Isaac Asimov

“ On the whole, I am pleased with your new magazine. That's an honest opinion—and I'll prove it by saying that it is not the best issue of any magazine that I have ever read; I know that it is the tendency in writing one's first letter on any magazine to be super-lavish in one's praises, but I hope you can offset the relative moderacy of my good opinion by its sincerity. The first issue of Comet is very definitely above par as far as first issues go; it is even above par as far as today's science-fiction in general goes. ”

“ If the nucleus struck by the neutron is many times as massive as the neutron, the neutron bounced off with all its speed practically intact. On the other hand, if the neutron hits a nucleus not very much more massive than itself, the nucleus rebounds and absorbs some of the energy, so that the neutron bounces away with less energy than it had. If the neutron rebounds from a number of comparatively light nuclei, it eventually loses virtually all its energy and finally moves about quite slowly, possessing no more energy than the atoms that surround it. ”

“ For a hundred years each side had kept the struggle even. And in the process, peace had been maintained for a hundred years while, as byproducts of the continuously intensive research, force-fields had been produced and solar energy and insect control and robots. Each side was making a beginning in the understanding of mentalics, which was the name given to the biochemistry and biophysics of thought. Each side had its outposts on the Moon and on Mars. Mankind was advancing in giant strides under forced draft. ”

“ We might consider a mutation to be either “good” or “bad” in the sense that any change that helps a creature live more easily and comfortably is good and that the reverse is bad.
It seems reasonable that random changes in the gene pattern are almost sure to be bad. Consider that any creature, including man, is the product of millions of years of evolution. In every generation those individuals with a gene pattern that fit them better for their environment won out over those with less effective patterns—won out in the race for food, for mates, and for safety. ”

“ My name is not Isaac Asenion! Any one who says it is is a dirty liar. When I first saw that name appended to a letter, I was puzzled. Can this be mine? said I. Yes, answered I, it must, for its literary composition proves that it can only have been written either by yourself or by an illiterate Australian bushman—and illiterate Australian bushmen don't read Planet Stories (one of the reasons why they remain illiterate Australian bushmen) . Besides, added I, Asenion knocks love interest and any letter knocking love interest is yours a priori. ”

“ The Industrialist had entirely missed the evening meal and remained unaware of the fact.
He said, "Do you really think the ship will fly?"
"If they say so," said the Astronomer, "I'm sure it will. They'll be back, I hope, before too long."
"And when they do," said the Industrialist, energetically, "I will keep my part of the agreement. What is more I will move sky and earth to have the world accept them. I was entirely wrong, Doctor. Creatures that would refuse to harm children, under such provocation as they received, are admirable. ”

“ As is well-known in science-fiction circles, I am constitutionally averse to publicity. The white-hot glare of the spotlight makes me shrink like any violet. I've got an overcoat with special flaps on it to hide my face in when passers-by whisper to one another, "There goes Asimov!" ”

“ When hydrogen undergoes fusion and becomes helium, only 0.7% of the original mass of the hydrogen is converted to energy. Is it possible to take a quantity of mass and convert all of it, every bit, to energy? Surely that would be the ultimate energy source. Mass for mass, that would deliver 140 times as much energy as hydrogen fusion would; it would be as far beyond hydrogen fusion as hydrogen fusion is beyond uranium fission. ”

“ Scientists began to speculate that electricity, like matter, might consist of tiny units. When electricity broke up a molecule, perhaps a unit of electricity attached itself to each atom. In that case, the same quantity of electricity, containing the same number of units, would liberate the same number of atoms.
In the case of some elements, each atom could attach 2 units of electricity to itself, or perhaps even 3. When that happened a given quantity of electricity would liberate only one-half, or only one-third, the usual number of atoms. ”

“ Lynn!" cried Breckenridge in outrage. He poised to rush forward.
Lynn said, "Don't move. I've got a blaster here. We'll just wait for the scientists to get here one by one. One by one we'll X-ray them. One by one, we'll monitor them for radioactivity. No two will get together without being checked, and if all five hundred are clear, I'll give you my blaster and surrender to you. Only I think we'll find the ten humanoids. Sit down, Breckenridge."
They both sat.
Lynn said, "We wait. When I'm tired, Laszlo will spell me. We wait." ”

“ It wasn't the bomb that defeated us, but our own shell shock. This may be the last chance to reverse the process."
"Tell me," said the Industrialist, "what do these friends from space want in return?"
The Astronomer hesitated. He said, "I will be truthful with you. They come from a denser planet. Ours is richer in the lighter atoms."
"They want magnesium? Aluminum?"
"No, sir. Carbon and hydrogen. They want coal and oil."
"Really?"
The Astronomer said, quickly, "You are going to ask why creatures who have mastered space travel, and therefore atomic power, would want coal and oil. ”

“ Please, Mr. Asimov, Please Don't Cry, Everything Will Be All Right, Bye and Bye.
It is difficult to type this because salt tears are rolling down my rosy cheeks and are interfering with my vision. You see, I will have to plead in this letter—plead on hands and knees. ”

“ The nuclear force is so short-range, it barely reaches from end to end of a large nucleus like that of uranium. Left to itself, it holds together most of the time, but with the added energy of an entering neutron, we might imagine shock waves going through it and turning the nucleus into something like a quivering drop of liquid. Sometimes the uranium nucleus recovers, keeps the neutron, and then goes on to beta-particle emission. And sometimes the nucleus stretches to the point where the nuclear force doesn’t quite hold it together. ”

“ The process by which a gene produces its own replica is complicated and, while it rarely goes wrong, it does misfire on occasion. Then, too, even when a gene molecule is replicated perfectly, it may undergo change afterward through the action upon it of some chemical or other environmental influence. In either case, a new variety of a particular gene is produced and, if present in a sex cell, it may be passed on to descendants through an indefinite number of generations. ”

“ We might think of a single uranium atom breaking down and shooting off an alpha particle. We might also think of a single carbon atom combining with 2 oxygen atoms to form carbon dioxide. The uranium atom would give off 2,000,000 times as much energy in breaking down, as the carbon atom would in combining.
The energy of radioactivity is millions of times as intense as the energy released by chemical reactions. ”

“ I think the readers of Planet Stories are the most intelligent group of young men and women in the world. As I look about me upon your fresh, shining faces I am overcome with ecstasy at the thought of being one of you. If the young men will form a line, I will hand out cigars. If the young married women will form a line on the other side with their babies ”

“ Presidential Assistant Jeffreys looked at Breckenridge. The young Security officer, hitherto calmly silent, said, "It's no use talking about a possible future break in the stalemate when the stalemate is broken now. It doesn't matter whether these humanoids explode or do not. Maybe they are only a bait to divert us, as you say. But the fact remains that we are a quarter of a century behind in robotics, and that may be fatal. What other advances in robotics will there be to surprise us if war does start? ”

“ The Industrialist went on. "It is for that reason I agreed to see them after I received your letter. Not to agree to an unsettling and impossible trade, but to judge their real purposes. I did not count on their evading the meeting."
He sighed. "I suppose it isn't our fault. You are right in one thing, at any rate. The world has been at peace too long. We are losing a healthy sense of suspicion."
The Astronomer's mild voice rose to an unusual pitch and he said, "I will speak. I tell you that there is no reason to suppose they can possibly be hostile. ”