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He'd turned away from a life on basic to live in the stars, or if not the stars, at least the rocks that floated free in the night sky. By James S.a. Corey Stars Sky Turned Life Basic

A few generations living and dying without a sky, and enclosed spaces lost the atavistic terror of premature burial. By James S.a. Corey Sky Burial Generations Living Dying

The dog-faced, small-cocked, hypocrite bastard son of a weasel and a whore bowed and escorted his wife from the house. By James S.a. Corey Smallcocked Dogfaced Hypocrite House Bastard

He'd seen unequivocally that the chaos he'd dedicated his life to holding at bay was stronger and wider and more powerful than he would ever be. No compromise he could make would be enough. His death-self was unfolding in him, and the dark blooming took no effort. It was a relief, a relaxation, a long, slow exhale after decades of holding it in.He was in ruins, but it was okay, because he was dying. By James S.a. Corey Unequivocally Chaos Dedicated Life Bay

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. By James S.a. Corey Alex Hey Thoughtful Consequences Voice

That's what it's come to, Miller thought, rubbing a hand across his chin. Pogroms after all. Cut off just a hundred more heads, just a thousand more heads, just ten thousand more heads, and then we'll be free. By James S.a. Corey Miller Heads Thought Rubbing Chin

You're cranky because you're tired," Amos said. "You got that I-have-to-save-everyone hangup, so I make it that you haven't slept in about two days. But listening to people bitch? Yeah, that's sorta your job. It's why you make the big money." "We make the same money." "Then I guess you're doing it for the fame and glory." "I hate you," Holden said. By James S.a. Corey Amos Tired Make Cranky Money

It had been the most complex, difficult feat of mass-scale engineering humanity had ever accomplished until the next thing they did. By James S.a. Corey Complex Difficult Feat Massscale Engineering

It's the basic obstacle of artificial ecosystems. In a normal evolutionary environment, there's enough diversity to cushion the system when something catastrophic happens. That's nature. Catastrophic things happen all the time. But nothing we can build has the depth. One thing goes wrong, and there's only a few compensatory pathways that can step in. They get overstressed. Fall out of balance. When the next one fails, there are even fewer paths, and then they're more stressed. It's a simple complex system. That's the technical name for it. Because it's simple, it's prone to cascades, and because it's complex, you can't predict what's going to fail. Or how. It's computationally impossible." Holden By James S.a. Corey Ecosystems Basic Obstacle Artificial Catastrophic

There was no reason to think she would survive this. So she was surprised to notice that she was happy. Not the powerful, irrational, and dangerous joy of a euphoric attack, but a kind of pleasure and release all the same. At first, she thought it was because there wasn't anyone there with her, guarding her, judging her. And that, she decided, was part of it. But more than that, she was simply doing what needed to be done without having to concern herself about what anyone else thought. Even Jim. And wasn't that odd? She wanted nothing in the world more than for Jim to be there - followed by Amos and Alex and a good meal and a bed at a humane gravity - but there was a part of her that was also expanding into the silence of simply being herself and utterly alone. There were no dark thoughts, no guilt, no self-doubt tapping at the back of her mind. Either she was too tired for that, or something else had happened to her while she'd been paying attention to other things. By James S.a. Corey Reason Survive Jim Thought Part

I'm not embarrassed," Han said to the back of her head. "I am a very good-looking man.""Indeed you are, sir," the droid replied. By James S.a. Corey Han Embarrassed Head Sir Back

The other Miller was different. Quieter. Sad, maybe, but at peace. He'd read a poem many years before called "The Death-Self," and he hadn't understood the term until now. A knot at the middle of his psyche was untying. All the energy he'd put into holding things together - Ceres, his marriage, his career, himself - was coming free. He'd shot and killed more men in the past day than in his whole career as a cop. He'd started - only started - to realize that he'd actually fallen in love with the object of his search after he knew for certain that he'd lost her. He'd seen unequivocally that the chaos he'd dedicated his life to holding at bay was stronger and wider and more powerful than he would ever be. No compromise he could make would be enough. His death-self was unfolding in him, and the dark blooming took no effort. It was a relief, a relaxation, a long, slow exhale after decades of holding it in. By James S.a. Corey Miller Holding Started Career Deathself

It wasn't just the size of it. It was the idea that four generations of the smartest people in the solar system had been living and working here as they helped drag humanity into the outer planets almost through sheer force of will. Amos By James S.a. Corey Size Amos Idea Generations Smartest

all monkeys playing with a microwave. Push a button, a light comes on inside, so it's a light. Push a different button and stick your hand inside, it burns you, so it's a weapon. Learn to open and close the door, it's a place to hide things. Never grasping what it actually did, and maybe not even having the framework necessary to figure it out. No monkey ever reheated a frozen burrito. So By James S.a. Corey Push Microwave Inside Light Playing

Also, Nathan, if you're listening, and I assume you are, I'm the best and only friend you've got. Give her permission to share what she has, or I swear to God I'll have you turning tricks out of a prefab shed on the side of the highway. I'm trying to save humanity here. By James S.a. Corey Nathan Listening Assume Friend God

God, save me from temperance," Tilly said. "You haven't seen a party till you get a group of Anglicans and Catholics trying to beat each other to the bottom of a bottle.""Now, that's not nice, Mrs Fagan," Father Michel said. "I've never met an Anglican that could keep up with me. By James S.a. Corey Tilly God Save Temperance Mrs

Naomi's comin' over with some chow she got at that sushi place," Alex said. "Nice raw fish wrapped in fake seaweed." Amos groaned again. "That's not nice, Alex," Holden said. "Let the man's liver die in peace." The door to the suite slid open again, and Naomi came in carrying a tall stack of white boxes. "Food's here," she said. Alex opened all the boxes and started handing around small disposable plates. "Every time it's your turn to get food, you get salmon rolls. It shows a lack of imagination," Holden said as he began putting food on his plate. "I like salmon," Naomi replied. By James S.a. Corey Alex Holden Naomi Comin Place

He saw his coming death, and wasn't afraid of it anymore. He'd miss all the good stuff to follow, but he'd help make it happen. And a very good person loved him. It was more than most people got in a lifetime. By James S.a. Corey Death Anymore Coming Afraid Good

Three-quarters of a kilometer long, a quarter of a kilometer wide - roughly shaped like a fire hydrant - and mostly empty space inside, the Canterbury was a retooled colony transport. Once, it had been packed with people, supplies, schematics, machines, environment bubbles, and hope. Just under twenty million people lived on the moons of Saturn now. The Canterbury had hauled nearly a million of their ancestors there. Forty-five million on the moons of Jupiter. One moon of Uranus sported five thousand, the farthest outpost of human civilization, at least until the Mormons finished their generation ship and headed for the stars and freedom from procreation restrictions. And By James S.a. Corey Kilometer Canterbury Threequarters Long Wide

They'd never precisely been friends, but they'd managed to stop the human race from being wiped out by a corporation's self-induced sociopathy and a recovered alien weapon that everyone in human history had mistaken for a moon of Saturn. By that standard, at least, the partnership had been a success. By James S.a. Corey Saturn Human Friends Precisely Managed

Humans can be better than they are, so let's do that. By James S.a. Corey Humans

Oh good," Amos replied. "Somebody got killed there. That's how we claim stuff, you know. This planet is officially ours now. By James S.a. Corey Amos Good Replied Stuff Killed

The Ring didn't put us on alert," he said. "It's the Martians. Even with that thing out there, we're still thinking about shooting each other. That's pretty fucked up. Sorry. Messed up." "It seems like we should be able to see past our human differences when we're confronted with something like this, doesn't it?" Chris By James S.a. Corey Ring Alert Put Martians Chris

I don't know what's going to happen," she said. "No one ever does. And, look, you don't have to do this alone," he said. "I can feel something in the back of my mind. It wants something I don't understand. It's so big." Reflexively, he kissed the back of her hand. There was an ache starting deep in his belly. A sense of illness. A moment's nausea. The first pangs of his transformation into Eros. "Don't worry," he said. "We're gonna be fine. By James S.a. Corey Happen Back Eros Reflexively Mind

We'll forget how to do this, Holden thought. Humanity had only just started learning how to live in space, and now they'd forget. Why develop new strategies for surviving on tiny stations like Medina when there were a thousand new worlds to conquer, with air and water free for the taking? It was an astounding thought, but it also left Holden just a little melancholy. By James S.a. Corey Holden Thought Forget Medina Humanity

Alex's experience of real family - of blood relations - was more like having a lot of people who had all wound up on the same mailing list without knowing quite why they signed up for it. By James S.a. Corey Alex Family Relations Experience Real

We've all changed," he said. "By coming here. By going through the trials that we're all going through, we've all been changed. When we go back, none of us will be the people we were before. The tragedy and the loss and the sense of wonder changes what it means to be human. Do you know what I mean?" Oddly, Anna thought she did. Being a minister meant being in the middle of people's lives. Anna had counseled dating congregation members, presided over their weddings, baptized their babies, and in one heartbreaking case presided over the infant's funeral a year later. Members of the congregation included her in most of the important events of their lives. She was used to it, and mostly enjoyed the deep connection to people it brought. Charting the course of a life was making a map of the ways each event changed the person, leaving someone different on the other side. Passing through the Ring and the tragedies it had brought wouldn't leave any of them the same. By James S.a. Corey Changed People Anna Lives Presided

Alex leaned forward, grabbing Basia's hands in his own. It's still on you. I will never live down not being the person my wife needed after she spent twenty years waitin' for me. I can never make that right. Don't go feelin' sorry for yourself. You fucked up. You failed the people you love. They're payin' the price for it right now and you demean them every second you don't own that shit. By James S.a. Corey Basia Alex Forward Grabbing Leaned

Julie sat on the wall beside him, her hair swirling around her like she was underwater. He imagined the dappled light flashing across her face. Portrait of the young pinnace racer as a mermaid. She smiled at the idea, and Miller smiled back. She would have been here, he knew. Along with Diogo and Fred and all the other OPA militia, patriots of the vacuum, she'd have been in a crash couch, wearing borrowed armor, heading into the station to get herself killed for the greater good. Miller knew he wouldn't have. Not before her. So in a sense, he'd taken her place. He'd become her. They made it, Julie said, or maybe only thought. By James S.a. Corey Underwater Sat Wall Hair Swirling

He's slaughtered billions of people and remade the shape of human civilization. No one can do something on that scale and see themselves as fully human anymore. He may be a god or he may be a devil, but he can't stomach the idea of being just an unreasonably pretty man who stumbled into the right combination of charisma and opportunity. By James S.a. Corey Civilization Human Slaughtered Billions People

There had to be a moment, some decision that you made, and before it, you were one person, and after it, someone else. By James S.a. Corey Moment Made Person Decision

Knowing that all you can give isn't enough is its own burden. By James S.a. Corey Knowing Burden Give

The circle of life on Ceres was so small you could see the curve. He liked it that way. By James S.a. Corey Ceres Curve Circle Life Small

If life transcends death, then I will seek for you there. If not, then there too. By James S.a. Corey Death Life Transcends Seek

First off, get your shit together. Panic doesn't help. It never helps. Deep breaths, figure this out, make the right moves. Fear is the mind-killer. Ha. Geek. By James S.a. Corey Shit Panic Geek Deep Breaths

I was afraid you were in trouble for a second, Your Highnessness," Han said, but the barb sounded hollow and unconvincing. Leia looked up at him, and the softness in her face told him that she'd heard the relief in his voice. He might just as well have said I thought I'd lost you."No such luck," she said softly. He was surprised by the power of his urge to sweep her into his arms and kiss her. For a moment, there was something else in her expression - apprehension or hope or something of both. She blinked and looked away. By James S.a. Corey Highnessness Han Unconvincing Afraid Trouble

No fame and glory for you, Cortez. Montezuma wasn't impressed by your fire stick this time." "Everything By James S.a. Corey Cortez Fame Glory Montezuma Time

You have allied yourself with stupid, violent men, and you are trying to convince yourself that being stupid and violent will work. That makes you stupid too. I will never help you. I'll fight you now." Cortez By James S.a. Corey Violent Stupid Men Work Allied

