in the place where Sizzy herself had found both refuge and work for many years: in Matthew Mulhollan’s Marvelous Circus. Zasper’s petition for retire… - Sheri S. Tepper

"Well, why didn't the silly Bloomians think of that?"
"Religion, I imagine, friend Chance. Religion serves to prevent thought in many cases, and I'd say it had done so here. They started with the presumption that anything as complex as the mill must exist for a good reason. Then they spent all their time inventing a good reason—and some god to be responsible for it—rather than looking for a sensible solution to their problem."

Even our earliest espousers of human rights limit them to life, liberty, and the pursuit of satisfactions. They do not guarantee posterity or immortality.

Eugenie thought of this often. Men had told her many sweet things about herself, but never before that she was important. It was the nicest compliment she had ever received.