Wednesday, April 6, 2016

6: Roger Zelazny Quote of the Day: Cold is a relative term





"Regard this piece of ice, mighty Frost.  You can tell me its composition, dimensions, weight, temperature.  A Man could not look at it and do that.  A Man could make tool which would tell Him these things,but He still would not _know_ measurement as you know it.  What He would know of it, though, is a thing that you cannot know."

"What is that?"  

"That it is cold," said Mordel and tossed it away.  

"'Cold' is a relative term."  

"Yes. Relative to Man."

Context: In For a Breath I Tarry, the machine Frost wishes to become human, and Mordel , servant of Divcom, seeks to illustrate why the quest is impossible.

Why I like it: In a story with so many memorable passages ( "You are aware that you would be forced to keep your end of the bargain even if you did not wish to; and Solcom would not come to your assistance because of the fact that you dared to make such a bargain."  "Do you speak as one who considers this to be a possibility, or as one who knows?"  "As one who knows."), I love it because it so poignantly illustrates Frost's quest to become human.

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