A bicycle?" Amos leaned on the breakfast bar. "Sure. They don't need fuel, they don't get sick. Most of the repairs, you can handle on your own. You're looking for post-apocalyptic transportation, bikes are the way to go. By James S.a. Corey Bicycle Amos Bar Leaned Breakfast

The elegance and functionality of the structure lay out before him, as beautiful and simple and effective as a leaf or a root cluster. To have something so much like the fruits of evolution, but designed by human minds, was By James S.a. Corey Cluster Elegance Functionality Structure Lay

The OPA man, Anderson Dawes, was sitting on a cloth folding chair outside Miller's hole, reading a book. It was a real book - onionskin pages bound in what might have been actual leather. Miller had seen pictures of them before; the idea of that much weight for a single megabyte of data struck him as decadent. Detective. By James S.a. Corey Anderson Dawes Opa Book Man

The torches flared and died and flared again. The Rocinante was remade a little, the same way it had been over and over through the years. Little changes adding up over time as the ship moved from what it had been to what it would be next. Just like all the people she carried. "You By James S.a. Corey Flared Torches Died Rocinante Years

But after a few decades, you come to a place where you realize that there's really no difference between trying and not trying. I still travel. I still talk to people. Sometimes we talk about Jesus Christ. Sometimes we talk about cooking. If someone is ready to accept Christ, it doesn't take much effort on my part to help them. If they aren't, no amount of hectoring them does any good. By James S.a. Corey Christ Decades Talk Place Realize

You crazy," Jianguo said. "No crew in there. They'll jump you." "Yep." "Then why?" "Because," Amos said, standing up and throwing the towel over his shoulder, "I hate waiting." As By James S.a. Corey Jianguo Crazy Yep Amos Crew

He stretched, ate his last bite of fungal curds, drank the dregs of something not entirely unlike coffee, and headed out to keep peace in wartime. By James S.a. Corey Stretched Ate Curds Drank Coffee

All this has happened because someone saw an opportunity that no one else did. They had the audacity to strike where no one else would even have considered an attack. That's the power of audacity, and if a general is lucky and strong-minded, they can take that advantage and keep the enemy on their back foot forever. By James S.a. Corey Happened Opportunity Audacity Attack Strongminded

The velocities and forces involved in anything at orbital altitudes were enough to kill a human with just the rounding error. At their speeds, the friction from air too thin to breathe would set them on fire. By James S.a. Corey Error Velocities Forces Involved Orbital

Dare to be as great as the people who love you mistakenly think you are. By James S.a. Corey Dare Great People Love Mistakenly

Maybe it was a cumulative process, like smoking cigarettes. One didn't do much. Five didn't do much more. Every emotion he'd shut down, every human contact he'd spurned, every love and friendship and moment of compassion from which he'd turned had taken him a degree away from himself. By James S.a. Corey Process Cigarettes Cumulative Smoking Spurned

Acceleration is pressing his eyeballs out of their right shape. High tech astigmatism. By James S.a. Corey Acceleration Shape Pressing Eyeballs High

They loved scenes of righteous Godly vengeance on sinful mankind. They loved to show God's chosen people safe from harm, watching with happy faces as they were proved right to the world. But they never showed the aftermath. They never showed weeping humans, crushed and dying in pools of their own fluids. Young men smashed into piles of red flesh. A young woman cut in half because she was passing through a hatchway when catastrophe hit. This was Armageddon. This is what it looked like. Blood and torn flesh and cries for help. By James S.a. Corey Godly Loved Mankind Scenes Righteous

The sunset was a massive canvas of gold and orange, green and rose, gray and indigo and blue. It reminded him of beaches on the North American west coast, except there were no vendors clogging the place and no advertising drones muttering about the joys of commerce. By James S.a. Corey Orange Green Rose Gray Blue

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. By James S.a. Corey Enemy Citizens Living Bottom Huge

People want Inaros to be a hero, and so what he does, they interpret as heroism." "Even By James S.a. Corey Inaros People Hero Heroism Interpret

I know it's none of my business, but I really wouldn't let her put you off. So you don't understand sex and love and women. Just means you were born with a cock. And this girl? Naomi? She seems like she's worth putting a little effort into it. You know?""Yeah," Holden said. Then: "Can we never talk about that again?""Sure. By James S.a. Corey Business Put Yeah Women Holden

The Rabia Balkhi, registered to Captain Eric Khan out of Pallas, was still just goods and people heading into the frontier to stake a claim. Fewer horses, maybe, but more fusion reactors. By James S.a. Corey Balkhi Pallas Rabia Captain Eric

It's not that bad. Conspiracy theories come up whenever people feel like the universe is too random. Absurd. If it's all an enemy plot, at least there's someone calling the shots. By James S.a. Corey Bad Absurd Conspiracy Random Theories

In the artifacts that are conscious, memories of vanished lives still flicker. Tissues that were changed without dying hold the moment that a boy heard his sister was leaving home. They hold multiplication tables. They hold images of sexuality and violence and beauty. They hold the memories of flesh that no longer exists. They hold metaphors: mitochondria, starfish, Hitler's-brain-in-a-jar, hell realm. They dream. Structures that were neurons twitch and loop and burn and dream. Images and words and pain and fear, endless. By James S.a. Corey Hold Conscious Flicker Artifacts Vanished

They don't know what it's about, or ... you know, at least they don't know what's going to happen. This isn't even built like a torture chamber. It's all being watched, right? Water and air sensors. It's a Petri dish. They don't know what that s*** that killed Julie does, and this is how they're finding out." Holden frowned. "Don't they have laboratories? Places where you could maybe put that crap on some animals or something? Because as experimental design goes, this seems a little messed up. By James S.a. Corey Happen Petri Julie Chamber Watched

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 chance to totally recreate herself in whatever image she chose, that - at least for a little while - her options were infinite. By James S.a. Corey Job Liberating Terrifying Day Wrong

She tried to scream once, but with significant portions of her larynx already compromised, what she managed was more of a powerful, wet exhalation. By James S.a. Corey Compromised Powerful Wet Exhalation Scream

She had seen Holden on the newsfeeds and reports. At the beginning of the war between Mars and the Belt, he had been the most important man in the solar system, and the celebrity, while it had waxed and waned over the years, had never gone away. James Holden was an icon. For some, he was the symbol of the triumph of the single ship over governments and corporations. For others, he was an agent of chaos who started wars and threatened stability in the name of ideological purity. But whatever people thought he meant, there was no question that he was important. He was the man who'd saved Earth from the protomolecule. He was the man who'd brought down Mao-Kwikowski. Who'd made the first contact with the alien artifact and opened the gates that led to a thousand different worlds. In person, he looked different By James S.a. Corey Holden Man Reports Newsfeeds Belt

If we accept the premise that we're always wrong, it really removes the incentive to spend a lot of time trying to make good guesses because even the good guesses turn out to be wrong. So, make plausible guesses ... and tell a good story. By James S.a. Corey Wrong Good Guesses Make Accept

Intellectually, he knew he wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice himself or his happiness to save everyone else. But that didn't stop the tiny voice at the back of his head that said, Fuck everyone else, I want my girlfriend back. By James S.a. Corey Intellectually Fuck Knew Hesitate Sacrifice

If I had. If I had done those things, that would have been okay with you?" "Oh, fuck no. I'd have broken your neck and thrown you out the airlock," Amos said, clapping him on the shoulder. "Ah," Prax said, a gentle relief loosening in his chest. "Thank you." "Anytime." The By James S.a. Corey Anytime Amos Prax Things Fuck

Well", Holden said, his voice grim, "we have a major problem. We're out of coffee.""We still got beer," Amos said."Yes," Holden said. "But beer is not coffee. By James S.a. Corey Holden Grim Problem Amos Voice

The best scientific minds of the system were staring at the data with their jaws slack, and the reason no one was panicking yet was that no one could agree on what they should panic about. By James S.a. Corey Slack Scientific Minds System Staring

He remembered the old-timers from his navy days. Grizzled lifers who could soundly sleep while two meters away their shipmates played a raucous game of poker or watched the vids with the volume all the way up. Back then he'd assumed it was just learned behavior, the body adapting so it could get enough rest in an environment that never really had downtime. Now he wondered if those vets found the constant noise preferable. A way to keep their lost shipmates away. They probably went home after their twenty and never slept again. By James S.a. Corey Days Remembered Oldtimers Navy Shipmates

We've survived it. It's a known quantity. I have a binder with nine hundred pages of analysis and contingency plans for conflict with Mars, including fourteen different scenarios about what we do if they develop an unexpected new technology. The binder for what we do if something comes up from Venus? It's three pages long, and it begins Step One: Find God. Errinwright By James S.a. Corey Survived Mars Binder Pages Venus

Anderson Dawes," the pocked man said. "I'm the Ceres liaison for the Outer Planets Alliance. I think we can help each other. May I come in?" Miller By James S.a. Corey Dawes Anderson Pocked Man Alliance

Cells became molecules - countless and complex and varied. The demarcation of one thing and another failed. There was only a community of molecules, shifting in a vast dance. And then the atoms that made the molecules gave up their space, and she was a breath. A mist. A tiny play of fields and interactions in a vacuum as perfect as space. She was a vibration in nothingness. By James S.a. Corey Cells Countless Varied Molecules Complex

Given their current circumstances, things would have to be very bad indeed for Tilly to think the situation had gotten worse. Sure, they were all trapped in orbit around an alien space station that periodically changed the rules of physics and had killed a bunch of them, but now they'd decided to start shooting each other too.Yes, very bad. By James S.a. Corey Tilly Circumstances Things Worse Bad

The margins of the space were bright without illuminating anything or casting shadows, sharp and terrible. It reminded her of the way schizophrenics and people suffering migraines would describe light as assaulting and dangerous. By James S.a. Corey Shadows Sharp Terrible Margins Space

Alamogordo and worked his two-year service stripping down ancient solar electricity stations from the bad old days before fusion. By James S.a. Corey Alamogordo Fusion Worked Twoyear Service

Naomi shrugged with her hands, then started pulling her hair behind her head and tying it up with a red elastic band. By James S.a. Corey Naomi Hands Band Shrugged Started

Amos and Naomi were at a table in a corner. No sign of Alex. No sign of Holden. That made it easier. Not easy, but closer. He made his way toward them. Naomi saw him first, and Miller read the discomfort in her expression, covered over as quickly as it appeared. Amos turned to see what she'd been reacting to, and the corners of his mouth and eyes didn't shift into a frown or a smile. Miller scratched his arm even though it didn't itch. By James S.a. Corey Sign Alex Table Naomi Amos

The protomolecule can alter the host organism at the molecular level; it can create genetic change on the fly. Not just DNA, but any stable replicator. But it is only a machine. It doesn't think. It follows instructions. If we learn how to alter that programming, then we become the architects of that change. Holden By James S.a. Corey Level Fly Protomolecule Host Organism

A guy I once knew tried to justify his life choices to me by comparing himself to Genghis Khan." "I take it you didn't find his argument compelling?" Murtry asked with a smirk. "No," Holden said. "And then a friend of mine shot him in the face." "An ironic rebuttal to an argument about necessary violence." "I thought so too, at the time. By James S.a. Corey Khan Genghis Guy Knew Justify

Holden was starting to feel like they were all monkeys playing with a microwave. Push a button, a light comes on inside, so it's a light. Push a different button and stick your hand inside, it burns you, so it's a weapon. Learn to open and close the door, it's a place to hide things. Never grasping what it actually did, and maybe not even having the framework necessary to figure it out. No monkey ever reheated a frozen burrito. So here the monkeys were, poking the shiny box and making guesses about what it did. By James S.a. Corey Push Holden Microwave Inside Light

It killed humans, therefore it was a weapon. But radiation killed humans, and a medical X-ray machine wasn't intended as a weapon. Holden was starting to feel like they were all monkeys playing with a microwave. Push a button, a light comes on inside, so it's a light. Push a different button and stick your hand inside, it burns you, so it's a weapon. Learn to open and close the door, it's a place to hide things. Never grasping what it actually did, and maybe not even having the framework necessary to figure it out. No monkey ever reheated a frozen burrito. By James S.a. Corey Weapon Humans Killed Push Inside

We all grieve in our own ways," Avasarala said. "For what it's worth, you'll never kill enough people to keep your platoon from dying. No more than I can save enough people that one of them will be Charanpal. By James S.a. Corey Avasarala Grieve People Charanpal Worth

Doors and corners are always dangerous, because you're moving into something without being sure what's there. By the time you see the enemy, you're exposed to them." "Sir?" Havelock By James S.a. Corey Doors Dangerous Corners Moving Sir

When it comes to scrapes, I'm what you might call a talented amateur. But I've gotten a good look at that women in and out of that fancy mechanical shell she wears. She's a pro. We're not playing the same sport. By James S.a. Corey Scrapes Amateur Call Talented Wears

All of nature was a record of crisis and destruction and adaptation and flourishing and being knocked back down again. What had happened on New Terra was singular and concrete, but the pattern it was part of seemed to apply everywhere and maybe always. By James S.a. Corey Nature Record Crisis Destruction Adaptation

Background radiation spoke to Holden in mystic whispers full of dire portents while he waited. Newcomer, it said. Hang around for fourteen billion years or so. See what I've seen. Then all this nonsense won't seem so important. I'll By James S.a. Corey Holden Background Waited Newcomer Radiation

But in the end, without Earth, everything would eventually die. Humans had been out of the gravity well a long time. Long enough to have developed the technology to cut that umbilical cord, but they'd just never bothered to do it. Stagnant. Humanity, for all its desire to fling itself into every livable pocket it could reach, had become stagnant. Satisfied to fly around in ships built half a century before, using technology that hadn't changed in longer than that. Earth had been so focused By James S.a. Corey End Die Eventually Earth Stagnant

We came through the Ring to stop James Holden from talking to the aliens first. But this is the same man that helped send Eros to Venus instead of letting it destroy the Earth. Why did we assume he'd do a bad job of being the first human the aliens met? And now something has slapped us down, taken all our guns away, but not killed us. This should mean something. Certainly anything this powerful could kill us as easily as it declawed us. But it didn't. Instead of trying to figure out what it means, we're hurting so we call it evil. I feel like we're children who've been punished and we think it's because our parents are mean. By James S.a. Corey Ring James Holden Aliens Stop

What I want is Ceres Station or Earth or Mars. You know what they have in New York? All-night diners with greasy food and crap coffee. I want to live on a world with all-night diners. And racetracks. And instant-delivery Thai food made from something I haven't already eaten seven times in the last month. By James S.a. Corey Mars Ceres Station Earth York

Shouldn't let go of being educated," he said. "Universe spent a lot of time telling you something. Now you're second-guessing it. Maybe all those other things were getting you ready for this." Something By James S.a. Corey Educated Universe Spent Lot Time

The Mormons had been planning to run the human race's first extrasolar colony from a place that would have been equally at home as an accounting office. It felt anticlimactic. Hello, welcome to your centuries-long voyage to build a human settlement around another star! Here's your cubicle. By James S.a. Corey Mormons Office Planning Run Race

What about you?" Scarlet asked. "You have to enjoy the fear, too. Just a little?""Not the fear," Han said. "I just like being a little smarter than the next guy.""That's all it is?""That, and I really hate paying taxes. By James S.a. Corey Fear Han Scarlet Asked Guy

I suppose bribes won't work. You are all comfortable, though? We have two suites set aside for you, both this basic layout, though the other suite has two rooms. I wasn't sure of the, ah, sleeping arrangements ... " Fred trailed off uncomfortably. "Don't worry, Boss, you can bunk with me," Amos said with a wink at Naomi. By James S.a. Corey Work Suppose Bribes Boss Fred

He could feel all of it so clearly it was as if it were happening right then. But more than that, he felt sorrow. Someone had just tried to do the same thing to his baby girl. Had tried to kill her, not because he hated her, but because she was standing in the path of his political statement. Everyone who died on that shuttle had been a Felcia to someone. And with the click of a button he'd killed them. He By James S.a. Corey Feel Happening Sorrow Felcia Felt

She wondered what she would do or say if someone walked through the archway, but it was night, and the nights here were very long. There was room in them. By James S.a. Corey Archway Long Wondered Walked Night

Oh, I know. But it's like my eyes are forcing those patterns on stars that aren't really lined up the right way to make them." There was another moment of silence, then Amos said, "That's, like, one of them metaphors, right?" "It is now." "Buy By James S.a. Corey Buy Amos Silence Metaphors Eyes

Intellectually, he knew that he was falling sunward, heading in from the Jovian system toward the Belt. In a week, the sun would be close to twice the size it was now, and it would still be insignificant. In a context of such immensity, of distances and speeds so far above any meaningful human experience, it seemed like nothing should matter. He should be agreeing that he hadn't been there when God made the mountains, whether it meant the ones on Earth or on Ganymede or somewhere farther out in the darkness. He was in a tiny metal-and-ceramic box that was exchanging matter for energy to throw a half dozen primates across a vacuum larger than millions of oceans. Compared to that, how could anything matter? By James S.a. Corey Belt Jovian Intellectually Sunward Heading

He'd read accounts of extravehicular euphoria, but the experience was unlike anything he'd imagined. He was the eye of God, drinking in the light of infinite stars, and he was a speck of dust on a speck of dust, clipped by his mag boots to the body of a ship unthinkably more powerful than himself, and unimportant before the face of the abyss. By James S.a. Corey Euphoria Imagined Speck Read Accounts

They don't hate us," Bobbie said, her voice tired. "They're afraid of us." "Then why do they act like they hate us?" David's father said with something like triumph. "Because that's what fear looks like when it needs someplace to go." David's By James S.a. Corey Bobbie Tired Hate Voice David

A hundred and fifty years before, when the parochial disagreements between Earth and Mars had been on the verge of war, the Belt had been a far horizon of tremendous mineral wealth beyond viable economic reach, and the outer planets had been beyond even the most unrealistic corporate dream. Then Solomon Epstein had built his little modified fusion drive, popped it on the back of his three-man yacht, and turned it on. With a good scope, you could still see his ship going at a marginal percentage of the speed of light, heading out into the big empty. The best, longest funeral in the history of mankind. Fortunately, he'd left the plans on his home computer. The Epstein Drive hadn't given humanity the stars, but it had delivered the planets. By James S.a. Corey Earth Mars Belt War Reach

Sure, humans had invaded an extra-dimensional space with wormholes to points scattered across the galaxy, but they'd remembered to bring ferns. By James S.a. Corey Humans Galaxy Ferns Invaded Extradimensional

I told you before that Johnson would be off the board, and he will be. We didn't take him at Tycho, and we'll take him somewhere else. He is my white whale, and I will hunt him to the end of time." Rosenfeld looked down at his bulb, his body hunching a degree in submission. Filip had felt his father's victory like it was his own. "Didn't finish reading that book, did you?" Rosenfeld asked mildly. By James S.a. Corey Johnson Board Told Tycho Rosenfeld

And somehow, that changed everything about sex. The movements might all be the same, but the desire to communicate affection rather than demonstrate prowess changed what everything meant. By James S.a. Corey Sex Changed Meant Movements Desire

For another thing, we're under martial law, so I can do very nearly whatever the fuck I want. Including march through your precious little ship there towing you along behind in a ball gag and lacy underwear. So your warrant bullshit? You can roll that up and fuck it. Now tell me why I'm here. By James S.a. Corey Thing Law Martial Fuck Including

The best find hadn't been in the bunker, though. The garage had a half-dozen unused but well-maintained bicycles, complete with saddlebags. Even By James S.a. Corey Bunker Find Bicycles Complete Saddlebags

The ocean, just outside, seeped into everything. An olfactory reminder to everyone passing through the Ellis Island of the space age that Earth was absolutely unique to the human race. The birthplace of everything. The salt water flowing in everyone's veins first pulled from the same oceans right outside the building. The seas had been around longer than humans, had helped create them, and then when they were all dead, it'd take their water back without a thought. By James S.a. Corey Seeped Ellis Island Earth Water

Everything about the former colonial administrative offices made Holden sad. The drab, institutional green walls, the cluster of cubicles in the central workspace, the lack of windows or architectural flourishes. The Mormons had been planning to run the human race's first extrasolar colony from a place that would have been equally at home as an accounting office. It felt anticlimactic. Hello, welcome to your centuries-long voyage to build a human settlement around another star! Here's your cubicle. The space had been By James S.a. Corey Holden Sad Colonial Administrative Made

No one lived forever. But you fought for every minute you could get. Bought a little more with a lot of hard work. By James S.a. Corey Forever Lived Bought Work Fought

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 By James S.a. Corey Spoke Review Front Ethics Made

She felt like a world-class musician standing before a full auditorium and handed a kazoo. By James S.a. Corey Kazoo Felt Worldclass Musician Standing

Intellectually he knows that the blood is being pressed to the back of his body, pooling in the back part of his cerebellum and flooding his kidneys. He hasn't done enough medical work to know what that means, but it can't be good. By James S.a. Corey Back Intellectually Body Pooling Kidneys

Thank you, Mister Patel," Holden said. "In thanks, you may now have all my stuff. I don't care about any of it anymore." "Including the coffee maker, sir?" "Almost all my stuff. By James S.a. Corey Mister Patel Holden Stuff Including

My life has become a single, ongoing revelation that I haven't been cynical enough." At By James S.a. Corey Single Ongoing Life Revelation Cynical

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. By James S.a. Corey Miller Naomi Ceres Mao Holden

Owning your own racing ship wasn't even wealth. It was like speciation. It was conspicuous consumption befitting ancient Earth royalty, a pharaoh's pyramid with a reaction drive. By James S.a. Corey Owning Wealth Racing Ship Speciation

It keeps people calm. That's the important thing. Holden thinks he's a hero, power to the people, information wants to be free blah blah blah, but he's a fucking moron." "He's on his own ship." Avasarala crossed her arms. "What's your point?" "He's on his own ship and we're not." "So we're all fucking morons," Avasarala said. "Fine. By James S.a. Corey Blah Calm Avasarala People Fucking

It was easy to make fun of the marines when they weren't listening. In Holden's navy days, making fun of jarheads was as natural as cussing. But four marines had died getting him off the Donnager, and three of them had made a conscious decision to do so. Holden promised himself that he'd never make fun of them again. By James S.a. Corey Fun Listening Holden Easy Make

Cioran, bureaucratic heart of the Empire. Or if not heart, kidney. Maybe small bowel. By James S.a. Corey Empire Cioran Bureaucratic Kidney Heart

Protogen is in a position to take sole possession of not only the first technology of genuinely extraterrestrial origin, but also a prefabricated mechanism for the manipulation of living systems and the first clues as to the nature of the larger - I will call it galactic - biosphere. By James S.a. Corey Biosphere Protogen Origin Larger Galactic

She'd always found a deep comfort in praying. A profound sense of connection to something infinitely larger than herself. Her atheist friends called it awe in the face of an infinite cosmos. She called it God. That they might be talking about the same thing didn't bother her at all. It was possible she was hurling her prayers at a cold and unfeeling universe that didn't hear them, but that wasn't how it felt. Science had given mankind many gifts, and she valued it. But the one important thing it had taken away was the value of subjective, personal experience. That had been replaced with the idea that only measurable and testable concepts had value. But humans didn't work that way, and Anna suspected the universe didn't either. In God's image, after all, being a tenet of her faith. At first, By James S.a. Corey Praying Found Deep Comfort God

Science had given mankind many gifts, and she valued it. But the one important thing it had taken away was the value of subjective, personal experience. That had been replaced with the idea that only measurable and testable concepts had value. But humans didn't work that way ... By James S.a. Corey Science Gifts Mankind Valued Subjective

Meditating deeply so that she could really, clearly experience being angry and lonesome and hurt and horror-struck never seemed as good as a strong gin and tonic and another hour of work. By James S.a. Corey Meditating Work Deeply Experience Angry

We don't want to get in a gunfight," Holden warned Amos as they began moving again. "Yeah," Amos said. "But if we're in one anyway, it'll be nice to have guns. By James S.a. Corey Holden Amos Yeah Gunfight Warned

No, it wasn't. It was the scariest fucking answer to Fermi's paradox I can think of. Do you know why there aren't any Indians in your Old West analogy? Because they're already dead. The whatever-they-were that built all that got a head start and used their protomolecule gate builder to kill all the rest. And that's not even the scary part. The really frightening part is that something else came along, shot the first guys in the back of the head, and left their corpses scattered across the galaxy. The thing we should be asking is, who fired the magic bullet? By James S.a. Corey Fermi Head Part Indians West

The enemy of my enemy is my friend? That's bullshit. There are always more than two sides. Pretending it's only one or else the other is what let that sonofabitch carry so much weight in the OPA for as long as he did." "He By James S.a. Corey Enemy Friend Opa Bullshit Sides

Apocalyptic explosions, dead reactors, terrorists, mass murder, death-slugs, and now a blindness plague. This is a terrible planet. We should not have come here. By James S.a. Corey Terrorists Deathslugs Apocalyptic Explosions Dead

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. By James S.a. Corey Ren Passionate Religion Belter Belters

Miller and the new man nodded to each other. The girl tugged at her father's sleeve, demanding his attention. Miller looked at her - dark eyes, pale hair, smooth skin. She was already too tall to be mistaken for an Earth child, her limbs longer and thinner. Her skin had the pink flush of Belter babies, which came with the pharmaceutical cocktail that assured that their muscles and bones would grow strong. Miller saw the father notice his attention. Miller smiled and nodded toward the kid. How By James S.a. Corey Miller Attention Man Nodded Father

Someone just broke pretty much all of human civilization overnight." The By James S.a. Corey Overnight Broke Pretty Human Civilization

What are they going to do about it?""So far? Get drunk. Yell at each other or at us. Design theoretical judicial systems. Most of them seem to want the whole thing to just go away sot hey can get on with their research."Murtry chuckled. "God bless the eggheads. By James S.a. Corey Murtry Drunk God Yell Design

Trashy people puke," Tilly said. "Ladies are unwell. By James S.a. Corey Tilly Trashy Puke Ladies People

Son of a f**king whore," Avasarala said, loud enough to cut through the background buzz of conversations.The crowd turned to her. She was looking at her hand terminal."What's a whore, Daddy?""It's a kind of frost, honey," Prax said. "What's going on? By James S.a. Corey Avasarala Whore Son King Loud

Hell, as long as he was fantasizing, he threw in Naomi walking over to his hammock with a couple of fruity-looking drinks in her hands. She ruined it by talking. "This is our stop," she said. By James S.a. Corey Hell Naomi Fantasizing Hands Long

The fact had become as invisible to him as someone on Earth thinking about being held to a spinning celestial object by nothing more than mass, shielded from the fusion reaction of the sun by only distance and air. By James S.a. Corey Earth Mass Shielded Air Fact

But Basia had come to view power as a precious and irreplaceable resource. Not something he'd ever needed to do in the age of readily available fusion. By James S.a. Corey Basia Resource View Power Precious

The old man was brilliant at looking somber and energetic at the same time. If he hadn't been the executive of the largest governing body in the history of the human race, he'd have made a killing promoting health drinks. By James S.a. Corey Time Man Brilliant Somber Energetic

The detective had been watching the video of Julie Mao's fight with her captors over and over again while they'd waited on Naomi and Amos to finish their work. It gave Holden the disquieting feeling that Miller was storing the footage in his head. Fuel for something he planned to do later. By James S.a. Corey Julie Mao Naomi Amos Work

Figure two-, three-hundred-kilometer-an-hour winds, lightning, torrential rains. You're far enough inland to avoid the three-kilometer-high tsunami." "Basic wrath of God package, minus drowning, By James S.a. Corey Winds Lightning Tsunami Figure Torrential

I can get you some stimulants if you'd like, but there's no coffee." "Right," Holden said. "No coffee. This is a terrible, terrible planet. Show me how to make everyone better. By James S.a. Corey Coffee Holden Stimulants Terrible Planet

It's herding kittens. If kittens had a lot of guns and an overdose of neo-Libertarian property theory. By James S.a. Corey Kittens Herding Theory Lot Guns

The only thing she and Tilly had in common was their carbon base. By James S.a. Corey Tilly Base Thing Common Carbon

New Terrans, she supposed. Unless the squatters' naming schema won out. Then ... what? Ilusians? Illusions? It was a stupid fucking name. By James S.a. Corey Terrans Supposed Ilusians Illusions Squatters

The inner planets came out to the black with an understanding that they were soldiers sent to a foreign land. Bull remembered the feeling from when he'd first shipped out: the sense that his home was behind him. For the inners, the expansion out into the solar system had always had the military at its core. The Belters didn't have that. They were the natives here. The forces that had brought their ancestors out to the Belt had roots in trade, commerce, and the overwhelming promise of freedom. The OPA had begun its life more like a labor union than a nation. The difference was subtle but powerful, and it showed in strange ways. By James S.a. Corey Land Planets Black Understanding Soldiers

Like all professional sailors, Holden had sometimes ended long flights by drinking himself into a stupor. More than once he'd wandered into a brothel and left only when they threw him out with an emptied account, a sore groin, and a prostate as dry as the Sahara desert. So when Amos staggered into his room after three days on station, Holden knew exactly what the big mechanic felt like. By James S.a. Corey Holden Sailors Stupor Professional Ended

But always there was the voice at the back of his head telling him that by joining the Rebellion he'd become less of a rebel than he'd ever been. Flying off to assault yet another impossibly well-defended Imperial stronghold. It was getting to be a bad habit. By James S.a. Corey Rebellion Voice Back Head Telling

Well," Marwick said. "It's good to recall that wherever people start, whatever they bring with them, humanity can still pull together in heavy weather." Havelock shrugged. Koenen's voice was still fresh in his memory, and Williams drifting flatlined and dead. Naomi Nagata in her cell. The Belter engineer whose locker people had been pissing in. The shuttle he'd rigged as a weapon. Jesus, he felt bad enough about Williams. He could barely imagine what it would have been like if he'd deployed the weaponized shuttle. "Sometimes we do, sometimes we don't. These people could just as easily have gone down with their teeth in each other's throats. That happens too. It's just the folks that go that way aren't around to write the history books." "Amen, By James S.a. Corey Marwick Williams People Shuttle Amen

We're fine now," Sanjrani said. "We'll be fine for three years. Maybe three and a half. Then the recycling systems stop being able to meet demand. We won't have infrastructure in place to fill the gaps. And then we'll starve. Not just Earth. Not just Mars. The Belt too. And once we start, we'll have no way to stop." "All right," Michio said. "How do we fix it?" "I don't know," Sanjrani said. By James S.a. Corey Sanjrani Fine Stop Earth Years

Or was that fatalism another good move in design space? Did the universe evolve eyes and wings and sense organs and bitter amusement at the prospect of death all the same way? By James S.a. Corey Space Fatalism Good Move Design

Seemed like a fact of the universe that the closer you got to anything, the worse it looked. Take the most beautiful person in the solar system, zoom in on them at the right magnification and they were an apocalyptic cratered landscape crawling with horrors. That's what the Earth was. A shining jewel from space, up close a blasted landscape covered with mites living by devouring the dying. "One ticket to New York," he said to the automated kiosk. By James S.a. Corey Looked Fact Universe Closer Worse

Anyway, that's not what I meant when I said Marco decides when he wins. You don't understand how slippery he can be. Whatever happens, he'll shift so it was his plan all along. If he were the last person alive, he'd say we needed the apocalypse and declare victory. It's what he is. By James S.a. Corey Marco Wins Meant Decides Understand

When the lights went out. It wasn't just the lights. So many things about his physical situation changed all at once that his hindbrain couldn't keep up. It told him to be nauseated just in case he'd been poisoned. It was working with fifty-million-year-old response algorithms. By James S.a. Corey Lights Poisoned Response Algorithms Things

Before Prax had gotten married, he'd seen a dance performance based on neo-Taoist traditions. For the first hour, it had been utterly boring, and then after that, the small movements of arms and legs and torso, shifting together, bending, and falling away, had been entrancing. The Rocinante slid into place beside an extending airlock port with the same beauty Prax had seen in that dance, but made more powerful by the knowledge that instead of skin and muscles, this was tons of high-tensile steel and live fusion reactors. By James S.a. Corey Prax Married Traditions Performance Based

It's always been like this, he thinks. From when Moses saw the promised land that he could never enter, people have been on their deathbeds just wanting to see what happens next. He wonders if that's what makes the promised land holy: that you can see it but you can't quite reach it. The grass is always greener on the other side of personal extinction. By James S.a. Corey Promised Land Moses Enter People

Drainage tubes ran out of his belly and side, and there was a catheter the size of a pencil coming out his penis. Nothing particularly hurt, so he had to assume he was on pretty nearly all the narcotics there were. By James S.a. Corey Drainage Side Penis Tubes Ran

The structure echoed the greatest cathedrals of Earth and Mars, rising up through empty air and giving both thrust-gravity stability and glory to God. By James S.a. Corey Mars God Earth Rising Structure

The pillow mashed into her abdomen like a ten-kilo sandbag, filling her mouth with the taste of stomach acid. By James S.a. Corey Sandbag Filling Acid Pillow Mashed

The closest analogy, the one her brain reached for and rejected and reached for again, was splashing into a lake. It was cold, but not cold. There was a smell, rich and loamy. The smell of growth and decay. She was aware of her body, the skin, the sinew, the curl of her gut. She was aware of the nerves that were firing in her brain as she became aware of the nerves firing in her brain. She unmade herself and watched herself being unmade. All the bacteria on her skin and in her blood, the virii in her tissues. The woman who had been Elvi Okoye became a landscape. A world. She fell farther in. By James S.a. Corey Reached Brain Aware Cold Analogy

To suddenly be so hurt in so many different places at once left her dazed and with a sort of directionless anger. It wasn't fair that a person could be hurt so much. By James S.a. Corey Anger Hurt Suddenly Places Left

In the middle column, the colony ships she and her fleet had taken: the Bedyadat Jadida, out of Luna. The John Galt and the Mark Watney, out of Mars. The By James S.a. Corey Jadida Luna Bedyadat Column Middle

If humanity were capable of being satisfied, then they'll still be living in trees and eating bugs out of one another's fur. Anna had walked on a moon of Jupiter. She'd look up through a dome-covered sky at the great red spot, close enough to see the swirls and eddies of a storm larger than her home world. She'd tasted water thawed from ice as old as the solar system itself. And it was that human dissatisfaction, that human audacity that had put her there. By James S.a. Corey Satisfied Fur Humanity Capable Living

Afterward he collapsed onto the deck and gave in to the shakes. Naomi climbed into her couch and sobbed. It was the first time Holden had ever seen her cry. By James S.a. Corey Afterward Shakes Collapsed Deck Gave

It had been a failure, but it was a failure he understood, and that made it a victory. By James S.a. Corey Failure Understood Victory Made

Yeah." They shared a companionable silence as the coffee brewed. When it was finished, Holden poured two mugs and handed one to Naomi. "Captain," she said, then paused. "Jim. I've been a pain-in-the-ass XO so far. I've been stressed out and scared shitless about eighty percent of the time." "You do an amazing job of hiding that fact," Holden replied. By James S.a. Corey Yeah Holden Captain Jim Naomi

Fayez whistled low. That is not dead which can eternal lie. Or, y'know, whatever. By James S.a. Corey Fayez Low Yknow Whistled Lie

Mr. Dowd," Miller said. "What I am about to do to you is literally the only bright spot in my day. If you could see your way clear to resisting arrest, I'd really appreciate it." "Harry? By James S.a. Corey Dowd Miller Harry Day Arrest

They were civilians. Killing them was, at the very least, bad form. But then Julie whispered in the back of his mind, No one here is innocent, and he had to agree. By James S.a. Corey Civilians Killing Bad Form Julie

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. By James S.a. Corey Martian Ship Racks Captain Thought

You can order the sun to come up if you time it right. I'm not driving this bus. Making it do what I want would be like talking someone out of a seizure. By James S.a. Corey Order Sun Time Bus Making

Humanity had come as far as it had in a haze of war, sickness, violence, and genocide. History was drenched in blood. But it also had cooperation and kindness, generosity, intermarriage. The one didn't come without the other, and Holden had to take comfort in that. The sense that however terrible humanity's failings were, there was still a little more in them worth admiring. By James S.a. Corey Sickness Violence War Genocide Haze

It was strange how a person could be so vitally important in your life, and yet you had nothing to say to them when they weren't sharing the same air. By James S.a. Corey Life Air Strange Person Vitally

