The Ghost Brigades

“Every creature has fear,” Jared said. “Even the non-conscious ones.”

“No,” Boutin said. “Every creature has a survival instinct. It looks like fear but it’s not the same thing. Fear isn’t the desire to avoid death or pain. Fear is rooted in the knowledge that what you recognize as yourself can cease to exist. Fear is existential.

Imagine if every species named itself after its greatest flaw. We could name our species arrogance.

Rationality is not one of humanity’s strong points.

'''No, it's not fair. You're in the wrong universe for fair.

Those people you saw—the realborn—are born without a plan. They’re born because biology tells humans to make more humans; but it doesn’t consider what to do with them after that. Realborn go for years without the slightest clue what they’re going to do with themselves. From what I understand, some of them never actually figure it out. They just walk through life in a daze and then fall into their graves at the end of it. Sad. And inefficient.

When power is within reach, few will wait patiently for it.

Human technology was good, and weapon to weapon humans were as well-equipped as the vast majority of their adversaries. But the weapon that ultimately matters is the one behind the trigger.

Jared, allow me to share with you my philosophy of human beings. It can be summed up in four words: I like good people.