Jay > Jay's Quotes

“I liked the imaginary people on the entertainment feed way more than I liked real ones, but you can’t have one without the other.”
― Martha Wells, All Systems Red

“justice isn’t about fixing the past, it’s about fixing the future. We’re not fighting for the dead. We’re fighting for the living. And for those who aren’t yet born.”
― Pierce Brown, Morning Star

“Our lives mean so much more than the frail bodies that carry them.”
― Pierce Brown, Morning Star

“I know death well enough to hear it gather its breath.”
― Pierce Brown, Morning Star

“He always thinks because I’m reading, I’m not doing anything. There is no greater plague to an introvert than the extroverted.”
― Pierce Brown, Golden Son

“You meet a man, you know him. You meet a woman, she knows you.”
― Pierce Brown, Golden Son

“I try to kill him in my heart before I kill him in the flesh.”
― Pierce Brown, Golden Son

“That's what Society does--spread the blame so there is no villain, so it's futile to even begin to find a villain, to find justice. It's just machinery. Processes.”
― Pierce Brown, Golden Son

“Modern war is fearing the air, the shadows, fearing the silence. Death will come and I won't even see it.”
― Pierce Brown, Golden Son

“Funny thing, watching gods realize they’ve been mortal all along.”
― Pierce Brown, Red Rising

“The tragedy of the gifted is the belief they are entitled to greatness, Lysander. As a human, you are entitled only to death.”
― Pierce Brown, Dark Age

“I no longer trust stillness. Stillness is the enemy taking careful aim.”
― Pierce Brown, Dark Age

“Anything gentle that lives long, hides its stinger well.”
― Pierce Brown, Iron Gold

“Those you protect will not see you. They will not understand you. But you are the Gray wall between civilization and chaos. And they stand safe in the shadow you cast. Do not expect praise or love. Their ignorance is proof of the success of your sacrifice. For we who serve the state, duty must be its own reward.”
― Pierce Brown, Iron Gold

“The little fantasies of murder are what keep servants sane. They tell themselves they allow me my power. And if ever I become too dreadful, they will do me in and maybe take over. But of course they never do. They procrastinate their vengeance because deep down, they are afraid not just of me, but like all people they fear their own fantasies. Easier to cherish them and keep them inside where they are in control. Possible.”
― Pierce Brown, Iron Gold

“How do you prepare for a kick in the balls?” I say. “You don’t. You suck it up.”
― Pierce Brown, Iron Gold

“In war, men lose what makes them great. Their creativity. Their wisdom. Their joy. All that’s left is their utility.”
― Pierce Brown, Morning Star

“Is a man a coward if he realizes that bravery is just a myth the old tell the young so they line up for the meatgrinder?”
― Pierce Brown, Dark Age

“There’s never a right call, just people who make the hard ones.”
― Pierce Brown, Dark Age

“See. That’s what I don’t get. If I am a good man, then why do I want to do bad things?”
― Pierce Brown, Red Rising

“I could have become a mass murderer after I hacked my governor module, but then I realized I could access the combined feed of entertainment channels carried on the company satellites. It had been well over 35,000 hours or so since then, with still not much murdering, but probably, I don't know, a little under 35,000 hours of movies, serials, books, plays, and music consumed. As a heartless killing machine, I was a terrible failure.”
― Martha Wells, All Systems Red

“You may have noticed that when I do manage to care, I’m a pessimist.”
― Martha Wells, All Systems Red

“I hate having emotions about reality; I’d much rather have them about Sanctuary Moon.”
― Martha Wells, All Systems Red

“Mostly something called Sanctuary Moon.” He shook his head, dismissing it. “It’s probably using it to encode data for the company. It can’t be watching it, not in that volume; we’d notice.” I snorted. He underestimated me. Ratthi said, “The one where the colony’s solicitor killed the terraforming supervisor who was the secondary donor for her implanted baby?” Again, I couldn’t help it. I said, “She didn’t kill him, that’s a fucking lie.” Ratthi turned to Mensah. “It’s watching it.”
― Martha Wells, All Systems Red

“So, I’m awkward with actual humans. It’s not paranoia about my hacked governor module, and it’s not them; it’s me. I know I’m a horrifying murderbot, and they know it, and it makes both of us nervous, which makes me even more nervous. Also, if I’m not in the armor then it’s because I’m wounded and one of my organic parts may fall off and plop on the floor at any moment and no one wants to see that.”
― Martha Wells, All Systems Red

“I said, "Sometimes people do things to you that you can't do anything about. You just have to survive it and go on.”
― Martha Wells, Artificial Condition

“Young humans can be impulsive. The trick is keeping them around long enough to become old humans.”
― Martha Wells, Artificial Condition

“ART said, What does it want?

To kill all the humans, I answered.

I could feel ART metaphorically clutch its function. If there were no humans, there would be no crew to protect and no reason to do research and fill its databases. It said, That is irrational.

I know, I said, if the humans were dead, who would make the media? It was so outrageous, it sounded like something a human would say.”
― Martha Wells, Artificial Condition

“I wanted to just sink into my media downloads for a while and pretend I didn't exist.”
― Martha Wells, Artificial Condition

“I hate caring about stuff. But apparently once you start, you can't just stop.”
― Martha Wells, Rogue Protocol