Nenad

“Faithful people suffer and evil people prosper all the time [...]. Besides, if our actions are driven only by reward or punishment--eternal or otherwise--then they are motivated by greed and selfishness, not faith or love. That is where so many people go wrong, even those who say they believe [...]. They obey because the think it will make their *lives* better, rather than *themselves*. And that is very much the wrong reason.”
― James Islington, The Light of All That Falls

“Evil seldom takes shape immediately. It is often little more than a whisper at first. A glance. A betrayal. But then it grows and takes root, still invisible, unnoticed. Only fairy tales give evil a proper shape. The big bad wolves, the evil kings, the demons, and devils . . .”
― Guillermo del Toro, Pan's Labyrinth: The Labyrinth of the Faun

“My attendants. There are a dozen or so of them. Do not worry—they will eat at the other end of the table for the sake of our privacy.” Caeden looked at him curiously. “You eat with your servants?” “Am I any more a man than they?” Gassandrid frowned at him. “Are they not my people, my friends? Why should I not dine with them?”
― James Islington, An Echo of Things to Come

“Why go to the stars? Because we are the descendants of those primates who chose to look over the next hill. Because we won’t survive here indefinitely. Because the stars are there, beckoning with fresh horizons. —JAMES AND GREGORY BENFORD”
― Michio Kaku, The Future of Humanity: Terraforming Mars, Interstellar Travel, Immortality, and Our Destiny Beyond