It's just the way things are." she shrugged. "It's no one's fault." "Or everyone's.

She smiled, turning toward Alek. "You don't know what a friend you have in Dylan.

Dude, I just watched you climb up a f*cking building!-Lace

She couldn't disappoint the whole village. There were no wallscreens here, no newsfeeds or satellites bands, and touring soccer teams were no doubt few and far between. (...), that made stories a valuable commodity, and it probably wasn't very often that a stranger dropped in from the sky.

A rat called Possible New Strain was sitting under a spaghetti strainer held down with a pile of journalism textbooks, saying rude things in rat-speak.

But you weren't born expecting that kind of beauty in everyone, all the time. You just got programmed into thinking anything else is ugly.

Perhaps the logical conclusion of everyone looking the same is everyone thinking the same.