Entropia

“You keep asking why your work is not enough, and I don’t know how to answer that, because it is enough to exist in the world and marvel at it. You don’t need to justify that, or earn it. You are allowed to just live.”
― Becky Chambers, A Psalm for the Wild-Built

“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

“I thought: I cannot bear this world a moment longer. Then, child, make another.”
― Madeline Miller, Circe

“You need money so you don’t have to think about money.”
― Arkady Strugatsky, Roadside Picnic