How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
But the poems he wrote, almost without conscious effort, were already in a different world from what his poor teachers normally encountered. They considered themselves blessed to be in his presence—and rightly so.
But in this brave new world he could see only a fraction of the "compositions" the students allegedly created, and he had no doubt they could appreciate very little about his work. (6.1-2)
Like Blount, Robert doesn't really take this future changes seriously. Notice how he says the students "allegedly" create works and how he has to put composition in quotation marks. This is Robert in high jerk form. But we also get a glimpse here of his past, of how great he used to be as a poet. So sure, he's in for a rude awakening, but you might almost feel bad for the guy who has to face this level of change.
Quote #5
One of the sand crabs reared back, a lurker drawn into the open. "So what's new in that? My brother is all unemployed and depressed, and he's only twenty. It's hard to keep up." (10.6)
The oldsters are not alone in being left behind by all the technological changes. As one of Miri's friends tells her (in a virtual world), even young(ish) people have to work hard to stay current. Is this an accurate statement?
Quote #6
Lazy bum, thought Robert, and wondered at Sharif's earlier enthusiasm for "real books." But he had noticed the trend even in his own teaching days. It wasn't just the students who refused to get their hands dirty. Even so-called researchers ignored the universe of things that weren't online. (12.122)
Once again, Robert reacts to a change by getting angry or dismissive: here, when Zulfikar Sharif says that digital archives are pretty cool, Robert immediately goes to calling him a lazy bum. But this isn't a totally new change, as Robert notes. Back in his time, students and teachers started getting into digital archives. So not everything about the future is totally new.