--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Imagine the first discovery that one of…" description: "\"Imagine the first discovery that one of these epidemics was man-made—the panic, the violence that would ensue. That’s where the end would come. A typho..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/556/hugh-howey-841_billions_imagine-the-first-discovery-that-one-of_2382973.jpg" --- # Imagine the first discovery that one of these epidemics… ![“Imagine the first discovery that one of these epidemics was man-made—the panic, the violence that would ensue. That’s where the end would come. A typhoon kills a few hundred people, does a few billion in damage, and what do we do?” Erskine interlocked his fingers. “We come together. We put the…” quote by Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/556/hugh-howey-841_billions_imagine-the-first-discovery-that-one-of_2382973.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/556/hugh-howey-841_billions_imagine-the-first-discovery-that-one-of_2382973.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/556/hugh-howey-841_billions_imagine-the-first-discovery-that-one-of_2382973.jpg) > “Imagine the first discovery that one of these epidemics was man-made—the panic, the violence that would ensue. That’s where the end would come. A typhoon kills a few hundred people, does a few billion in damage, and what do we do?” Erskine interlocked his fingers. “We come together. We put the pieces back. But a terrorist’s bomb.” He frowned. “A terrorist’s bomb does the same damage, and it throws the world into turmoil.” He spread his hands apart like an explosion going off. “When there’s only God to blame, we forgive him. When it’s our fellow man, we must destroy him.” [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Warns that man-made disasters amplify fear, violence, and moral breakdown, challenging humanity’s response to self-inflicted crises. **In simple terms:** Human‑caused catastrophes breed chaos and blame. Key Takeaway Prepare responsibly, avoid creating disasters. Themes technology ethics humanity crisis responsibility Mood cautionary reflective Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - policy making - disaster preparedness - public health - environmental regulation Key Concepts bioengineering political theory social collapse Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance innovation with safety? - What ethical safeguards are needed? A Different Perspective Human error can be unpredictable and hard to control. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Billions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/billions/) [Blame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blame/) [Bombs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bombs/) [Come Typhoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/come-typhoon-5908625/) [Damage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/damage/) [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Epidemics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epidemics/) [Explosions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explosions/) [Fellow man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fellow-man/) [Fingers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fingers/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Forgiving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgiving/) [God Blame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-blame-2191864/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Hundred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hundred/) [Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Panic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/panic/) [Panic Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/panic-violence-5908626/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Pieces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pieces/) [Spread](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spread/) [Terrorist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrorist/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [Turmoil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turmoil/) [Typhoons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/typhoons/) [Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World Turmoil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-turmoil-4832557/) ## Related quotes > [As muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone, it could be argued that those who sit quietly and do nothing are making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/as-muddy-water-is-best-cleared-by-leaving-it-alone-it-could-be-argued/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [I felt that the moral side of 'Black and White' was slightly confused. That's why I want the world to be in turmoil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-molyneux/i-felt-that-the-moral-side-of-black-and-white-was-slightly-confused/) [Peter Molyneux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-molyneux/) > [When there’s only God to blame, we forgive him. When it’s our fellow man, we destroy him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/when-there-s-only-god-to-blame-we-forgive-him-when-it-s-our-fellow/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“I am a silent observer of the world for more than 6 decades, the life runs without our control that is what we think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-t-v-rao-md/i-am-a-silent-observer-of-the-world-for-more-than-6-decades-the-life/) [Dr.T.V.Rao MD](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-t-v-rao-md/) > [“I would say to the priest that God made me as I am, that I had no choice, that He must have made me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-de-bernieres/i-would-say-to-the-priest-that-god-made-me-as-i-am-that-i-had-no/) [Louis de Bernières](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-de-bernieres/) > [Of course I believe in God, who else can I blame for my misfortunes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/of-course-i-believe-in-god-who-else-can-i-blame-for-my-misfortunes/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [Is God to blame for what I myself have done?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/is-god-to-blame-for-what-i-myself-have-done/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [The spiritual response is too often a simplistic one: we abandon God or we blame God for abandoning us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-spiritual-response-is-too-often-a-simplistic-one-we-abandon-god/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you say things weren't so great you really have to ask if God is to blame. Let's start the year right by being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-say-things-weren-t-so-great-you-really-have-to-ask-if-god-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“When a man died, there had to be blame. Jimmy Cross understood this. You could blame the war, You could blame the idiots who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/when-a-man-died-there-had-to-be-blame-jimmy-cross-understood-this-you/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [Each one of us reaps what we ourselves have sown. These miseries under which we suffer, these bondages under which we struggle, have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/each-one-of-us-reaps-what-we-ourselves-have-sown-these-miseries-under/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [He was near tears, 'Who do I blame?' he kept asking me. 