Laura Gerst

“Their parents had been progressive by nature.  They had taken their daughters with them to the Far East on a business trip with the intention of letting the girls see other cultures.  The trip had ended in disaster.  Their parents had been killed by local thieves, somewhere in the suburbs of Shanghai.  The girls had been taken and sold to the Yakuza.  Because their bodies had not been found, and they were not seen after the death of their parents, it was assumed the girls were dead and buried.  That women were still not as important in the culture of their home country had sped the closure of their case. Edith Cromwell spent a lot of sleepless nights that first week wondering about the psyches of the males she worked with each day.  Were they capable of the sort of crimes against women that these poor girls had endured?  The suspicions, the fears that this line of thought provoked could end in alcoholism, drug abuse, even suicide.  Edith decided that she had best just leave it well enough alone.  If not, she would never be able to work with any man ever again.”
― Mervin Miller, Nelf Rings

“You know, they say life is like being at sea in a very small boat. The wind and the waves will push you all over. Up and down, left and right. Sometimes it gets so bad all you see are giant watery hands falling on top of you, trying to flip you over and drag you to the bottom. Then before you know it, you’re cresting the wave, high above it all, and for a moment you can breathe again. I guess it’s mostly true. Peaks and valleys, you know.” Sven’s head tilted slightly.”
― James D. Prescott, Extinction Code

“Parkins was an engineer.  Here was a problem.  But within the problem was a second problem: his experiences and education placed constraints on his imagination.”
― Mervin Miller, Nelf Rings