“Without pain, without sacrifice we would have nothing. Like the first monkey shot into space.”

“Without animals, there would be no humanity. In a world of just people, people will mean nothing . . .”

“You tell yourself that noise is what defines silence. Without noise, silence would not be golden. Noise is the exception. Think of deep outer space, the incredible cold and quiet where your wife and kid wait. Silence, not heaven, would be reward enough.”

“It's so quiet this high up, the feeling you get is that you're one of those space monkeys. You do the little job you're trained to do. Pull a lever. Push a button. You don't understand any of it, and then you just die.”

“You have endless ways you can commit suicide without dying dying.”

“We have pain and hate and love and joy and war in the world because we want them.”

“Without access to true chaos, we'll never have true peace. Unless everything can get worse, it won't get any better.”