Robert J. Sawyer Quotes

You know his dictum: nothing is anything unless it is something. That is, a concept without material reality is meaningless.

There are two opposing forces—the high mind and the low—but they reside in our brains, not various parts of our bodies. The high mind contains the conscious, the understood, the learned—that of which we are aware. The low mind consists of instincts and base impulses, of drives; it's the province of the subconscious. The struggle between high and low mind produces the personality."
"But surely the high mind is who we really are," said Afsan.
"No. The high mind may represent who we want to be, or who the church says we should be, but we are just as much our low minds as we are our high; the low mind shapes our behavior, too."

But here’s the rub: equality doesn’t necessarily mean being the same. It’s possible to be different but equal. Yes, the male may be more ornate or more powerful in many cases, but the female controls mating, choosing the male, and also, of course, it is the female who brings new life into the world. Which is better? No one can say. Equal, but different.

Cheetah is an APE," said Kyle. "You know, a computer simulation the apes humanity."
"I really do find the use of the term 'ape' offensive," said Cheetah.
Kyle smiled. "See? Genuine-sounding indignation. I programmed that myself. It's the first thing you need in a university environment: the ability to take offense at any slight, real or imagined."

Children play with toy soldiers," said Keith, looking now at Jag. "Child races play with real ones. Maybe it's time all of us grew up a bit."

I believe the creator may have a specific reason for wanting a universe that has life in it, and, indeed, as you say, for wanting multiple sentiences to emerge simultaneously. But it seems clear beyond dispute that the creator takes no interest in specific individuals.

There may be oodles of possible humans, but it is a finite number.

Nothing is anything unless it is something. In other words, a concept without material reality is meaningless.

As one of my Jewish friends has been known to observe, the Jews who survived World War II were either now atheists or hadn’t been paying attention.

“That’s not an appealing thought.”
Afsan had never worried about how appealing any given idea was, only about how accurate it might be.