Greg Egan Quotes

“[...] She made me this way. She made me special. She made me beautiful.'
'Why?'
That seemed to baffle her, as if I had to be teasing. She was special. She was beautiful. No further explanation was required.”
― Greg Egan, Axiomatic

“And I wonder: in how many infinite sets of worlds will I take one more step? And how many countless versions of me will turn around instead, and walk out of this room? Who exactly am I saving from shame, when I'll live and die in every possible way?
Myself.”
― Greg Egan, Axiomatic

“No more questions. I don't keep a diary. I don't know anything at all.”
― Greg Egan, Axiomatic

“When I finally exhausted myself into something approaching peace, I managed to speak. I whispered, 'Why do you stay with me? Why do you put up with this?'
She turned away from me and said, 'I'm tired. Go to sleep.”
― Greg Egan, Axiomatic

“Yes, we're freaks; but if we have a problem, it's that we're still far too human.”
― Greg Egan, Axiomatic

“It shouldn't surprise me, though. The truth - and the measure of her triumph - is that I never really knew her.”
― Greg Egan, Axiomatic

“I'm not even sure why I'm so desperate to get rid of her - but I can't help feeling exposed up here. . . as if she might suddenly glance up and see me - see some part of me that my flesh always concealed.”
― Greg Egan, Axiomatic

“This is all I need: grief counselling from my own assassin.”
― Greg Egan, Axiomatic

“Out of all those hundreds of billions, don't you think there'll be people who are just like you?'
'What are you talking about now? Reincarnation?'
'No. Statistics. There can be no 'reincarnation' - there are no souls to be reborn. But eventually - by pure chance - someone will come along who'll embody everything that defines you.”
― Greg Egan, Axiomatic

“Together, we might as well have been alone, so we had no choice but to part.
Nobody wants to spend eternity alone.”
― Greg Egan, Axiomatic

“The truth about the universe (here) is infinitely stranger, and infinitely more grand: it lies in the Laws of Physics that have come to know Themselves through humanity. Our destiny and purpose are encoded in the fine structure constant, and the value of the density omega. The human race - in whatever form, robot or organic - will keep on advancing for the next ten billion years, until we can give rise to the hyperintelligence which will cause the finely tuned Big Bang required to bring us into existence.
If we don't die out in the next few millenia.
In which case, other intelligent creatures will perform the task. It doesn't matter who carries the torch.
Exactly. None of it matters. Why should I care what a civilisation of post-humans, robots, or aliens, might or might not do ten billion years from now? What does any of this grandiose shit have to do with me?”
― Greg Egan, Axiomatic