How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
One might as well feel the same emotions about a skyscraper, for example, yet [Renfrew's laboratory] was no greater than a man—men made it, not the other way round. The universe of artifacts as a human one. (1.46)
Renfrew's laboratory is a place where experiments are carried out to discern truths about the natural world. But at the same time, the mechanics provide a buffer between man and nature—one of several buffers, both mental and physical, we'll see throughout the novel.
Quote #2
"We have to take the large view. The Emergency Council has been in session since nine this morning. There has been another full-scale dieback in North Africa due to drought and lack of food reverses. You'll hear more about it in the news in due course, no doubt. Meanwhile, this and other emergencies have to take priority. North Africa's not the only trouble spot. There's a large diatom bloom off the South American coast, too. Thousands of people are dying in both places." (4.34)
If you live in the so-called developed world, you probably hear news about droughts or famine in other countries. Horrible as these natural catastrophes are, they are still taking place there as opposed to here. But as the novel progresses, it shows that disasters, especially ecological ones, are world problems. It is, after all, the same world regardless of the country you live in.
Quote #3
Gordon said, "Oh? Why?" and sat down across the desk from Lakin, next to the window. Outside, bulldozers were knocking over some of the eucalyptus trees in preparation for the chemistry building, grunting mechanically. (8.5)
The 1960s are not suffering the ecological disasters of 1998, but in a sly moment, the novel shows many images that provide thematic links between this era and its environmentally damaged future. Here is one of our favorites.
Quote #4
The markets were open only a few days each week—"to avoid fluctuations in supply" was the common explanation, rendered on the nightly news—and with the power cuts, refrigerating was impossible. Marjorie had turned to putting up vegetables and was amassing a throng of thick-lipped jars. They waited in cardboard boxes for the promised shelving. (10.1)
The famines and poisoned food from Africa and South America begin the natural dominoes effect. Food and power are now in shorter supply—something that is unheard of for many of us. Without a solution, it'll only get worse, so let the canning parties begin.
Quote #5
"You keep talking about the small universes inside ours and how we're overhearing their tachyon messages."
"Right."
"Isn't that a bit self-centered? How do we know we, in turn, are not a vest pocket universe inside somebody else's?" (15.73-75)
We'll take a moment away from the ecological issues with this quote. As science has deepened our knowledge of nature, it has also changed our view of our place within nature. Here, we see this happening again, only now the suggestion is that our own universe might not be as important as we think. Kind of a bummer, but it sure takes the pressure off. For more on this, be sure to check out the "What's Up With the Epigraph?" section.
Quote #6
The World Council had decided to redirect money for the Javan dieback into isolating the rhino. Ecoinventory had dictated that as part of the stabilization plan, aimed at saving species. The one species in excess was, of course, humans. The Council's policies had been applauded by the environmental types, politely not mentioning that in the zero-sum game of resources, this meant less available land and money for people. "Matter of choices," Peterson said distantly, swirling the amber fluid in his glass. Wise nods. (24.68)
A zero-sum game is an idea that basically states that one person's gain is another person's loss. For example, if we cut a cake into unequal pieces, then the recipients with the bigger pieces will gain the exact proportion of what the smaller piece recipients lose. It can be a disturbing theory when you apply it to concepts like economics and agriculture, but on the other hand, there is only so much to go around.
Quote #7
[Gordon] had a sudden vision of this glassy palace as a wilderness of nucleic acids, responding to the dry brush of red wind outside. His NMR lab seemed silent and sterile by comparison. His experiments were insulated from the pulse of the world. For the biochemists, though, life cooperated in the study itself. Ramsey himself looked more vital, squinting and hovering and talking, an animal padding through the lanes of this chemical jungle. (29.8)
Like Renfrew's, Ramsey's lab also carries out experiments to determine natural truths. But since Ramsey is a biologist, the buffer between those experiments and nature as we see it everyday is significantly lessened.
Quote #8
The trees were sharp, precise, with the clarity of good ideas. [Markham] watched them flick past as the airplane became light, airy, a gossamer webbing of metal that fell with him, mute matter tugged by gravity's curved geometry. (31.23)
Markham's death is a tragedy, but one that ultimately shows nature's power over us. Notice the imagery employed: As the tool of the airplane breaks down around him, he is opened up to the natural world of trees and gravity's curve.
Quote #9
[Gordon] tramped through the city zoo; it was more or less along the way. Yellow canine eyes followed him, contemplating the results if the bars were suddenly lifted. Chimps swung in pendulum strokes on an unending circuit of their cramped universe. The natural world was a pocket here amid distant honks and looming, square profiles of sour brown brick. (46.2)
The imagery of caged nature here shows that—in the 1970s—people remain "in control" of nature. The contemplations of what would happen should the bars be lifted, though, shows just how much of this control is more illusion than anything.
Quote #10
Animals had evolved in such a way that the ways of nature seemed simple to them; that was a definite survival trait. The laws had shaped man, not the other way around. (46.65)
A little take away message in regards to this theme in the novel: In our daily lives, we might forget our true relation to nature, choosing to see ourselves as beyond or outside of it, but the truth is that we are shaped by natural laws and they continue to work on us.