Futility is the defining characteristic of life.

Stone and sea are deep in life Two unalterable symbols of the world Permanence at rest And permanence in motion Participants in the power that remains

Any belief that puts itself beyond doubt nurtures its own collapse.

"And you require no answers", Foamfollower was laughing in his gladness, "You are sufficient to every question".

Are you a person—with volition and maybe some stubbornness and at least the capacity if not the actual determination to do something surprising—or are you a tool? A tool just serves its user. It’s only as good as the skill of its user, and it’s not good for anything else. So if you want to accomplish something special—something more than you can do for yourself—you can’t use a tool. You have to use a person and hope the surprises will work in your favor. You have to use something that’s free to not be what you had in mind.

I had no intention of pursuing either the characters or the setting further.

We didn't make the world. All we have to do is live in it.