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161 " Change is always dangerous. "
― Becky Chambers , The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)
162 " Perhaps none of us can truly explain death. Perhaps none of us should. "
― Becky Chambers , Record of a Spaceborn Few (Wayfarers, #3)
163 " The thrusters roared, and Jane was aware of how small she was – she and Laurian both. So small, so squishy. They’d strapped themselves into this explosive hunk of scrap and aimed for the sky. How was this a good idea? How had anyone ever thought this was a good idea? "
― Becky Chambers
164 " If trying something new was valid, then keeping something old was, too. "
165 " but she was glad the majority of her neighbours shared her view that practicality became dreary if you didn’t balance it out properly. "
166 " Ashby didn’t just know this Aeluon. Ashby was banging this Aeluon. "
167 " Humans reacted differently to coupling than she did. Didn’t their brains get overloaded with chemicals afterwards, way more than normal people? "
168 " Her mind raced, scrambling to remember what she could of Aandrisk culture. Complicated family structures. Virtually no concept of personal space. Physically affectionate. Promiscuous. She mentally slapped herself for that. It was a stereotype, one that every Human knew whether they wanted to or not, and it smacked of ethnocentrism. They don’t pair up like we do, she chided herself. It’s not the same thing. Somewhere in her head, Professor Selim was frowning at her. “The very fact that we use the term ‘cold-blooded’ as a synonym for ‘heartless’ should tell you something about the innate bias we primates hold against reptiles,” she pictured him saying. “Do not judge other species by your own social norms. "
169 " I miss the sorts of gatherings that call for coffee. "
― Becky Chambers , To Be Taught, If Fortunate
170 " There was a difference between being shy and being sequestered. Rarely in history had things turned out well for people who chose to lock themselves away. "
171 " I’m not sure whether that’s tragic or whether you’ve been spared a lot of bother. "
― Becky Chambers , The Galaxy, and the Ground Within (Wayfarers, #4)
172 " The problem was that what he wanted, more than anything, was to fuck someone or fight something, and he knew – from experience, now – that if given the opportunity, he’d be too scared to do either. Cool. Real cool. "
173 " We're coming in at their happy ending and not stopping to think about how they got there. We want to take on their story. And we can, if we want to. But I worry about those who think adopting someone else's story means abandoning their own. "
174 " Fear is miserable, as is pain. As is hunger. Every animal is hardwired to do absolutely anything to stop those feelings as fast as possible. We’re all just trying to be comfortable, and well fed, and unafraid. It wasn’t the elk’s fault. The elk just "
― Becky Chambers , A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot, #1)
175 " all any of us can do—is work to be something positive instead. That is a choice that every sapient must make every day of their life. The universe is what we make of it. It’s up to you to decide what part you will play. "
176 " She closed her eyes and let out a tremendous sigh. Her shoulders visibly slumped. She’d always had the ability to relax them; she’d just needed permission to do so. "
177 " That's not the same. What happened to you, to your species, it's... it doesn't even compare.''Why? Because it's worse?'She nodded.'But it still compares. If you have a fractured bone, and I've broken every bone in my body, does that make your fracture go away? Does it hurt you any less, knowing that I am in more pain?''No, but that's not-''Yes it is. Feelings are relative. "
178 " Nobody should be alone,” Sissix said. “Being alone and untouched . . . there’s no punishment worse than that. And she’s done nothing wrong. She’s just different. "
179 " I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase ‘survival of the fittest’. It’s often misused, operating on the false interpretation that fit means physically fit, therefore expressing a dog-eat-dog ethos. The strongest wins the day. But that’s not what Darwin meant, not at all. He meant most suited to, as in, the creatures most suited to – or most fit for – a specific environment are the ones with the best chance of passing on their genes. "
180 " We hail from systems that remained self-contained for billions of years, with evolutionary clocks that all began at different times. How is it possible that when meeting our galactic neighbours for the first time, we are all instantly reminded of creatures back home - or in some cases, of ourselves? "