--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the deepest places, where physical…" description: "\"In the deepest places, where physical norms collapse under the crushing water, bodies still fall softly through the dark, days after their vessels have..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76e/china-mi-ville-1303_algae_in-the-deepest-places-where-physical-nor_1051724.png" --- # In the deepest places, where physical norms collapse under… ![“In the deepest places, where physical norms collapse under the crushing water, bodies still fall softly through the dark, days after their vessels have capsized. They decay on their long journey down. Nothing will hit the black sand at the bottom of the world but algae-covered bones.” quote by China Mieville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76e/china-mi-ville-1303_algae_in-the-deepest-places-where-physical-nor_1051724.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76e/china-mi-ville-1303_algae_in-the-deepest-places-where-physical-nor_1051724.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76e/china-mi-ville-1303_algae_in-the-deepest-places-where-physical-nor_1051724.png) > “In the deepest places, where physical norms collapse under the crushing water, bodies still fall softly through the dark, days after their vessels have capsized. They decay on their long journey down. Nothing will hit the black sand at the bottom of the world but algae-covered bones.” [China Mieville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. In extreme pressure, bodies descend slowly, eventually turning to bone on the ocean floor. **In simple terms:** Bodies sink and decay in deep water. Key Takeaway Recognize the inevitability of decay. Themes mortality environment decay depth solitude Mood somber reflective Type literary descriptive When to use this quote - deep sea exploration - marine archaeology - environmental education Key Concepts existentialism natural processes Questions to Reflect On - What does this say about human fragility? - How does environment shape perception of death? A Different Perspective The description may romanticize tragedy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Algae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/algae/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Collapse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collapse/) [Crush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crush/) [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Dark days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark-days/) [Journey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journey/) [Long journey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-journey/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [In our deepest places, we all wish we could live like Raoul Duke for a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-geist/in-our-deepest-places-we-all-wish-we-could-live-like-raoul-duke-for-a/) [Willie Geist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-geist/) > [“Growth everywhere neutralizes decay. So long as we keep growing, renewing the mind, constantly reaching out for the new and progressive, the retrograding, disintegrating,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/growth-everywhere-neutralizes-decay-so-long-as-we-keep-growing/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [Bodies fall towards the earth as it is in the nature of the earth to attract bodies, just as it is in the nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brahmagupta/bodies-fall-towards-the-earth-as-it-is-in-the-nature-of-the-earth-to/) Brahmagupta > [“And now I fell as bodies fall,for dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/and-now-i-fell-as-bodies-fall-for-dead/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [The Japanese have a long lifespan in part because they eat different forms of algae.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homaro-cantu/the-japanese-have-a-long-lifespan-in-part-because-they-eat-different/) [Homaro Cantu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homaro-cantu/) > [Nearly all edible seaweeds - or 'sea vegetables,' as they ought technically to be called - belong to one of three broad groups: green,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yotam-ottolenghi/nearly-all-edible-seaweeds-or-sea-vegetables-as-they-ought/) [Yotam Ottolenghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yotam-ottolenghi/) > [Algae is the perfect food plant. It doubles cell mass every twelve hours, depending on the strain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homaro-cantu/algae-is-the-perfect-food-plant-it-doubles-cell-mass-every-twelve/) [Homaro Cantu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homaro-cantu/) > [“In this city of concave algae ponds, my mother begins to plant bonsais, nettle and leaf: silk against the skin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sneha-subramanian-kanta/in-this-city-of-concave-algae-ponds-my-mother-begins-to-plant-bonsais/) [Sneha Subramanian Kanta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sneha-subramanian-kanta/) > [What a difference that extra 120 ppm has made for plants, and for animals and humans that depend on them. The more carbon dioxide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-driessen/what-a-difference-that-extra-120-ppm-has-made-for-plants-and-for/) [Paul Driessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-driessen/) > [ Most of the reefs \[around Christmas Island\] are dead, most of the corals are dead, overgrown by algae, and most of the fish are… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enric-sala/most-of-the-reefs-around-christmas-island-are-dead-most-of-the-corals/) [Enric Sala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enric-sala/) > [“If certain bacteria, fungi, or algae inch across something made of copper, they absorb copper atoms, which disrupt their metabolism (human cells are unaffected).…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/if-certain-bacteria-fungi-or-algae-inch-across-something-made-of/) [Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/) > [Algae are such basic, simple organisms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-hyneman/algae-are-such-basic-simple-organisms/) [Jamie Hyneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-hyneman/) > [We’re making new investments in the development of gasoline and diesel and jet fuel that’s actually made from a plant-like substance-algae... We could replace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/we-re-making-new-investments-in-the-development-of-gasoline-and/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Sloths actually are like furry living ecosystems all by themselves! Algae grows on their fur and they are also home to "sloth moths" who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-burton/sloths-actually-are-like-furry-living-ecosystems-all-by-themselves/) [Ann Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-burton/) > [I wrote a song at age five about algae on the pond by our house, then the next 'real' song was in fifth grade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-salpeter/i-wrote-a-song-at-age-five-about-algae-on-the-pond-by-our-house-then/) [Greta Salpeter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-salpeter/) ## More by China Mieville > [“I just can't get with this idea that literature is a 12-step program. If someone wants to read a book to see good people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/i-just-can-t-get-with-this-idea-that-literature-is-a-12-step-program/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“Houses built on bridges are scandals. A bridge wants to not be. If it could choose its shape, a bridge would be no shape,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/houses-built-on-bridges-are-scandals-a-bridge-wants-to-not-be-if-it/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [Remember the movements that don't look like moving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/remember-the-movements-that-don-t-look-like-moving/) [China Mieville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“Either way, it is a curio of the moment that hard-left advocates of ‘all power to the soviets’ were delegated by a soviet opponent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/either-way-it-is-a-curio-of-the-moment-that-hard-left-advocates-of/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [It felt like being a child again, though it was not. Being a child is like nothing. It's only being. Later, when we think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/it-felt-like-being-a-child-again-though-it-was-not-being-a-child-is/) [China Mieville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“We have to establish our credentials as an explorocracy; so to survive and rule ourselves, we have to explore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/we-have-to-establish-our-credentials-as-an-explorocracy-so-to-survive/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“So long as it fated, fate didn’t care what it fated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/so-long-as-it-fated-fate-didn-t-care-what-it-fated/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“Everything's fit to be worshipped.