The Butlerian Jihad (Legends of Dune, #1)

by Brian Herbert

Think of war as behavior.

Mathematical answers are not always expressed numerically. How does one calculate the worth of humanity, or of a single human life?

All men are not created equal, and that is the root of social unrest.

The future? I hate it because I will not be there.

Those oafs did nothing productive during their normal lifespans, so why should they want to live for centuries longer and accomplish even less?

Believing in an “intelligent” machine engenders misinformation and ignorance. Unexamined assumptions abound. Key questions are not asked. I did not realize my hubris, or my error, until it was too late for us.

It’s not my problem. —saying of Ancient Earth

Is there an upper limit to the intelligence of machines, and a lower limit to the stupidity of humans? —BOVKO MANRESA, First Viceroy of the League of Nobles

The darkness of humanity’s past threatens to eclipse the brightness of its future. —VORIAN ATREIDES, Turning Points in History

Most traditional governments divide people, setting them against each other to weaken the society and make it governable. —TLALOC, Weaknesses of the Empire