Entropia

“The real key isn't about whether what I say is true, but whether you believe it. From start to end, the direction of narrative is not guided by the tongue, but by the ear.”
― Hao Jingfang, Invisible Planets: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation

“Sometimes you just have to keep some distance from yourself and reality, even if it means becoming a little less human.”
― Thomas Ligotti, Songs of a Dead Dreamer

“You are wise,” he said.

“If it is so,” I said, “it is only because I have been fool enough for a hundred lifetimes.”
― Madeline Miller, Circe

“When Emperor Shun died in 144, the government came into the hands of his widowed Empress Liang, now regent Dowager, and her brother Liang Ji. The emperor’s only son died in infancy a few months after his father’s death, and in such circumstances the Dowager had absolute right to choose any male of the imperial clan for the succession. The Dowager and her brother selected the seven-year-old Liu Zuan, but after he showed signs of resenting their control he became ill and died.”
― Rafe de Crespigny, Imperial Warlord: A Biography of Cao Cao 155-220 AD