Dragonsdawn Quotes
"There had been little diversion on the long trip except the brief stimulation every five years when relief crews were awakened to serve their hitches."
"This was a one-way trip, had to be, considering the cost of getting over 6000 colonists and supplies to this out-of-the-way sector of the galaxy."
"To be sure, they had homing capsules that would reach the headquarters of the Federated Sentient Planets in a mere five years, but to a retired naval tactician like Paul Benden a fragile homing capsule didn’t provide much in the way of an effective back-up."
"Their destination in the Rukbat system was rich enough in ores and minerals to support an agriculturally based society but poor enough not to tempt the great Technicrats this far from the centre of the galaxy."
"Once we’ve landed, everyone will be too bloody busy to fret over ‘difference’."
"We know what we needed to know and the FSP was quite happy to turn the planet over to us because it certainly doesn’t have anything to interest them."
"It’s like a dream. I keep being afraid I’ll wake up suddenly."
"Efficiency is our guide. Waste not, want not."
"Of course, if you wanted to put someone off the track..."
"I think it’s far more important right now to reassure this bitty fellow than find out what makes it tick."
"We’re going to revive an apprentice system here. It worked pretty well on old Earth."
"This sand ought to be different, not just the same."
"True! Eden is once again corrupted by human greed."
"We still have a great deal to be thankful for on Pern, you know."
"This is still the best memory bank ever invented."
"No one locked doors on Pern, even doors to official administrative offices."
"It’s bad enough suspecting there are maggots in the meat without offering anyone else a bite."
"The euphoria of the Crossing is over: tonight’s celebration is planned to defuse a rebound as that realization sinks in."
"What was the sense of going through all that mentasynth infection if you humans don’t come to hear what we have to tell you?"
"The power of her ringing voice, the sincerity of her fervent phrases had, on that glorious evening, motivated everyone to fulfill that dream."
"There’s a whole planet to lose themselves in."
"It’s one thing to see, and another to know, isn’t it?"
"Dragonets were sentimental about births and missed none in Landing, though they discreetly remained outside human habitations."
"An array of dragonets on a roof became an irrefutable sign of impending birth: the dragonets were never wrong."
"The colony’s obstetricians could gauge the labour’s progress – a little too accurately Louise Auster said – by the growing intensity of the dragonets’ welcoming song."
"The chestnut mare heaved again, extruding the foal further."
"Sean gave a crow of incredulous joy and dropped to the little fellow’s head to mop it dry, even before the mare could form her bond."
"Tears streaming down a dusty face, Sorka hugged herself for the joy of the event."
"‘I know you will, Da,’ she said, burrowing into his chest. ‘I’m crying because I’m so happy for Sean. He didn’t believe Pol, you know. Not for one moment.’"
"The miracle, the wonder of what he beheld, was the knowledge that he owned this animal, this embodiment of his dream."
"Dragonets might be small, but they possessed a fierce protective instinct for their human friends."
"Dragonets, with their unusual intelligence and empathy, played an indispensable role in the lives of the settlers."
"The community took the dragonets’ protective instincts in good part, even if it sometimes deprived them of sleep."
"The dragonets’ fiery breath, a surprising and formidable defense, had saved many from danger."
"Before completion, deliberation and caution are the prerequisites of success."
"The person of intellect is careful in the differentiation of things, so that each finds its place."
"We cannot entertain much hope that Ezra Keroon’s probe will bring us any useful information."
"Our task is great and full of responsibility. One does not irresponsibly change the nature and purpose of any creature."
"I prefer to think positively. I see this as a challenge to our ingenuity, to our adaptability."
"Mankind has survived more dangerous environments than Pern."
"We must solve it to survive. And survive we will!"
"We can't let this phenomenon do me out of the home I’ve built, the stock I plan to raise, the quality of life I enjoy."
"We’re here, man, and we’re going to survive!"
"The best way to clear Thread from the skies – by flamethrowers."
"We have to put up with Thread for long after that red planet crosses out of the inner system."
"That tail would take nearly fifty years to diffuse out of Pern’s orbit."
"There should be two on the mission, for safety's sake."
"Rather longer than we'd bargained for, my friend."
"Avril’s suspicious nature was aroused not by anything she heard, but by what she saw."
"I wonder if that’s what Avril meant by 'it’s not the ...'"
"We need data and we need a sample of the stuff in that trail."
"Thread didn’t care about human conflicts: it ate."
"Safety is. He was Shunned because he defied the will of the Colony."
"Sometimes the duties to which rank entitles me are more than it’s worth."
"One perfect male and one perfect female are all we need."
"Can’t they be ridden yet? And hunt for themselves?"
"Until those dragons start earning their keep."
"Our beautiful Pern has popped a pimple on her face."
"Self-perpetuating, too, unlike sleds and skimmers."
"We might have direct proof of fertility by then as the gold females mature later."
"I’ll be glad to move north. I’m so eternally tired of black dust everywhere."
"There’s some kind of very large spotted beast out there."
"The man was insane, developing big predators."
"Even if the pyroclastic flow is minimal, Landing will soon be covered with ash."
"Marco Galliani and his dragon Duluth died yesterday in an unfortunate accident."
"We’re not going to be able to protect as much land with such a depleted aerial coverage."
"But I tell you what, there’s no reason you girls can’t use flamethrowers."
"Tom Patrick says Wind Blossom chooses to distrust the male half of this leadership."
"Remember, tomorrow won’t be a good day for any kind of test!"
"It was cold up here in the north but the crisp air made these now familiar star patterns crystal clear."
"We’ve come! I heard, but I had to see it to believe it myself."
"We’re not to fly anything anywhere that isn’t priority number-one top emergency."
"Dragons are a lot faster than that fleet Jim Keroon’s shepherding."
"Admiral Benden, sir, may I present the Dragonriders of Pern?"