The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein

★★★★★ (5/5)

A selection of my favourite passages from the book

On Man and Machine

• Somewhere along evolutionary chain from macromolecule to human brain self-awareness crept in. Psychologists assert it happens automatically whenever a brain acquires certain very high number of associational paths. Can’t see it matters whether paths are protein or platinum.
• “You thinking of issuing more trick cheques? Don’t.” “Not?” “Very not. Mike, you want to discuss nature of humor. Are two types of jokes. One sort goes on being funny forever. Other sort is funny once. Second time it’s dull. This joke is second sort. Use it once, you’re a wit. Use twice, you’re a halfwit.”
• I tried to explain. How Mike knew almost every book in Luna, could read at least a thousand times as fast as we could and never forget anything unless he chose to erase, how he could reason with perfect logic, or make shrewd guesses from insufficient data. . . and yet not know anything about how to be “alive.”
• Wish she had asked him before we gave our opinions; that electronic juvenile delinquent always agreed with her, disagreed with me. Were those Mike’s honest opinions?
• I suspect Prof enjoyed being rebel long before he worked out his political philosophy, while Mike— how could human freedom matter to him? Revolution was a game— a game that gave him companionship and chance to show off talents. Mike was as conceited a machine as you are ever likely to meet.
• His voice when he first woke was blurred and harsh, hardly understandable. Now it was clear and choice of words and phrasing was consistent— colloquial to me, scholarly to Prof, gallant to Wyoh, variation one expects of mature adults. But background was dead. Thick silence.
• I used to question Mike’s endless reading of fiction, wondering what notions he was getting. But turned out he got a better feeling for human life from stories than he had been able to garner from facts; fiction gave him a gestalt of life, one taken for granted by a human; he lives it. Besides this “humanizing” effect, Mike’s substitute for experience, he got ideas from “not-true data” as he called fiction. How to hide a catapult he got from Edgar Allan Poe.

On Governance and Politics

• So wardens didn’t fret about protest meetings. “Let ‘em yap” was policy. Yapping had same significance as squeals of kittens in a box. Oh, some wardens listened and other wardens tried to suppress it but added up same either way— null program.
• “Even more lovely,” he said, “than I remembered!” She smiled, over her mad. “’ Thanks, Professor. But don’t bother. Nobody here but comrades.” “Señorita, the day I let politics interfere with my appreciation of beauty, that day I retire from politics. But you are gracious.”
• “May I suggest a change in program? Manuel, the life of a conspirator is not an easy one and I learned before you were born not to mix provender and politics. Disturbs the gastric enzymes and leads to ulcers, the occupational disease of the underground.”
• A rational anarchist believes that concepts such as ‘state’ and ‘society’ and ‘government’ have no existence save as physically exemplified in the acts of self-responsible individuals. He believes that it is impossible to shift blame, share blame, distribute blame. . . as blame, guilt, responsibility are matters taking place inside human beings singly and nowhere else. But being rational, he knows that not all individuals hold his evaluations, so he tries to live perfectly in an imperfect world. . . aware that his effort will be less than perfect yet undismayed by self-knowledge of self-failure.
• In term of morals there is no such thing as ‘state.’ Just men. Individuals. Each responsible for his own acts.
• An earthworm expects to find a law, a printed law, for every circumstance. Even have laws for private matters such as contracts. Really, if a man’s word isn’t any good, who would contract with him? Doesn’t he have reputation?
• More than six people cannot agree on anything, three is better— and one is perfect for a job that one can do. This is why parliamentary bodies all through history, when they accomplished anything, owed it to a few strong men who dominated the rest.
• “But one thing must be made clear. Earth’s major satellite, the Moon, is by nature’s law forever the joint property of all the peoples of Earth. It does not belong to that handful who by accident of history happen to live there. The sacred trust laid upon the Lunar Authority is and forever must be the supreme law of Earth’s Moon.”
• why do British still have Queen?–and boast of being “sovereign.” “Sovereign,” like “love,” means anything you want it to mean; it’s a word in dictionary between “sober” and “sozzled.”
• Is mixed-up place another way; they care about skin color— by making point of how they don’t care. First trip I was always too light or too dark, and somehow blamed either way, or was always being expected to take stand on things I have no opinions on.
• Think I prefer a place as openly racist as India, where if you aren’t Hindu, you’re nobody— except that Parsees look down on Hindus and vice versa. However I never really had to cope with North America’s reverse-racism
• You have put your finger on the dilemma of all government— and the reason I am an anarchist. The power to tax, once conceded, has no limits; it contains until it destroys.
• It may not be possible to do away with government— sometimes I think that government is an inescapable disease of human beings. But it may be possible to keep it small and starved and inoffensive— and can you think of a better way than by requiring the governors themselves to pay the costs of their antisocial hobby?”

