Mary

“if everything's already fucked, the least we can do is take down as many scumbags as possible on our way into oblivion.”
― Chuck Tingle, Lucky Day

“First you scare them, then you offer them your false hope. It’s disgusting. But it works. And now the politicians, familiar with the power of fear, have bought your potion wholesale.”
― Louise Penny, The Madness of Crowds

“I can’t tell you any more than that, because I wasn’t told any more than that,” Gable replied. “If I knew more, I would tell you. Probably not on the phone. It’s not secure.” “I’ll be sure not to tell you about the Diana astronaut chat group.” “Tell me it’s on an encrypted messaging app.” LeMae said nothing.”
― John Scalzi, When the Moon Hits Your Eye

“The most important thing in the universe, it turns out, is a complex of subjective and individual approximations. Of tries and fails. Of ideals, and things we do to try to get close to those ideals. It's who we are when nobody is looking.”
― Elizabeth Bear, Machine