A Fire Upon the Deep (Zones of Thought, #1)

by Vernor Vinge

‘Oh, that’s okay. He meant a special call. Jefri says the ship has been signaling … all by itself … ever since it landed.’ And Steel wondered if he had ever heard a deadly threat uttered in such sweet innocence.

She had caught a glimpse just now, behind the front: of a being who could play with souls the way a programmer plays with a clever graphic, a being so far beyond her that only its indifference could protect her. Be happy, little Ravna moth. You were only dazzled by the flame.

And then she guessed, part in sadness, part in joy, that years from now she might look back on these months as goldenly happy.

Look out on the universe. It does not care, and even with all our science there are some disasters that we cannot avert. All evil and good is petty before Nature. Personally, we take comfort from this, that there is a universe to admire that cannot be twisted to villainy or good, but which simply is.

Half-assed programming was a time-filler that, like knitting, must date to the beginning of the human experience.