Mike Pena

“It had come from one of two corgis who were even now slamming their preposterous bodies into each other not far away, trying to roll each other over, which runs contrary to the laws of mechanics even in the case of corgis that are lean and trim, which these were not.

This struggle, which appeared to be only one skirmish in a conflict of epochal standing, had driven all lesser considerations, such as guarding the gate, from the combatants' sphere of attention...”
― Neal Stephenson, The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer

“Iedolas : A curious old law I still permit in the outlands. A thief who escapes his captor can no longer be held to account for his crime.

Regis : A warning to the victim? Never show weakness, lest you forgo the hand of justice.

Iedolas : Oh no, good king. Far from it. It is a warning to the hand of justice itself: Never to loose its grip.”
― Takeshi Nozue

“There will always be motive for crime, if we ever get to a point where people attacking each other in the streets is commonplace, at that point society has failed.”
― C. Auguste Dupin

“The windows on the Dovetail side of the gatehouse were larger, and she could see the two corgi dogs outside, peering in through the lead latticework, flabbergasted that they had, through some enormous lacuna in procedure, been left on the outside, wagging their tails somewhat uncertainly, as if, in a world that allowed such mistakes, nothing could be counted on.”
― Neal Stephenson, The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer