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8710350
|
Nothing that'll kill us sounded good, but Holden felt a pang for his coffeemaker.
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James S.A. Corey |
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6b7eae6
|
He wore his age like a statement that fighting the ravages of time and mortality was beneath his notice.
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James S.A. Corey |
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0961c43
|
That wasn't political," she said. "He's a performance artist."
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James S.A. Corey |
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b0bbc99
|
It was like solving a complex math puzzle without any promise that an optimal solution existed.
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James S.A. Corey |
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3f5a19c
|
No one'll see us coming," Han said. "And everyone dies sometime." "Not comforting." "The alternative is we go spend a bunch of time waiting for you to come up with some other plan that doesn't work."
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plan
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James S.A. Corey |
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d57eff0
|
mentally filed the thought under horrifically inappropriate given the circumstances.
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James S.A. Corey |
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3ec55a9
|
Keel-mounted rail gun," Alex said with a grin. "--that scream of overcompensating for tiny, tiny penises, but might prove useful."
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James S.A. Corey |
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3a6cc97
|
It was his job to expect the worst of humanity, including myself.
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humanity
worst
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James S.A. Corey |
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589d4dd
|
A kid born today would grow up in a world where carbon-silicate lace was as common as titanium or glass. That it was a collaboration between humanity and the ghosts of a massive and alien intelligence would go right by them. Holden was one of the lucky generation who would straddle that break point, that seam between before and after that Naomi and Amos and Ip were making literal right now, and so he could be amazed by how cool it was.
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James S.A. Corey |
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a6642e3
|
All through human history, being a moral person and not being pulled into the dramatics and misbehavior of others had caused intelligent people grief.
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James S.A. Corey |
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ee7db65
|
Ferns can be very aggressive," Prax said."
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James S.A. Corey |
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f2aadb5
|
Cioran, bureaucratic heart of the Empire. Or if not heart, kidney. Maybe small bowel.
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empire
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James S.A. Corey |
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2f00e9e
|
while he spoke, "he never even made it in front of the ethics review. Quit the day before. Made a lot of fuss, walking through the lab and yelling that we weren't going to be able to push him around anymore. That he had a bigwig corporate job with all the funding and resources he wanted. Called us small-minded pencil pushers"
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James S.A. Corey |
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8aa04d5
|
the reactor had gone on Aten Base, his partner and supervisor had both panicked, and Havelock remembered the overwhelming fear in his own gut. When the riots had started on Ceres after the ice hauler Canterbury had been destroyed, his partner had been more weary than fearful, and Havelock had faced the situation with the same grim resignation. When the Ebisu had been quarantined for nipahvirus, his boss had been energized--almost elated--ru..
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James S.A. Corey |
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21fd4ce
|
his ability to appear to be listening lent him an air of gravity without the inconvenience of an opinion of his own.
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James S.A. Corey |
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cab3b10
|
He looked at the cop. He'd known the man less than a day, didn't trust him, and wasn't sure he much liked him. And this was who he'd die with.
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James S.A. Corey |
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6b1c701
|
Political favors are how I express affection," she said."
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James S.A. Corey |
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ca947fc
|
There was something liberating and terrifying about the first day on a new job. In any new assignment, Bobbie had always had the unsettling feeling that she was in over her head, that she wouldn't know how to do any of the things they would ask her to do, that she would dress wrong or say the wrong thing, or that everyone would hate her. But no matter how strong that feeling was, it was overshadowed by the sense that with a new job came the..
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James S.A. Corey |
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6773e44
|
the bank of lockers was down, the airlock door up. Human brains needed an answer, even if they had to make up something they knew was bullshit.
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James S.A. Corey |
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3b3259c
|
She was on their bed, her knees curled up toward her chest, her eyes closed, her hair spilling over the gel. She snored a little, soft animal sounds of peace and contentment.
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James S.A. Corey |
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f0df4b5
|
You ask yourself what happens," Miller said. "Ask yourself what Naomi'd do." Holden barked out a laugh. "Is that how you make your decisions?" Miller let his eyes close. Juliette Mao was there, sitting on the couch at her old apartment on Ceres. Fighting the crew of the stealth ship to a standstill. Burst open by the alien virus on the floor of her shower stall. "Something like it," Miller said."
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James S.A. Corey |
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34d7f83
|
Ren, her official second, was a Belter and, like all Belters, passionate about environmental control systems the way normal people were with sex or religion.
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James S.A. Corey |
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0de6b27
|
I've watched too many Kurosawa movies, she thought, but couldn't quite abandon the idea. The imagery was a lovely way of turning angst and suicidal ideation into honor and noble sacrifice.
