Science Fiction Authors

"The whole business lay ringed with mystery, with improbabilities, but also with certainty of total destruction if we failed. There might be total destruction if we succeeded, but that was someone else’s problem. We could only set the standard, write our last will and testament through action, and hope someone could still read deeply enough to raise arms against the encroaching night."

"Some remnant of battle must remain, something halting an advance. The ghost of a ghost may be more than a memory. It may be a piece of history that refuses to be rewritten."

"Imagine you are on a planet. When you look at the planet, you may think that the planet has been the same forever. But if you go there and see a Nikon camera, you will have to hold it in your hand and say that it has a maker. When you look at a small plastic camera, you say that it has a maker. But the camera has many limitations. There is a person behind you. As soon as the camera focuses on the person behind you, you will become out of focus. And as soon as the camera focuses on you, the person behind you will become out of focus. But the human eye does not have this problem. The eye is much more powerful than the camera. There is a machine in our body, whose job is to keep the body's sugar level stable. The entire human body is full of such diverse and complex machinery. I do not think that all these complex things happened in one day. What does "Darwin's Theory" say? It says, survival of the fittest. It says, in order to survive on earth, humans will face various dangers, and we have become like this in order to overcome them. But the eyes of animals are yellow. And our eyes are white. This happened so that people could recognize themselves in the darkness. This knowledge was enough for us to survive. But how did this knowledge come to man's mind that he actually discovered the "Big Bang Theory"? Who gave this extraordinary knowledge to man? If you pay attention, you will see that the first house that man builds is a prayer room. It is the same for people of all nations. That means, from the very beginning, man was actually worried about one thing - Who is guiding me?"

"Elebele (Unnecessary) part 2"

"The crotch and the brain are the engines of history."

"The fires of history burn hot and long, but memories of fires do not burn long enough."

"I lay in darkness admitting even I had managed to conceal truth beneath a pile of crap. For old men, Hell comes in two versions, lesser and greater. The lesser version happens when history is rewritten, their records expunged, no credit given for ideals or aspirations, nothing bequeathed, all tales revised as the Present, turning, points to a false record and accuses the past for Present suffering. That’s a stern Hell, but the greater version is worse. Hell for old men arrives at that exact moment when we must admit we can no longer protect our kids, our families, our country, the shards and remnants of our love."

"“Flags are symbols. Words are symbols. Steeples are symbols. Red lights in front of cathouses are symbols. The world don’t know it, but the world lives by symbols, some good, some as bad as flags.”"

"We have the power of memory. We have the memory of order, and we still have voices. When memory dies, civilization dies."

"In the Holy Quran, Surah Takbir, a verse was revealed about the girl buried alive. While describing the Day of Judgment, the Most Gracious said - "When the sun loses its light, when the stars fall, the mountains are removed. When the pregnant camel is neglected, when the wild animals gather, when the sea swells, when the soul is reunited with the body, then the girl buried alive will be asked - for what crime was she killed?" I, an unlettered person, wanted to write for you the biography of the great man who brought us this message of the Most Gracious. All people have debts to their fathers and mothers. We also have debts to the Prophet. It is an extremely difficult attempt to repay that huge debt. If I have made any mistakes, I ask forgiveness from the Most Gracious. He exists only to forgive. I ask forgiveness from the Prophet too. He also has a vast ocean of forgiveness."

"Uncle Jamil: (After reciting the Quran at the end of the prayer, he says to Moti) Listen Moti, Allah created the world and humans because of His love. Now tell me, what do you understand by love? Moti: Love is a matter of shame and embarrassment between husband and wife, but it is necessary. Uncle Jamil: (Struck with bloodshot eyes and shocked) Moti, get out of my sight right now... Who is there, anyone, bring a bucket of water, pour water on my head..."

"On rainy days, I remember the songs of my childhood, The rain falls heavily, The river floods; If I call you, Come hold my hand, Let's get wet in the rain today, Come sing a song with a kind gaze on the clouds, You won't come; I know, I know, Why do you call me for no reason, Why do I die of thirst? Dear, please come, let's get wet in the water, In the rain of the autumn night; How much love, how much loving togather, Tears were watery, how much laughter, Keeping eyes on eyes, painting with tears, in the night of Jasmine breeze; Even though you are close, How far away you are, I die of thirst, Let's get wet in the rain today."

"Humans, being creative, can rewrite anything. ...which is a coy way of suggesting that each young generation invents history according to its own bigotries. The rewritten history gets quoted to show that one or another special group has perpetually saved civilization while suffering abuse known only to holy saints. The justification for historians is the same as the justification for janitors. Both sweep up the mess when the public gets done trashing."

