"What power you must all have, to be able to face such uncertainty."
And that means this small town faces a big problem: uncertainty about the future.
Europe has had to face terrorism, social uncertainty and natural disasters.
Throughout his highly structured life he had never faced so much uncertainty as in the past several months.
The country now faces political uncertainty as it attempts to sustain a democratic system.
And in no recent conflict have so many soldiers faced such uncertainty about how long they will be deployed.
"That was the last time states faced so much uncertainty with regard to their economies."
Now the Western model has become the problem, and as the system struggles to survive we all face terrible uncertainty.
And if the project required extensive energy inputs it would now face uncertainty.
In addition to the engineering challenges, pioneers face uncertainty about their legal rights.