Quote

It's obvious we can't all be a Gully Foyle, but most of us energize at such a low level, so far short of our real capabilities, we could all be more, do more.

Alfred Bester

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Alfred Bester
Age: 73 †
Born: 1913
Born: December 18
Died: 1987
Died: September 30
Author
Journalist
Novelist
Science Fiction Writer
Screenwriter
Writer
Manhattan borough
New York City
Capabilities
Capability
Lows
Obvious
Short
Level
Levels
Real
Energize

More quotes by Alfred Bester

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This was an age of extremes, a fascinating century of freaks... but nobody loved it.
Alfred Bester
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Most science fiction, quite frankly, is silly nonsense.
Alfred Bester
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I'm not much interested in extrapolating science and technology I merely use extrapolation as a means of putting people into new quandaries which produce colorful pressures and conflicts.
Alfred Bester
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The test of intellect is the refusal to belabor the obvious.
Alfred Bester
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You pigs, you. You rut like pigs, is all. You got the most in you, and you use the least. You hear me, you? Got a million in you and spend pennies. Got a genius in you and think crazies. Got a heart in you and feel empties. All a you. Every you.
Alfred Bester
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If you can have everything at fifty that you wanted when you were fifteen, you're happy.
Alfred Bester
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If a man's got talent and guts to buck society, he's obviously above average. You want to hold on to him. You straighten him out and turn him into a plus value. Why throw him away? Do that enough and all you've got left are the sheep.
Alfred Bester
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Tenser, said the Tensor. Tension, apprehension, and dissension have begun.
Alfred Bester
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No matter how we defend ourselves against the outside we're always licked by something from the inside. Ther's no defense against betrayal, and we all betray ourselves.
Alfred Bester
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Gully Foyle is my name And Terra is my nation Deep space is my dwelling place The stars my destination
Alfred Bester
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Eight, sir seven, sir Six, sir five, sir Four, sir Three, sir Two, sir one! Tenser, said the Tensor. Tenser, said the Tensor. Tension, apprehension, And dissension have begun.
Alfred Bester
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Be grateful that you only see the outward man. Be grateful that you never see the passions, the hatreds, the jealousies, the malice, the sicknesses... Be grateful you rarely see the frightening truth in people.
Alfred Bester
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This was a Golden Age, a time of high adventure, rich living and hard dying... but nobody thought so. This was a future of fortune and theft, pillage and rapine, culture and vice... but nobody admitted it. This was an age of extremes, a fascinating century of freaks... but nobody loved it.
Alfred Bester
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Damn you! Dagenham raged, Don't you realize that you can't trust people? They don't know enough for their own good. Then let them learn or die. We're all in this together. Let's live or die together.
Alfred Bester
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The mind is the reality. You are what you think.
Alfred Bester
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One of the things that everybody knows about space travel but never mentions is its aphrodisiac quality.
Alfred Bester
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The damnable frustration of revenge. Revenge is for dreams...never for reality.
Alfred Bester
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Intellect is the ability to avoid belaboring the obvious.
Alfred Bester
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The whole point of extravagance is to act like a fool and feel like a fool, but enjoy it.
Alfred Bester
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That's me, he said, motioning to the robot. That's all of us. We prattle about free will, but we're nothing but response...mechanical reaction in prescribed grooves.
Alfred Bester