Human bureaucracies, and most alien ones, are slow by design, their response times slowed to a crawl despite all the technologies we employ to make t… - Adam-Troy Castro

It was nobody’s idea of luxurious travel, but then I’d known luxurious travel once or twice in my life and found that it just got me to places at the same speed while forcing me to interact with the kind of people who could afford such passage.

The question is, just how do we tackle this problem? Do we merely modulate your Ego so it's less irritating? Admittedly, that might make you easier to take – but it won't address the real core of the problem, which is that when all is said and done you really don't have a lot to be egotistical about."
"That can't be true! My Haiku alone –"
"First rule of human social interaction, Mr. Porter: If you have to lead with Haiku, you've already lost.

Talent’s cheap…historically, one of the cheapest things you can buy. And considering the sheer amount of angst you carry around on your back, you need it. After all, angst from a Talented person is fascinating; angst from a Common Everyday Nobody is just an annoyance.