Sure, boss," Havelock said. "Cool as November, smooth as China silk. By James S.a. Corey Boss Havelock Cool November China

Jim, they make these things not to be fiddled with. The civilian version of this device fuses itself into a solid lump of silicon if it thinks it's being tampered with. Who knows what the military version of the fail-safe is? Drop the magnetic bottle in the reactor? Turn us into a supernova? By James S.a. Corey Jim Make Things Fiddled Version

Miller was staring at him like an entomologist trying to figure out exactly where the pin went. By James S.a. Corey Miller Staring Entomologist Figure Pin

His enthusiasm was exhausting and charming at the same time. He wanted to impress her, so she resolved to be impressed. It was a small enough thing to give someone. By James S.a. Corey Time Enthusiasm Exhausting Charming Impressed

If Fred is showing this to you, Holden, know that your home planet appreciates your service. Also try not to put your dick in this. It's fucked enough already. By James S.a. Corey Holden Fred Service Showing Home

There was an old joke. Miller didn't remember where he'd heard it. Girl's at her own father's funeral, meets this really cute guy. They talk, hit it off, but he leaves before she can get his number. Girl doesn't know how to track the guy down. So a week later, she kills her mom. Big laugh. By James S.a. Corey Joke Girl Guy Miller Funeral

Yes, ma'am," Soren said. "But I was wondering whether you should alert the security service about your decision to clear the sergeant. They do like to be in the loop on that kind of thing." "Meow meow cry meow meow," Avasarala said. "That's all I heard you say." "Yes, ma'am," Soren said. Bobbie By James S.a. Corey Soren Meow Maam Avasarala Sergeant

Every now and then a green dot shifted to yellow. A soldier down, their armored suits detecting the injuries or death that rendered them combat ineffective. Combat ineffective. Such a nice euphemism for one of his kids bleeding out. By James S.a. Corey Ineffective Yellow Green Dot Shifted

Elvi blinked in puzzlement as Murtry left. "Is he mad at me?" "Sweetie," Amos said, clapping her on the back, "that just means you're not an asshole. By James S.a. Corey Murtry Sweetie Elvi Left Amos

His brows knotted just a bit. He knew that she knew. Because of course he did. Players at their level didn't deceive each other. They won even though their opponents knew exactly what was happening. Just like he was winning against her right now. By James S.a. Corey Bit Knew Brows Knotted Players

One of your three mothers did the cooking? How traditional,Naomi said with a smirk. By James S.a. Corey Cooking Mothers Smirk Traditionalnaomi

Diogo and the other OPA irregulars had breached a high-value research station, faced down one of the most powerful and evil corporations in a history of power and evil. And now they were making music from the screams of the dying. By James S.a. Corey Evil Opa Diogo Station Faced

The beautiful thing about losing your illusions, he thought, was that you got to stop pretending. By James S.a. Corey Illusions Thought Pretending Beautiful Thing

Posthuman. It was a word that came up in the media every five or six years, and it meant different things every time. Neural regrowth hormone? Posthuman. Sex robots with inbuilt pseudo intelligence? Posthuman. Self-optimizing network routing? Posthuman. It was a word from advertising copy, breathless and empty, and all he'd ever thought it really meant was that the people using it had a limited imagination about what exactly humans were capable of. By James S.a. Corey Posthuman Word Meant Years Time

Don't think about the odds," Bobbie said. "Think about the stakes. Think how much we lose if we take the risk and it goes wrong. By James S.a. Corey Bobbie Odds Stakes Wrong Lose

So how did you wind up joining the Rebellion?""An old guy and a kid were looking for a ride and I needed the money," Han said. "After that, it was just bad luck. By James S.a. Corey Rebellion Han Money Wind Joining

Do not underestimate his capacity to fuck things up. By James S.a. Corey Underestimate Capacity Fuck Things

Holden thought he had probably been a very good scientist. Thrilled by small victories, undeterred by setbacks. By James S.a. Corey Holden Scientist Thought Good Thrilled

But Holden suspected there was a lot more to Prax than that. There was a relentless forward motion to the man. The universe might knock him down over and over again, but unless he was dead, he'd just keep getting up and shuffling ahead toward his goal. Holden thought he had probably been a very good scientist. Thrilled by small victories, undeterred by setbacks. Plodding along until he got to where he needed to be. By James S.a. Corey Prax Holden Suspected Lot Man

In the cinema and games that formed the basis of Prax's understanding of how people of violence interacted, the cocking of a gun was less a threat than a kind of punctuation mark. A security agent questioning someone might begin with threats and slaps, but when he cocked his gun, that meant it was time to take him seriously. It wasn't something Prax had considered any more carefully than which urinal to use when he wasn't the only one in the men's room or how to step on and off the transport tube. It was the untaught etiquette of received wisdom. You yelled, you threatened, you cocked your gun, and then people talked. By James S.a. Corey Prax Gun Interacted Mark Cinema

You've flown with us for twenty-five years, you like us, you've learned the patois. I bet you can order a beer and a hooker on any station in the Belt. By James S.a. Corey Years Patois Flown Twentyfive Learned

There are two sides in this, but they aren't inner planets and outer ones. Belters and everyone else. It's not like that. It's the people who want more violence and the ones who want less. And no matter what other variable you sample out of, you'll find some of both. By James S.a. Corey Sides Planets Outer Belters People

Shit," Amos said. "And here I was enjoying being so absolutely thumb-up-the-ass useless." "You By James S.a. Corey Shit Amos Useless Absolutely Enjoying

I keep warning you. Doors and corners, kid. That's where they get you. Humans are too fucking stupid to listen. By James S.a. Corey Kid Warning Doors Corners Humans

Petyr had been talking about mathematics again, boring everyone, when her mother looked up from her plate with a smile and announced that Julie had written a letter to say she'd quit the family. Clarissa's mouth had dropped open. It was like saying that the sun had decided to become a politician or that four had decided to be eight. It wasn't quite incomprehensible, but it lived on the edge. By James S.a. Corey Julie Petyr Boring Family Talking

and much of what she came to understand was that humans were domestic animals like dogs and cats. They responded poorly to threats and well to a gentle building of trust. By James S.a. Corey Cats Understand Humans Domestic Animals

person can fail the people they love just by being who they are. I'm By James S.a. Corey Person Fail People Love

Holden was imagining what several hundred rounds of Teflon-coated tungsten steel going five thousand meters per second would do to human bodies when Alex threw down the throttle and a roomful of elephants swan dived onto his chest. By James S.a. Corey Tefloncoated Alex Holden Chest Imagining

Any government was going to have traffic laws. Before the Emperor, the Republic had enforced its edicts at the laser-sharp edge of a Jedi's lightsaber. It was the way the universe worked. By James S.a. Corey Laws Government Traffic Emperor Republic

defense we've got right now is everyone's in the habit of not killing each other and taking their shit. Pretty soon, people are just going to start assuming anyone they don't know is out to slit their throats. If they're lucky." She looked at him. Her face was smooth, her eyes intelligent and hard. "You don't sound upset at the prospect." "I'm comfortable with it. By James S.a. Corey Defense Shit Habit Killing Taking

You've got a pit bull on one side of you and a rottweiler on the other, first thing you do is drop your steak. Miller By James S.a. Corey Steak Pit Bull Side Rottweiler

He felt the decision like a seed crystal giving form to the chaos around it, solid, hard, resolute. Desperation, mourning, and a million farewells, one to the other. The word quarantine came to him, and with the logic of dreams, it carried an unsupportable weight of horror. But within it, like the last voice in Pandora's box, the promise of reunion. One day, when the solution was found, everything that had been lost would be regained. The gates reopened. The vast mind restored. By James S.a. Corey Solid Hard Resolute Felt Decision

I like the backup plan better," Amos said. "Backup plan?" Prax asked. "The backup plan is I grab the first guy we see, and beat him until he tells us where the kids are." Prax By James S.a. Corey Amos Backup Plan Prax Asked

His smile was curious and as serene as a well-fed predator. By James S.a. Corey Predator Smile Curious Serene Wellfed

But, like so many things in life, when you come to the spot where you're supposed to do the rituals, you do them. By James S.a. Corey Life Rituals Things Spot Supposed

We're all traitors now." "Ha!" the old lady said. "Only if we lose. By James S.a. Corey Traitors Lose Lady

The massive radiation exposure had failed to give him superpowers. By James S.a. Corey Superpowers Massive Radiation Exposure Failed

Fayez was a good scientist and a friend, but his habit of making fun of everything and derailing anything serious for the sake of humor also made him less useful than he should have been. By James S.a. Corey Fayez Friend Good Scientist Habit

Ferns can be very aggressive By James S.a. Corey Ferns Aggressive

Only, so far, it was like a bunch of lizards watching the World Cup. Politely put, they weren't sure what they were looking at. By James S.a. Corey Cup World Bunch Lizards Watching

wasn't built to fix shit humanity broke," Miller said. "I didn't come here to open gates for you and get the lockdown to let you go. That's incidental. The thing that made me just builds roads. And now it's using me to find out what happened to the galaxy-spanning civilization that wanted the road." "Why By James S.a. Corey Miller Broke Built Fix Shit

Maybe one sad detective pulling a nuclear weapon on a wagon would slip through their defenses. By James S.a. Corey Defenses Sad Detective Pulling Nuclear

It's all fun and games till someone shoots back, Holden thought. By James S.a. Corey Holden Back Thought Fun Games

Holy shit," Holden said. "Did you just magic that door open? By James S.a. Corey Holden Holy Shit Open Magic

She sat at the dining table, a steaming mug of tea in front of her, a distant look in her eyes. Holden couldn't tell if she was melancholy or solving a complex engineering problem in her head. Those looks were confusingly similar. By James S.a. Corey Table Eyes Sat Dining Steaming

Holden, for all his faults and Miller's complaints, was a decent guy. In over his head and only half aware of the fact, but Miller could think of more than one person who fit that bill. He was going to miss Alex's odd, affected drawl and Amos' casual obscenity. He was going to wonder if and how Naomi ever worked things out with her captain. By James S.a. Corey Holden Miller Complaints Guy Faults

And with the lower docking fees, Eros Station found other ways to soak money from its visitors: Casinos. Brothels. Shooting galleries. Vice in all its commercial forms found a home in Eros, its local economy blooming like a fungus fed by the desires of Belters. By James S.a. Corey Casinos Station Fees Visitors Eros

Generation ship," Holden said. "Something like that will give us the stars." "Or a lonely death on a long trip to nowhere," Miller replied. "You By James S.a. Corey Holden Generation Ship Miller Stars

His strike force stood around him, craning their necks, in awe of the massive emptiness all around. He was almost sorry to pull his attention back to the small, vaguely intimate necessities of violence. By James S.a. Corey Craning Necks Strike Force Stood

So you're trying to get me prepared for one of my crew dying?" "Historically speaking, humans are pretty much at a hundred percent on that. By James S.a. Corey Dying Historically Prepared Crew Speaking

We're not making any official statements, especially when James Holden's in the room. No offense, but your track record for blurting information at inopportune moments is the stuff of legend. By James S.a. Corey James Holden Statements Room Making

She felt that politics was the second most evil thing humanity had ever invented, just after lutefisk. There By James S.a. Corey Invented Lutefisk Felt Politics Evil

She was not a political creature. She felt that politics was the second most evil thing humanity had ever invented, just after lutefisk. By James S.a. Corey Creature Political Invented Lutefisk Felt

We're like children," Anna said, pushing herself to her feet and lecturing down at him. "Who burn their hands on a hot stove and then think the solution is to blow up all the stoves. By James S.a. Corey Anna Children Pushing Feet Lecturing

Cap," Amos said with a grin. "Anything that kills me has already killed everyone else. I was born to be the last man standing. You can count on it." The By James S.a. Corey Cap Amos Grin Standing Kills

Amos took a high-caliber automatic that fired self-propelled rounds, recoilless and designed for use in zero g. Old-fashioned slug throwers were more reliable, but in null gravity they were also maneuvering thrusters. By James S.a. Corey Amos Rounds Recoilless Highcaliber Automatic

I'm sorry you lost the suit,' he said.She shrugged.'At this point, it was mostly a metaphor anyway,' she said ... By James S.a. Corey Suit Shrugged Point Lost Saidshe