"No one recalls the names of dog soldiers who fought beside Leonidas at Thermopylae, or with Charles Martel at the battle of Tours; but how they fought, and what they fought for, lives through centuries. Without those forgotten men western civilization could not have come into being. They put it all on the line, because there are times in history when universal evil crawls from its cave of darkness. When those battles happened, though, what did anyone know? The dog soldier only knew that some fool Persian had it in his head to whip the world, or a Moorish chieftain was on the prod. And the dog soldier stood. He stood between the enemy and home, standing before a way of life that was particularly his. If in his home he was boss during peace, then during war he paid for the honor. The male of the species defends his land and home. It will always be that way. At least that is true of the Infantry."

"I needed this the way guys in trenches need head lice."

"Absolute Evil exists. As kids we geriatrics learned all about it, and no damn social worker had better come along and blame “evil” on “conditions.” Evil is a force in the universe, a force using any weakness it finds to do its dirt; and with Evil, Hell is just a sideline."

"The reason to understand history is not to avoid the mistakes of history—because some fool will make those mistakes for you. Some maniac will start a war, and some other maniac will drop an atom bomb, and you'll be the poor bastard who gets to drop the bomb or be hit by it. No, you understand history so you can understand yourself."

"Evil uses Hell as a parking lot, and you don’t have to die to park. Evil sets people in the middle of war, famine, excess prosperity, or other of Hell’s appurtenances, then stands back as people freeze or sizzle; and screw themselves. The main interest of Evil is destruction of faith in gods and ethics, knowledge and honor. When faith is destroyed people create their own hells, and a sign stretches across the universe writ large for all to see. It reads: The Future Is Canceled."

"You can only picture the future based on what you know about the past. If history dies the future can only be hideous."

"The world was changing, and it wouldn’t change back."

"All the mysteries of the world seem normal after dark. If imagination shows dead thumbs aching for a ride, those dead folk only prove the hot and spermy goodness of life."

"Those who understand less, are the happiest in this world."

"Both love and hate are written in human eyes"

"So many people are hanged for no good reason, so many people die by the roadside and there is hardly any public headache over these. Yet, here was a fictional character being hanged and the public are up in arms. I was quite taken aback by all this."

"It is the nature of the human race to feel safer in the shelter of lies than in the shelter of truth."

"Her eyes held that long-distance prairie look, a look knowing wind and fire and hard times, stuff that either breaks people or leaves them wise."

"I now knew what it was, but just because you can name a thing does not mean you understand it."

"As the days go by, Bangabandhu is getting more and more annoyed with the military. The military is a monster. Just as the Pakistani military is a monster, so is the Bangladeshi military. If Saint Martin Island becomes independent for any reason, if they have a military, they will also be monsters. Bangabandhu has made a defense agreement with India for twenty-five years. There is no need for the military anymore. The power of the military must be gradually reduced. It must be done in such a way that they cannot even understand. One morning, they will wake up and see that there is no soil under their boots. There is quicksand under their boots. They will slowly sink into quicksand. This is the only way to make a monster human. Bangabandhu stood up with his pipe in hand. Now it was his turn to see off the visitors one by one. The list of those he met that day and the measures he took is given below- 1. Relatives of the devoted Awami Leaguer Mozammel: Mozammel has been captured by Major Nasser. Place Tongi. As soon as Bangabandhu entered the house, Mozammel's father and the two Bangabandhu fell at his feet. The Tongi Awami League president also tried to catch him but failed. He tried to catch Mozammel's relatives. Finding his feet, Bangabandhu said, "Tell me what happened?" The Tongi Awami League president said, "Our Mozammel is involved in a false case. Major Naser caught him. Naser said, "If you give me three hundred thousand taka, I will release him." What is the false case? Mozammel's father cried and said, "A murder case has been filed." The Tongi Awami League president said, "When this Major Awami League hears this, he lights up like a star. He has publicly declared that he will not hold any Awami League against Tongi." Bangabandhu! I myself am now restless with fear. I do not live in Tongi. I have moved to Dhaka. (Crying) Bangabandhu said, "Don't cry. Nothing worth crying about has happened. I am still alive. I am not dead. I am taking action." He ordered Mozammel to be released immediately. An urgent order was given to remove Major Naser from Tongi. The main incident (Source: Bangladesh Legacy of Blood, Anthony Mascarenhaas) A newlywed couple was traveling in a car. The brutal terrorist Mozammel, along with his gang, intercepted the car. He killed the driver of the car and the husband of the newlywed girl. They all raped the girl. The girl's bloody dead body was found under the Tongi bridge three days later. After Mozammel was caught by Major Naser, Mozammel said, "Don't make trouble and let me go. I will give you three hundred thousand taka. Don't take the matter to the government level. I will be released on the orders of Bangabandhu himself. You will be in danger. I don't want to involve Bangabandhu in a trivial matter." Major Naser said, "Is this a trivial matter?" Mozammel did not answer. He looked at him with bored eyes. Major Naser said, "I will definitely arrange for you to be hanged." Put your three lakh taka in your anus. -Mozammel said, let's see. -Mozammel invited Major Naser to eat cooked kathal at his house after being released."

