"We did it with their government’s foreknowledge and permission, of course—and there were no civilian casualties, equally of course. Once they’re dead they’re rebels."

“One thing most of us agree on is that the universe exists , so if some theoretical particle interaction would lead ultimately to the nonexistence of the universe, then you can save a lot of electricity by not trying to demonstrate it.”

“She hadn’t been such a bad girl before the power went to her head.”

“Men started to geoform the earth in the middle of the twentieth century. Unfortunately, a lot of the early work was done by people who failed to see the earth as a closed set of mutually interrelated systems.”

“Maybe war is an inevitable product of human nature. Maybe to get rid of war, we have to become something other than human.”

“I had to stifle an impulse to laugh. Surely “cowardice“ had nothing to do with his decision. Surely he had nothing so primitive and unmilitary as a will to live.”

““Some are born crazy,” Amelia said. “Some achieve craziness. We had craziness thrust upon us.”