Come in, Bean. Come in Julian Delphiki, longed-for child of good and loving parents. Come in, kidnapped child, hostage of fate. Come and talk to the Fates, who are playing such clever little games with your life.

Happiness is not a life without pain, but rather a life in which the pain is traded for a worthy price.

Grief,she reminded herself, is almost always for the mourner's loss.

Welcome to the human race. Nobody controls his own life, Ender.

Laws against homosexual behavior should remain on the books.

Miro, I'm so sorry. I always felt such pity for you humans because you could only think of one thing at a time and your memories were so imperfect and . . . now I realize that just getting through the day without killing somebody can be an achievement." It gets to be a habit. Most of us manage to keep our body count quite low. It's the neighborly way to live.

Metaphors have a way of holding the most truth in the least space.