alisha > Recent Status Updates

Things are finally starting to unravel for this schmuck.

(I'm reading this book because I've never read the book or seen the movie but I do know there's a Big Twist, and I want to find out what the twist is without spoilers.)

I suspect the Big Twist is that he meant to kill her but she didn't die. I just don't know yet how that fits into the story.

“...The problem isn’t behavior modification in itself. The problem is relentless, robotic, ultimately meaningless behavior modification in the service of unseen manipulators and uncaring algorithms. Hypnosis might be therapeutic so long as you trust your hypnotist, but who would trust a hypnotist who is working for unknown third parties? Who? Apparently billions of people.”

“The Superorganism will never make contact with your civilization.”...

“He says the Superorganism would never invade Earth,” said Cora, repeating him verbatim. “It poses no strategic advantage.”...

“There is no possibility of invasion, or even of contact, from the Superorganism.”

"And if she were to view knowledge as a commodity like Nils did, like the government did, hell, even like Ampersand did, then what to do with something so valuable?"

This reminds me of the Knowledge Is Power/Power Is Power scene from Game of Thrones between Littlefinger and Cersei Lannister.

"At least it wasn't Nickelback."

Cora gulped down the last bit of pancake,
already starting to ache from having very
rapidly eaten the whole plate. The *whole*
plate. "Okay."

&

"Still."

"Silent."

"There's something inside the house."

I don't think I can take much more of this.

"Any relationship that's designed solely to elicit a reaction from someone else is not only false but a major discredit to anyone who's a part of it."

"Often the thought of pain is actually worse than the pain itself. It's never as bad as you think it's going to be. And you can't get over the heartbreak until you let yourself feel it. Putting down that pint of ice cream may not FEEL like the right thing to do, but if you change your behavior first, your feelings will follow."

"Bridgette glares at the clerk, puts back all of her stuff, and returns to the counter with a copy of Runner's World and two pints of water."

This moment made me feel like jumping up and yelling "Yeah!" for Bridgette/myself. I'm not going to sit around and be sad. I can feel sad. But I'm not going to live sad.