Karim Soliman

“Carl had met Renee at a party given by a colleague of his. He had been taken with her face. Hers was a remarkably plain face, and it appeared quite somber most of the time, but during the party he saw her smile twice and frown once; at those moments, her entire countenance assumed the expression as if it had never known another. Carl had been caught by surprise: he could recognize a face that smiled regularly, or a face that frowned regularly, even if it were unlined. He was curious as to how her face had developed such a close familiarity with so many expressions, and yet normally revealed nothing. It took a long time for him to understand Renee, to read her expressions. But it had definitely been worthwhile. Now”
― Ted Chiang, Stories of Your Life and Others

“My message to you is this: pretend that you have free will. It's essential that you behave as if your decisions matter, even though you know they don't. The reality isn't important: what's important is your belief, and believing the lie is the only way to avoid a waking coma. Civilization now depends on self-deception. Perhaps it always has.”
― Ted Chiang, Exhalation

“-ألا تخاف الوحدة؟
-أظن أنني لا أخافها, ربما أحبها أيضًا. يوترني وجود أحد جواري طوال الوقت, ربما أحب الناس والشارع والمقاهي والمطاعم, لكني لا أجد راحة في أن أعود للمنزل لأجد أحدًا بانتظاري, أو أظل في المنزل منتظرَا أحدًا قد يأتي وقد لا يأتي”
― Ahmed Salama, محطة الرمل

“And I’ve just got to let myself feel the pain, because if I don’t, if I keep numbing it, it’ll never really go away.”
― Paula Hawkins, The Girl on the Train