"Humayun's works are the most profound and most fruitful that literature has experienced since the time of Tagore and Nazrul."

"“I almost don’t believe in ghosts.” She was stating part of the problem. If ghosts are a metaphor for history, then belief is a leap into reality. If history is a metaphor for ghosts, matters get really serious."

"I watched the flickers, thought of modern times, and it came to me that we’ve never stopped fighting. When our wars ceased, a rearguard action began. We fought against deterioration of order; and lost as an old culture died and society went crazy at the funeral. Yammer got crowned King, with chatter its Queen."

"So what use are we? Burnside hopes to die exhausted in a cathouse, with the sweet-sweet taste of bourbon on his tongue. My own ambition is less raunchy. I want, at age ninety, to be gunned down while storming the Congress."

"“The rules would seem to indicate,” I told him, “that if you start a war you really can’t complain when people drop bombs on you.”"

"I saw old-fashioned cities, quiet streets, small shops, colorful flags and ornaments and decorations—life before machine guns, before communism and capitalism and the ambitions of generals."

"Either ghosts are a metaphor for history, or history is a metaphor for ghosts."

"On top of the war talk, women were driving me crazy: the ones who said “no” and the ones who said “yes.” It got downright mystifying just trying to figure out which was worse. At nineteen, it’s hard to know how to act."

"Courage, combined with stupidity, does not make successful soldiers."

"It’s no big job to fool yourself."

"Never confuse an idiot."

"Snowy owls come floating in from northward, while folks go to church on Sunday against the time when there’s some better amusement. Men hang around town, because home is either empty or crowded, depending on if you’re married. Folks sit before television, watching the funny, goofy, unreal world where everybody plays at being sexy and naked, even when they’re not."

"Men build all kinds of worlds in order to defeat fear and loneliness."

"A lot of preachers will be glad this man is gone, and that’s one good thing you can say for him. He drove nice people crazy. This man was a hellion, pure and simple; but what folks don’t understand is, hellions have their place. They put everything on the line over nothing very much. Most guys worry so much about dying, they never do any living. Jesse was so alive with living, he never gave dying any thought."

"desirable or not, just about any humanoid, mammal, and even monster can have sex with another species of life a mutant dog mated with a mutant cat, while they may make a cute couple, can never give birth to a half dog, half cat child. NEVER!"

"It all began, I suppose, with learning to build fire—to warm the cave and keep the predators out. And it ended with time-release Valium."

"The woman stared at me. “You don’t know a church of the living God when you see one?” I looked around me, at the aisles covered with plastic-sealed merchandise, at the racks of colored clothing and electronic equipment and rifles and golf clubs and jackets. “But this is no church,” I said. “This is a store.”"

"One of my books says that at times men have worshiped the ocean as a god. I can understand that easily. Yes. But the Baleens would never have understood such a thing; they would have called the idea “blasphemy.” The God they worship is an abstract and ferociously moral thing, like a computer. And the compelling, mystical rabbi, Jesus, they have turned into some kind of moral Detector. I want none of that, and none of the Jehovah of the Book of Job, either."

"“Would you show me how to make an omelette?” She looked shocked, and said nothing. Then from the sink the other woman’s voice said, “Men don’t cook.” The woman beside me hesitated a moment, and then said softly, “This man is different, Mary. He’s a Reader.”"

"When literacy died, so had history."

"“Is there a God?” I said. “I mean, are you in touch, telepathically, with any kind of God?” “No. I’m not in touch with anything like that. As far as I know, there is no God.” “Oh,” I said. “It doesn’t bother you,” the voice said. “You may think it does; but it doesn’t. You’re really on your own. You’ve been learning that.”"

"The sky at the top of the gray ocean has become much lighter now. The sun is about to rise. I will end this recording for now and stop the bus and walk outside and watch the sun rise over the ocean. My God, the world can be beautiful."