“And as your faith is tested, know this: if you want to build a better world, you must first have the courage to destroy the world that exists.”
Ares gives this message to all the humans who have been working for him as he is about to unleash the global flood on the unsuspecting world. This quote reveals one of the major motivations behind Ares's actions: he believes that out of this tragedy, something great will come. He hopes that the flood will harden the resolve of some people in the world enough to make them impervious to the "assimilation" of the Serpentine Army. His belief that a better world must first come from destruction is proven wrong by the end of the novel, as David, an enemy of Ares, resists the Serpentine Army and destroys it regardless of the flood.
“In our pursuit for the ultimate knowledge, the technologies we created eventually enslaved us, taking the last of our humanity before we even knew it was slipping away.”
This quote is spoken to Ares by the mysterious avatar that holds him captive in the ship. The man explains that he is a remnant of the long-past civilization that became the Serpentine Army. His civilization fractured, and the radical group that formed the Serpentine Army forcibly assimilated the rest of their people. The avatar expresses regret and a desire to stop the Army, but this particular quote reveals how the Serpentine Army was created in the first place: pursuing ultimate knowledge through technology, the technology actually enslaved their civilization by eroding their humanity. This irony is a warning to humans as well, one that is quite applicable in the modern era.
“You must see the darkness to appreciate the light.”
This quote is also spoken by the ancient avatar in his discussion with Ares. The avatar recommends the following course of action: the Serpentine Army will kill anyone brave enough to resist, and the technology on the ship will resurrect them on the ship. Ares should take these people and form a new civilization, one that will endure. In saying these things, the avatar touches upon this vital truth: only when one is exposed to the darkness can he really appreciate the light for what it is; in the words misattributed to Dostoyevsky, "The darker the night, the brighter the stars!"
