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Orson Scott Card Quotes

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You were the one who threatened us with an Inquisitor," the Bishop reminded him. With a smile.

The Speaker's smile was just as chilly. "And you're the one who told the people I was Satan and they shouldn't talk to me.
From Speaker for the Dead
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It was not right, thought Han Fei-tzu, for his wife to die before him: her ancestor-of-the-heart had outlived her husband. Besides, wives should live longer than husbands. Women were more complete inside themselves. They were also better at living in their children. They were never as solitary as a man alone.
From Xenocide
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I know that you are wise. When you hear a true story, there is a part of you that responds to it regardless of art, regardless of evidence…You believe that the story is true, because you responded to it from that sense of truth deep within you. But that sense of truth does not respond to a story's factuality...[rather] to a story's causality - whether it faithfully shows the way the universe functions.
From Xenocide
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You frighten me, when you say there isn't time."
"I don't see why. Christians have been expecting the imminent end of the world for millennia."
"But it keeps not ending."
"So far, so good.
From Ender's Shadow
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This emotion I'm feeling now, this is love, right?"

"I don't know. Is it a longing? Is it a giddy stupid happiness just because you're with me?"

"Yes," she said.

"That's influenza," said Miro. "Watch for nausea or diarrhea within a few hours.
From Children of the Mind
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It's as if every conversation with a woman was a test, and men always failed it, because they always lacked the key to the code and so they never quite understood what the conversation was really about.
From Enchantment
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I knew her so well that I loved her, or maybe I loved her so well that I knew her. I didn't want to fight her anymore. I wanted to quit. I wanted to go home. So I blew up her planet.
From Speaker for the Dead
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And the voice of God was in the whirlwind after all, said Thor
From The Lost Gate
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When you have faith in something a lot of other people believe then you a member of the church" said Ceas, "When you have faith in something nobody believes, then you a complete wacko
From Magic Street
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Happiness is not a life without pain, but rather a life in which the pain is traded for a worthy price.
From Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus
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I'll have that someday, thought Peter. Someone who'll kiss me good-bye at the door. Or maybe just someone to put a blindfold over my head before they shoot me. Depending on how things turn out.
From Shadow of the Hegemon
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Miro, I'm so sorry. I always felt such pity for you humans because you could only think of one thing at a time and your memories were so imperfect and . . . now I realize that just getting through the day without killing somebody can be an achievement."

It gets to be a habit. Most of us manage to keep our body count quite low. It's the neighborly way to live.
From Children of the Mind
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You were baptized?"

"My sister told me that yes, Father baptized me shortly after birth. My mother was a Protestant of a faith that deplored infant baptism, so they had a quarrel about it." The Bishop held out his hand to lift the Speaker to his feet. The Speaker chuckled. "Imagine. A closet Catholic and a lapsed Mormon, quarreling over religious procedures that they both claimed not to believe in.
From Speaker for the Dead
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I have hope for you, if only because you're the only one left to hope for.
From Ender’s Game
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If you try and lose then it isn't your fault. But if you don't try and we lose, then it's all your fault.
From Ender’s Game
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But in the military you don't get trusted positions just because of your ability. You also have to attract the notice of superior officers. You have to be liked. You have to fit in with the system. You have to look like what the officers above you think that officers should look like. You have to think in ways that they are comfortable with.

The result was that you ended up with a command structure that was top-heavy with guys who looked good in uniform and talked right and did well enough not to embarrass themselves, while the really good ones quietly did all the serious work and bailed out their superiors and got blamed for errors they had advised against until they eventually got out.

That was the military.
From Ender's Shadow
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Life is full of grief, to exactly the degree we allow ourselves to love other people.
From Shadow of the Giant
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Humanity does not ask us to be happy. It merely asks us to be brilliant on its behalf.
From Ender’s Game
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It will hurt." said Petra. "But let's make the most of what we have, and not let future pain ruin present happiness.
From Shadow Puppets
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You're a monster.
Thanks. Does this mean I get a raise?
No, just a medal. The budget isn't inexhaustable.
From Ender's Game
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There's only one thing that will make them stop hating you. And that's being so good at what you do that they can't ignore you.
From Ender’s Game
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We have to go. I'm almost happy here.
From Ender’s Game
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Someday stars will wind down or blow up. Someday death will cover us all like the water of a lake and perhaps nothing will ever come to the surface to show that we were ever there. But we WERE there, and during the time we lived, we were alive. That's the truth - what is, what was, what will be - not what could be, what should have been, what never can be.
From Children of the Mind
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[No single] explanation will ever contain the final answer for all time, for all hearers. There is always, ALWAYS more to learn.
From Children of the Mind
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
You were the one who threatened us with an Inquisitor," the Bishop reminded him. With a smile.

