Quote #290

They've never seen us make a move like that. They don't understand that, yes, humans will always act to preserve their own lives - except for the times when they don't. In the bugger's experience, autonomous beings do not sacrifice themselves. Once they understood our autonomy, the seed of their defeat was sown.

More from Orson Scott Card

  1. Yet throughout history, great victories had come as much because of the losing army's errors as because of the winner's brilliance in battl…
  2. He pretended all this time that humans were rational human beings, when we are really the most terrible monsters these poor aliens could ev…
  3. But he held his tongue, because, in the back of his mind, in the deepest corner of his heart, he still had hope that Ender might do what co…
  4. For we humans do, when the cause is sufficient, spend our own lives. We throw ourselves onto the grenade to save our buddies in the foxhole…
  5. Sometimes the other side is irresistibly strong, and then the only sensible course of action is to retreat in order to save your force to f…
  6. Is that what passes for humor with you?
  7. What you don't seem to understand is, sometimes you have to tell people the truth and ask them to do the thing you want, instead of trying …
  8. Isn't that what it means to be civilized? That you can wait to get what you want?

All Orson Scott Card quotes