I've lived too long with pain. I won't know who I am without it

Science fiction is about what could be but isn't; fantasy is about what couldn't be.

I looked for perfection, and I found something better.

The difference between raman and varelse is not in the creature judged, but in the creature judging. When we declare an alien species to be raman, it does not mean that they have passed a threshold of moral maturity. It means that we have.

Oh, Val," said Father. "All you have to do is live your life, and everyone around you will be happier." "No greatness, then." "Val," said Mother, "goodness trumps greatness any day." "Not in the history books," said Valentine. "Then the wrong people are writing history, aren't they?" said Father.

We're all trying to decide whether your scores up there are a miracle or a mistake." "A habit.

One mind can think only of its own questions; it rarely surprises itself.