From the Earth to the Moon Competition Quotes

Everybody loves the Gun Club—and we mean everybody. So what's this guy's problem? As we'll come to see, there's something a bit deeper going on here beneath his mean-spirited words.

The words used to describe Nicholl are pretty much identical to the ones used to describe Barbicane. If these dudes didn't hate each other so much, they might realize that they're the same guy.

In a way, each man needs the other in order to reach his full potential. Would Barbicane have continued to invent new weapons if Nicholl hadn't continued to invent new armor, or vice versa? Sometimes we need competition in order to light a fire under our butts.

Each man is massively insecure about his abilities when compared to the other, but that's just silly. Aren't these two of the most prestigious inventors in the country? Then why are they wasting their time on this nonsense? As we can see, their competition has gotten so fierce that they're not even able to escape each other in their dreams.

Now that's a buzz kill. With the war over (and the victory firmly in Barbicane's corner), Nicholl has no chance to win their little competition. No wonder he goes to such great lengths to discredit the moon mission—it's his last hope of defeating Nicholl and rebuilding his thoroughly shattered ego.

Clever move, Barbicane—he knows that Nicholl is a worthy competitor and will surely figure out a way to stop his new cannon, so he wants to get out while he's still ahead. In fact, Barbicane seems less frustrated about this competition than Nicholl in general, often choosing the higher ground despite Nicholl's public insults. Why is that?

Barbicane's victory drives Nicholl nuts. Although our crazed captain is a scientifically-minded dude, he's not willing to let things like facts and logic get in the way of his vendetta. That shows us how desperate Nicholl truly is: He's willing to go against his core beliefs in order to dethrone President Barbicane. He must be in a really dark place at this point.

Now that the two men are finally settling their beef, we see the truth: Neither one actually wants to hurt the other. Here, Nicholl the armor-maker is doing exactly what he does best: protecting helpless individuals from acts of violence. This is his true self, and a far cry from the angry, vindictive man we've come to know over the course of the novel.

Ardan points out what everyone is thinking: There's no reason for two of the most successful inventors in the country to be at odds. This would be like if Steve Jobs and Bill Gates had teamed up back in the day—just think about what they might have achieved if they worked together.

Naturally, Ardan saves the day and brings these two rivals together. This is only a good thing, since now the Gun Club will be able to draw from Captain Nicholl's vast experience as well. Let's just hope the two former rivals don't kill each other out there in outer space.