I've known people who've given their whole lives over to the same kind of search, but if they find nothing in a century or two they usually become discouraged. The only way we could do this was by refusing to make it the be-all and end-all. The only way we could afford to try was by ensuring that we could also afford to fail.- Incandescence, Greg Egan
I'm very ambivalent about the book itself, BTW. The short story set in the same universe - Riding the Crocodile - is far more... satisfying.
