Gemma Malley > Quotes

“He said that we belonged together because he was born with a flower and I was born with a butterfly and that flowers and butterflies need each other for survival.”
― Gemma Malley, The Declaration

“Because no one needs to live for ever. I think that sometimes you can outstay your welcome.
”
― Gemma Malley, The Declaration

“Surplus meant unnecessary. Not required.
You couldn’t be a Surplus if you were needed by someone else. You couldn’t be a Surplus if you were loved.
”
― Gemma Malley, The Declaration

“I love you Anna Covey,' he said, his voice barely audible. And slowly, clumsily, he leant forward, and his lips found hers, and Anna felt him kiss her awkwardly, she knew that she wasn't a Surplus any more. And nor was Peter.”
― Gemma Malley, The Declaration

“Before he'd met Anna, he'd thought he'd known what love was, thought he'd understood about friendship, romance, all of it, but he hadn't - not at all. Until he'd held Anna in his arms, until he'd let her see into his soul, until he'd heard her cry gently when he made love to her for the first time, he'd known nothing. And now, sometimes, when it was just the two of them, when he smelt her hair, caught her eye, he felt as though he knew all there was to know about everything, as though they knew the secret of life. A secret far more powerful than Longevity, far more long-lasting.”
― Gemma Malley, The Resistance

“You see, what I want is life. A real life, full of moments of joy, of anguish, of irritation, of fun. A life with an end point, which makes each second important. A life that is full of love, that doesn't cause suffering and pain.”
― Gemma Malley, The Resistance

“Danger manifests itself in many ways, Peter. Brilliance of mind can be as dangerous as a loaded weapon.”
― Gemma Malley, The Resistance

“I love you, Anna Covey,' he said, his voice barely audible. And slowly, clumsily, he leant forward, and his lips found hers, and as Anna felt him kiss her awkwardly, she knew that she wasn't a Surplus anymore. And nor was Peter.

Surplus meant unnecessary. Not required.

You couldn't be a Surplus if you were needed by someone else. You couldn't be a Surplus if you were loved.”
― Gemma Malley, The Declaration

“But there was nothing beautiful about the word "brainwash". To clean the brain. To strip it bare.”
― Gemma Malley, The Declaration

“He said to me that we belonged toghether because he was born with a flower and I was born with a butterfly and that Flower and Butterfly need each other to survive”
― Gemma Malley , The Declaration

“Humans may progress. They may think that they are moving forward because they have invented clever machines and because they control the land and sea. But man's capacity to inflict and endure pain is constant. Man's desire for power, to beat down his competition - it hasn't changed in the slightest.”
― Gemma Malley, The Returners

“Imagination shows an ability to lie, to pretend the world is different than it is.”
― Gemma Malley, The Killables

“Reading and writing were a dangerous business; they made you think.”
― Gemma Malley, The Declaration

“Many people lost their lives fighting for these rights - to vote, to be free, to work, to be able to get on the same bus as someone considered their superior. And it was the next generations who embedded these changes, who came to view women as equals to men, who came to understand that skin colour is of no relevance. Young people are the future. Without them, the world stands still.”
― Gemma Malley, The Resistance

“Nature is not about preserving old things, but about creating new ones. New life. New ideas.”
― Gemma Malley, The Declaration

“But I do know that the world is the most beautiful place and that we're lucky to be here. I know that we have to live every moment, because we won't be here forever, and that I wouldn't want to be anyway. Because knowing something's going to end makes you appreciate it more, makes you want to savour every moment.”
― Gemma Malley

“The further away from something we are, the more we tend to mistrust it, Peter. we dislike the unknown, we reject anything alien to us: people with views that contradict ours, societies that are run along very different lines.”
― Gemma Malley, The Resistance

“But each time, nothing was done, because change carried risks, because change led to instability, because new technology meant using precious energy, and because, at the end of the day, no one really cared.”
― Gemma Malley, The Declaration

“I am just a leaf. Just a leaf falling from the tree so that a new bud may grow.”
― Gemma Malley, The Legacy

“You mustn't let your emotions get the better of you. There is a great deal to be angry about, but anger doesn't change things.”
― Gemma Malley, The Resistance

“Before he'd met Anna, he'd thought he'd known what love was, thought he'd understood about friendship, romance, all o fit, but he hadn't - not at all. Until he'd held Anna in his arms, until he'd let her see his soul, until he'd heard her cry gently when he made love to her for the first time, he'd known nothing.”
― Gemma Malley

“I think flowers can be just as important as food, sometimes. I think id depends what you're hungry for.”
― Gemma Malley, The Declaration

“...Sometimes her curiosity got the better of her and she found herself furtively asking questions about his life before Grange Hall, pretending as she did so that she wasn't really that interested. The truth was that Peter was a window through which Anna could glimpse the world outside, and the temptation to keep looking was quite overwhelming.”
― Gemma Malley, The Declaration

“But was falling such a bad thing, she wondered. Was it, perhaps better to see the top of the mountain, even if only for a moment, than never to even try? Or was it that the higher you allow yourself to climb, the further you have to come crashing down to earth?”
― Gemma Malley, The Declaration

“Curiosity also makes a great student.”
― Gemma Malley, The Resistance

“All beauty has a dark side. Heaven can't exist without hell.”
― Gemma Malley, The Resistance

“Evolution taught us that adaptation is the key to survival.”
― Gemma Malley, The Legacy

“The snow is not falling for you.”
― Gemma Malley, The Declaration

“They let you down, you let them down, then they're your best friend, until next time.”
― Gemma Malley, The Resistance

“Real love, well, it means sacrifice. It means thinking of the other person's needs before your own.”
― Gemma Malley, The Resistance