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1 " Minerals! The invaders had virtually wiped out our entire race for minerals. But then, who were we to complain, when for centuries elements of mankind had wiped out other races and peoples over oil, land and space, and differing beliefs about the hereafter? It was chilling to think we had anything in common with an alien race implementing genocide, but perhaps they were doing on a galactic scale what we had — at least so far — confined to our own species. In another hundred years, perhaps two-hundred, would we have been exporting our own prejudices across the cosmos? We would never know, now that humanity had been all but erased. "
― Bobby Underwood , Saturday's Children
2 " The city itself was dead. Some buildings had chunks missing. Bricks and concrete were scattered along sidewalks, debris mingling with bodies. Once this had been a thriving metropolis with a heartbeat all its own. Now it was a corpse, with no morgue big enough to house it. Nothing can ever prepare you for the eeriness of a great city emptied of humanity. In that small room in each of our souls where loneliness makes its home, our fear that we will end up alone and unloved is amplified a million times. "
3 " Despite the devastation and death around us, and the uncertain future which lie ahead, I could not remember ever being as happy as the moment I officially became Sarah’s Dad. "
4 " We lived —or rather had lived —in a society which had come to view the father as almost superfluous. But people of common sense knew better. For a boy growing up, it was someone who could show him how a man acts and conducts himself. But for a young girl, it was that, and her first exposure to how she should be treated and viewed by the opposite sex. Because of him, when someone treated her differently, she would know in her heart that it wasn’t right. With her father to lean against, she could find the courage to walk away; even after a mistake borne from growing pains. She could do so because her father loved her and had given her self-esteem. She knew he would always be there for her, his love unconditional. "
5 " But they weren’t just bodies, they were people. People who’d awoken this Saturday morning with hopes and dreams; dreams of getting promoted and moving upstate to the country; hopes of having children and watching them come into their own; dreams of one day taking that vacation to Hawaii as Karen and I were always saving for, but never quite saving enough; hope that the new boy in school would ask you to the junior prom; dreams of getting into the panties of that hot little brunette at the video store who always seemed to be bending over in front of you for no reason; hope that life would go on forever, so you could laugh and love, and make mistakes and overcome them; and dreams that at the end, there would be people who would miss you, and one who could not bear life without you, because to him or her you had been everything. — (Saturday's Children) "
6 " but what the mind understands and what the heart believes are not always in sync. "
7 " We lived —or rather had lived —in a society which had come to view the father as almost superfluous. But people of common sense knew better. "
8 " Don’t come out from under unless you hear my voice. Understand?”Karen’s eyes were full of tears but she nodded and slid beneath the Gremlin. I’d purchased it from some guy who’d been using it as a dune buggy, so the tires were oversized. She’d never have made it under the car if they hadn’t been.I ran in the opposite direction, waving my arms to catch the attention of the alien piloting the saucer. It worked all too well. I ran faster than I’d ever run. Bodies were scattered throughout the park, some of them with arms and legs cut off by the beam. I turned back to check on the saucer’s location, because the machines were deadly silent. When I did I tripped over something and went sprawling. Scrambling to my feet, I saw that it was a young girl, perhaps eleven or twelve. Long brown hair, and a pretty face. She’d been cut in half by the beam. Her legs and hips, and the singed waist of her pretty Easter dress, lay about five yards behind her upper torso. I was about to run when big, beautiful but terrified eyes suddenly opened and shocked me. She looked up at me.“Help me,” she begged softly.Fear of remaining with her to die was overwhelming, but I discovered my humanity was stronger. I took her hand in mine and squeezed it. Somehow I managed a smile, watching in apprehension as the saucer circled for another pass.“It’s going to be okay, sweetheart,” I lied. “My name’s Tom, and I’m right here. I won’t leave you.”I felt a slight pressure against my grip. “Ginny,” she whispered. Then her grip loosened, and her eyes closed forever.The saucer was too close. I’d never escape it. I resigned myself to dying, proud that at least when I’d been tested, I’d chosen compassion over fear. As it swooped toward me, my last thoughts were of Karen. I took a deep breath and stood; I wanted to meet death with eyes wide open, in one last act of human defiance. — (Saturday's Children) "