In order to be heard by the oppressing class, one must speak as a member of it. Not only the language, but the diction. The accusation of tyranny, however well-founded in fact, is dismissed unless it is delivered in the manner that power recognizes as powerful. By James S.a. Corey Class Order Heard Oppressing Speak

It was a small place with bulbs of alcohol, chocolate, coffee, and tea all set with temperature controls in the nipple, so the uniformly tepid drinks could come out anywhere from almost boiling to just this side of ice. The By James S.a. Corey Chocolate Coffee Alcohol Nipple Ice

Anna had walked on a moon of Jupiter. She'd looked up through a dome-covered sky at the great red spot, close enough to see the swirls and eddies of a storm larger than her home world. She'd tasted water thawed from ice as old as the solar system itself. And it was that human dissatisfaction, that human audacity, that had put her there. Looking By James S.a. Corey Jupiter Anna Walked Moon Human

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 - running the ship like a puzzle that had to be solved, and Havelock had been caught up in the pleasure of doing an important thing well. By James S.a. Corey Havelock Base Aten Partner Panicked

That's your plan?" Holden said, incredulity in his voice. "Go collect some police bribes?" Across the restaurant, a prostitute in a red nightgown yawned prodigiously; the john across the table from her frowned. By James S.a. Corey Plan Holden Incredulity Voice Bribes

Do you believe in the concept of forgiveness? In the possibility of redemption? In the value of every human life, no matter how tainted or corrupted?" "Fuck no," Bull said. "I think it is entirely possible to go so far into the red you can't ever balance the books." "Sounds By James S.a. Corey Forgiveness Concept Sounds Fuck Bull

A woman's voice ululated on the sound system, somewhere between an Islamic call to prayer and orgasm with a drumbeat. By James S.a. Corey Islamic System Drumbeat Woman Voice

Chief Engineer Naomi Nagata towered over him. She stood almost two full meters tall, her mop of curly hair tied back into a black tail, her expression halfway between amusement and annoyance. By James S.a. Corey Engineer Naomi Nagata Chief Towered

I mean, weird, dead alien technology with effects we don't understand sweeping whole ships away without leaving a trace or explanation. That's probably safe to play with, right? By James S.a. Corey Weird Dead Explanation Alien Technology

Lights glittered and flashed in seizure-inducing display. Tables curved and undulated, the backlight making them seem darker than merely black. Music moved through the air with a physical presence, each beat a little concussion. Hasini, standing in a clot of steroid-enhanced bouncers and underdressed serving girls, caught Miller's eyes and nodded toward the back. By James S.a. Corey Lights Display Glittered Flashed Seizureinducing

No one really appreciated how much of security work was just trying to keep things under control for a few more minutes, giving everyone involved in the crisis a little time to think it all through. By James S.a. Corey Minutes Giving Appreciated Security Work

We don't have permission to kill him," Bull said. "A finger slips, think we can get forgiveness?" "Probably. By James S.a. Corey Bull Permission Kill Slips Forgiveness

There's another mess of legal crap just came through from the UN for you." Holden sighed. "Am I supposed to read it?" "Don't see how they can make you," Amos said. "Just thought you'd want to ignore it intentionally." "Thank you. Sort of," Holden By James S.a. Corey Holden Mess Legal Crap Amos

We were full of righteous anger and dreams of vengeance when we got here, and a couple of blowjobs and hangovers later it's like nothing ever happened By James S.a. Corey Happened Full Righteous Anger Dreams

The slow zone, based on the sensor data we're able to get, is approximately one million kilometers across." Holden pointed at the 3D representation on the screen behind him. "There are no visible stars, so the location of the zone is impossible to determine. The boundary is made up of one thousand three hundred and seventy-three individual rings evenly spaced into a sphere. So far, the only one we've been able to find that's 'open' is the one we came through. The fleets we traveled out with are still visible on the other side, though the Ring seems to distort visual and sensor data, making readings through it unreliable. By James S.a. Corey Based Zone Slow Approximately Million

There was a scuffle, and it got out of hand. Dawes, tell me you've never had something like it." "I've never had something like it," Dawes By James S.a. Corey Dawes Scuffle Hand

Your fancy alien train is broken?""My fancy alien material transfer system has been sitting unused for over a billion years and half the planet just exploded. Your ship was built less than a decade ago and you can barely keep the coffee pot running.""You are a sad, bitter little man. By James S.a. Corey Fancy Alien Broken Exploded Train

Annie," Tilly said. "If I wanted to suck vile fluids out of a flaccid and indifferent tube, I'd have stayed on Earth with my husband. By James S.a. Corey Annie Tilly Earth Tube Husband

Get your nuts in your palms and head forward, boys. By James S.a. Corey Boys Forward Nuts Palms Head

I've got a bunch of plumbers with rifles I could put on a shuttle. The bridge went quiet. By James S.a. Corey Shuttle Bunch Plumbers Rifles Put

What are you doing?" asked Naomi from behind him, not from his helmet speakers. She was standing there with her helmet off. Sweat plastered her thick black hair to her head and neck. By James S.a. Corey Naomi Asked Speakers Helmet Sweat

After a few decades, you come to a place where you realize that there's really no difference between trying and not trying ... If someone is ready to accept Christ, it doesn't take much effort on my part to help them. If they aren't, no amount of hectoring them does any good. So why try? By James S.a. Corey Decades Place Realize Difference Christ

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. By James S.a. Corey People Talk Missionary War Miller

More than once he'd wandered into a brothel and left only when they threw him out with an emptied account, a sore groin, and a prostate as dry as the Sahara desert. By James S.a. Corey Sahara Account Groin Desert Wandered

You can't take the Razorback," he said to the tiny red triangles. "We are gone and gone and gone. By James S.a. Corey Razorback Triangles Tiny Red

Time took her strength but it gave her power in exchange. It was a fair trade. She By James S.a. Corey Time Exchange Strength Gave Power

Why do I put up with your shit?" "Because," Amos said, starting to strip an assault rifle down to its component parts, "I'm the only one on the ship that can keep the coffee maker running. By James S.a. Corey Shit Put Amos Starting Parts

I'm an engineer," Gareth said, spitting out the word so violently it gave him a degree of spin. "Did eight years on Tycho Station! I'm not going to get used like a fucking technician. By James S.a. Corey Gareth Engineer Spitting Spin Station

Under the best conditions, disasters and plagues did that. It wasn't universally true. There would always be hoarders and price gouging, people who closed their doors to refugees and left them freezing and starving. But the impulse to help was there too. To carry a burden together, even if it meant having less for yourself. By James S.a. Corey Conditions Disasters Plagues True Universally

Aw, you goddammed bastards! They're shootin' him while he's down! Son of a bitch!"The ship stopped moving, and Alex said in a quiet voice, "Suck on this, asshole."The ship vibrated for half a second, then paused before continuing toward the lock."Point defense cannons?" Holden asked."Summary roadside justice," Alex grunted back. By James S.a. Corey Bastards Alex Goddammed Ship Suck

Now you're asking me to explain microwaves to a monkey. By James S.a. Corey Monkey Explain Microwaves

Holden stopped next to the desk and turned around to look at the woman sitting on the couch. Graying hair, but good features and an athletic build. In a flophouse like this, that probably meant a prostitute reaching the end of her shelf life. By James S.a. Corey Holden Couch Stopped Desk Turned

Sure," Holden said. "I just needed to feel sorry for myself for a minute. Let's go get killed by the mafia." He By James S.a. Corey Holden Minute Mafia Needed Feel

No matter how egalitarian a group might start out, someone always wound up taking a leadership role. By James S.a. Corey Role Matter Egalitarian Group Start

He didn't think about raising his assault weapon; it was just there, coughing out return fire like an extension of his will. By James S.a. Corey Weapon Coughing Raising Assault Return

What?" "You're very beautiful," Holden said. "I hope I tell you that often enough." "You do." "Then I hope I don't tell you so often it gets annoying." "You don't," she By James S.a. Corey Holden Hope Beautiful Annoying

To be monitoring anything we fucking say. If you wanted to discuss menstruation at great length and detail, this is probably our best chance. He's always been squeamish about women, and no one likes a Peeping Tom, even if he is prime minister. By James S.a. Corey Monitoring Fucking Tom Detail Chance

Later, when you're wishing we had this stuff, I am going to be merciless in my mockery. And then we'll die. By James S.a. Corey Stuff Mockery Wishing Merciless Die

And the moral high ground is a lovely place," Marwick said, as if he were agreeing. "It won't stop a missile, though. By James S.a. Corey Marwick Place Agreeing Moral High

The moral high ground is a lovely place. It won't stop a missile, though. It won't alter the trajectory of a gauss round. By James S.a. Corey Place Moral High Ground Lovely

She was going to see a world in the aftermath of utter disaster, but she would still see it. And the state of nature was always recovering from the last disaster. "Stop, By James S.a. Corey Disaster Stop World Aftermath Utter

Nothing with meat inside it could outrun metal and silicon. By James S.a. Corey Silicon Meat Inside Outrun Metal

Han had been in a thousand places like it, all across the galaxy. Some had been as large as star systems, others as small as a back room in a cantina. They were the niches of the universe ... They were violent places, and they were joyful, and they didn't last. By James S.a. Corey Han Galaxy Thousand Places Systems

I always thought that if you gave people all the information, they'd do the right thing, you know? Not always, maybe, but usually. More often than when they chose to do the wrong thing anyway. By James S.a. Corey Information Thought Gave People Thing

It's insane," Shed said quietly. "Flying around in these metal bubbles, and then trying to poke holes in each other. You ever seen what long-term decompression and cold exposure does? Breaks all the capillaries in your eyes and skin. Tissue damage to the lungs can cause massive pneumonia followed by emphysema-like scarring. I mean, if you don't just die. By James S.a. Corey Shed Insane Quietly Flying Bubbles

I love the period of rotation. Thirty hours. You can get in a full day's work, stay up getting drunk at the saloon, and still get a full night's sleep. I don't know why we didn't think of this back home. By James S.a. Corey Rotation Love Period Full Thirty

It was like solving a complex math puzzle without any promise that an optimal solution existed. By James S.a. Corey Existed Solving Complex Math Puzzle

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. By James S.a. Corey Han Coming Sometime Comforting Work

Reputation never has very much to do with reality. By James S.a. Corey Reputation Reality

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 By James S.a. Corey World Dear Live Arjun Agreed

After dinner, Holden took a long, slow tour of his new ship. He opened every door, looked in every closet, turned on every panel, and read every readout. He stood in engineering next to the fusion reactor and closed his eyes, getting used to the almost subliminal vibration she made. If something ever went wrong with it, he wanted to feel it in his bones before any warning ever sounded. By James S.a. Corey Holden Dinner Long Slow Ship

Outside, the city glowed, the violence and bustle made calm and beautiful by even such a small distance. The wail of the sirens and angry blat of the security alerts became a kind of music there, transformed by the mystical act of passing above waves. By James S.a. Corey Glowed Distance City Violence Bustle

They're all fucking men," she said. "Excuse me?" Soren said. "The generals. They're all fucking men." "I thought Souther was the only - " "I don't mean that they all fuck men. I mean they're all men, the fuckers. How long has it been since a woman was in charge of the armed forces? Not since I came here. So instead, we wind up with another example of what happens to policy when there's too much testosterone in the room. By James S.a. Corey Men Excuse Fucking Souther Soren

There are no souls, Melba thought with a touch of pity. We are bags of meat with a little electricity running through them. No ghosts, no spirits, no souls. The only thing that survives is the story people tell about you. By James S.a. Corey Melba Souls Pity Thought Touch

He is, however," Amos continued, "keeping a constant rail gun lock on the Israel's reactor."Holden ran his fingers through his hair. "So not too generous, then.""Say pretty please, but carry a one-kilo slug of tungsten accelerated to a detectable percentage of c. By James S.a. Corey Amos Holden Israel Continued Keeping

I still feel haunted,' she said. 'I thought it would go away. I thought if I faced it, it would all go away.''It doesn't go away. Ever. But you get better at it.''At what?''At being haunted,' Avasarala said. By James S.a. Corey Haunted Feel Thought Avasarala Faced

