"“I am a weak man, Cousin,” he replied. “It was my weakness that led to my poverty, and brought me to Mars, and prompted me to steal that egg.” He gave a rueful grin. “It would be inconsistent for me to display any strength of character now.”"
David D. Levine is an American science fiction writer who won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 2006 for his story "Tk'tk'tk". His novel Arabella of Mars was published by Tor Books in July 2016 and won the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy.
"“And there you see the risk of automata,” Fox replied. “They are all well and good as amusements, I grant you. But when they are built to perform the work of men, surely this must result in the atrophy of the mental processes they replace.”"
"I do not pretend to understand how gears and levers can bring forth consciousness, sir, but it certainly appears that somehow they have."
"How quickly expectations can change one’s behavior, she thought."
"Wordlessly she gestured downward, to the hidden lower limbs which seemed to hold some unearthly power over men’s minds."
"How absurd, she thought, that the sight of a man’s naked breast should be more objectionable than to see him possibly blown to bits."
"She was deeply concerned about Richardson’s abilities in this area. The man was plainly more interested in maintaining his own authority than he was in the actual running of the ship."