"But the speculation was pointless. The past was forever in the past."

“Only a fool wasted energy on things he could not control.”

“He’d expected torture. He hadn’t expected surgery.”

“Huygens, there are times when I take comfort in my sinful nature, for it means I’ll meet you in hell. I’ll be the one stomping on your jewels with singular dedication.”

“Sometimes the contortions required to spit on Occam’s razor were just as disturbing as the insights one yearned to avoid.”

“The grotesque machine reassembled its head. The medical servitor stood, emitted a burst of ticktock cog chatter, then flung itself into the massacre with the fervor of a religious zealot.”

“First, the fact he awoke at all. Cogito, ergo how the hell aren’t I dead?”