The Institute Stephen King Quotes

Great events turn on small hinges.

He wanted to tell Luke that he loved him. But there were no words, and maybe no need of them. Or telepathy. Sometimes a hug was telepathy.

this life we think we’re living isn’t real. It’s just a shadow play, and I for one will be glad when the lights go out on it. In the dark, all the shadows disappear.

It came to him, with the force of a revelation, that you had to have been imprisoned to fully understand what freedom was.

Between midnight and four, everyone should have permission to speak freely.

It was so simple, but it was a revelation: what you did for yourself was what gave you the power.

There was an abyss. And books contained magical incantations to raise what was hidden there, all the great mysteries.

.. .what is the mother of carelessness if not assumption?

He was only twelve, and understood that his experience of the world was limited, but one thing he was quite sure of: when someone said trust me, they were usually lying through their teeth.

If I may borrow from George R. R. Martin, she is my sun and stars.

Sane people don't sacrifice children on the altar of probability. That's not science, it's superstition.

Don’t say things that invite sorrow,

Back in the main corridor—what Luke now understood to be the residents’ wing—the little girls, Gerda and Greta, were standing and watching with wide, frightened eyes. They were holding hands and clutching dolls as identical as they were. They reminded Luke of twins in some old horror movie.

losers so dumb that they mistook wrapping themselves in the chains of addiction as an act of rebellion.

They reminded Luke of twins in some old horror movie.

Try not to think of a polar bear, Fyodor Dostoyevsky once said, and you will see the cursed thing come to mind every minute.

There were other people here with at least some shreds of decency left, but working in a place like this destroyed your moral compass.

It came to him (and with the force of a revelation) that life was basically one long SAT test, and instead of four or five choices, you got dozens.

There’s a town in Maine, Jerusalem’s Lot, and you could ask the people who lived there about the men in the black cars.

Trump and his cronies took it all back. They understand culture no more than a donkey understands algebra.

Around and around it went, and what was round had no point, any fool knew that.

Love don't die with the earthly body, son. It's a purely ridiculous notion.

He had no psychic powers, but there was one power he did have: he was the grownup. The adult.

You know, Jamieson, this life we think we’re living isn’t real. It’s just a shadow play, and I for one will be glad when the lights go out on it. In the dark, all the shadows disappear.

It wasn't very nice, but the truth seldom was.

Did she know about Trump?” Kalisha asked. “Oh, she was long dead before that big city dumbshit turned up,

As his father liked to say, it was good to have goals. They could bring you through tough times.

Seventy years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki were obliterated by atomic bombs, the world is still here even though many nations have atomic weapons, even though primitive human emotions still hold sway over rational thought and superstition masquerading as religion still guides the course of human politics.

HELL IS WAITING. I’LL BE HERE TO MEET YOU.

Almost an hour after Julia’s last contact—much too long—Stackhouse’s box phone lit up and began to buzz. He grabbed it. “Have you got him, Julia?” The voice that replied was so astounding that Stackhouse almost dropped the phone. “No,” Luke Ellis said, “you’ve got it backward.” Stackhouse could hear undeniable satisfaction in the little shit’s voice. “We’ve got her.

Orphan Annie stood her ground. She had been raised that way in the Georgia canebrakes by a father who told her, “You don’t back down, girl, not for nothin.” Jean Ledoux had been a crack shot whether drunk or sober, and he had taught her well. Now she opened fire with both of Drummer’s handguns, compensating for the .45 auto’s heavier recoil without even thinking about it.

What good would that do had become another mantra, and he recognized it was a bad way to think, a step down the path to acceptance of this place. He didn’t want to go there, no way did he want to go there, but logic was logic.

It was good not to be alone in this anymore. He really hadn't realized how heavy that burden was until now.

once the punching starts, strategy goes out the window.

If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. For the last time, go to sleep.

I don’t know if you call that becomin modesty or low self-esteem, but I don’t much care for the sound of it either way.

one of his grandfather’s old sayings occurred to him: wish in one hand, shit in the other, see which one fills

Last but hardly least, thanks to my kids—Naomi, Joe, and Owen—and to my wife. If I may borrow from George R. R. Martin, she is my sun and stars.

Luke Ellis was the guy who went out of his way to be social so people wouldn’t think he was a weirdo as well as a brainiac. He checked all the correct interaction boxes and then went back to his books. Because there was an abyss, and books contained magical incantations to raise what was hidden there: all the great mysteries. For Luke, those mysteries mattered. Someday, in the future, he might write books of his own.

