Surrealism - Quotes from Science Fiction

A lot of quotations carefully collected from a very big amount of books and divided by categories.

Have fun reading it, this is really interesting and breathtaking!

He punched the door with a code combination, and awaited face check. It came promptly; the door dilated, and a voice inside said, ''Come in, Felix.''

- Robert A. Heinlein, Beyond This Horizon (1942)

I am reminded . . . of the way in which Heinlein has always managed to indicate the greater strangeness of a culture with the most casually dropped in reference: the first time in a novel, I believe it was in Beyond This Horizon, that a character came through a door that . . . dilated. And no discussion. Just: ''The door dilated.'' I read across it, and was two lines down before I realized what the image had been that the words had urged forth. A dilating door. It didn't open, it irised! Dear God, how I knew I was in a future world.

- Harlan Ellison, ''A Voice from the Styx'' (1968)

The door deliquesced. Cool against my thigh, chest, and face mist from the sill-trough blew back as I lifted my foot over the - ''Hey, don't step in that!'' [. . .] The blue liquid, behind us now, began to foam; the foam rose, climbing at the jambs faster than in the middle; and darkening, and shutting out light as the door's semicrystals effloresced.

- Samuel R. Delany, Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand (1984)

''I can't go back,'' said Towser. ''Nor I,'' said Fowler. ''They would turn me back into a dog,'' said Towser. ''And me,'' said Fowler, ''back into a man.''

- Clifford D. Simak, ''Desertion'' (1944)

The doorknob opened a blue eye and looked at him.

- Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore, ''The Fairy Chessmen'' (1946)

I know what you're thinking, but here, on Venus, the bathroom is as much a place for social gatherings as any other room in the house.

- A. Bertram Chandler, ''Coefficient X'' (1950)

Pa had sent me out to get an extra pail of air. I'd just about scooped it full and most of the warmth had leaked from my fingers when I saw the thing.

- Fritz Leiber, ''A Pail of Air'' (1951)

''How are we feeling, Mr. Stone?'' It took a minute or two for Stone to move his swollen tongue enough to answer. He wrinkled his nose in disgust. ''What smells purple?'' he demanded.

- H. L. Gold, ''The Man with English'' (1953)

''Damn,'' he said, looking at Bob and Janice. ''Knew I should have taken Invisibility in college.''

- Robert Sheckley, ''The King'sWishes'' (1953)

Cancer is at the door with a Singing Telegram.

- William S. Burroughs, Naked Lunch (1959)

Since it's only a simple case of resurrection, rather than a matter of corpses moving, standing, and walking after death, you consider everything to be perfectly clear-cut and understandable and therefore not worthy of any further investigation.

- Stanislaw Lem, The Investigation (1959), translated by Adele Milch (1974)

The tumbleweed said ''Oof!'' in the surprised way they always did when something caught them.

- James H. Schmitz, ''Balanced Ecology'' (1965)

He could not argue with an angry bed.

- Philip K. Dick, Galactic Pot-Healer (1969)

Did I say the wrong thing? Joe asked himself. But ye gods; what are you supposed to say to your own corpse?

- Philip K. Dick, Galactic Pot-Healer (1969)

The king was pregnant.

- Ursula K. Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness (1969)

The proper Pope for our times is a robot, certainly. At some future date it may be desirable for the Pope to be a whale, an automobile, a cat, a mountain.

- Robert Silverberg, ''Good News from the Vatican'' (1971)

I had reached the age of six hundred and fifty miles.

- Christopher Priest, The Inverted World (1974)

Later, as he sat on his balcony eating the dog, Dr Robert Laing reflected on the unusual events that had taken place within this huge apartment building during the previous three months.

- J. G. Ballard, High-Rise (1975)

Unfortunately, no one bothered to turn off the tiger.

- Charles L. Grant, ''A Glow of Candles, a Unicorn's Eye'' (1978)

''Two thousand light years to Sol,'' the cleaning hose remarked, unsolicited, as it crawled past Janaki down the corridor.

- Ted Reynolds, ''Millennial'' (1980)

Only twenty minutes ago he had decided he would go mad, and now here he was already chasing a Chesterfield sofa across the fields of prehistoric Earth.

- Douglas Adams, Life, the Universe, and Everything (1982)

An ancient suitcase was coming to eat him.

- Terry Pratchett, The Colour of Magic (1983)

She would never forgive herself for not being there when her son was born.

- Sheila Finch, Infinity'sWeb (1985)

Standing alongside the big man from Florida as they monitored the descent of the nearest skycutter, the sergeant deftly and matter-of-factly clipped the universe back onto his belt.

- Alan Dean Foster, CyberWay (1990)

The briefcase was changing. Its casing bulged out, flattening into a form better adapted for swimming. It extended stubby wings, lengthened and streamlined its body, and threw out a long, slender tail. Tiny clawed feet scrabbled for purchase on the stone. Extending an eyestalk, it looked up at him.

- Michael Swanwick, Stations of the Tide (1991)

Phoebe had enough to worry about, without consoling an overemotional fish.

- Paul Di Filippo, ''Flying the Flannel'' (1996)