How we cite our quotes: (Chapter. Paragraph)
Quote #7
"Freedom! Your unconscious mind is not a sink of horror and depravity. That's a Victorian notion, and a terrifically destructive one. It crippled most of the best minds of the nineteenth century, and hamstrung psychology all through the first half of the twentieth. Don't be afraid of your unconscious mind! It's not a black pit of nightmares. Nothing of the kind! It is the wellspring of health, imagination, creativity. What we call 'evil' is produced by civilization, its constraints and repressions, deforming the spontaneous, free self-expression of the personality." (6.107)
Who would have guessed that these words would have come from Dr. Haber and not from George? Dr. Haber believes the unconscious is not evil; he thinks it is a source of creativity and even power. So where does he go wrong? On the other hand, George seems to think that dreams are evil. Is he correct? Or are both of these dudes wrong?
Quote #8
"But I can't choose my dreams. Nobody can."
She sagged. "I forgot. As soon as I accept this thing as real, I keep thinking it's something you can control. But you can't. You just do it." (7.106)
Okay, you should be warned: there are many different themes in this book, but they all come back to Taoism. Dreams, love, war—it's often all about Taoism. Here, Heather and George are talking, and she wants him to choose a nondestructive dream. But he can't choose his dreams, duh—right? This is not only literally true, but it also in line with the Taoist belief that you shouldn't force things. Taoism is more about going with the flow, figuring out what your path should be and then following it whether you really want to or not.
Quote #9
"The individual-person is iahklu'. The recording machine records this perhaps. Is all your species capable of iahklu'? (8.6)
Ah, the aliens—we love them and their funny speech. This scene happens when we first see the aliens, and it sounds like they aren't actually hostile creatures. This alien sees George and asks Dr. Haber a question about him. What do you think "iahklu'" means? Are all species actually capable of it?