The Consuming Fire (The Interdependency, #2)

by John Scalzi

Hey, you know what, basing an entire system of social, political and economic control on the vague, all-too-easily misinterpreted words of a single person claiming divine inspiration is probably not actually all that smart, now, is it.

“When you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail,”

Everyone knew the Nohamapetans had money, and power, and the belief that rules were more like guidelines and optional at best even then.

But not all conspiracies crop up because someone forgot to adjust their tinfoil hat, ma’am. Sometimes they’re part of a disinformation campaign.

When the world is breaking down, scientists might be the scapegoats.

Confidence isn’t about knowing you’re right. Confidence is about knowing you can make it right.

“Although hiding the past never works as well as simply neglecting it.” “What do you mean?” “When things are hidden, there will always be people who object, and who will then go out of their way to preserve and store what is being hidden, so that someone can find it later, either intentionally or by simply stumbling over it. This is why I never tried to hide alternative takes of history. It makes them more attractive to future historians when you do. I smothered them under strata of official history instead.” “Never hide, just overwhelm,”