177 Quotes by Becky Chambers

The only reason Humans stopped killing each other to the extent that you used to, I think, is because your planet died before you could finish the job.

But every sapient species has a long, messy history of powers that rise and fall. The people we remember are the ones who decided how our maps should be drawn. Nobody remembers who built the roads.

So we travel to one end – whoosh – and all the people seeing us fly by are like, oh my stars, look at that totally amazing ship, what genius tech patched together such a thing, and I’m like, oh, that’s me, Kizzy Shao, you can all name your babies after me – whooosh – and then we get to our start point.

You break rules all the time.’ ‘I break laws. That’s different.

Perhaps the most crucial stage is that of ‘intraspecies chaos.’ This is the proving ground, the awkward adolescence when a species either learns to come together on a global scale, or dissolves into squabbling factions doomed to extinction, whether through war or ecological disasters too great to tackle divided.

That must save them a lot of time,’ said Rosemary, wondering how much of her life had been spent trying to find the right words in difficult conversations.

Perhaps the ache of homesickness was a fair price to pay for having so many good people in her life.

In the space beyond was Hedra Ka. A cracking scab of a planet, choked with storms and veins of lava. A mist of rocks floated in orbit, a reminder of its recent formation. It was a young world, unwelcoming, resentful of its existence. ‘That is the angriest looking thing I’ve ever seen,’ Ashby said.

There were dozens of stars. Dozens of dozens, way too many to count, just like her questions.