Home > Work > Dawn (Xenogenesis, #1)
21 " It was literally the best food she had tasted in two hundred and fifty years. "
― Octavia E. Butler , Dawn (Xenogenesis, #1)
22 " What is it?” she asked. “Flesh. More like mine than like yours. Different from mine, too, though. It’s … the ship.” “You’re kidding. Your ship is alive? "
23 " Grief was grief, she thought. It was pain and loss and despair—an abrupt end where there should have been a continuing. "
24 " You are hierarchical. That’s the older and more entrenched characteristic. We saw it in your closest animal relatives and in your most distant ones. It’s a terrestrial characteristic. When human intelligence served it instead of guiding it, when human intelligence did not even acknowledge it as a problem, but took pride in it or did not notice it at all . . .” The rattling sounded again. “That was like ignoring cancer. I think your people did not realize what a dangerous thing they were doing. "
25 " Curt Loehr, the Oankali said, needed people to look after. People stabilized him, gave him purpose. Without them, he might have been a criminal—or dead. "
26 " Of course not.” His tentacles smoothed. “We do what you would call genetic engineering. We know you had begun to do it yourselves a little, but it’s foreign to you. We do it naturally. We must do it. It renews us, enables us to survive as an evolving species instead of specializing ourselves into extinction or stagnation.” “We all do it naturally to some degree,” she said warily. “Sexual reproduction—” “The ooloi do it for us. They have special organs for it. They can do it for you too—make sure of a good, viable gene mix. "
27 " We do what we do, Lilith. "
28 " It has told us about you,” Ahajas said as they carried Nikanj down to the lower corridors. Kahguyaht preceded them, opening walls. Jdahya and Tediin followed. "
29 " The bed was what it had always been: a solid platform that gave slightly to the touch and that seemed to grow from the floor. "
30 " Earth is a big place. Even if parts of it are uninhabitable, it’s still a damn big place. "
31 " We dull your natural fear of strangers and of difference. We keep you from injuring or killing us or yourselves. "
32 " WHAT WOULD THEY DO this time? Ask more questions? Give her another companion? She barely cared. "
33 " ALIVE! Still alive. Alive … again. Awakening was hard, as always. The ultimate disappointment. It was a struggle to take in enough air to drive off nightmare sensations of asphyxiation. Lilith Iyapo lay gasping, shaking with the force of her effort. "
34 " We … do need you.” Nikanj spoke so softly that Joseph leaned forward to hear. “A partner must be biologically interesting, attractive to us, and you are fascinating. You are horror and beauty in rare combination. In a very real way, you’ve captured us, and we can’t escape. But you’re more than only the composition and the workings of your bodies. You are your personalities, your cultures. We’re interested in those too. That’s why we saved as many of you as we could. "
35 " knew it "
36 " intelligence does enable you to deny facts you dislike. But your denial doesn’t matter. A cancer growing in someone’s body will go on growing in spite of denial. "
37 " Joseph sighed. “I don’t understand why the sight of you should scare me so,” Joseph said. He did not sound frightened. “You don’t look that threatening. Just … very different.” “Different is threatening to most species,” Nikanj answered. “Different is dangerous. It might kill you. That was true to your animal ancestors and your nearest animal relatives. And it’s true for you. "
38 " She had learned to keep her sanity by accepting things as she found them, adapting herself to new circumstances by putting aside the old ones whose memories might overwhelm her. "
39 " Back into your cage, Lilith?” Jdahya asked softly. "