Because there was an abyss. And books contained magical incantations to raise what was hidden there, all the great mysteries. For Luke, those mysteries mattered. Someday in the future, he might write books of his own. But here the only future was Back Half. Here, the future of existence was, 'What good would it do?

He read the way free-range cows graze, moving to wherever the grass is greenest. That was a thing her husband chose to ignore, because the strangeness of it frightened him. It frightened her as well, which was probably one reason why she knew nothing of Luke’s tutorial on Balkan history. He hadn’t told her because she hadn’t asked.

The old hunger to know came over him. To learn a new thing. To isolate and understand the central issues. As always, each piece of information led to three more (or six, or twelve), and eventually a coherent picture began to emerge. A kind of terrain map.

Her name was Marjorie Kellerman, and she ran the Brunswick library. She also belonged to something called the Southeastern Library Association. Which, she said, had no money because “Trump and his cronies took it all back. They understand culture no more than a donkey understands algebra.

But no one is quite as good at ignoring the medical realities as a medical man

There's a big difference between nothing pleasant and something unpleasant

Life was basically one long SAT test, and instead of four or five choices, you got dozens.

his experience of the world was limited, but one thing he was quite sure of: when someone said trust me, they were usually lying through their teeth.

it was good to have goals. They could bring you through tough times.

hope don’t win horse races.

It was like having a Dixie elf for a landlady.

Grandes eventos se apoiam em pequenos suportes.

I’m not hungry,’ the newcomer said. ‘Just tell me one thing. Who do I have to blow to get out of here?

They considered this. One of the girls said, “Are you a genius? Like in a movie?” “No,” Luke said, smiling, “but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

Sane people don’t sacrifice children on the altar of probability. That’s not science, it’s superstition. And now I think it’s time you left.

it was powerful. He had been raised to be polite and obey his elders. Even in this situation, those were hard habits to break.

She sounded like a politician on a TV ad, and her thoughts were flying around like scraps of paper caught in a strong wind.

He read legal thrillers by John Grisham and the entire Song of Ice and Fire series. He was a big fan of Tyrion Lannister.

Do you think memory is a blessing or a curse?

It really wasn’t a benefit at all, but a protection. People who were in debt could be tempted to sell secrets.

Tim looked after him, disquieted. He thought Drummer Denton was one of those fellows who might decide some rainy night to kill himself.

something about a guy running over a bunch of people with a truck to prove how religious he was.

was in Iraq during the second Gulf war, and I was in Afghanistan, and I was involved in what was called enhanced interrogation.

Mam ochotę, ale tego nie zrobię. Bo wtedy byłbym taki sam jak on.

There was a study a few years back that said over half a million kids go missing each year in the United States.

Pero no hubo palabras, tal vez no hacían falta. Como tampoco telepatía. A veces un abrazo era telepatía

The steel box was opened, and from this came a couple of long guns that were not hunting rifles. They were what Annie Ledoux thought of as school shooter guns.

Luke shook with her, aware that the bugs – minges were what they were called in Minnesota, he had no idea what they were called here –

There was a song his mom played on the stereo all the time when she was cleaning, and now a line of it recurred to him: I shall be released.

Statistics can prove anything. Nobody can see the future. If you and your associates really believe that, you're not an organization, you're a cult.

She'd gotten the answer wrong, and this was the same thing, only on a much grander scale; a bad answer derived from a faulty equation.

They were talking, but he couldn't hear what they were saying, and that was alright. It wasn't for him.

One of the first things his mentor officer had taught him during the four months of his rookie probationary tour was you question perps. You never allow perps to question you.

Or hidden it somewhere

BDNF. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor.

So you assume, she thought, and what is the mother of carelessness if not assumption?

you question perps. You never allow perps to question you.

Whatzis distribution is not his friend.” “The Bernoulli is an accurate

It's just what comes next. I want to go there... and learn... and then move on. Not the goal, only stepping stones to the goal.

what you did for yourself was what gave you the power.

It was Dr. Hendricks's theory that high BDNF was being bred out of the human genome, as were certain other human characteristics, like keen vision and hearing.

Gerda and Greta, were standing and watching with wide, frightened eyes. They were holding hands and cluthing dolls as identical as they were. They reminded Luke of twins in some old horror movie

Tim said nothing, only looked at her. He had put the Glock beside him on the seat. Firing a gun at 39,000 feet would be a very bad idea, and really, why would he, even if they’d been at a much lower altitude?

There was no need to read the rings. You just estimated the circumference of one of the trees, divided by pi to get the diameter, then multiplied by the average growth factor for North American pines, which was 4.5.

