Larry Niven Quotes

The moral of this story is, anything you don’t understand is dangerous until you do understand it.

Long ago, Louis Wu had stood at the void edge of Mount Lookitthat. The Long Fall River, on that world, ends in the tallest waterfall in known space. Louis's eyes had followed it down as far as they could penetrate the void mist. The featureless white of the void itself had grasped at his mind, and Louis Wu, half hypnotized, had sworn to live forever. How else could he see all there was to see?
Now he reaffirmed that decision.

as old as seas and mountains. . . .

Louis's excitement was growing unbearable. Was this really what he had needed all along? Not the droud and wire, but the risk of his life to prove its value! Louis adjusted his flying belt and dropped over the railing.

Once Louis Wu had sworn to live forever.

Species evolve to meet the environment. An intelligent species changes the environment to suit itself. As soon as a species becomes intelligent, it should stop evolving.

It was comforting somehow to see his minions exhibit traces of conscience. “The right to have children should not depend on your political connections.” Stealing a glance at a holo of Nike, Nessus wondered whose political system he questioned.

A sufficiently intelligent being will look about her, solve all questions, then cease activity.

Ethics change with technology.

In fantasy, more than in other forms of literature, the obligation is to teach something universally true about the human condition.

There’s a fine line between sensible emotional restraint, and the withdrawal symptoms of a stimulus junkie denied her fix.

"It does not disturb me to play a god," he said. "It disturbs me to play a god badly."

Sex was a game nobody lost.

He felt good. At worst he had found a brand-new way to die.

I want a scotch and water. If I can’t have that, leave out the water.