How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph) or (Feed Chatter #.Paragraph)
Quote #4
I remember seeing the hawks perched on street lamps, during those last days of the American forests. They had come from the mountains, maybe, or pine woods that were now two or three levels of suburb, but the hawks sat in our cities like kings. They would not look down from their lampposts as thousands of downcars went by underneath. It was like they sat alone on their Douglas firs. (QuiverChatter4.3)
Here, we get a retrospective interview from an oldster on a show called "Amurica: A Portrait in Geezers." He's talking about what it was like when the forests were destroyed. Nature is turned topsy-turvy, and the animals are so confused with their destroyed habitats that they flock to the cities. A few things to notice here: (1) this old guy knows how to use language. (We're guessing he didn't go to School™.) (2) Unlike the degraded humans, the animals manage to retain a sense of nobility, like the hawk that won't look down his nose (okay, beak) at the puny humans skittering along in their "downcars."
Quote #5
"So, we went into the conceptionarium, and told the geneticists what we wanted, and your father went in one room, and I went in the other and..." (25.68)
Here, Titus's mom explains the special moment that they… picked Titus out of a catalog. See, people can't have children "freestyle" anymore, because there's so much radiation in the atmosphere. Well, at least this makes the "birds and the bees" talk a little less embarrassing.
Quote #6
"Jefferson Park? Yeah. That was knocked down to make an air factory."
"You're kidding!" said Violet.
"Yeah, that's what happened," said Dad, shrugging. "You got to have air."
Violet pointed out, "Trees make air," which kind of worried me because I knew Dad would think it was snotty.
My father stared at her for a long time. Then he said, "Yeah. Sure. Do you know how inefficient trees are, next to an air factory?"
"But we need trees!"
"For what?" he said. "I mean, they're nice, and it's too bad, but like... Do you know how much real estate costs?"(27.10-16)
They paved paradise to put up an air factory. Never mind the ironic fact that trees are air factories—plus, they're nice to look at, too. All that matters is real estate—and efficiency.