"It was not fear that kept them from misusing what they had. It was self-respect."

“The intensity of Melissa’s loyalty troubled Snake. She had never known anyone who was so completely oblivious to self-interest. Perhaps Melissa could not yet think of herself as someone with a right to her own dreams; perhaps so many of her dreams had been taken from her that she no longer dared to have them.”

“We spend most of our time carrying trivial cargoes for trivial reasons to trivial people.”

“Jason was an optimist, and Kylis was experienced.”

“He moved inside the temple to perform his duties. They were few, and empty tradition. The god had departed, long before its last, ridiculed worshippers, as gods always do. The keeper knew that, and allowed himself no illusions about his status.”

“He seemed to be so used to having his own way that he could not deal with bad fortune.”

“If you want to. That’s the important thing. For you to do what you want to do. Not what you think anyone else wants or expects you to do.”