“ Until he reached thirty, Randy felt bad about the fact that he was not socially deft. Now he doesn’t give a damn. Pretty soon he’ll probably start being proud of it. Neal Stephenson
“ To the extent that Blue had a definable culture, it tended to view technological aids with some ambivalence, a state of mind boiled down into the aphorism Each enhancement is an amputation. This was n… Neal Stephenson
“ The last ship home has sailed. From now on, launch vehicles will rise up into orbit, but they will not go back for ten thousand years. Neal Stephenson
“ The first woman who spent any amount of time aboard this ship was Elizabeth de Obregon, whom we salvaged from the wrack of the Manila Galleon at the same time as him who burned it, one Edouard de Gex.… Neal Stephenson
“ The byproduct of the lifestyle is polluted rivers, greenhouse effect, spouse abuse, televangelists, and serial killers. Neal Stephenson
“ The ability to make judgments, to believe things, is the entire point of having a culture. I Neal Stephenson
“ The Japanese Mafia. Tell me something, Jason, you ever hear anyone describe our thing as 'The Sicilian Yakuza'? Huh? Neal Stephenson
“ The Deliverator's car has enough potential energy packed into its batteries tofire a pound of bacon into the Asteroid Belt. Unlike a bimbo box or a Burbbeater, the Deliverator's car unloads that power… Neal Stephenson
“ The Deliverator does not know for sure what happens to the driver in such cases,but he has heard some rumors. Most pizza deliveries happen in the eveninghours, which Uncle Enzo considers to be his pri… Neal Stephenson
“ The Bourbon-Orléans family tree is infinitely larger, more ramified, and more intertangled than can possibly be shown here, largely owing to the longevity, fertility, and polygamy of Louis XIV. Neal Stephenson
“ THE MONASTERY GATE was as weak as Finn surmised, the timbers splintering after three strong kicks from Finn’s boot. Using his spear as a wedge, he ripped and tore the rotted wood away until there was… Neal Stephenson
“ Software development, like professional sports, has a way of making thirty-year-old men feel decrepit. Neal Stephenson
“ So which theory did Lagos believe in? Therelativist or the universalist?He did not seem to think there was much of a difference. In the end, they areboth somewhat mystical. Lagos believed that both sc… Neal Stephenson
“ Shut up about Leibniz for a moment, Rudy, because look here: You—Rudy—and I are on a train, as it were, sitting in the dining car, having a nice conversation, and that train is being pulled along at a… Neal Stephenson
“ She has to find someplace to pull into. If she could find a Nova Sicilia franchulate, that would do it—the Mafia owes her one. Or a New South Africa, which she hates. But the New South Africans hate j… Neal Stephenson
“ Private Hott is with God now—or wherever people go after they die, says Enoch You can call me Brother Root. What kind of an attitude is that!? Course he’s with God. Jesus Christ! ‘Wherever they go whe… Neal Stephenson
