The Andromeda Evolution Quotes
"By controlling each of your moves, you can reduce anxiousness and win the game."
"Every operation, from single-element transports to coordination of an entire operating theater, is at least partially computer generated."
"Strike the last field candidate. I have a replacement."
"The instinct of the human being upon contact with a foreign civilization is to flee."
"With such natural riches, the land was under constant attack."
"Phenomena with extremely low probabilities effectively never happen in real life."
"The anomaly is located on the exact equator, ma’am. Down to the centimeter, it looks like."
"In the face of overwhelming evidence. Except for one."
"Until that anomaly spreads all the way to the ocean."
"In typical human fashion, attention had turned away from the wondrous contemplation of extraterrestrials and settled squarely and mundanely on the countries (allies and not) who had inevitably learned about the deadly version of the microparticle called AS-1, and its plastic-eating cousin, AS-2."
"But do not mistake this response for altruistic curiosity, rather it is simply a need to understand the other in order to protect oneself from it … or, more likely, to attempt to destroy it."
"The jungle didn’t frighten her. Not much did."
"We are standing in Earth’s lungs. These tree species spread their roots wide and shallow, cutting off almost all access to bedrock. The people who have lived here for millennia never had the opportunity to develop stone tools. Even their arrowheads are carved from bamboo, completely biodegradable. They have been spared the never-ending progression of technology." - Harold Odhiambo
"It is not a bad thing ... until we show up. Exposed to superior technology, these tribes are vulnerable to being exploited, killed, or enslaved." - Harold Odhiambo
"Any contact, with good or evil intentions, will destroy them. Outsiders either take their lives, or their way of life." - Harold Odhiambo
"The Chinese Tiangong-1 space station broke up in the atmosphere over Brazil six months ago. It spread bits of wreckage between here and the Atlantic Ocean. We think ... ah, the Americans think, the Chinese may have been experimenting with Andromeda." - Kline
"You just have to obey me. Because the very last thing you want is to end up out here all alone." - Sergeant Eduardo Brink
"I’m surprised the feds didn’t already nuke it on reflex," said Stone, venturing a joke.
"I have been instructed by General Stern to handle you with kid gloves. But this is the Amazon wild. This jungle does not care for your credentials. It does not care for your intelligence. Or for your technology. It was here before you and it will be here after you are gone." - Sergeant Eduardo Brink
"Our presence in the jungle is highly dangerous. History has played out the same way across every continent, from the indigenous people of Africa to those of Australia and the Americas. It always ends in death." - Harold Odhiambo
"Of course I have no official knowledge of this," said Peng. "However, it would not be an unprecedented scenario, considering the many international efforts under way to study Andromeda in a microgravity environment." - Peng
"We shouldn’t let him touch the body," said Stone.
"I believe it is likely we are standing over the body of someone he knows, perhaps a father or uncle," replied the Kenyan, gently.
"I’ll believe it when I see it," muttered Vedala.
"Stone. What about you?" asked Vedala. "The kid won’t be distracted forever by your silly drone."
"The best way to contain it," said Kline, "is to leave it alone."
"Our anomaly is a simple dam. And a dam exists for one reason. To generate hydroelectric power," said Odhiambo.
"I don’t want to do this. I have to. Unless there is another way," replied Stern.
"You catch on quickly," replied Stern. "Believe it or not, the US Air Force still makes napalm. It works just as well as it ever did."
"First contact, and Tupa is only a boy. We have no other choice in the matter, and I understand that. But we are nobody’s savior," said Odhiambo.
"This structure is not built of any material known to man. Its construction techniques are a mystery. But its purpose is as clear as day," said Odhiambo. "Our anomaly is a simple dam. And a dam exists for one reason. To generate hydroelectric power."
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"It’s amazing. This entire structure probably began as a single mote of reverse-engineered Andromeda material, encoded with growth instructions and the ability to make fuel for self-replication from anything nearby."
"One problem. The electricity generated by these turbines is useless if it can’t be transported."
"It’s in German. ‘Congratulations on a job well done.’ ... They were only construction workers. And they were celebrating."
"That means this station is complete. So where is the power going?"
"The Andromeda Strain, ... it’s everywhere. Every planetary body. Mars. Moon rocks. Asteroids."
"We covered it up, NASA, JAXA, CING. Kline was right. Andromeda isn’t here by accident. It was sent. Waiting for life. And it’s been searching for such a long time…"
"We have to leave here. She’s not on our side. She’s dangerous."
"It wasn’t alive, exactly. The extraterrestrial microparticle was in fact a highly complex machine."
"This is Dr. Sophie Kline. I am declaring an emergency and seizing station resources. From this moment until the emergency is over, you are to remain confined to your current module."
"It has spread everywhere, waiting for life to emerge. Meaning there must be an intelligence behind it."
"We won’t have much shielding, but we’ll be warm and we’ll be able to breathe."
"Technically, it’s doable. It’s insane. But it’s doable."
"Their bones naturally deposit calcium where the stress is greatest. Keeps them light and strong."
"I’m sorry, Tupa," he said, explaining the best he could. "No kid-size suits. No … armor."
"You ready?" she asked, her voice transmitted over the local radio and into Stone’s helmet.
"We’re all dying, Jamie. Some of us faster than others."
"This is a last triumph _over this so-called body of mine."
"But we have to look at it objectively. Help us, Sophie."