“ Two days later a Scout simply disappeared without explanation, possibly the victim of a micrometeoroid, or even of suicide. Neal Stephenson
“ Tolkien’s Dwarves were stout, taciturn, vaguely magical characters who spent a lot of time in the dark hammering out beautiful things, e.g. Rings of Power Neal Stephenson
“ To paraphrase Tolstoy, all rich places were alike, but each poor place was poor in its own way. Neal Stephenson
“ To Randy and the others, the business plan functions as Torah, master calendar, motivational text, philosophical treatise. It is a dynamic, living document. Neal Stephenson
“ This Land was made wrong. All of his efforts to make it right only spread the wrongness about in new ways. It is left to souls like me to decide what to do about it; and though I cannot see all the an… Neal Stephenson
“ They wanted to carry her, but she jumped to the stones of the plaza and strode away from the building, toward her ranks, which parted to make way for her. The streets of Pudong were filled with hungry… Neal Stephenson
“ They have parallel-parked their bimbo boxes in identical computer-designed Burbclave street patterns and secreted themselves in symmetrical sheetrock shitholes with vinyl floors and ill-fitting woodwo… Neal Stephenson
“ These were rice paddies before they were parking lots. Rice was the basis for our society. Peasants planted the seeds and had highest status in the Confucian hierarchy. As the Master said, Let the pro… Neal Stephenson
“ These simple terms—come about, for example—denote procedures that are as complicated and tradition-bound as the installation of a new Pope. Neal Stephenson
“ These in combination with the photographs of family and friends give it a cozy, domestic flavor which is, however, completely ruined by the framed picture of Adolf Hitler on the wall. Waterhouse finds… Neal Stephenson
“ There’s a bed, a little fold-out table, and cabinets made of actual wood. These in combination with the photographs of family and friends give it a cozy, domestic flavor which is, however, completely… Neal Stephenson
“ There's one black-and-white who stands out because he's taller than the rest.The Street protocol states that your avatar can't be any taller than you are.This is to prevent people from walking around… Neal Stephenson
“ There was a Chinese belief that demons liked to travel only in straight lines. Hence the bridge zigzagged no fewer than nine times as it made its way to the center of the pond. The bridge was a demon… Neal Stephenson
“ There is an English expression: 'high-maintenance girlfriend,' Csongor remarked. Now, of course, Zula is not my girlfriend. Probably never would be, even if all this shit were not happening. And I thi… Neal Stephenson
“ There is a remarkably close parallel between the problems of the physicist and those of the cryptographer. The system on which a message is enciphered corresponds to the laws of the universe, the inte… Neal Stephenson
“ Then I remembered my grandmother and realized, my God, the human mind can absorb and process an incredible amount of information -- if it comes in the right format. The right interface. If you put the… Neal Stephenson
“ Their morning training was interrupted by the unexpected arrival of a plainly dressed man. Lugo, the youngest initiate at the chapter house, noticed him first and nearly received a blow to the head as… Neal Stephenson
“ Their eyes meet and her heart starts flopping around weakly, like a bunny in a Ziploc bag. He grins and waves. Neal Stephenson
“ The world of physical objects seemed to have been made solely for the purpose of giving the men around Grandma something to do with their hands; and not, mind you, for any practical reason, but purely… Neal Stephenson
