Better a soulless clone... than a souled roach.

Dreams are shores where the ocean of spirit meets the land of matter. Dreams are beaches where the yet-to-be, the once-were, the will-never-be may walk awhile with the still-are.

Mother used to say escape is never further than the nearest book.

Power, time, gravity, love. The forces that really kick ass are all invisible.

... in a cycle as old as tribalism, ignorance of the Other engenders fear; fear engenders hatred; hatred engenders violence; violence engenders further violence until the only "rights", the only law, are whatever is willed by the most powerful.

Oh, diplomacy ... it mops up war's spillages; legitimizes its outcomes; gives the strong state the means to impose its will on a weaker one, while saving its fleets and battalions for weightier opponents.

She was widely read enough to appreciate my literary wit but not so widely read that she knew my sources. I like that in a woman.