short-story-writers-from-wales

"The battle sunk towards the horizon. Presently it would be gone, leaving a sky unsullied by human affairs."

"And even if what they showed you is true, that doesn’t begin to make it right. The cause might be just, Felka, but history’s littered with atrocities committed in the name of righteousness."

"Evolution doesn’t greatly care about what happens to creatures once they’ve passed on their genetic heritage."

"He had never lost that mingled combination of awe and terror that welled up in him when confronted by the routinely huge distances of space."

"I don’t question your loyalty, Skade. I just wonder exactly what it is you’re loyal to."

"“Can I still wish you good luck?” “You can wish me what the hell you like. It won’t make any difference. If it did, it would mean I hadn’t prepared well enough."

"Khouri did not need to be told that Hades was a neutron star, any more than she needed to be told that there was no such thing as a safe close encounter with one. You either kept away or you died; those were the rules, and there was no force in the universe capable of negating them. Gravity ruled, and gravity did not take into account circumstances, or the unfairness of things, or listen to eleventh-hour petitions before reluctantly repealing its laws. Gravity crushed, and near the surface of a neutron star gravity crushed absolutely, until diamond flowed like water; until a mountain collapsed into a millionth of its height."

"“Besides—we all know guns don’t kill people, do they?” “No, it’s the small metal projectiles that generally do the killing,” Cahuella said, smiling."

"“Is there anyone in Chasm City she hasn’t deceived?” “Possibly, somewhere, but only as an extreme theoretical possibility.”"

"“You seem upset by the fact that we’re hated and feared.” “It does give one pause for thought.”"

"It was a numbers game, not a guaranteed method of avoiding being killed, but Clavain had been a soldier long enough to know that this was, ultimately, what most combat situations boiled down to."

"Either you are a man of unusual ability, Thorn, or a man with a rather inadequate grasp of human nature. I just hope it’s the former."

"But make no mistake. My counterpart is capable of a great deal of ruthlessness in pursuit of a just cause. He believes he has right on his side. And men who think they have right on their side are always the most dangerous sort."

"Clavain felt little in the way of regret; more a sense of quiet relief that they were past the negotiating stage and into the infinitely more honest arena of actual battle."

"She had almost dared ask, but was perhaps too fearful of hearing something she could not refute."

"For someone admitting guilt she sounded remarkably void of repentance."

"“Don’t you agree with me?” “On some distant theoretical level, just possibly.”"

"The one thing I never counted on was having luck on my side. It was generally simpler that way."

"“I don’t trust you.” “Of course you don’t. I know I wouldn’t. And I’m not asking you to. I’m not putting you in a situation in which your trust of me is even remotely relevant. I’m just pointing a gun to your head and giving you orders.”"

"“That’s how it went, wasn’t it Zebra?” “It might,” she said. “If I happened to be colluding in your own delusions.”"

"Just because something had spawned a myth did not automatically mean it had to contain anything of substance."

"It was one of the oldest tricks of mob-management: give them a hate figure."

"It was his experience that crises in space fell into two categories: those that killed you immediately, usually without much warning, and those that gave you plenty of time to ruminate on the problem, even if no solution was very likely."

"In Clavain’s experience, it was the less comforting possibility that generally turned out to be the case. It was the way the universe worked."

"Relativity distorted classical expectations in a way that Clavain still did not find entirely intuitive. Slam two objects towards each other, each with individual velocities just below light-speed, and the classical result for their closing velocity would be the sum of their individual speeds: just under twice the speed of light. Yet the true result, confirmed with numbing precision, was that the objects saw each other approach with a combined speed that was still just below the speed of light. Similarly, the relativistic closing velocity for two objects moving towards each other with individual speeds of one-half of light-speed was not light-speed itself, but eight-tenths of it. It was the way the universe was put together, and yet it was not something the human mind had evolved to accept."

"“How are the internal complications, anyway? Aren’t the other branches of government getting a little suspicious about all these machinations?” “Let’s just say that one or two discreet assassinations may still have to be performed,” Khouri said."

