"That was not supposed to happen. It was unthinkable, supposedly. And for ordinary people that was mostly true. But not so at a level where men began to believe that they existed outside the usual rules."

“Rich men have dreams. Poor men die to make them come true.”

“If I had my druthers I’d be twenty-three years old for the rest of my life. Which would last another three thousand years.”

“We are not really a godless bunch. We are just the sort who ignore the gods—probably in the unconscious hope that the gods will not notice us.”

“One’s own yesterday is a ghost that will not be laid. Death is the only exorcism.”

“Exact words were of no consequence. At heart the squabble was as old as humanity itself, fug-headed antiques locking horns with omniscient youth.”

“I have seen it before. Little people have to hate, have to blame someone for their own inadequacies.”