--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We need them? Is that the best reason you…" description: "\"“We need them? Is that the best reason you can come up with? He laughed, a rasping, mechanical sound. \"The kings of the ocean are gone, and what is our..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/raphael-carter-29625_cyberpunk_we-need-them-is-that-the-best-reason-you_1169686.jpg" --- # We need them? Is that the best reason you can come up… ![“We need them? Is that the best reason you can come up with? He laughed, a rasping, mechanical sound. "The kings of the ocean are gone, and what is our argument for their return? We need them? We? Their murderers? The ones that made the water bitter in their mouths, and killed the food they ate?…” quote by Raphael Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/raphael-carter-29625_cyberpunk_we-need-them-is-that-the-best-reason-you_1169686.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/raphael-carter-29625_cyberpunk_we-need-them-is-that-the-best-reason-you_1169686.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/raphael-carter-29625_cyberpunk_we-need-them-is-that-the-best-reason-you_1169686.jpg) > ““We need them? Is that the best reason you can come up with? He laughed, a rasping, mechanical sound. "The kings of the ocean are gone, and what is our argument for their return? We need them? We? Their murderers? The ones that made the water bitter in their mouths, and killed the food they ate? The ones that made the ocean boil red with their blood for miles around? Men need them? Those vermin? Those stinging insects? Struggling pustulent humanity--needs them? Do you think a whale cares? You might as well need the sun to rise at midnight because you're feeling a bit chilly. Yes, of course, certainly we need them, But the question is, do we deserve them?”” [Raphael Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-carter/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage questions humanity's entitlement to exploit nature, using whales as a metaphor for unnecessary consumption and moral justification. **In simple terms:** We often justify harming nature without real need. Key Takeaway Reevaluate our relationship with the natural world. Themes environment ethics exploitation humanity Mood critical reflective Type provocative philosophical When to use this quote - policy debates - environmental education - activist campaigns - personal consumption choices Key Concepts moral philosophy ecocentrism anthropocentrism Questions to Reflect On - Do we truly need each resource? - How can we balance progress with stewardship? A Different Perspective Denial of ecological impact hinders change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cyberpunk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cyberpunk/) [Need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/need/) [Need Murderers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/need-murderers-3386135/) [Need Vermin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/need-vermin-3386137/) [Needs Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs-think-252372/) [Postcyberpunk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/postcyberpunk/) [Think Whale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-whale-3386136/) ## Related quotes > [“Feel no regret for roses, autumn too has its delights...How could she say that? 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They had tried to tear her out, but she had lived in me--deep in my heart and secret, nameless and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-carter/i-had-recognized-her-they-had-tried-to-tear-her-out-but-she-had-lived/) [Raphael Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-carter/) > [“I'd caught what cameras call an updraft: just as the viewers got over the first rush of interest, others smelled the excitement and tuned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-carter/i-d-caught-what-cameras-call-an-updraft-just-as-the-viewers-got-over/) [Raphael Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-carter/) > [“The mind has doors...even as the body does. And when you drill new holes, you tap old hungers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-carter/the-mind-has-doors-even-as-the-body-does-and-when-you-drill-new-holes/) [Raphael Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-carter/) > [“..you can't just break through a person's defenses like thatl the defenses are a part of the person, they are the person. It's our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-carter/you-can-t-just-break-through-a-person-s-defenses-like-thatl-the/) [Raphael Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-carter/) > [“First the bugs divide your mind into parcels that are almost independent--I always picture paper growing up between the wrinkles of the brain like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-carter/first-the-bugs-divide-your-mind-into-parcels-that-are-almost/) [Raphael Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-carter/) > [“I pulled the Net chip out of my head, cutting her off. The chip was long and white, with many metal legs; cupped in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-carter/i-pulled-the-net-chip-out-of-my-head-cutting-her-off-the-chip-was/) [Raphael Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-carter/) > [“What is a medium like telepresence but the extension--no, the very definition--of ourselves? Are we, who live things at a distance, the same species…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-carter/what-is-a-medium-like-telepresence-but-the-extension-no-the-very/) [Raphael Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-carter/) > [“Those who wake...do not regret the dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-carter/those-who-wake-do-not-regret-the-dream/) [Raphael Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-carter/) > [The misconceptions about grammar posted on the 'Net are at least as bad as the misconceptions about evolution, presumably because American public schools do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-carter/the-misconceptions-about-grammar-posted-on-the-net-are-at-least-as/) [Raphael Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-carter/) [Explore all 18 Raphael Carter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-carter/) ## More Cyberpunk quotes > [“No good thing renders its possessor happy, unless his mind is reconciled to the possibility of loss.