"Don’t overestimate your familiarity with technologies you barely understand. It could be your undoing."

"They had been in love, desperately in love, but the universe cared nothing for the vicissitudes of the human heart."

"“I’m not a bad man, Ilia. I’m just someone who knows exactly what needs to be done.” “Like you said, always the most dangerous sort.”"

"She would worry, just as you worry. It’s the people who don’t worry—those who never have any doubts that what they’re doing is good and right—they’re the ones that cause the problems."

"“I don’t like this at all,” Hegazi said. “Believe me,” Sylveste said, “you’re about to like it a lot less.”"

"“Haven’t you ever heard of morale-building?” Khouri had asked. “Heard of it,” Volyova said. “Don’t happen to agree with it. Would you rather be happy and dead, or scared and alive?”"

"The mere fact that there could be danger in this is fascination in itself; almost an incentive to push further. That’s how you feel, isn’t it? Every argument they could use against you would only strengthen your resolve. Because knowledge makes you hungry, and it’s a hunger you can’t resist, even if you know that what you’re feasting on could kill you."

"“I imagine you feel insignificant,” Sajaki said, almost as if he had been listening in on the conversation. “Well; you’re justified in feeling that way. You are insignificant. That’s the majesty of this place. Would you choose it any other way?”"

"His parents had abdicated responsibility to an illusion."

"I learnt the true meaning of what was euphemistically described as close-quarters combat. No line-of-sight particle-beam weapons now; no delayed-detonation nano-munitions. What close-quarters combat meant was something which would have been infinitely more recognisable to a soldier of a thousand years earlier: the screaming fury of human beings packed so close together that the only effective way to kill each other was with sharpened metal weapons: bayonets and daggers, or with hands around each other’s throats; fingers pressed into each other’s eye-sockets. The only way to survive was to disengage all higher brain-functions and regress to an animal state of mind. So I did. And in doing so, I learned a deeper truth about war. She punished those who flirted with her by making them like herself. Once you opened the door to the animal, there was no shutting it."

"Who was it who said that a wise man speaks when he has something to say, but a fool speaks because he must?"

"“But you can be sure there are pockets of wealth and influence, and I’m willing to wager that a few people are wealthier and more influential than they were before.” “That’s always the way with disasters,” I said. “What?” “They’re never bad news for everyone. Something nasty always rises to the top.”"

"“I gather you were all too busy killing each other.” “That’s a fairly reductive summary of our history, but I don’t suppose it’s too far from the truth.”"

"The poor didn’t have them and so the rich flaunted them, the larger and more conspicuous the better."

"Am I that fascinating to you, or are you just more bored than I imagined?"

"“Tanner, are you insane?” “Very probably several kinds of insane,” I said. “But I’m afraid it doesn’t change anything. I’m perfectly happy with my current delusional system.”"

"“Is he dangerous? “Anyone who lies for a living is dangerous.”"

"By and large these attempts to rewrite history were not taken seriously, but it was disconcerting to hear that they had gained even a toehold."

"“Don’t tell me you aren’t the slightest bit curious, Norquinco.” “I hope you burn in hell, Sky Haussmann.” “I’ll take that as a yes.”"

"“Is there anyone or anything in this city which can’t be bought?” I said, slipping him a note. “Yeah,” the man said, laughing quietly. “But I’m not it.”"

"Volyova did not like planets at the best of times, and gas giants struck her as an unreasonable affront to human scale and frailty. In that respect, they were almost as bad as stars."

"“What happened?” “Let’s just say my efforts to reprogram the weapon were not an unqualified success, shall we, and leave it at that?” She hated discussing failure almost as much as she hated the thing itself."

"This gets better, it really does. The odd thing is, I actually think you might be telling the truth. If you were going to lie, you’d at least come up with something that made sense."

"Clavain saw it all with sudden, heart-stopping clarity: all that mattered was the here and now. All that mattered was survival. Sentience that bowed down and accepted its own extinction—no matter what the long-term arguments, no matter how good the greater cause—was not the kind of sentience he was interested in preserving."