The Speaker's smile was just as chilly. "And you're the one who told the people I was Satan and they shouldn't talk to me.
From Speaker for the Dead
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
It was not right, thought Han Fei-tzu, for his wife to die before him: her ancestor-of-the-heart had outlived her husband. Besides, wives should live longer than husbands. Women were more complete inside themselves. They were also better at living in their children. They were never as solitary as a man alone.
From Xenocide
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
I know that you are wise. When you hear a true story, there is a part of you that responds to it regardless of art, regardless of evidence…You believe that the story is true, because you responded to it from that sense of truth deep within you. But that sense of truth does not respond to a story's factuality...[rather] to a story's causality - whether it faithfully shows the way the universe functions.
From Xenocide
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
You frighten me, when you say there isn't time."
"I don't see why. Christians have been expecting the imminent end of the world for millennia."
"But it keeps not ending."
"So far, so good.
From Ender's Shadow
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
This emotion I'm feeling now, this is love, right?"

"I don't know. Is it a longing? Is it a giddy stupid happiness just because you're with me?"

"Yes," she said.

"That's influenza," said Miro. "Watch for nausea or diarrhea within a few hours.
From Children of the Mind
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
It's as if every conversation with a woman was a test, and men always failed it, because they always lacked the key to the code and so they never quite understood what the conversation was really about.
From Enchantment
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
I knew her so well that I loved her, or maybe I loved her so well that I knew her. I didn't want to fight her anymore. I wanted to quit. I wanted to go home. So I blew up her planet.
From Speaker for the Dead
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
And the voice of God was in the whirlwind after all, said Thor
From The Lost Gate
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
When you have faith in something a lot of other people believe then you a member of the church" said Ceas, "When you have faith in something nobody believes, then you a complete wacko
From Magic Street
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Happiness is not a life without pain, but rather a life in which the pain is traded for a worthy price.
From Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
I'll have that someday, thought Peter. Someone who'll kiss me good-bye at the door. Or maybe just someone to put a blindfold over my head before they shoot me. Depending on how things turn out.
From Shadow of the Hegemon
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Miro, I'm so sorry. I always felt such pity for you humans because you could only think of one thing at a time and your memories were so imperfect and . . . now I realize that just getting through the day without killing somebody can be an achievement."

It gets to be a habit. Most of us manage to keep our body count quite low. It's the neighborly way to live.
From Children of the Mind
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
You were baptized?"

"My sister told me that yes, Father baptized me shortly after birth. My mother was a Protestant of a faith that deplored infant baptism, so they had a quarrel about it." The Bishop held out his hand to lift the Speaker to his feet. The Speaker chuckled. "Imagine. A closet Catholic and a lapsed Mormon, quarreling over religious procedures that they both claimed not to believe in.
From Speaker for the Dead
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
I have hope for you, if only because you're the only one left to hope for.
From Ender’s Game
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
If you try and lose then it isn't your fault. But if you don't try and we lose, then it's all your fault.
From Ender’s Game
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
But in the military you don't get trusted positions just because of your ability. You also have to attract the notice of superior officers. You have to be liked. You have to fit in with the system. You have to look like what the officers above you think that officers should look like. You have to think in ways that they are comfortable with.

The result was that you ended up with a command structure that was top-heavy with guys who looked good in uniform and talked right and did well enough not to embarrass themselves, while the really good ones quietly did all the serious work and bailed out their superiors and got blamed for errors they had advised against until they eventually got out.

That was the military.
From Ender's Shadow
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Life is full of grief, to exactly the degree we allow ourselves to love other people.
From Shadow of the Giant
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Humanity does not ask us to be happy. It merely asks us to be brilliant on its behalf.
From Ender’s Game
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
It will hurt." said Petra. "But let's make the most of what we have, and not let future pain ruin present happiness.
From Shadow Puppets
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
You're a monster.
Thanks. Does this mean I get a raise?
No, just a medal. The budget isn't inexhaustable.
From Ender's Game
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
There's only one thing that will make them stop hating you. And that's being so good at what you do that they can't ignore you.
From Ender’s Game
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
We have to go. I'm almost happy here.
From Ender’s Game
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Someday stars will wind down or blow up. Someday death will cover us all like the water of a lake and perhaps nothing will ever come to the surface to show that we were ever there. But we WERE there, and during the time we lived, we were alive. That's the truth - what is, what was, what will be - not what could be, what should have been, what never can be.
From Children of the Mind
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
[No single] explanation will ever contain the final answer for all time, for all hearers. There is always, ALWAYS more to learn.
From Children of the Mind
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
You were the one who threatened us with an Inquisitor," the Bishop reminded him. With a smile.

