Martin L. Shoemaker > Quotes

“The first thing you should know about the second Bradbury expedition is I lived to tell you about it. That should be obvious since I’m telling you about it, right? But I had a drinking buddy back at the Old Town Tavern in Tycho Under, and practically every one of his stories ended with, “And then I died in the mess.”
― Martin L. Shoemaker, The Last Dance

“But orbital mechanics waits for no man,”
― Martin L. Shoemaker, The Last Dance

“This is a political witch hunt, driven by people whom Captain Aames rubbed the wrong way.”
― Martin L. Shoemaker, The Last Dance

“The safest place to be in this solar system is under the command of Nick Aames--but just outside of shouting distance."
"And inside shouting distance?"
"Third safest. Second safest if you can get him shouting at somebody else.”
― Martin L. Shoemaker, The Last Dance

“Micro fortunes were made every day at Port Shannon. And more were lost.”
― Martin L. Shoemaker, The Last Campaign

“Ms. Rockford, real life is not some vid drama. Real evidence takes longer to gather than the time between segments, and far more time to analyze.”
― Martin L. Shoemaker, The Last Campaign

“Taking off from Mars is a lot easier than landing. To take off, you just have to miss the ground, and then keep missing. But to land, you have to miss it, but just barely; and then barely miss it again and again until you can hit it on your terms, not Mars’s.”
― Martin L. Shoemaker, The Last Dance

“I don’t need you to retell the entire history of the Aldrin. Thank you, Inspector. The roots of the incident in question can be found in the Aldrin’s”
― Martin L. Shoemaker, The Last Dance

“Space exploration was not for the squeamish.”
― Martin L. Shoemaker, The Last Campaign

“Aldrin”
― Martin L. Shoemaker, The Last Dance

“And the new people just did not appreciate the importance of recycling,”
― Martin L. Shoemaker, The Last Campaign

“Anthony, do you want a police force or a campaign ad?”
― Martin L. Shoemaker, The Last Campaign

“They are sitting shiva, Monsieur Trudeau,” I said. “That is a seven-day ritual. They cannot transact business during those seven days.” “Preposterous!” Again his voice rose. “We should let the scientific exploration of Mars fall behind for some primitive superstition? The body is buried, man, move on.”
― Martin L. Shoemaker, The Last Campaign

“clear as starlight”
― Martin L. Shoemaker, The Last Dance

“Lung replacement was a common emergency surgery these days,”
― Martin L. Shoemaker, The Last Dance

“...Right now I don't give a damn about who's to blame for getting us in this mess, I only care about who's going to get us out. Are you on the solution team?"
More firm this time. "Sir, yes, sir!"
"Good. Because if you're not on that team then do us all a favor: step out on the surface, and leave your air bottles behind for someone who'll actually do their damn job...”
― Martin L. Shoemaker, The Last Dance

“A reader is nice, and it’s portable. It’s a marvelous invention. Buying books for the paper is like buying beer for the bottles. It’s what’s inside that gets you drunk!”
― Martin L. Shoemaker, The Last Dance

“Our agents reported that the journos weren’t persuading anyone new; they were just keeping the Initiative’s supporters from wavering in their calls for our heads.”
― Martin L. Shoemaker, The Last Dance

“That assignment should’ve been impossible, but they pulled it off. And that was our reward? To have them spit on our effort, tell us we were incompetent, and transfer us all out like a bunch of failures? No, thank you!”
― Martin L. Shoemaker, The Last Dance

“my experience taught me that most emergencies are nothing of the kind, and you can figure that out if you take time to catch your breath.”
― Martin L. Shoemaker, The Last Campaign

“Q: I’m in the fact business, Chief. I avoid the news and opinion channels.”
― Martin L. Shoemaker, The Last Dance