6
" And I went from sleeper to sleeper, examining their faces as I had so many years ago in the tunnel, always looking for His Cognizance and always hoping—although I knew how absurd it was—that I would find Silk, that Silk had left Hyacinth and would be going with us after all, that Silk had rejoined us when I was inattentive, talking to Scleroderma and Shrike, and lagging behind the slowest walkers to talk to His Cognizance, whom I sought without finding on that nightmare night under the cloud-capped trees that outreach all our towers, so that at last I called out softly “Silk? Silk?” as I walked among the sleepers until Oreb grasped my hand with fingers that were in fact feathers, repeating, “Here Silk. Good Silk,” and I took my own advice and found the numbing fruit, cut one in two with the gold-chased black blade of the sword that I had imagined for myself and pressed a half against the sting on my arm, weeping. * "
― Gene Wolfe , In Green's Jungles (The Book of the Short Sun, #2)
7
" In my dream, the floating corpses motioned to me and spoke, saying the things they had said in life, urging me to buy nails or boots, cheap clothing, and meat pies, blessing me in the names of various gods, and wishing me a good morning, a good afternoon; and it became clear to me that the dead cannot know that they are dead, that if they know it they cannot be dead. Thus all those dead men and women behaved in death as they had in life. It seemed certain that I was dead as well—that it was only because I too was dead and did not know it that I could hear the dead as I did, that I could see them move and speak. "
― Gene Wolfe , In Green's Jungles (The Book of the Short Sun, #2)
8
" Do you know the definition of peace, my friend?” “Not the one you are about to quote, I’m sure.” Beyond the Duko, I saw Oreb flash past the windows—and heard him, too: “Here Silk! Silk here!” “Peace, as you intend peace, is but the slice of cheese in a sandwich, a period of cheating between two periods of fighting. Your peace would endure only until Blanko felt strong enough to throw us off, probably when we were deeply committed elsewhere. No, my friend, Pas would agree to no such peace, and neither will I. Would your Blanko consent to surrender all its weapons, every big gun, every slug gun, every needler, every sword and every knife?” I said that I did not know, but that I felt sure the Corpo would at least consider such a demand. “Then I make it. I make it because after you have complied with it, I can do whatever I wish. "
― Gene Wolfe , In Green's Jungles (The Book of the Short Sun, #2)
