Words&Dirt

“‘We need brains, is the bottom line,’ Ivy said. ‘We’re not hunter-gatherers anymore. We’re all living like patients in the intensive care unit of a hospital. What keeps us alive isn’t bravery, or athleticism, or any of those other skills that were valuable in a caveman society. It’s our ability to master complex technological skills. It is our ability to be nerds. We need to breed nerds.’ She turned to look at Aïda full in the face. ‘You ask for realism. Your complaint about her’ ––she nodded at Julia–– ‘and the people around her was that they were holding out panaceas. Not facing facts. Fine I’m giving you facts. We’re all nerds now. We might as well get good at it.’”

––Seveneves, by Neal Stephenson, pg. 560

“‘You have everything you need?’ Ty asked. ‘It’ll be a long day for you.’

‘It’ll go by in no time,’ Kath Two demurred, ‘because I’ll be busy. It’ll be long for you because you’ll be bored. Did you bring a book?’

‘People are my books,’ Ty said. ‘But I did bring a couple, in case the people all go to sleep.’”

––Seveneves, by Neal Stephenson, pg. 700