Failure was here before you and she’ll be here after you and she won’t — Catherynne M. Valente

"Life is beautiful and life is stupid. This is, in fact, widely regarded as a universal rule not less inviolable than the Second Law of Thermodynamics, the Uncertainty Principle, and No Post on Sundays."

"I don’t know why you would even bring up the Internet. The xeno-intelligence officer responsible for evaluating your digital communication required invasive emergency therapy after an hour’s exposure. One glance at that thing is the strongest argument possible against the sentience of humanity. I wouldn’t draw attention to it, if I were you."

"Though any species on any dumb gobworld may develop sentience (the poor bastards), no government ever does."

"The universe is a very large and very complicated demonstration of having one’s cake and eating it too. It sees no reason not to have it all."

"People are mostly happiest when they think they’re just about to get the thing they want most. Before and after, they’re all monsters."

"Are you kind enough, on your little planet, not to shut that rhythm down? Not to crush underfoot the singers of songs and tellers of tales and wearers of silk? Because it’s monsters who do that. Who extinguish art. Who burn books. Who ban music. Who yell at anyone with ears to turn off that racket. Who cannot see outside themselves clearly enough to sing their truth to the heavens. Do you have enough goodness in your world to let the music play? Do you have soul?"