decision in and of itself."

"Throwing some light on the subject had only made the mystery deeper."

"Jag barked dismissively. “Philosophy,” he said. “Not science. They just want to believe that.”"

"“God,” he said under his breath. “All the gods,” replied Jag, softly, “are a very, very long way from here.”"

"You are spoiled by being a sociologist, Lansing. In the hard sciences, we occasionally have to face the reality that some of our theories will actually be disproven."

"“But you get along with humans now, which is something my people are having trouble managing. How do you do it?” Longbottle barked, “Accept their weaknesses, welcome their strengths.” Jag was silent."

"“What arrogant fools we are!” said Jag. “Don’t you see?” To this day, despite all the humbling lessons the universe has already taught us, we still try to retain a central role in creation. We devise theories of cosmology that say the universe was destined to give rise to us, that it had to evolve life like us. Humans call it the anthropic principle, my people called it the aj-Waldahudigralt principle, but it’s all the same thing: the desperate, deep-rooted need to believe that we are significant, that we’re important."

"It had to begin somewhere—maturity, the stage after the midlife crisis, peace. It had to begin somewhere."

"“Children play with toy soldiers,” said Keith, looking now at Jag. “Child races play with real ones. Maybe it’s time all of us grew up a bit.”"

"There was a small crucifix above the door to his room; it had been there since he’d been a little boy. He stared up at the tiny Jesus—but there was no point in praying. The die was cast; what was done was done."

"...but there, because there is no grace of God, go I."

"He cursed himself for thinking anything this complex would end up not being a source of problems."

"“‘Justice,’” he said, his breath coming out raggedly as he quoted another Nobel laureate—at that precise moment, he couldn’t remember which one—“‘is always delayed and finally done only by mistake.’”"

"“Well, that can happen. Memories can be implanted, even just through suggestion and constant repetition. And if a therapist augments that with hypnosis, really unshakable false memories can be created.” “But why on earth would a therapist do that?” Heather looked grim. “To quote an old Psych Department joke, there are many routes to mental health, but none so lucrative as Freudian analysis.”"

"“Cheetah is an APE,” said Kyle. “You know, a computer simulation the apes humanity.” “I really do find the use of the term ‘ape’ offensive,” said Cheetah. Kyle smiled. “See? Genuine-sounding indignation. I programmed that myself. It’s the first thing you need in a university environment: the ability to take offense at any slight, real or imagined.”"

"Kyle was both deeply great and deeply flawed—peaks and valleys, more and less than she’d ever thought he was. But, she realized, whatever he was now, she could accept it; the fit between them wasn’t ideal, and probably never would be. But she knew in her heart that it was better than it could be with anyone else. And perhaps acknowledging that was as good a definition of love as any."

"The fundamental of war has always been dehumanizing the enemy, seeing him as a soulless animal."

"He who foresees calamities suffers them twice over."

"And Canadians didn’t like guns, either—they had no Second Amendment, or whatever damned thing it was that made Americans think they could go around armed."

"Free will is an illusion. It is synonymous with incomplete perception."

"You’re right to be skeptical—the world would be a better place if we were all a little less credulous."

"There may be oodles of possible humans, but it is a finite number."

"You humans seem to have a profound capacity for ignoring obvious evidence."

"Not wanting to die was another universal constant, it seemed."

"I did learn one valuable lesson, though. I learned that you can’t choose the ways in which you’ll be tested."

"Learning to ignore things is one of the great paths to inner peace."

"As one of my Jewish friends has been known to observe, the Jews who survived World War II were either now atheists or hadn’t been paying attention."

"I do remember her favorite expression: the Lord works in mysterious ways. Perhaps so. But I found it hard to believe he would work in shoddy, haphazard ones."

"I believe the creator may have a specific reason for wanting a universe that has life in it, and, indeed, as you say, for wanting multiple sentiences to emerge simultaneously. But it seems clear beyond dispute that the creator takes no interest in specific individuals."

"I guess what it means is this: to be human is to be fragile. We are easily hurt, and not just physically. We are easily hurt emotionally, too. So, as you move through life, my son, try not to hurt others."