32+ Alfred Bester Quotes (Imaginative, Futuristic And Subversive)

Alfred Bester was an American science fiction author, best known for his 1953 novel The Demolished Man. He was a pioneer of the science fiction genre, writing stories that combined elements of psychology, sociology and philosophy. Bester was also a prolific writer of short stories, and his work earned him two Hugo Awards and a Nebula Award.

Top 10 Alfred Bester Quotes

1. One of the things that everybody knows about space travel but never mentions is its aphrodisiac quality.
2. Gully Foyle is my name And Terra is my nation Deep space is my dwelling place The stars my destination
3. I'm not much interested in extrapolating science and technology; I merely use extrapolation as a means of putting people into new quandaries which produce colorful pressures and conflicts.
4. Millions for nonsense, but not one cent for entropy.
5. Tenser, said the Tensor. Tension, apprehension, and dissension have begun.
6. I'm a great believer in people and their untapped potential.
7. That's me," he said, motioning to the robot. "That's all of us. We prattle about free will, but we're nothing but response...mechanical reaction in prescribed grooves.
8. Eight, sir; seven, sir; Six, sir; five, sir; Four, sir; Three, sir; Two, sir; one! Tenser, said the Tensor. Tenser, said the Tensor. Tension, apprehension, And dissension have begun.
9. Most science fiction, quite frankly, is silly nonsense.
10. We always do what's natural, only sometimes we shouldn't do it.

Alfred Bester Short Quotes

• I challenge you, me. Die or live and be great.
• The man who gives his own decisions priority over society is a criminal.
• Life is a freak. That’s its hope and glory.
• The test of intellect is the refusal to belabor the obvious.
• The mind is the reality. You are what you think.
• The whole point of extravagance is to act like a fool and feel like a fool, but enjoy it.
• If you can have everything at fifty that you wanted when you were fifteen, you're happy.
• This was an age of extremes, a fascinating century of freaks... but nobody loved it.
• Intellect is the ability to avoid belaboring the obvious.
• I've handed life and death back to the people who do the living and the dying.

Alfred Bester Famous Quotes And Sayings

Be grateful that you only see the outward man. Be grateful that you never see the passions, the hatreds, the jealousies, the malice, the sicknesses... Be grateful you rarely see the frightening truth in people. — Alfred Bester

This was a Golden Age, a time of high adventure, rich living and hard dying... but nobody thought so. This was a future of fortune and theft, pillage and rapine, culture and vice... but nobody admitted it. This was an age of extremes, a fascinating century of freaks... but nobody loved it. — Alfred Bester

You pigs, you. You rut like pigs, is all. You got the most in you, and you use the least. You hear me, you? Got a million in you and spend pennies. Got a genius in you and think crazies. Got a heart in you and feel empties. All a you. Every you...' [...] Take a war to make you spend. Take a jam to make you think. Take a challenge to make you great. Rest of the time you sit around lazy, you. Pigs, you! All right, God damn you! I challenge you, me. Die or live and be great. Blow yourselves to Christ gone or come and find me, Gully Foyle, and I make you men. I make you great. I give you the stars. — Alfred Bester

The damnable frustration of revenge. Revenge is for dreams...never for reality. — Alfred Bester

Don't ask the world to stop moving because you have doubts. — Alfred Bester

You pigs, you. You rut like pigs, is all. You got the most in you, and you use the least. You hear me, you? Got a million in you and spend pennies. Got a genius in you and think crazies. Got a heart in you and feel empties. All a you. Every you. — Alfred Bester

Faith in faith' he answered himself. 'It isn't necessary to have something to believe in. It's only necessary to believe that somewhere there's something worthy of belief — Alfred Bester

It's obvious we can't all be a Gully Foyle, but most of us energize at such a low level, so far short of our real capabilities, we could all be more, do more. — Alfred Bester

Damn you!" Dagenham raged, "Don't you realize that you can't trust people? They don't know enough for their own good." "Then let them learn or die. We're all in this together. Let's live or die together. — Alfred Bester

It's been suggested that most women fail to write significantly because the female mind is viscerotonic, and occupied almost exclusively with the moment-to-moment reality of emotions. If this is true, literature's loss is science fiction's gain, for Out of Bounds, Judith Merril's collection of short stories, is a warm and colorful rendering of the minutiae of the future. — Alfred Bester

If a man's got talent and guts to buck society, he's obviously above average. You want to hold on to him. You straighten him out and turn him into a plus value. Why throw him away? Do that enough and all you've got left are the sheep. — Alfred Bester

No matter how we defend ourselves against the outside we're always licked by something from the inside. Ther's no defense against betrayal, and we all betray ourselves. — Alfred Bester

Life Lessons by Alfred Bester

1. Alfred Bester's work emphasizes the importance of individuality, creativity, and self-expression, showing that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to life.
2. His stories often explore the consequences of technology and the potential for humans to be manipulated by those in power.
3. His works demonstrate the value of questioning authority and the power of imagination to create a better world.