On Revolutions

• Wyoming dear lady, revolutions are not won by enlisting the masses. Revolution is a science only a few are competent to practice. It depends on correct organization and, above all, on communications. Then, at the proper moment in history, they strike. Correctly organized and properly timed it is a bloodless coup. Done clumsily or prematurely and the result is civil war, mob violence, purges, terror. I hope you will forgive me if I say that, up to now, it has been done clumsily.”
• Organization must be no larger than necessary— never recruit anyone merely because he wants to join. Nor seek to persuade for the pleasure of having another share your views. He’ll share them when the times comes. . . or you’ve misjudged the moment in history. Oh, there will be an educational organization but it must be separate; agitprop is no part of basic structure.
• As to basic structure, a revolution starts as a conspiracy therefore structure is small, secret, and organized as to minimize damage by betrayal— since there always are betrayals. One solution is the cell system and so far nothing better has been invented.
• Revolution is an art that I pursue rather than a goal I expect to achieve. Nor is this a source of dismay; a lost cause can be as spiritually satisfying as a victory.
• The thing to do with a spy is to let him breathe, encyst him with loyal comrades, and feed him harmless information to please his employers. These creatures will be taken into our organization. Don’t be shocked; they will be in very special cells. ‘Cages’ is a better word. But it would be the greatest waste to eliminate them— not only would each spy be replaced with someone new but also killing these traitors would tell the Warden that we have penetrated his secrets.
• Prof claimed that communications to enemy were essential to any war if was to be fought and settled sensibly.
• Here we were, in control too soon, nothing ready and a thousand things to do. Authority in Luna was gone— but Lunar Authority Earthside and Federated Nations behind it were very much alive. Had they landed one troopship, orbited one cruiser, anytime next week or two, could have taken Luna back cheap. We were a mob.
• Distrust the obvious, suspect the traditional . . . for in the past mankind has not done well when saddling itself with governments.

On Freedom

• But I will accept any rules that you feel necessary to your freedom. I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.
• Was reminding her that anything free costs twice as much in long run or turns out worthless.
• A managed democracy is a wonderful thing, Manuel, for the managers…and its greatest strength is a ‘free press’ when ‘free’ is defined as ‘responsible’ and the managers define what is ‘irresponsible.’
• Comrade Members, like fire and fusion, government is a dangerous servant and a terrible master. You now have freedom— if you can keep it. But do remember that you can lose this freedom more quickly to yourselves than to any other tyrant. Move slowly, be hesitant, puzzle out the consequences of every word.

World Building

• Even p-suits used to be fetched up from Terra— until a smart Chinee before I was born figured how to make “monkey copies” better and simpler. (Could dump two Chinee down in one of our maria and they would get rich selling rocks to each other while raising twelve kids. Then a Hindu would sell retail stuff he got from them wholesale— below cost at fat profit. We got along.)
• Nothing frustrates a man so much as not letting him get in his say. With luck and help from Warden, Chief Engineer would have ulcers by Christmas.
• Then didn’t know whether I felt lucky or not. Only excuse I could see for a Family talk-talk was fact that I was due to be shipped Earthside next day, labeled as grain. Could Mum be thinking of trying to set Family against it? Nobody had to abide by results of a talk-talk. But one always did. That was strength of our marriage: When came down to issues, we stood together.

Wise Gems to Ponder Upon

• Terror! A man can face known danger. But the unknown frightens him. We disposed of those finks, teeth and toenails, to strike terror into their mates.
• May I ask this? Under what circumstances is it moral for a group to do that which is not moral for a member of that group to do alone?
• Thing that got me was not her list of things she hated, since she was obviously crazy as a Cyborg, but fact that always somebody agreed with her prohibitions. Must be a yearning deep in human heart to stop other people from doing as they please. Rules, laws— always for other fellow. A murky part of us, something we had before we came down out of trees, and failed to shuck when we stood up.
• Too many facts hamper a diplomat, especially an honest one.
• Since they can inflict their will on us, our only chance lies in weakening their will. That was why we had to go to Terra. To be divisive. To create many opinions. The shrewdest of the great generals in China’s history once said that perfection in war lay in so sapping the opponent’s will that he surrenders without fighting.
• If we used our last strength to destroy a major city, they would not punish us; they would destroy us. As Prof put it, “If possible, leave room for your enemy to become your friend.”
• Manuel, when faced with a problem you do not understand, do any part of it you do understand, then look at it again.

Beautifully Constructed Sentences

• “It’s never too late for grief. I’ve grieved every instant since you told me. But I locked it in the back of my mind for the Cause leaves no time for grief. ”
• Women are amazing creatures— sweet, soft, gentle, and far more savage than we are.
• It was a fifteen-minute cast but that was essence: Go back to work, be patient, give us time.
• and I finally got it through my confused head that was being done with breakneck speed because of my date to break my neck next day.
• besides, if those last minutes were going to be my very last, I decided to experience them. Bad as they would be, they were my very own and I would not give them up.
• never heard word “venereal” until first went Earthside and had thought “common cold” was state of ice miner’s feet.
• No, my dear Colonel, we won’t shoot the cow…but we would, if forced to, let the cow know that it could be shot.
• Was a mob, not a battle. Or maybe a battle is always that way, confusion and noise and nobody really knowing what’s going on.
• Tried not to think about it, just as had been forced not to think too much about Ludmilla. Little Milla hadn’t carried a picnic lunch. She hadn’t been a sightseer looking for thrills.