Daniel Suarez

“Fact and fiction carry the same intrinsic weight in the marketplace of ideas. Fortunately, reality has no advertising budget.”

“...we know instantly whenever anyone touches our data—and who touched it. That’s the best one can hope for in a technologically advanced society.”

“At issue is not whether the global economy will pass away. It is passing away. Rising populations and debt combined with depletion of freshwater sources and fossil fuel make the status quo untenable. The only question is whether civil society will survive the transition.”

“Biotech companies spread patented genetic sequences via the natural ecosystem—much like a computer virus. Then they use the legal system to claim ownership of any organism their patented genetic sequences invade. They are raiding communal seed banks, obtaining patents for naturally occurring apples, sugar beets, corn, and a host of other plants and animals. They have immorally seized control of the food system and stand poised to claim ownership of life itself unless we take action.”

“My generation has no intention of living as serfs on a corporate manor, Dad. When people became more reliant on multinational corporations than on their own communities, they surrendered whatever say they had in their government. Corporations are growing stronger while democratic government becomes increasingly helpless.”

“Food is the very heart of freedom. How can people be free if they can’t feed themselves without getting sued for patent violations?”

“I've been amused by the debate in America over whether torture is effective... Of course it's effective.”

“And I tell you that Americans are fucking ignorant of their freedom. They're about as free as the Chinese. Except the Chinese don't lie to themselves.”