It's hard to guess how smart the machines are, but a good rule of thumb is that they're always smarter than you think.

As a kid I wanted to write science fiction, and I was never without a book. Later I really got into being a scientist and never thought I'd be writing novels.

Each new generation builds on the work of the previous one, gaining new perspective. New verbs are introduced. We Google strange and dangerous places. We tweet mindlessly to the cosmos. We Facebook our own grandmothers. I, for one, don't want to be left behind.

Change creates fear, and technology creates change. Sadly, most people don't behave very well when they are afraid.

Across the sea of space lies an infinite emptiness. I can feel it, suffocating me. It is without meaning. But each life creates its own reality.

Memories fade but words hang around forever.

The true knowledge is not in the things, but in finding the connections between the things.