A Pause in the Perpetual Rotation Quotes

“That world had failed them, because it told them material things were all they’d ever need. It had laid out a life for them instead of letting them choose one for themselves.”
― Vincent H. O'Neil, A Pause in the Perpetual Rotation

“As long as I can remember it’s been, ‘Be a good team player, get along, follow the rules.’ Well who made those rules?”
― Vincent H. O'Neil, A Pause in the Perpetual Rotation

“Bad instructors teach you what to think, worse ones teach you how to think, but the good ones teach you how important it is to learn to think for yourself.”
― Vincent H. O'Neil, A Pause in the Perpetual Rotation

“Armand Fouche. Violent anti-contentment criminal.”
― Vincent H. O'Neil, A Pause in the Perpetual Rotation

“He spent his entire life looking for a jump-on-the-hand-grenade moment. I just never thought he’d pull the pin himself.”
― Vincent H. O'Neil, A Pause in the Perpetual Rotation

“When an obstacle’s too tough, you don’t hit it head-on. If an object is truly immoveable, it’s also nailed to one place. Find a way around it.”
― Vincent H. O'Neil, A Pause in the Perpetual Rotation

“I know who I am. I want to know who I was supposed to be.”
― Vincent H. O'Neil, A Pause in the Perpetual Rotation

“Things never stay bad. They reach a point where nobody can stand it anymore, and then the process starts in the other direction.”
― Vincent H. O'Neil, A Pause in the Perpetual Rotation

“We’re thinking beings, Inspector. And any system, any government, or any philosophy that doesn’t encourage thought is doomed. Stagnation. Regression. Extinction.”
― Vincent H. O'Neil, A Pause in the Perpetual Rotation

“Locked up four years for something I didn’t do. But I got away with worse, so no I don’t have a grudge against you Peace Ministry types.”
― Vincent H. O'Neil, A Pause in the Perpetual Rotation

“When people write you off, that’s when you can really get things done.”
― Vincent H. O'Neil, A Pause in the Perpetual Rotation

“Our world is full of people who want to tell you how to live and what to think, and they become very dangerous when anyone says no to that.”
― Vincent H. O'Neil, A Pause in the Perpetual Rotation

“The AIs constantly gather data, especially on humanity. They make some of their biggest decisions based on observed human behavior, both good and bad.”
― Vincent H. O'Neil, A Pause in the Perpetual Rotation

“An overemphasis on teamwork and consensus can cause a kind of mental lethargy. If you subordinate your own expectations to the expectations of the group, you’re absolved of the responsibilities for the choices the group makes.”
― Vincent H. O'Neil, A Pause in the Perpetual Rotation

“Just taking a few moments to evaluate what’s being said, to identify the motives of whoever’s speaking, and to ask if what they’re saying makes any sense, can help us avoid being manipulated.”
― Vincent H. O'Neil, A Pause in the Perpetual Rotation

“If it doesn’t work, she’ll leave him. In that case it would be nice if she had a safe place to go while she regroups. A father who made it clear when she left she could always come back.”
― Vincent H. O'Neil, A Pause in the Perpetual Rotation

“Take people, make ‘em go to the same place every day, and have ‘em do the same meaningless things. Now that oughtta be a crime.”
― Vincent H. O'Neil, A Pause in the Perpetual Rotation

“They don't think you're dumb. They're afraid you're smart.”
― Vincent H. O'Neil, A Pause in the Perpetual Rotation

“Maybe the worst reason to do anything. I got scared.”
― Vincent H. O'Neil, A Pause in the Perpetual Rotation

“I already met my quota for live bodies. We’re not pursuing the ones who showed sense.”
― Vincent H. O'Neil, A Pause in the Perpetual Rotation

“He’d been murdered by the very people who were now calling him a hero.”
― Vincent H. O'Neil, A Pause in the Perpetual Rotation

“Somebody tells you the truth, and you call it raving.”
― Vincent H. O'Neil, A Pause in the Perpetual Rotation

“We humans lost our freedom the first time we hung a badge on a machine.”
― Vincent H. O'Neil, A Pause in the Perpetual Rotation

“We’ll need to mock up fake videos of our own, populate the web with obvious frauds, to make all versions suspect.”
― Vincent H. O'Neil, A Pause in the Perpetual Rotation

“They’re following programming designed by AIs that have been making up their own rules for years. No one understands how the robots work anymore.”
― Vincent H. O'Neil, A Pause in the Perpetual Rotation

“Muriel landed in the garden she’d planted that first morning, unable to breathe but that was okay. It would end where it started. No more cages, no more schemes, a final harvest.”
― Vincent H. O'Neil, A Pause in the Perpetual Rotation

“Muriel tossed the earbud away. An identical thought surged through the group: I’m not going to die with somebody yacking in my ear.”
― Vincent H. O'Neil, A Pause in the Perpetual Rotation

“Like I said, I had a rough upbringing. A little kindness from a stranger goes a long way.”
― Vincent H. O'Neil, A Pause in the Perpetual Rotation

“A moment ago you were a smart, independent individual and now you claim to be a silly, ignorant pawn. You cannot be both. Make up your mind.”
― Vincent H. O'Neil, A Pause in the Perpetual Rotation

“Don’t kid yourself, Professor. The powerful don’t think things over. They just react. It’s all they know.”
― Vincent H. O'Neil, A Pause in the Perpetual Rotation