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James S.A. Corey |
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477d4f0
|
It takes something to stand out a little, and you can't swing a dead cat on Ganymede without hitting five botany PhDs.
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James S.A. Corey |
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9e3023e
|
Holden thought he had probably been a very good scientist. Thrilled by small victories, undeterred by setbacks.
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James S.A. Corey |
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50486be
|
As soon as we get the place secure, I'll get in touch," Miller said. "Okay, but don't take too long. If Thoth Station has a whorehouse left standing, I'm going to need help prying Amos out of it."
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James S.A. Corey |
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f4298dd
|
Boarding a ship was one of the riskiest maneuvers in naval combat. It was basically a race between the boarders rushing to the engine room and the collective will of those who had their fingers on the self-destruct button.
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James S.A. Corey |
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b5aaabf
|
You'll have something to ride on that doesn't make your cock look as small as that gaudy turd.
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James S.A. Corey |
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4b08d0f
|
The doors opened, and the first zombies appeared. Men and women, their eyes glassy and their muscles slack, stumbled out through the open doors. Miller had seen a documentary feed about hemorrhagic fevers as part of his training on Ceres Station. Their movements were the same: listless, driven, autonomic. Like rabid dogs whose minds had already been given over to their disease.
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James S.A. Corey |
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8de63d5
|
It was intentional and inhuman. It was like seeing the face of God and finding no compassion there.
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James S.A. Corey |
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82bce0f
|
If you fuck with him after this, I will end every piece of you.
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James S.A. Corey |
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749f671
|
Part of his mind was screaming, but it was a distant one and easy to ignore.
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|
mind
pain
scream
|
James S.A. Corey |
|
913b894
|
And with all of the enemy's citizens living at the bottom of huge gravity wells, we don't even have to aim particularly well. Einstein was right. We will be fighting the next war with rocks. But the Belt has rocks that will turn the surface of Mars into a molten sea.
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James S.A. Corey |
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d93dc63
|
The second corpse sat up and then stood, clutching her belly. A man stepped into the frame, a gun in his hand, healing her by sucking the bullet from her guts. They argued, grew calm, parted peaceably.
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James S.A. Corey |
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777d470
|
Since this used to be a Martian ship, I thought maybe you'd have reloads that would fit our racks." "Sure," Captain Tseng said without a moment's hesitation. "I'll have the destroyer Sally Ride pull alongside for munitions transfer."
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James S.A. Corey |
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100a7b5
|
Someone would run a card game or set up a pachinko parlor or start a little protection racket. People would be bribed to do things or not do things. It was what happened when you put people together.
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James S.A. Corey |
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9916e5f
|
Do people talk about the war?" Miller asked. "Often," the missionary said. "Anyone make sense of it?" "No. I don't believe war ever does. It's a madness that's in our nature. Sometimes it recurs; sometimes it subsides." "Sounds like a disease." "The herpes simplex of the species?" the missionary said with a laugh. "I suppose there are worse ways to think of it. I'm afraid that as long as we're human, it will be with us." --
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James S.A. Corey |
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3e036ae
|
You live in your own world, dear one." "I do," Arjun agreed, running his thumb across the hand terminal's screen. He looked up. "You don't mind, do you?" "I love you for it. Stay"
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James S.A. Corey |
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4287422
|
Will you be back?" Lydia said. She hadn't meant to, because she knew in her heart, in her bones, and deeper than that what the answer was. Timmy smiled at her for the last time. I take it back, she thought. Kill him. Kill the boy. Kill everyone else in the world. Shoot babies in the head and dance on their bodies. Any atrocity, any evil, is justified if it keeps you from leaving me."
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James S.A. Corey |
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b20a8a6
|
Hey," Alex said, his voice thoughtful. "If we made those nukes stop listening, that means we can't shut 'em down, right? Wonder where Fred's going to drop those." "Hell if I know," Amos said. "Just disarmed Earth, though. That's gotta be fucking embarrassing." "Unintended consequences," Naomi sighed. "Always with the unintended consequences."
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James S.A. Corey |
|
46630c8
|
He'd never been to military pilot school, but he knew that years of training had compartmentalized Alex's brain into two halves: piloting problems and, secondarily, everything else.
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|
|
James S.A. Corey |
|
3483412
|
It's not healthy having God sleeping right there where we can all watch him dream. It scares the shit out of us. It scares the shit out of me.
|
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|
James S.A. Corey |
|
01eb4f1
|
Need help on your way out?" the guard asked. "Naw," Amos replied and hoisted the box over one shoulder. "I'm good at leaving."
|
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|
James S.A. Corey |
|
717852c
|
The man he'd once been wasn't a collection of personality traits. He was the things he knew, the desires of his heart, the skills he had.
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|
James S.A. Corey |