“Im not optimistic,” he said. “The issue clearly flies in the face of — Jack McDevitt

"Technological civilizations don’t last long. Youre all right until you get a printing press. Then a race starts between technology and common sense. And maybe technology always wins."

"At night the sea is very loud, And voices ride the tide. At another time, in another place, Beneath the silent moon, We laughed together."

"One could not always put safety up front as the prime goal. Do that, and who would ever achieve anything of note?"

"Yes, it was not journalism’s finest hour. But, MacAllister often argued, it never had been."

"Charlie was not a believer. He did not expect to be called to account and assigned a score for what he had done or left undone. His parents had believed in a mechanical world, a place of evolving hardware and software, no deities need apply. We just haven’t figured it all out yet, his father was fond of saying. Things get more complex and we don’t know why. But that doesn’t mean we have to ascribe it to divine providence."

"So we have progressed to the point where we can move politicians around faster than light. Im not sure I see the advantage."