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The impending collision out there somewhere in the great dark between a gas giant and a world very much like our own has some parallels to the eternal collision between religion and common sense. One is bloated and full of gas, and the other is measurable and solid. One engulfs everything around it, and the other simply provides a place to stand. One is a rogue destroyer that has come in out of the night, and the other is a warm well-lighted place vulnerable to the sainted mobs.
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Chapter 1 (p. 15)

 

Jack McDevitt

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I'm waiting for ignition, I'm looking for a spark
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The eye which turns from a white object in the light of the sun and goes into a less fully lighted place will see everything as dark.

 

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