[ WP ] `` Before we allow humankind to live among us in the stars , tell us the faults of your kind . ''

`` Our faults are...'' 
 
 I pondered the question. Yes, we were a warlike race, but was that what defined us? No, I definitely believed people strive for peace at heart. Was it our curiosity? Yes, we had been burned by unlocking the secrets of the atom, but even so I could n't bring myself to call it a'fault'. Was it our murderers, our thieves, our jealousy? I sincerely hope he did n't expect me to reply immediately, this could take a while. Then I realized, that was the answer. 
 
 `` Sir, I'm sure our race has many faults, but I can only tell you of one. And that's the fact that I ca n't answer this question. In fact, if you wanted to answer it with any degree of satisfaction, you'd have to spend years asking as many people as possible. Because, for all our advancements, we have yet to truly understand anyone but ourselves enough to agree with each other. You ask 9 humans how to get from here to Alpha Centuari, and 4 will tell you one thing, 4 will tell you another, and one will ask why you're going there anyways. And that's a trip in a straight line! You can make an agreement with an entire nation, and you'll still find other humans trying to stab you in the back. Or stab them in the back. Or backstab the backstabbers.'' 
 
 `` The point is, Sir, humanity has yet to find a government that we ca n't mess up somehow. The human race has never managed to band together under one flag, or one cause, and I doubt it ever will. Never assume one man will act like the next you come across. But at the same time, treasure and value the good men you do find. Those humans you find loyal, friendly, and worthy? Keep them close, and you'll go far in dealing with us, for better or worse.''
