That’s why we want it. Impossible gadgets are always the most valuable. — Charles Sheffield

Don’t confuse caution with cowardice.

Human culture is built around four basic elements: sexual relationships, territorial rights, individual intellectual dominance, and desire for group acceptance. The H’Sirin model using just these four traits as independent variables enables accurate prediction of human behavior patterns. On the basis of this, human culture is judged to be of Level Two, with few prospects for advancement to a higher level. —From the Universal Species Catalog (Subclass: Sapients)

Birdie cringed. If there was one thing worse than being a coward, it was being mistaken for a hero.