Barn 8 Quotes

“Only three humans ever knew where those forty thousand hens went, and they told no one.”
― Deb Olin Unferth, Barn 8

“I might be all-knowing about these people and animals, but even I do not know what comes after death for chickens.”
― Deb Olin Unferth, Barn 8

“Far above the shit, in the shifting sky, the stars were the only objects humans could see and not destroy. They could destroy only the sight of them, which they were doing, dot by dot, the stars blinking out over the planet, dimmed by human light.”
― Deb Olin Unferth, Barn 8

“Well, almost isn't enough.
But almost is damn close. Sometimes almost is all you need to go forward.”
― Deb Olin Unferth, Barn 8

“Chickens gossip, summon, play, flirt, teach, warn, mourn, fight, praise, and promise.
It is this last, promise, that concerns us here.”
― Deb Olin Unferth, Barn 8

“You'd think that by now with all the genetic meddling, sensory deprivation, and inbreeding, a hundred and fifty years' worth, that these animals would barely have brains anymore, that their minds' dials would be set on static, a low hum, refrigeration vibration. You'd think they'd be blank-brained, a collection of impulses and flesh. Indeed some of the hens on Happy Green Family Farm were moronic slabs, but most were not. They all contained within them the DNA, if not the full expression, of the original bird intelligence. Those hardy genes pressed themselves into existence in all kinds of ways, so that most of these hens still had that feral smart-bird spark in the eye, the instinctual Gallus need to flock, wander, arrange themselves into hierarchies, mate, rear, befriend, follow, fly their awkward short flights, bathe and preen in the dust.”
― Deb Olin Unferth, Barn 8

“Hens. Sweet little puffs. The solid adventure of saving them: Who didn't want to be part of it? Who wouldn't? The time had come to say no more.”
― Deb Olin Unferth, Barn 8

“It was already too late. They all knew it. The enemy has clearly won. Soon all that will be left of the miracle of our planet will be the monocrops of damaged cows, pigs, dogs, hens, a few other practical species - and humans, horrible, unbeatable, disgusting humans.”
― Deb Olin Unferth, Barn 8

“Which of these chickens do humans most resemble: the ones roaming in ovals - a school yard, a campus, a neighborhood? Or the genetically modified monsters - wobbling inside our boxes, clutching our pieces of plastic and metal, mincing and crimping in our shoes, snapping at each other in tight spaces, poking our various machines that swivel or light up or open in simulation of activity, "amusement," "exercise," "work," "love"?”
― Deb Olin Unferth, Barn 8

“It's the last sound the hens hear, other than their own voices, as farmhands stuff them at the end of their lay into the carbon dioxide cart (which according to UEP guidelines must cause "rapid loss of consciousness until death," though the guidelines do not specify how long "rapid" is - does not all life hurtle rapidly towards death?).”
― Deb Olin Unferth, Barn 8

“Si le cerveau des mammifères a évolué selon une certaine voie, celui des oiseaux en a suivi une autre . Progression dynamique plutôt que stagnation reptilienne. Au lieu de se déployer à la surface en gros plis grumeleux comme chez les mammifères, leur intelligence est enfouie dans le cortex. Comment voler avec une grosse tête ? Leur cerveau est compact, renferme plus de neurones dans un petit espace que tout autre animal.”
― Deb Olin Unferth, Les pondeuses de l'Iowa

“Qu'est-ce qu'on a à se laisser écraser par l'ennemi, pendant qu'on se contente de bredouiller poliment qu'on n'est pas d'accord ?”
― Deb Olin Unferth, Les pondeuses de l'Iowa

“Déjà, il était trop tard. Ils ne savaient bien. L'ennemi avait clairement gagné. Bientôt il ne resterait plus du miracle de la vie sur notre planète que la monoculture des vaches, cochons, chiens et poules maltraités, quelques autres espèces utiles -ainsi que des humains, d'horribles, de répugnants, d'imbattables humains.”
― Deb Olin Unferth, Les pondeuses de l'Iowa

“had not lived the life of the girl in New York. She had chosen to go to Iowa,”
― Deb Olin Unferth, Barn 8