Madeline’s Reviews > Hard Contact > Status Update

“So how do we justify what we are doing now? Breeding men without choice, and without freedom, to fight and die for us? When do the means cease to justify the end? Where is our society heading? Where are our ideals, and what are we without them? If we give in to expedience in this way, where do we draw the line between ourselves and those we find unacceptably evil? I have no answer, Masters. Do you?” (Pg. 217)

“‘All beings are individuals, and their essence in the Force reflects that. The act of living makes us different...’

The answer stunned Niner. He was used to being a product...This was the first time a Jedi, a commander, had confirmed the clone commandos’ intensely private suspicion that they were no less than normal men. It was no longer a secret dissent that had to be hidden.” (Pg. 191)

“Death was happening all too easily and frequently, as if it didn’t matter and had no consequences. She could feel the Force being distorted around her; not the regular rhythm of life as it was meant to be, but the chaos of destruction. She felt she could neither accept it nor influence it.” (Pg. 178)

“There is something very touching about them. They look like... fight... and sometimes... even talk like soldiers. They have all the finest qualities of the fighting man. But behind that is nothing—no love, no family, no happy memory that comes from having truly lived. When I see one of these men killed, I weep more for him than for any ordinary soldier who has lived a full and normal life.” (Pg. 121)

“Clone personnel have free will, even if they do follow orders. If they couldn’t think for themselves, we’d be better off with droids... They have to be able to respond to situations we can’t imagine. Will that change them in ways we can’t predict? Perhaps. But they have to be mentally equipped to win wars.”
(Pg. 23)