19) Think before you make the coward's choice. Old age is not for sissies. - Larry Niven

1a) Never throw shit at an armed man. 1b) Never stand next to someone who is throwing shit at an armed man.

Skill. She must know more anatomy than most professors. A doctorate in Prostitution? There was more to the oldest profession than met the eye. Louis Wu could recognize expertise in any field. This woman had it.

Yes, the bleeding heart was something else again. A gruesome symbol on a vivarium floor. Fingers that broke without their owner noticing. An ink drawing appearing from nowhere on a dossier cover, like a signature. A signature.