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The first rule of space travel...is that mistakes are fatal. Space isn’t friendly; it kills you. And there are no second chances.”

— Charles Stross Singularity Sky (2003)

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Space

More quotes by Charles Stross

Human consciousness isn’t optimized for anything, except maybe helping feral hominids survive in the wild.

Rule 34 (2011)

No plan of battle survives contact with the enemy, and time is the ultimate opponent.

Rule 34 (2011)

Never trust a man who thinks his religion gives him all the answers.

Halting State (2007)

In my experience, the best way to deal with such people is to politely agree with everything they say, then ignore them.

Glasshouse (2006)

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a sane employee in possession of his wits must be in want of a good manager.

The Fuller Memorandum (2010)

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Since, in the long run, every planetary society will be endangered by impacts from space, every surviving civilization is obliged to become spacefaring — not because of exploratory or romantic zeal, but for the most practical reason imaginable: staying alive.

Carl Sagan Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space (1994)

The stars awaken a certain reverence, because though always present, they are inaccessible; but all natural objects make a kindred impression, when the mind is open to their influence. Nature never wears a mean appearance.

Ralph Waldo Emerson Nature (1836)

Her blue eyes sought the west afar,
For lovers love the western star.

Walter Scott The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805)

Einstein's space is no closer to reality than Van Gogh's sky.

Arthur Koestler The Act of Creation (1964)

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Charles Stross (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.