“(…)testimony for the posterity we can still occasionally convince ourselves may follow us,”
In the first chapter, Theo talks about the state of the world and how everyone prepares for the death of the human species. No one seems to have hoped that the human species would survive yet Theo mentions how every country in the world made sure to secure their historical documents and put them into a safe space. The reason why they did that was because they hoped that one day, those documents will be discovered by some intelligent creature and that the human kind will not be forgotten. This shows that no matter how grim the situation is, we as humans like to remain positive, thinking that things will turn out ok in the end.
"If from infancy you treat children as gods they are liable in adulthood to act as devils.’’
Theo talks extensively about generation Omega and how the way the rest of the population treated them affected the way they developed. The Omegas were treated as Gods, many believing that the Omegas will solve the problem regarding the fertility of the population. As a result, the Omegas grew up to believe that the general rules did not apply to them and thus they behaved accordingly. Theo points out that the Omegas became cruel and proud, unwilling to listen to anyone and unwilling to accept being controlled by those around them.
"[Helena] thought I cared less, and she was right.’’
Theo accidentally killed his only daughter when she was 15 months old and looking back, he admits that he does not feel any type of remorse for his action. Theo’s wife was, in comparison with Theo, extremely attached to the young girl and when she saw just how little her husband cared, she distanced herself from him. Theo claims that he could not make himself feel close to the child since he saw her as a nuisance and analyzing his attitude is crucial especially when taking into consideration how the rest of the world was obsessed with the idea of having children.