The Speaker's smile was just as chilly. "And you're the one who told the people I was Satan and they shouldn't talk to me.
From Speaker for the Dead
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
It was not right, thought Han Fei-tzu, for his wife to die before him: her ancestor-of-the-heart had outlived her husband. Besides, wives should live longer than husbands. Women were more complete inside themselves. They were also better at living in their children. They were never as solitary as a man alone.
From Xenocide
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
I know that you are wise. When you hear a true story, there is a part of you that responds to it regardless of art, regardless of evidence…You believe that the story is true, because you responded to it from that sense of truth deep within you. But that sense of truth does not respond to a story's factuality...[rather] to a story's causality - whether it faithfully shows the way the universe functions.
From Xenocide
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
You frighten me, when you say there isn't time."
"I don't see why. Christians have been expecting the imminent end of the world for millennia."
"But it keeps not ending."
"So far, so good.
From Ender's Shadow
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
This emotion I'm feeling now, this is love, right?"

"I don't know. Is it a longing? Is it a giddy stupid happiness just because you're with me?"

"Yes," she said.

"That's influenza," said Miro. "Watch for nausea or diarrhea within a few hours.
From Children of the Mind
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
It's as if every conversation with a woman was a test, and men always failed it, because they always lacked the key to the code and so they never quite understood what the conversation was really about.
From Enchantment
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
I knew her so well that I loved her, or maybe I loved her so well that I knew her. I didn't want to fight her anymore. I wanted to quit. I wanted to go home. So I blew up her planet.
From Speaker for the Dead
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
And the voice of God was in the whirlwind after all, said Thor
From The Lost Gate
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
When you have faith in something a lot of other people believe then you a member of the church" said Ceas, "When you have faith in something nobody believes, then you a complete wacko
From Magic Street
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Happiness is not a life without pain, but rather a life in which the pain is traded for a worthy price.
From Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
I'll have that someday, thought Peter. Someone who'll kiss me good-bye at the door. Or maybe just someone to put a blindfold over my head before they shoot me. Depending on how things turn out.
From Shadow of the Hegemon
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Miro, I'm so sorry. I always felt such pity for you humans because you could only think of one thing at a time and your memories were so imperfect and . . . now I realize that just getting through the day without killing somebody can be an achievement."

It gets to be a habit. Most of us manage to keep our body count quite low. It's the neighborly way to live.
From Children of the Mind
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
You were baptized?"

"My sister told me that yes, Father baptized me shortly after birth. My mother was a Protestant of a faith that deplored infant baptism, so they had a quarrel about it." The Bishop held out his hand to lift the Speaker to his feet. The Speaker chuckled. "Imagine. A closet Catholic and a lapsed Mormon, quarreling over religious procedures that they both claimed not to believe in.
From Speaker for the Dead
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
I have hope for you, if only because you're the only one left to hope for.
From Ender’s Game
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
If you try and lose then it isn't your fault. But if you don't try and we lose, then it's all your fault.
From Ender’s Game
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
But in the military you don't get trusted positions just because of your ability. You also have to attract the notice of superior officers. You have to be liked. You have to fit in with the system. You have to look like what the officers above you think that officers should look like. You have to think in ways that they are comfortable with.

The result was that you ended up with a command structure that was top-heavy with guys who looked good in uniform and talked right and did well enough not to embarrass themselves, while the really good ones quietly did all the serious work and bailed out their superiors and got blamed for errors they had advised against until they eventually got out.

That was the military.
From Ender's Shadow
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Life is full of grief, to exactly the degree we allow ourselves to love other people.
From Shadow of the Giant
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Humanity does not ask us to be happy. It merely asks us to be brilliant on its behalf.
From Ender’s Game
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
It will hurt." said Petra. "But let's make the most of what we have, and not let future pain ruin present happiness.
From Shadow Puppets
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
You're a monster.
Thanks. Does this mean I get a raise?
No, just a medal. The budget isn't inexhaustable.
From Ender's Game
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
There's only one thing that will make them stop hating you. And that's being so good at what you do that they can't ignore you.
From Ender’s Game
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
We have to go. I'm almost happy here.
From Ender’s Game
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Someday stars will wind down or blow up. Someday death will cover us all like the water of a lake and perhaps nothing will ever come to the surface to show that we were ever there. But we WERE there, and during the time we lived, we were alive. That's the truth - what is, what was, what will be - not what could be, what should have been, what never can be.
From Children of the Mind
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
[No single] explanation will ever contain the final answer for all time, for all hearers. There is always, ALWAYS more to learn.
From Children of the Mind
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
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