'There is no God.I can only blame myself.'" The Reb's face tightened,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-was-near-tears-who-do-i-blame-he-kept-asking-me-there-is-no-god-i/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“But just below the grim tranquility he had learned to display, he cursed with boiling intensity the ambitious men who used him and his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/but-just-below-the-grim-tranquility-he-had-learned-to-display-he/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [“When I asked the Reb, Why do bad things happen to good people?, he gave none of the standard answers. He quietly said, “No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/when-i-asked-the-reb-why-do-bad-things-happen-to-good-people-he-gave/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“But really, why should you distress yourself? Whoever stirs up the past — out with his eye! Who is not a sinner before God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/but-really-why-should-you-distress-yourself-whoever-stirs-up-the-past/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## More by Hugh Howey > [“the mind-numbing routine. It was the castration of thought,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/the-mind-numbing-routine-it-was-the-castration-of-thought/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“a crime to fell a tree and light it on fire, where coals of hardened shit warmed and stunk up homes,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/a-crime-to-fell-a-tree-and-light-it-on-fire-where-coals-of-hardened/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [Even in the darkness, his smile threw shadows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/even-in-the-darkness-his-smile-threw-shadows/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“The Loud came before the quiet. That was a Rule of the World, for the bangs and shouts need somewhere to echo, just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/the-loud-came-before-the-quiet-that-was-a-rule-of-the-world-for-the/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“People from IT sent to replace those they’d killed. Juliette’s”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/people-from-it-sent-to-replace-those-they-d-killed-juliette-s/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“a heap of words designed to hinder communication rather than facilitate it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/a-heap-of-words-designed-to-hinder-communication-rather-than/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“That leaves Bravo Company, the expendables who know what they’re doing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/that-leaves-bravo-company-the-expendables-who-know-what-they-re-doing/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“Sleep was a vehicle for passing the time, for avoiding the present. It was a trolley for the depressed, the impatient, and the dying.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/sleep-was-a-vehicle-for-passing-the-time-for-avoiding-the-present-it/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“Overhead, tangles of wires knotted together in a grand display of unplanned infrastructure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/overhead-tangles-of-wires-knotted-together-in-a-grand-display-of/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“Montana wants to scream, but the thing she is angry at is in the past. The past can’t hear her. This is the thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/montana-wants-to-scream-but-the-thing-she-is-angry-at-is-in-the-past/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“I guess what I'm sayin' is, if you want to give Jules a job, be very careful.” “Why be careful?” Marnes asked. Marck gazed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/i-guess-what-i-m-sayin-is-if-you-want-to-give-jules-a-job-be-very/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [One of the many things that surprised me about 'Wool' is how many of its fans don't consider themselves science fiction readers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/one-of-the-many-things-that-surprised-me-about-wool-is-how-many-of/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“We have allowed a dangerous forest to grow as we try to guard against individual trees.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/we-have-allowed-a-dangerous-forest-to-grow-as-we-try-to-guard-against/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“You’re . . . a rock,” I tell the rock. “The fuck I am.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/you-re-a-rock-i-tell-the-rock-the-fuck-i-am/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“I hated Sundays as a kid. From the moment I woke up, I could feel Monday looming,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/i-hated-sundays-as-a-kid-from-the-moment-i-woke-up-i-could-feel/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) [Explore all 351 Hugh Howey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) ## More Billions quotes > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [As far as Japan is concerned, I want to help all of our allies, but we are losing billions and billions of dollars. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/as-far-as-japan-is-concerned-i-want-to-help-all-of-our-allies-but-we/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [The universe is simmering down, like a giant stew left to cook for four billion years. Sooner or later we won’t be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-bloch/the-universe-is-simmering-down-like-a-giant-stew-left-to-cook-for/) [Arthur Bloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-bloch/) > [Right now, the government is spending billions of dollars supporting the problem-makers in the U.S. economy - the polluters, despoilers, incarcerators, and warmongers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/right-now-the-government-is-spending-billions-of-dollars-supporting/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [If Jesus is the Son of God in human flesh, He's one of a kind of the 13 billions of people who have ever lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lahaye/if-jesus-is-the-son-of-god-in-human-flesh-he-s-one-of-a-kind-of-the/) [Tim LaHaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lahaye/) > [Here we were talking about economic development, about investing billions of dollars in various programs, and I could see it wasn't billions of dollars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-yunus/here-we-were-talking-about-economic-development-about-investing/) [Muhammad Yunus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-yunus/) > [Everyone thinks they've won the Magical Belief Lottery. 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That’s where the end would come. A typhoon kills a few hundred people, does a few billion in damage, and what do we do?” Erskine interlocked his fingers. “We come together. We put the pieces back. But a terrorist’s bomb.” He frowned. “A terrorist’s bomb does the same damage, and it throws the world into turmoil.” He spread his hands apart like an explosion going off. “When there’s only God to blame, we forgive him. 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