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tade-thompson/no-good-thing-renders-its-possessor-happy-unless-his-mind-is/) [Tade Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tade-thompson/) > [“He got one finger cut off when he was young... The cafe paid for a replacement, put some nano-plastic in there. The kid got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-noon/he-got-one-finger-cut-off-when-he-was-young-the-cafe-paid-for-a/) [Jeff Noon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-noon/) > [“In America profit is everything. They would never suspect honor. Money, greed, even revenge. But never honor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misha/in-america-profit-is-everything-they-would-never-suspect-honor-money/) [Misha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misha/) > [I like the idea of using cool cyberpunk stuff to tell really stupid jokes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-quinn/i-like-the-idea-of-using-cool-cyberpunk-stuff-to-tell-really-stupid/) [Zoe Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-quinn/) > [“Najia can feel yts subdermal activators against her forearm. Not man not woman not both not neither. Nute. Another way of being human, speaking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcdonald/najia-can-feel-yts-subdermal-activators-against-her-forearm-not-man/) [Ian McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcdonald/) > [“How convenient, lust and a career move in the same packet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misha/how-convenient-lust-and-a-career-move-in-the-same-packet/) [Misha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misha/) > [I took Punk to be the detonation of some slow-fused projectile buried deep in society's flank a decade earlier, and I took it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/i-took-punk-to-be-the-detonation-of-some-slow-fused-projectile-buried/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“Feel no regret for roses, autumn too has its delights...How could she say that? Didn't she see that for us there could never be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-carter/feel-no-regret-for-roses-autumn-too-has-its-delights-how-could-she/) [Raphael Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-carter/) > [“I think they are a better race than humans ever were.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelo-tsanatelis/i-think-they-are-a-better-race-than-humans-ever-were/) [Angelo Tsanatelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelo-tsanatelis/) > [“They must train you pretty good not to react to shit like that. Must take stuff out of you.” Vince’s eyes intensified then broke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-kirwan/they-must-train-you-pretty-good-not-to-react-to-shit-like-that-must/) [Barry Kirwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-kirwan/) > [“How many rough blows had she suffered? How many times had she been an unwilling step for the selfish souls of her fellow opposite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misha/how-many-rough-blows-had-she-suffered-how-many-times-had-she-been-an/) [Misha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misha/) > [“Beef had hit $300 a kilo. Not that he could recall the last time he’d tasted real beef.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-kirwan/beef-had-hit-300-a-kilo-not-that-he-could-recall-the-last-time-he-d/) [Barry Kirwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-kirwan/) > [“Connecting to the outernet was less of a shock this time, as the monitor gave him a sense of distance from it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-friedman/connecting-to-the-outernet-was-less-of-a-shock-this-time-as-the/) [C.S. Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-friedman/) > [“there’s something unnatural about the feelings we have for people who’ve hurt us. About hate. It’s a connection. We want to know if they’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-livingston/there-s-something-unnatural-about-the-feelings-we-have-for-people-who/) [Alex Livingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-livingston/) > [“...you think cabling is unnatural--that's what your arguments all come down to. But it's not. Not between people that really fit. Maya, do you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-carter/you-think-cabling-is-unnatural-that-s-what-your-arguments-all-come/) [Raphael Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-carter/) [Browse all 112 Cyberpunk quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cyberpunk/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We need them? Is that the best reason you can come up with? He laughed, a rasping, mechanical sound. \"The kings of the ocean are gone, and what is our argument for their return? We need them? We? Their murderers? The ones that made the water bitter in their mouths, and killed the food they ate? The ones that made the ocean boil red with their blood for miles around? Men need them? Those vermin? Those stinging insects? Struggling pustulent humanity--needs them? Do you think a whale cares? You might as well need the sun to rise at midnight because you're feeling a bit chilly. 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