Leviathan Wakes

Η παράξενη ανακούφιση του να μαθαίνεις πως κανείς δεν είχε ποτέ τον έλεγχο.

“But you are telling me, Susan, that the ‘Society for Humanity’ is right; and that Mankind has lost its own say in its future.” “It never had any, really. It was always at the mercy of economic and sociological forces it did not understand—at the whims of climate, and the fortunes of war. Now the Machines understand them; and no one can stop them, since the Machines will deal with them as they are dealing with the Society,—having, as they do, the greatest of weapons at their disposal, the absolute control of our economy.” “How horrible!” “Perhaps how wonderful! Think, that for all time, all conflicts are finally evitable. Only the Machines, from now on, are inevitable!”

I, Robot · Isaac Asimov

What a city gains by refusing to let the world in.

For me, Savannah’s resistance to change was its saving grace. The city looked inward, sealed off from the noises and distractions of the world at large. It grew inward, too, and in such a way that its people flourished like hothouse plants tended by an indulgent gardener. The ordinary became extraordinary. Eccentrics thrived. Every nuance and quirk of personality achieved greater brilliance in that lush enclosure than would have been possible anywhere else in the world.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil · John Berendt

Sometimes the missing happens with the person still in the room.

That’s the worst way to miss somebody. When they’re right beside you and you miss them anyway.

I Am Number Four · Pittacus Lore