This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I shook my head. "Have you ever noticed how many once-in-a-lifetime opportunities come at the end of a pers… - Robert J. Sawyer

“And of me you ask which choice you should make?” said the translator’s voice.
“Yes,” I said.
There was the sound of rocks grinding, followed by a brief silence, and then: “The moral choice is obvious,” said the Wreed. “It always is.”
“And?” I said. “What is the moral choice?”
More sounds of rocks, then: “Morality cannot be handed down from an external source.” ... “It must come from within.”
“You’re not going to tell me, are you?”
The Wreed wavered and vanished.

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."

You are spoiled by being a sociologist, Lansing. In the hard sciences, we occasionally have to face the reality that some of our theories will actually be disproven.