Kate Coyle Quotes

(“For God saw that Americans were industrious and made money in His name, and he saw that it was good”). It’s one of the many parts of the Book of Frick that makes you wonder whether or not Frick was just straight-up on ’shrooms when he was writing it.

It’s funny now to think that we were ever confused by extreme action taken in the name of God.

Everyone seems absurdly rich and very drunk. I notice with annoyance that there’s no adherence to modesty here: I see short skirts and plenty of cleavage, bare necks adorned by jewels. I guess if you have enough money, the Church will overlook a selection of your sins.

I’ve always believed Frick to be detached from reality, but I thought he was just a megalomaniac, a manipulator, a con artist. Now I begin to slowly understand. He’s far more dangerous than any of those things. He’s a true Believer.

We could conceivably slow this destruction down, but it would require huge overarching changes in the structure of our society—the kind of change we will never achieve so long as we remain distracted by imaginary acts of God.

How many simple pleasures I denied myself, because I thought that’s what goodness was. How stupid that it took me until the end of the world to realize it was something else entirely.

Behind him shines the blinking neon of a casino:

If there are any doctors in the house, could we get Mr. Masterson some medical attention? It would be a shame if he were to pass away before he’s prosecuted for his crimes.

In addition to founding the Church itself, Frick was the CEO of its accompanying multimillion-dollar corporation. They publish the magazines and run the Church television networks, and they produce end-of-the-world provisions like these—bottles of Holy Spring Water, a bland SpaghettiOs knockoff called Christ Loops.

It’s not enough for the Believers to feel abandoned—they need to know they’ve been lied to. Otherwise someone down the line will try again.

I wonder if this is what bravery is: adrenaline plus love plus absolute stupidity.

That's part of the prophecy of the Rapture, right? The dead will rise and crash our parties?"
He laughs. "Do you really think that's a priority, for the reanimated corpses?"
"Absolutely," I say. "No French onion dip in purgatory.

But it was probably nothing."
"Nothing is nothing anymore, Viv.

I mean, these people really believe what they believe."
"But what they believe is so absurd.

Harp gives me a look.
“What?”
“You are terrible at lying, Viv. Embarrassingly bad. Have I taught you nothing?”