David Brin

"Had I been wrong, this would still have been the honorable thing to do. I am very glad, however, to find out that I was right."

"She closed her eyes. And while her intellect wouldn’t let her realize her deepest fear, that all this might soon be gone forever, nevertheless she stood there for a time and worshipped the only way a person like her could worship—in silence and solitude, under the temple of the sky."

"History and geology show what an eyeblink it’s been since our current, comfortable culture came about. And yet that culture is using up absolutely everything at a ferocious rate."

"The lesson they took home with them was simple; it takes a full belly before a man or woman gives a tinker’s damn about anything as large as a planet."

"Nation states are archaic leftovers from when each man feared the tribe over the hill, an attitude we can’t afford anymore."

"Look at all the happiest, sanest people youve known, Nelson. Really listen to them. I bet youll find they don’t fear a little inconsistency or uncertainty now and then. Oh, they try always to be true to their core beliefs, to achieve their goals and keep their promises. Still, they also avoid too much rigidity, forgiving the occasional contradiction and unexpected thought. They are content to be many."

"Ideologies are too seductive anyway. It does a man good to see things from a different point of view."

"At her station in life, wisdom dictated keeping a low profile. And yet..."

"I hate the whole übermensch, superman temptation that pervades science fiction. I believe no protagonist should be so competent, so awe-inspiring, that a committee of 20 really hard-working, intelligent people couldnt do the same thing."

"“Where there is mind, there is always solution,” Keneenk taught. All problems contained the elements of their answer."

"What point was there in pursuing an ever-elusive popularity?"

"It was silly to suppose that trials only hardened men, automatically making them wise. He knew many who were stupid, arrogant, and mean, in spite of having suffered."