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I was surprised that peacekeeping involved killing so many people, but it is what it is.
fighting disorganized home-grown militia fanatics in the bush was totally different from tangling with giant space hamsters in my hometown in northern Maine.
All in the name of ‘serving the war effort’. Shit, that sounded familiar, it had begun even before I left Earth,
orbit. It was, the burgermeister told me, an old formula; you find the worst psychopathic antisocial losers in a society, give them power, and they would give you their complete, unquestioning loyalty.
Thuranin were cyborgs, with computers implanted in their skulls, and their society was highly networked.
We felt we had a sense of purpose, of accomplishment,
you’re not that smart, I mean, your species is responsible for Windows Vista.”
My point is that, although you have the lowest IQ, you have been remarkably adaptable and successful, Joe.
I need someone who can get things done in the real world, and you have."
My genius doesn't include coordinating a troop of monkeys in combat. You know what your people can do, and more importantly, what they can't do."
The ability to accept new information, new concepts, to not run away screaming or become paralyzed when confronted with shocking changes, is unfortunately too rare among intelligent species.
constantly reminds the user that he or she needs to think in biological terms. In high pressure situations,
In an emergency maneuver, pilots here need to have their brains immediately send a signal to their fingers on the controls,
They're poking along in first gear, with the engine screaming, and it creeps along painfully slowly, but it could go so much faster. Especially since the Thuranin were very bad at copying their stolen technology, and it's like they carved the transmission from a solid block of wood.
"If we get stuck, you can get out and push."
The Elders were able to trace time back to the beginning of the universe, and they were left with one question: what lay before? Where did the universe come from? Where did they come from? Physics, even physics so advanced as to touch the realm of magic, has a limit.
Elders transcended because they wanted to know, they needed to know, where they came from.
And my programming won't allow me to tell you anything that I do know.
I can't tell if that is part of my original programming, or it's a glitch.
"Then why the hell did you wake me up in the middle of the freakin' night?" "I was bored, Joe. And lonely."
“The next time you think of telling me how god-like smart you are, just remember ‘space suits’.”
Wake me in two hours." "Unbelievable. I'm the most advanced sentience in the galaxy, and you're using me as an alarm clock." "Two hours, Skippy. Good night."
Always keep that in mind when you’re dealing with Skippy, he simply doesn’t think on our level.”
Skippy had downloaded the entire internet, and every movie, book and video game ever made.
