The aliens that sent the protomolecule hadn’t needed to destroy humanity. They’d given humans the opportunity to destroy themselves, and as a species… - James S. A. Corey

“We’re all here for our own reasons,” Naomi said. “What they are isn’t as important as the fact that we came.”
“True,” Emma said.
Naomi laughed, and it was a hard, bitter sound. “Anyway, I spent too much time already with people telling me they’d shoot me if I didn’t do what they said. That tank’s empty for this lifetime.”
“May it never refill,” Emma said.

See, that's what civilization is," he said. "Bunch of stories. That's all.
So what if it is?" Peaches said. "We're really good at telling stories.

I was looking at the oak and recognizing the acorn.