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/everything-s-fit-to-be-worshipped/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“Death isn't what it used to be”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/death-isn-t-what-it-used-to-be/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“almanacs, or what was left of them when those pages making incorrect predictions and offering unhelpful advice had been torn out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/almanacs-or-what-was-left-of-them-when-those-pages-making-incorrect/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“There are no telepaths in this universe, I think, but there are empathics, with languages so silent that they may as well be sharing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/there-are-no-telepaths-in-this-universe-i-think-but-there-are/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“The poets and artists and philosophers, resistance activists, secret scouts and troublemakers, had become, as they must, soldiers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/the-poets-and-artists-and-philosophers-resistance-activists-secret/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“The city’s a heart, I said, and in that a heart and a city were sutured into a third thing, a heartish city, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/the-city-s-a-heart-i-said-and-in-that-a-heart-and-a-city-were-sutured/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“As he got older, Billy suspected, he would, Dicaprio-like, simply become like an increasingly wizened child.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/as-he-got-older-billy-suspected-he-would-dicaprio-like-simply-become/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [Scars are memory. Like sutures. They stitch the past to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/scars-are-memory-like-sutures-they-stitch-the-past-to-me/) [China Mieville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) [Explore all 257 China Mieville quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) ## More Algae quotes > [I wrote a song at age five about algae on the pond by our house, then the next 'real' song was in fifth grade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-salpeter/i-wrote-a-song-at-age-five-about-algae-on-the-pond-by-our-house-then/) [Greta Salpeter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-salpeter/) > [Sloths actually are like furry living ecosystems all by themselves! Algae grows on their fur and they are also home to "sloth moths" who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-burton/sloths-actually-are-like-furry-living-ecosystems-all-by-themselves/) [Ann Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-burton/) > [We’re making new investments in the development of gasoline and diesel and jet fuel that’s actually made from a plant-like substance-algae... We could replace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/we-re-making-new-investments-in-the-development-of-gasoline-and/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Algae are such basic, simple organisms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-hyneman/algae-are-such-basic-simple-organisms/) [Jamie Hyneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-hyneman/) > [“If certain bacteria, fungi, or algae inch across something made of copper, they absorb copper atoms, which disrupt their metabolism (human cells are unaffected).…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/if-certain-bacteria-fungi-or-algae-inch-across-something-made-of/) [Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/) > [ Most of the reefs \[around Christmas Island\] are dead, most of the corals are dead, overgrown by algae, and most of the fish are… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enric-sala/most-of-the-reefs-around-christmas-island-are-dead-most-of-the-corals/) [Enric Sala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enric-sala/) > [What a difference that extra 120 ppm has made for plants, and for animals and humans that depend on them. The more carbon dioxide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-driessen/what-a-difference-that-extra-120-ppm-has-made-for-plants-and-for/) [Paul Driessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-driessen/) > [“In this city of concave algae ponds, my mother begins to plant bonsais, nettle and leaf: silk against the skin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sneha-subramanian-kanta/in-this-city-of-concave-algae-ponds-my-mother-begins-to-plant-bonsais/) [Sneha Subramanian Kanta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sneha-subramanian-kanta/) > [Algae is the perfect food plant. It doubles cell mass every twelve hours, depending on the strain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homaro-cantu/algae-is-the-perfect-food-plant-it-doubles-cell-mass-every-twelve/) [Homaro Cantu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homaro-cantu/) > [Nearly all edible seaweeds - or 'sea vegetables,' as they ought technically to be called - belong to one of three broad groups: green,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yotam-ottolenghi/nearly-all-edible-seaweeds-or-sea-vegetables-as-they-ought/) [Yotam Ottolenghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yotam-ottolenghi/) > [The Japanese have a long lifespan in part because they eat different forms of algae.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homaro-cantu/the-japanese-have-a-long-lifespan-in-part-because-they-eat-different/) [Homaro Cantu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homaro-cantu/) > [...the life of the planet began the long, slow process of modulating and regulating the physical conditions of the planet. The oxygen in today's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/the-life-of-the-planet-began-the-long-slow-process-of-modulating-and/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [And in the process, we have come up with fuels - algae-based fuels, isobutanol-based fuels and other fuels - that we think will power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/and-in-the-process-we-have-come-up-with-fuels-algae-based-fuels/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [The entire range of living matter on Earth from whales to viruses and from oaks to algae could be regarded as constituting a single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lovelock/the-entire-range-of-living-matter-on-earth-from-whales-to-viruses-and/) [James Lovelock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lovelock/) > [Large, centralized organizations foster alienation like stagnant ponds breed algae.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricardo-semler/large-centralized-organizations-foster-alienation-like-stagnant-ponds/) [Ricardo Semler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricardo-semler/) [Browse all 38 Algae quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/algae/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In the deepest places, where physical norms collapse under the crushing water, bodies still fall softly through the dark, days after their vessels have capsized. 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