Holden had once dated a Buddhist who said that death was merely a different state of being, and people only feared the unknown that lay behind that transition. Death without warning was preferable, as it removed all fear.He felt he now had the counterargument. By James S.a. Corey Buddhist Holden Transition Death Dated

Naomi coughed. It was wet, painful sound, but the medical bay didn't seem concerned. The machine had a shitty bedside manner. By James S.a. Corey Naomi Coughed Wet Painful Sound

Oh shit, I can see Gomez," Alex said over the comm. "He's down. Aw, you goddammed bastards! They're shootin' him while he's down! Son of a bitch!" The ship stopped moving, and Alex said in a quiet voice, "Suck on this, asshole." The ship vibrated for half a second, then paused before continuing toward the lock. "Point defense cannons?" Holden asked. "Summary roadside justice," Alex grunted back. Holden By James S.a. Corey Gomez Alex Shit Comm Holden

We're back up and commencing burn in thirty seconds unless someone says otherwise. Everybody get ready to weigh something. By James S.a. Corey Back Commencing Burn Thirty Ready

That's what peace is, right? Postponing the conflict until the thing you were fighting over doesn't matter. By James S.a. Corey Peace Postponing Matter Conflict Thing

We're not people," he said. "We're the stories that people tell each other about us. Belters are crazy terrorists. Earthers are lazy gluttons. Martians are cogs in a great big machine." "Men are fighters," Naomi said, and then, her voice growing bleak. "Women are nurturing and sweet and they stay home with the kids. It's always been like that. We always react to the stories about people, not who they really are." "And look where it got us," Holden said. By James S.a. Corey People Stories Men Naomi Women

Bobbie ignored the macho posturing. Everyone dealt with pre-combat jitters in their own way. Bobbie preferred obsessive list making. But flexing and threats were good too. By James S.a. Corey Posturing Bobbie Macho Making Dealt

Lopez reached into his pocket, took out a small packet of white lozenges, and popped one into his mouth. He didn't offer one to Holden. Lopez's pupils contracted to tiny points as he sucked the lozenge. Focus drugs. He'd be watching every tic of Holden's face during questioning. Tough to lie to. By James S.a. Corey Pocket Mouth Lopez Holden Reached

The messages he watched and sent out were a kind of prayer for him, though he wouldn't have said it that way. Something that brought peace and the illusion that what they were caught up in wasn't so massively bigger than their own individual wills and hopes and intentions. By James S.a. Corey Messages Watched Kind Prayer Intentions

Anyone can kill a planet from orbit," Holden replied. "You don't even need bombs. Just push anvils out the airlock. That thing out there could kill ... Shit. Anything. By James S.a. Corey Holden Orbit Replied Planet Kill

He hadn't done anything wrong, but the sense of being threatened and the experience of guilt were so closely related that it was hard to feel one without the other. When By James S.a. Corey Wrong Sense Threatened Experience Guilt

It was a lot to hope for, but Holden was an unapologetic optimist. Give people the information they need. Trust them to do the right thing. He didn't know any other way to play it. Or By James S.a. Corey Holden Optimist Lot Hope Unapologetic

We wound up with one hundred and thirty kilos of Vermont Cheddar in the evidence lockup," Miller said. "Street value that would have probably bought someone their own ship. It had disappeared by the end of the day. We wrote it up as lost to spoilage. No one said a word, as long as everyone went home with a brick. By James S.a. Corey Miller Vermont Cheddar Lockup Wound

His name put in with the great traitors, con men, and self-aggrandizing egomaniacs of history. By James S.a. Corey Traitors Con Men History Put

If the medical bay could have raised its eyebrows and made judgmental little tsk-tsk sounds, it would have. Instead, By James S.a. Corey Sounds Medical Bay Raised Eyebrows

Miller caught the red-and-green border that meant either a priority message or an early Christmas card. By James S.a. Corey Christmas Miller Border Card Caught

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. By James S.a. Corey Traits Man Collection Personality Knew

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? By James S.a. Corey War Sounds Nature Recurs Subsides

Human violence as a kind of fractal - self-similar on all scales from bar fight to system-wide war. The buildup of insults and lost face that swelled over the course of an evening or a century. The shoving and shoving back, neither side sure they wanted to escalate and uncertain how to back down. By James S.a. Corey Human Fractal Selfsimilar War Violence

Her mind wandered a little bit during the slow moments. Human violence as a kind of fractal - self-similar on all scales from bar fight to system-wide war. The buildup of insults and lost face that swelled over the course of an evening or a century. The shoving and shoving back, neither side sure they wanted to escalate and uncertain how to back down. All of that was the history of the inner planets and the Belt since the beginning. Then Marco had thrown his sucker punch and sent the system reeling back. Since then, feints and evaluations, flurries of violence that weren't meant to end anything so much as find position, test the opponent. Everything By James S.a. Corey Moments Back Mind Wandered Bit

This kind of thing requires secrecy to function, so exposing all the secrets hurts them in the end. It's the only way this really, permanently stops. By James S.a. Corey Function End Kind Thing Requires

Partners, she said, and fired two rounds into his head. By James S.a. Corey Partners Head Fired Rounds

My name is James Holden," he said, "and my ship, the Canterbury, was just destroyed by a warship with stealth technology and what appear to be parts stamped with Martian navy serial numbers. Data stream to follow. By James S.a. Corey Holden Canterbury James Martian Ship

Tachi's galley had a full kitchen and a table with room for twelve. It also had a full-size coffeepot that could brew forty cups of coffee in less than five minutes whether the ship was in zero g or under a five-g burn. Holden said a silent prayer of thanks for bloated military budgets and pressed the brew button. He had to restrain himself from stroking the stainless steel cover while it made gentle percolating noises. By James S.a. Corey Tachi Twelve Galley Full Kitchen

The aliens that sent the protomolecule hadn't needed to destroy humanity. They'd given humans the opportunity to destroy themselves, and as a species, they'd leaped on it. By James S.a. Corey Humanity Destroy Aliens Protomolecule Needed

It throbbed with an inhuman power, tidal and deep and painful. Look at this too long, Elvi thought, and I will lose my mind in it. She took a step toward it, feeling the structures in the blackness respond to her. She felt as if she could see the spaces between molecules in the air, like atoms themselves had become a thin fog, and for the first time she could see the true shape of reality looming up just beyond her reach. By James S.a. Corey Power Tidal Painful Throbbed Inhuman

Because that's what fear looks like when it needs someplace to go. By James S.a. Corey Fear Someplace

She'd been attacked. Just after she came to the Belt. She was seeing that it didn't happen twice.""Attacked," Miller said, parsing the man's tone of voice. "Raped?""I didn't ask. By James S.a. Corey Attacked Belt Raped Miller Twice

Her eyes were sad and playful. He'd thought for so long that it was her soul and not just an accident of physiology that gave her that look of fettered joy. He'd been wrong. By James S.a. Corey Playful Eyes Sad Joy Wrong

They could address everything else and still not solve the problem. He was always proud of her when she said that. A liberal arts background was a hard thing to overcome, but she was doing great. By James S.a. Corey Problem Address Solve Overcome Great

He found an electronics store and a teahouse and what on closer inspection turned out to be a very expensive brothel. By James S.a. Corey Brothel Found Electronics Store Teahouse

At a bit over two meters tall, she was only slightly above average height for a Martian male, but thanks in part to her Polynesian ancestry, she weighed in at over a hundred kilos at one g. None of it was fat, but her muscles seemed to get bigger every time she even walked through a weight room. As a marine, she trained all the time. By James S.a. Corey Martian Polynesian Tall Male Ancestry

She'd grown up in Martian gravity . She had to mass a hundred kilos at one g, easy. By James S.a. Corey Easy Martian Gravity Grown Mass

Epithets like that are an attempt to dehumanize a group so that you won't feel as bad about killing them. By James S.a. Corey Epithets Attempt Dehumanize Group Feel

This was especially true in some millennialist sects that filled their literature with paintings of Armageddon. Pictures of terrified people running away from some formless fiery doom that burned their world down behind them, while smug worshipers - of the correct religion, of course - watched from safety as God got with the smiting. By James S.a. Corey Armageddon True Millennialist Sects Filled

Singh in computational biology held forth on her theory of the protomolecule as a Guzman-style quantum computer one night over dinner, and when Kibushi used the information without citing her, she snuck into the showers at the gymnasium and beat him to death with a ceramic workbench cap. By James S.a. Corey Guzmanstyle Kibushi Singh Dinner Cap

The accepted etymology of the word religion was that it came from religere, meaning "to bind together," but Cicero had said its true root was relegere, "to reread." The truth was, she liked both answers. By James S.a. Corey Meaning Cicero Religere Relegere Reread

It was what made him good at team sports: soccer, basketball, politics. Miller By James S.a. Corey Soccer Basketball Politics Miller Sports

You know," Naomi said, "if you're looking at hundreds of people burning to death as a problem solving itself, that may be more evidence that you're on wrong side. By James S.a. Corey Naomi Side Hundreds People Burning

Something out there has a comm array that'll put a dot the size of your anus on us from over three AU away," Alex said. "Okay, wow, that's impressive. What is our anus-sized dot saying?" Holden asked. By James S.a. Corey Alex Wow Comm Array Put

There were children playing on the commons. He thought of them as children, though he remembered thinking of himself as an adult at that age. Fifteen, sixteen years old. By James S.a. Corey Commons Children Playing Fifteen Age

The sex," he said. "I just wanted to make sure that we were okay. That things were all right between us.""Well," she said, "orgasm does release a lot of oxytocin, so I'm probably more fond of you than before. By James S.a. Corey Sex Orgasm Oxytocin Wanted Make

No matter how intense the situation, or how powerful the feelings, it was impossible to maintain a heightened emotional state forever. Eventually you'd just get tired and want it to end. By James S.a. Corey Situation Feelings Forever Matter Intense

Nothing better in the world than getting a job the day after your ass gets canned. By James S.a. Corey Canned World Job Day Ass

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. By James S.a. Corey Kurosawa Movies Thought Idea Watched

Well, you've got a full load of torpedoes and bullets, three Martian warships trailing you, one angry old lady in tea withdrawal, and a Martian Marine who could probably kill you with your own teeth. What do you do? By James S.a. Corey Martian Marine Bullets Withdrawal Teeth

Chief security officer on an OPA ship was a half-assed kind of position, one part cop, one part efficiency expert, and pretty much all den mother to a crew of a thousand people with their own agendas and petty power struggles and opinions on how he should be doing his job better. By James S.a. Corey Part Opa Chief Position Cop

Husband and wife seems like a less interesting and committed relationship than Holden and Naomi By James S.a. Corey Naomi Holden Husband Wife Interesting

Io, this is Admiral Muhan of the Martian Congressional Republic Navy. You fire anything bigger than a bottle rocket and we will glass the whole fucking moon. Do you read me? By James S.a. Corey Navy Admiral Muhan Martian Congressional

A history professor at university had once told her, Violence is what people do when they run out of good ideas. It's attractive because it's simple, it's direct, it's almost always available as an option. When you can't think of a good rebuttal for your opponent's argument, you can always punch them in the face. By James S.a. Corey Violence Ideas History Professor University

His first sign that things were going wrong was a massive barrage of gunfire that seemed to come from everywhere at once. By James S.a. Corey Sign Things Wrong Massive Barrage

Murtry swung first, so technically, that was self-defense. And if I'd wanted him dead, don't you think he'd be dead? It's not like I quit hitting him because I was tired. By James S.a. Corey Murtry Technically Selfdefense Dead Swung

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. By James S.a. Corey Stood Clutching Belly Corpse Sat

GOODY. MY SPLEEN IS COLLAPSING. HURRY UP. By James S.a. Corey Goody Collapsing Hurry Spleen

For a moment there, he'd had a vision of the two of them staggering back to the room together, then falling into bed. He'd have hated himself in the morning for taking advantage, but he'd still have done it. By James S.a. Corey Bed Moment Vision Staggering Back

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. By James S.a. Corey Opened Appeared Doors Zombies Station

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. By James S.a. Corey Bed Chest Closed Gel Knees

it was impossible to forget that they were going into the unknown. Here there be monsters. By James S.a. Corey Unknown Impossible Forget Monsters

An idealist. The most dangerous kind of man there was. And By James S.a. Corey Idealist Dangerous Kind Man

