171 Quotes by Bruce Sterling

If bin Laden is in fact publicly killed, then the US military will find itself standing around with its hands in its pockets, wondering what’s supposed to come next.

David Brin is a technological determinist. He thinks that we understand the trend and we need to hop on it. I don’t have any such illusions.

It was a frightening thing, to see two mentally incompetent sidewalk buskers, with battered folk musicians, who might any moment burst into song.

Google sells network surveillance and collective intelligence. This is Google’s actual, profitable, monetisable product. “Search” is merely Google’s front end, a brilliant facade to encourage free interaction by the public. People are not Google’s “customers” or even Google’s “users”, but its feudal livestock.

It’s going to be really interesting to see what the heroin market does in the next two years or so. One thing you can be pretty sure of. The Afghan peasants who grow poppies won’t get rich. The money will end up in places like Dubai.

War as Napoleon knew it just not possible any more. However, we’re very unlikely to accept or recognize “world peace” even when we get it.

There’s no victory-condition for being human.

I wouldn’t describe that “position” as “parasitic.” I’d describe that experience as “edifying.” I don’t merely write from a critical intellectual distance. I actually live around here.

They took my womb out, and they put in brain tissue. Grafts from the pleasure center, darling. I’m wired to the ass and the spine and the throat, and it’s better than being God. When I’m hot, I sweat perfume. I’m cleaner than a fresh needle, and nothing leaves my body that you can’t drink like wine or eat like candy. And they left me bright, so that I would know what submission was. Do you know what submission is, darling?