Larry Niven Quotes

Civilization must have become awfully stereotyped before its collapse.

“I didn’t know you were such a fighter,” Eviane said.
“Yeah, well, neither did I.”
She smiled shyly.
“Does that make a big difference?” he asked hesitantly.
“Always,” she said. She stared at that bank of fog as if it concealed answers to every important question. “Oh, girls say that they want strong sensitive men. When we can’t find both, we settle for strong.”
Some part of him resented that. “Evolution in action?”
She nodded. “Sure. Deep down inside, we all know that something like this could happen. That the civilization we’d spent so much time and money building up could all come toppling down. And if it did, what would get us through is strength.”
“Not just physical strength, though.”

Priests learn to be practical, if their gods don’t.

Avalon was neutral. The children of Earth might die, they might thrive. Avalon would embrace their bones or the progeny with equal warmth.

A civilization has the ethics it can afford

In a universe the size of ours almost anything that can happen, will.

When you trade among the stars, there is no repeat business.

3) Stories to end all stories on a given topic, don't.

The trouble with sharing too many beds was that one’s chance of running into a really bad situation was improved almost to certainty.

"Humans," said the puppeteer, "should not be allowed to run loose. You will surely harm yourselves."

"Because she was designed human, before Nessus made her something else. Tanj him! Do you see what he did? He created god in his own image, his own idealized image, and he got Teela Brown. "She's just what any puppeteer would give his soul to be. She can't be injured. She can't even be uncomfortable, unless it's for her own benefit.

"Her eyes glowed. She spoke as if confiding a secret. "Have you noticed the moonlight?

Did I just hear something tear?” General Gillespie asked. “It sounded like the Constitution.” Jenny caught the look on Max’s face. Interesting. He looked disgusted. A liberal general? We’re fighting snouts here!

There was this about him: he knew who I was, but he hadn’t remembered my name. Ron Cole had better things to think about than what name belonged with whom. A name was only a tag and a conversational gambit.

It was a light, brief kiss, but it was less an ending than a promise, and he was happy.