And for a moment, he was tempted. In that hesitation between drawing breath and speaking, part of him wondered what would happen if he shed the patterns of history and spoke about himself as a man, about the Joe Miller who he'd known briefly, about the responsibility they all shared to tear down the images they held of one another and find By James S.a. Corey Moment Tempted Joe Miller Speaking

First mutiny?" Naomi said."Yeah. It's not really something I do.""It gets easier. By James S.a. Corey Yeah Mutiny Naomi Said Easier

Whenever her focus slipped, it slipped onto James Holden. The sound of his voice, his despairing and undaunted laughter, the shape of his ass. He haunted her. By James S.a. Corey Holden James Slipped Focus Voice

You're too old for fairy tales," Baasen said. By James S.a. Corey Baasen Tales Fairy

Structures are never monolithic. By James S.a. Corey Structures Monolithic

I thought if you told people facts, they'd draw their conclusions, and because the facts were true, the conclusions mostly would be too. But we don't run on facts. We run on stories about things. About people. By James S.a. Corey Conclusions Facts True Run Thought

I meant fact," Holden went on as if he hadn't heard Alex at all. "I thought if you told people facts, they'd draw their conclusions, and because the facts were true, the conclusions mostly would be too. But we don't run on facts. We run on stories about things. About By James S.a. Corey Holden Alex Facts Meant Heard

I found a big crate with the letters MAP on the side. According to the manifest, it stands for 'Mobile Assault Package.' Apparently navy-speak for a big box of guns, By James S.a. Corey Map Side Big Found Crate

The room was lit by the displays on the game decks, pink and blue and gold. Most of them were themed around sex or violence, or both. Press a button, spend your money, and watch the girls put foreign and offensive objects inside themselves while you waited to see whether you'd won. Slot machines, poker, real-time lotteries. The men who played them exuded an atmosphere of stupidity, desperation, and an almost tangible hatred of women. By James S.a. Corey Decks Pink Gold Room Lit

The usual state of nature is recovering from the last disaster, she said. It was a truism of ecological biologists, and she said it the way a religious person might pray. To make sense of what she saw. To comfort herself. To give the world some sense of purpose or meaning. Species rose in an environment, and that environment changed. It was the nature of the universe, as true here as it had been on Earth. By James S.a. Corey Disaster Usual State Recovering Sense

He'd gotten a botany internship thinking that he could use it to grow illicit, untaxed marijuana only to discover that every third botany intern had come in with the same plan. By James S.a. Corey Illicit Untaxed Plan Botany Internship

Holden punched the comm system on the wall. "Well, crew, welcome aboard the gas freighter Rocinante." "What By James S.a. Corey Holden Wall Punched Comm System

Well, crew, welcome aboard the gas freighter _Rocinante_.''What does that name even mean?' ... 'It means we need to go find some windmills By James S.a. Corey Rocinante Crew Freighter Aboard Gas

If you start feeling wonderful and powerful and like you've seen the face of God, you're having a euphoric attack. By James S.a. Corey God Attack Start Feeling Wonderful

Her belly was beginning to complain with hunger, and she had to imagine that the others were feeling the same. They were holding the bridge of the largest spacecraft humanity had ever built, trapped in the starless dark by an alien power they barely began to comprehend, but they were still constrained by the petty needs of flesh, and their collective blood sugar was getting pretty low. By James S.a. Corey Hunger Belly Beginning Complain Imagine

All of human civilization had been built out of the ruins of what had come before. Life itself was a grand chemical improvisation that began with the simplest replicators and grew and collapsed and grew again. Catastrophe was just one part of what always happened. It was a prelude to what came next. You By James S.a. Corey Human Civilization Built Ruins Grew

I'm a long-flight pilot. Pushing a little bubble of air-filled metal across an ocean of nothing is what I was born to do. By James S.a. Corey Pilot Longflight Pushing Bubble Airfilled

The tube station that arrived from the port had six wide doors, which emptied to the casino floor. Miller accepted a drink from a tired-looking woman in a G-string and bared breasts and found a screen to stand at that afforded him a view of all six doors. By James S.a. Corey Doors Floor Tube Station Arrived

Don't," Naomi said, letting him go, "pull your gun on anyone." "They have guns." "Guns plural. You have gun singular, which is why you will keep yours in your holster, or you'll do this by yourself." That's By James S.a. Corey Naomi Letting Pull Gun Guns

Show a human a closed door, and no matter how many open doors she finds, she'll be haunted by what might be behind it. By James S.a. Corey Show Finds Human Closed Matter

Fish and company start to smell after three days. By James S.a. Corey Fish Days Company Start Smell

Naomi shook her head, blowing an exasperated raspberry at him. Her dark hair fell across her face By James S.a. Corey Naomi Head Blowing Shook Exasperated

Sleeping and waking lost their edges. Healing and being ill too. It was difficult if not impossible to draw a line between them. By James S.a. Corey Sleeping Edges Waking Lost Healing

They'd made the bricks from the local earth, processed through some of the mining equipment and fired in a kiln powered by combustion. It could only have been more primitive if they'd dug a cave and painted bison on the walls. By James S.a. Corey Earth Processed Combustion Made Bricks

In her prison gown, she looked like a ghost. Something already dead that hadn't stopped moving yet. Which, he figured, might be accurate. By James S.a. Corey Gown Ghost Prison Looked Figured

The keel-mounted rail gun pushed the whole ship backward in a solid mathematical relationship to the mass of the two-kilo tungsten round moving at a measurable fraction of c. Newton's third law expressed as violence. Holden's By James S.a. Corey Keelmounted Rail Gun Pushed Ship

Tilly screamed. Anna's shocked brain only registered annoyance at the sound. Really, when had someone screaming ever solved a problem? She recognized her fixation on this irritation as her own way of avoiding the horror in front of her, but only in a distant and dreamy sort of way. By James S.a. Corey Tilly Screamed Anna Sound Problem

See, this is why I can't ever be in command," she said. "Don't like making tough calls with incomplete information?" "More I'm not suicidally irresponsible," she replied, By James S.a. Corey Command Information Irresponsible Replied Making

On Mars, the joke went, a man's hole was his castle where values of castle approached dorm room. By James S.a. Corey Mars Room Castle Joke Man

Fred's vacuum-rated armor protected him from the smell of viscera, but it reported it to him as a slight increase in atmospheric methane levels. The stench of death reduced to a data point. By James S.a. Corey Fred Viscera Levels Vacuumrated Armor

By the time the Somnambulist had set her creaking bones to rest on their assigned landing pad, Holden had lost all patience with human stupidity.So, of course, it came out to meet him. By James S.a. Corey Holden Somnambulist Pad Stupidityso Time

Around them, the hotel restaurant was busy. Last shift's prostitutes mixed with the next shift's tourists and businessmen at the cheap pink-lit buffet. By James S.a. Corey Busy Hotel Restaurant Shift Buffet

That man could take a visitation from God with thirty underdressed angels announcing that sex was okay after all and make it seem vaguely depressing. By James S.a. Corey God Depressing Man Visitation Thirty

Stupid. Shortsighted. A man born with a sense for raw opportunity where his soul should have been. Miller's By James S.a. Corey Stupid Shortsighted Miller Man Born

It's a simple complex system. That's the technical name for it. Because it's simple, it's prone to cascades, and because it's complex, you can't predict what's going to fail. Or how. It's computationally impossible. By James S.a. Corey System Simple Complex Technical Cascades

No rest for the wicked, no peace for the good. By James S.a. Corey Wicked Good Rest Peace

Naomi's a good person," Amos said. "I like her, you know? Like my kid sister, only smart and I'd do her if she let me. You know?" "Yeah," Miller said. "I like her too." "She's By James S.a. Corey Amos Naomi Person Good Yeah

When the crisis comes, we all pull together naturally. It's easy then. It's when things drag on too long that we have to make the effort. We need to make sure everyone sees we're all in this together. By James S.a. Corey Naturally Crisis Pull Make Easy

I'm saying let's go see if we can find some horses or zebras before we start a unicorn hunt. By James S.a. Corey Hunt Find Horses Zebras Start

Jesus," he said. "What scares the OPA? By James S.a. Corey Jesus Opa Scares

And even then, she hadn't wanted to die. She'd just wanted it to be over. To be free of it all. For the pain and guilt to be over. And the feeling of being trapped. She might have been able to stand all the rest of it, but not the sense of being caught. By James S.a. Corey Die Wanted Free Trapped Caught

The missionary lifted his hands in a gesture of harmlessness that went back to the African plains of the Pleistocene. I have no weapon; I seek no fight. I'm By James S.a. Corey Pleistocene African Missionary Lifted Hands

I was a Methodist when I was anything. What flavor are you selling? The missionary lifted his hands in a gesture of harmlessness that went back to the African plains of the Pleistocene. I have no weapon; I seek no fight. By James S.a. Corey Methodist Pleistocene African Selling Flavor

You want a beer?" Amos asked. "You're having beer for breakfast?" "Figure it's dinner for you," Amos said. The man was right. Miller needed sleep. He hadn't managed more than a catnap since they'd scuttled the stealth ship, and that had been plagued by strange dreams. He yawned at the thought of yawning, but the tension in his gut said he was more likely to spend the day watching newsfeeds than resting. "It's probably breakfast again," Miller said. "Want some beer for breakfast?" Amos asked. "Sure. By James S.a. Corey Amos Beer Miller Breakfast Asked

The birds, on the other hand, were going crazy. They filled the air with chirps and trills and songs. It was probably sparrow for Holy shit, what's going on, we're all gonna die, but it sounded pretty. By James S.a. Corey Birds Hand Crazy Songs Holy

Just do not pull that fucking trigger. Do you understand what I'm saying? Don't. You will be personally responsible for the deadliest screwup in the history of humankind, and I'm on a ship with Jim fucking Holden, so the bar's not low. By James S.a. Corey Trigger Pull Fucking Holden Jim

All posthuman meant, literally speaking, was what you were when you weren't human anymore. By James S.a. Corey Meant Literally Speaking Anymore Posthuman

Bull had been around charisma before. The sense that some people had of moving through their lives in a cloud of likability or power. By James S.a. Corey Bull Charisma Power Sense People

If this isn't important, I will rip your throat open and piss down your lungs. By James S.a. Corey Important Lungs Rip Throat Open

The last thing that made sense was to sit around, ogling girls in the park and By James S.a. Corey Ogling Thing Made Sense Sit

His words were full of hope and threat. Like the stars. By James S.a. Corey Threat Words Full Hope Stars

They'd made a plan, and so far everything was more or less going the way they'd hoped. The thought left Holden increasingly terrified. By James S.a. Corey Plan Hoped Made Holden Terrified

All through human history, being a moral person and not being pulled into the dramatics and misbehavior of others had caused intelligent people grief. By James S.a. Corey History Grief Human Moral Person

Stupidity was usually a lesser crime than vigilantism. By James S.a. Corey Stupidity Vigilantism Lesser Crime

A world no longer of haves and have-nots, but of the engaged and the apathetic. By James S.a. Corey Havenots Apathetic World Longer Engaged

He cut the connection before she could answer. Long goodbyes weren't anyone's strong suit. By James S.a. Corey Answer Cut Connection Long Suit

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. By James S.a. Corey Cop Looked Day Man Trust

You know what I hate about you?" "My hat?" "That too," Holden said. "But mostly it's that I hate everything you say, but you're not always wrong. By James S.a. Corey Hate Holden Hat Wrong

Yeah," Chris said. "I lose a couple limbs getting drunk and falling into harvesting combine, I'm an idiot. I lose the same limbs because I happened to be standing next to the right door when the ship was damaged, I'm a hero. By James S.a. Corey Chris Yeah Lose Limbs Combine

A near-fatal case of scurvy being the only reason I can imagine drinking something with grapefruit juice in it. By James S.a. Corey Nearfatal Case Scurvy Reason Imagine

It was the widest concerted attack ever. Hundreds of ships on at least four sides. Dozens of stations, millions of lives. Among the stars, it didn't stand out. By James S.a. Corey Widest Concerted Attack Hundreds Sides

The millions of skin-bound complications of salt water and minerals that were human bodies scattered throughout the Belt still needed food and air and clean water, energy and shelter. By James S.a. Corey Belt Water Energy Shelter Millions

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