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21 " That’s the problem with grand social ideas in general, they break if you put too much weight on them. "
― Charlie Jane Anders , The City in the Middle of the Night
22 " Mouth would never forgive the Gelet for what they had done, but she could understand it. You might mistake understanding for forgiveness, but if you did, then the unforgiven wrong would catch you off guard, like a cramp, just as you reached for generosity. "
23 " Sleep when you’re sleepy, play when you want,” Mouth said, without even thinking. George leapt to his feet and looked around, like they were all about to be arrested. “Where did you hear that? "
24 " Listen to yourself, hear your own footsteps, your breaths, your heartbeats, oh, how many rhythms you make as you come and go! you are an orchestra. I remember my mother saying that to me: “You are an orchestra. "
25 " The Sea of Murder vanished behind them, and then they had nothing but the road. "
26 " If you only give a little bit - of the truth, of your time, of money - then you're being sincere. Give too much, and you're probably just careless, and it means nothing. "
27 " Mouth barely had enough energy to be insulted. "
28 " frightened people always crave stability. "
29 " Well, damn,” Barney said. “You’ve been trying to have a spiritual crisis ever since you came to town. I’m glad you finally succeeded. "
30 " If you starve your eye enough, it will invent things. "
31 " they’re fond of the concept of ‘miser generosity,’ which is like you’re being generous by being stingy. They write songs about it. If you only give a little bit—of the truth, of your time, of money—then you’re being sincere. Give too much, and you’re probably just careless, and it means nothing. "
32 " Back in grammar school, they taught us all about crocodiles, and what to do if you ever meet one. "
33 " The other members of the Resourceful Couriers were city people who traveled for a living. Mouth was a born traveler, who tolerated cities for brief periods. In a city, you could only walk in circles. Trouble knew where to find you. People lived with more things than they could carry, and they pretended that built structures were geographical features. Mouth couldn’t travel alone, and the Resourceful Couriers were the closest you could find to a gang of nomads in this age, but the long drags between trips were torture. Especially in Xiosphant, where the residents were obsessed with making sure you slept at the right time, and they didn’t even know how to make decent coffee. "
34 " A naked man fell out of a window in front of them, blood already spurting from a wound in his shoulder before he even hit the pavement. “Fuck,” he said, and died. "
35 " every economy runs on bullets, one way or another. "
36 " everyone can pretend to be a pacifist, just so long as there’s enough money to go all the way around. "
37 " At last Mouth said, “Part of how they make you obey is by making obedience seem peaceful, while resistance is violent. But really, either choice is about violence, one way or another. "
38 " Every community has a need that is cannot meet in itself. The more they say they do not need us, the harder we must try to become what they need most. "
39 " Bianca makes me feel as though she and I just stepped off the first shuttle from the Mothership, and this world is brand new for us to make into whatever we want. "
40 " The only thing that makes life tolerable is that people forget all the stupid things I say as soon as I’ve finished saying them. "