Peace. That's what salaam means. Peace unto you." The words brought forth an echo from Ender's memory. His mother's voice reading to him softly, when he was very young. ... The kiss, the word, the peace were with him still. I am only what I remember, and Alai is my friend in a memory so intense that they can't tear him out. Like Valentine, the strongest memory of all.

The worst thing about the fantasies of the mentally ill is that they're so damned consistent. They never let up. They never give you any rest.

"We've devoted our lives to learning about them!" Miro said. Ender stopped. "Not from them."

I will love you forever, he thought. I am lying, he thought, and this time he was right

Everybody dies. What matters is what you do between now and when it happens to you.

Withholding a decision is a decision.

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