She also belonged to something called the Southeastern Library Association. Which, she said, had no money because “Trump and his cronies took it all back. They understand culture no more than a donkey understands algebra.

Because they were doing it for themselves. They didn't have to be a bunch of dazed dummies sitting on the ventriloquist's knee. It was so simple, but it was a revelation: what you did for yourself was what gave you the power.

The Institute had become her life, and she was okay with that. Most of the staff was the same. Once they had been soldiers, or security personnel at hard-edged companies like Blackwater and Tomahawk Global, or law enforcement.

As a species, we’re built to do one thing above all others, and you kids did it.” He reached out with both hands and wiped the tears from Kalisha’s cheeks. “You survived. You used your love and your wits, and you survived. Now let’s have some cake.

He was touched and surprised—not for the first time—by the ordinary kindness and generosity of ordinary folks, especially those without much to spare. America was still a good place, no matter how much some (including himself, from time to time) might disagree.

He was old-school, almost a caricature; the kind of doctor who still survives in a thousand poor-ass rural areas where the nearest hospital is forty or fifty miles away, Obamacare is looked upon as a libtard blasphemy, and a trip to Walmart is considered an occasion.

She wants to believe.” “Believe what?” The look she gave him—both wise and sad—again made her look more like a grownup than a kid. “That this is just a little detour on the great highway of life, and everything’s going to come out all right in the end, like on Scooby-Doo.

She also knew Truman was going to get elected president, and nobody believed that shit.” “Did she know about Trump?” Kalisha asked. “Oh, she was long dead before that big city dumbshit turned up,” Annie said, and when Kalisha held up an open palm, Annie slapped it smartly.

We run new tests every time we add a new precog. They’re tasked with predicting a series of random events such as the late arrivals of certain planes . . . news events such as the death of Tom Petty . . . the Brexit vote . . . vehicles passing through certain intersections, even.

I know about those pills, Jamieson. They’re like booze and pot. Probably like the ecstasy the kids take nowadays when they go to their raves, or whatever they call them. Those things make you believe for awhile that all of this is real. That it matters. But it’s not and it doesn’t.

She paused, then added, as an afterthought, “She also knew Truman was going to get elected president, and nobody believed that shit.” “Did she know about Trump?” Kalisha asked. “Oh, she was long dead before that big city dumbshit turned up,” Annie said, and when Kalisha held up an open palm, Annie slapped it smartly.

Hell is waiting,” he mused. “Considering what we’re doing here, some might call that a reasonable assumption.” Not prone for vulgarity as a general rule, Mrs. Sigsby said, “Bullshit.” Stackhouse shrugged. His bald head gleamed beneath the light fixture as if Turtle Waxed. “Outsiders is what I meant, people who don’t know the score.

There’s an abyss, okay? Sometimes I dream about it. It goes down forever, and it’s full of all the things I don’t know. I don’t know how an abyss can be full—it’s an oxymoron—but it is. It makes me feel small and stupid. But there’s a bridge over it, and I want to walk on it. I want to stand in the middle of it, and raise my hands…

Okay, that’s how you go back in. If you’re lucky, your folks will never know you were out.” Robert: “You won’t tell them?” “Not unless I see you try it again,” Tim said. “Then I’ll not only tell them what you did, I’ll tell them about how you sassed me when I caught you.” Roland, shocked: “We didn’t do no such thing!” “I’ll lie,” Tim said.

BDNF stood for brain-derived neurotrophic factor. Mrs. Sigsby understood very little of its chemical underpinnings, that was Dr. Hendricks’s bailiwick, but she understood the basics. Like BMR, basal metabolic rate, BDNF was a scale. What it measured was the growth and survival rate of neurons throughout the body, and especially in the brain.

The Bernoulli is an accurate way of expressing probability,” Luke said. “It’s based on the idea that there are two possible outcomes to certain empiric events, like coin flips or the winners of football games. The outcomes can be expressed as p for positive result and n for negative result. I won’t bore you with the details, but you end up with a boolean-valued outcome that clearly expresses the difference between

Tim almost let him go, then changed his mind. He caught up with Luke and took him by the shoulder. When the boy turned, Tim hugged him. He had hugged Nicky—hell, he had hugged them all, sometimes after they awoke from bad dreams—but this one meant more. This one meant the world, at least to Tim. He wanted to tell Luke that he was brave, maybe the bravest kid ever outside of a boys’ adventure book. He wanted to tell Luke that he was strong and decent and his folks would be proud of him. He wanted to tell Luke that he loved him. But there were no words, and maybe no need of them. Or telepathy. Sometimes a hug was telepathy.