The Dark Forest (Remembrance of Earth’s Past, #2)

by Liu Cixin

For the majority of people, what they love exists only in the imagination. The object of their love is not the man or woman of reality, but what he or she is like in their imagination. The person in reality is just a template used for the creation of this dream lover.

“It’s because someone who’s perfect in your mind isn’t necessarily perfect in the minds of others. This girl of your dreams—to me, she’s got obvious, well, imperfections. So there’s a good chance of finding her.”

“Annihilation. That’s the highest respect a civilization can receive. They would only feel threatened by a civilization they truly respect.”

“You mean, ‘If I don’t go to hell, who will?’*5 Is that it?”

He had lived life always looking out for the next thing, and whenever he had gained, he had also lost, leaving him with little in the end.