It was the hubris of each generation to think this anew, to think that their time was special, that all things would come to an end with them.

There are two competing philosophies in Wool: one is that people have to live under an iron thumb in order to survive, and the other one is that everyone should live completely freely and happily and everything will sort itself out.

We are not the people who made this world, Lukas, but it's up to us to survive it. You need to understand that." "We can't control where we are right now," he mumbled, "just what we do going forward.

It was a sad loss, this illusion of importance, a humbling blow.

Sometimes a thing needed opening before closure was found.

A seed of hope caught a taste of moisture. Some wishful kernel buried deep, where he was loathe to acknowledge it lest it poison or choke him, began to sprout.

Even in the darkness, his smile threw shadows.