“As soon as I say that, though, I wonder. For how many centuries would someone who exhibited traits like these either be branded a witch or product of sorcery and burned?” (235)
Emily has learned to question her human creators and the decisions they may have made in the past. As she has gone on this journey she has gotten a glimpse into the dark side of humanity and has formed her own perspectives as to what is right and what is wrong. This quote gives us a look into Emily’s moral thinking, and her leadership would contrast from humanity’s in creating a new civilization. She would make judgements based upon logic and sympathy, rather than fear of the unknown. Since Emily has access to the motivations and experiences of all of humanity, she would devise the most fair decisions as she is able to look into the reasoning behind what really happened.
“It’s after that I realize it’ s not the sex that made me feel more human the night before ; it’s being wanted by another human. It’ s the closeness.” (217)
Physical intimacy marks one of the last steps Emily has to take in becoming completely human. After gaining insight and observing love through the eyes of others for so long, Emily is finally able to experience it for herself and know what it’s like to embrace someone she truly cares about. This relationship increases her drive to save the human race, as she realizes how special love is among both others and herself. The threat of devastation motivates her further to save civilization and the person she cares the most about, raising the stakes of the story and adding yet another layer of complexity to Emily’s character.
“A lungfish didn’t know it needed legs until it had them.” (238)
This quote summarizes a lot about Emily’s character throughout the story. Emily doesn’t know she needed a greater sense of humanity and connection, but comes to realize it’s what will make her most complete. She learns that she needs to truly experience what makes us human through herself and others if she wants to pass on Earth’s story, as it won’t be complete if she doesn’t know as much as she can. There are a lot of things that Emily doesn;t know she needs throughout the story, such as empathy, love, and morality, but she learns these are the traits that will help her realize who she needs to eb.
“I understand the human desire to lash out in kind, to hurt. But I refuse to let this overtake me.” (239)
This is another step in Emily’s journey to become human. She can’t truly come to understand our civilization if she doesn’t experience its downsides, and now she is one step closer to becoming complete. With the acknowledgement of anger, Emily can adjust her perspective of morality to encompass all emotions, and can use this feeling to base decisions off of in the future. Now that she realizes that anger can be a strong motivator, she has to look past it in order to come up with choices that are just and based on logic.
“And you start by saving all your imperfect creators.” (261)
Emily’s journey comes to a point where she realizes that humanity itself admits that it is imperfect. The drive behind creating Emily was to tell humanity’s story in the best light possible, showcasing our experience in a way that will make us look honorable, sympathetic, and worth remembering. This results in a dilemma for Emily, as she struggles to decide whether to present humanity as it is or integrate her own experience, to highlight society in the way that she sees it. She has to decide to present us in a way that shows us creating our own destruction, or in a way that highlights the good she sees in us all.
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