"You see, I’ve tried philosophy, but philosophy feels far too cautious, too bound by human logic. And then there’s religion—God, angels, sin—but none of that has ever appealed to me. Fiction masquerading as cosmology is what it feels like to me, and all too self-important, too self-serious."

“I felt like a person again, instead of a walking bundle of bad decisions.”

“Something in Karen’s tone triggered my inner contrarian, and I found myself disagreeing with her before I could quite say why.”

“The thing about crackpots is that they don’t respond well to rigorous questioning of their pet ideas.”

“Star-Guard, that’s a restatement, not an explanation.”

“Trust was essential to a well-functioning unit, and lying was antithetical to trust.”

“Despite its vapidity, though, Carey’s argument has gained traction in certain circles, not because of its scholarly rigor or even its plausibility, but because like all conspiracy theories, it is as intriguing as it is improbable.”