How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Line)
Quote #7
That night in the warm dark of their bed she whispered hoarsely, "We'd better do it twice tonight. While it's still us." (5.6.52)
John and Maya are going to significantly altering their genetic structure, and Maya fears the process will alter their identity. On the other hand, you could argue it's another type of medicinal operation, like a root canal. And no one worries about a root canal making them someone else. Or should they?
Quote #8
How hidden the true self is, [Frank] thought, under the phenomenological mask. In reality they were all actors all the time, playing their video parts, and there was no chance of contact with the true selves inside others, not anymore […]. (6.2.53)
Dang, that's dark, yo. But does Frank have a point? Is the true self unreachable by all except the true self? What do you think?
Quote #9
"We're gonna do it different on Mars," Frank said viciously, and all of a sudden he wanted to be there immediately, no careful years of waiting, of campaigning—"Get a f***ing job!" he shouted at another homeless man. (6.3.38)
Frank sees Mars as a place where things can be done differently, yet he treats every homeless man the same way. So if he doesn't change the way he acts—a.k.a. change his identity—will things really be different? We're going with a no.