Don't believe everything you hear about hell. Next time you run into some anti-hell propaganda, consider the source." "You inflict eternal punishment… - James Morrow

Your disciples will expect something even grander from you. They'll want you to become a deity." She snickered and said, "I'm not ruling out that possibility."
"What sort of deity? A hamadryad? Plato's demiurge? The Creator God of Judeo-Christian revelation?"
"That job's already taken," she said.
"But you could do it better," I said.
"When it comes to the physics, no, but in other areas—you're right.

What I love about fiction is the way this form of expression allows an author to wrestle an idea to the ground, as opposed to the bumper-sticker dialectics that pass for political and philosophical discourse in most sectors of our culture. In the age of mass communication, we need the quiet, contemplative and often ambiguous medium of the novel more than ever.

It must have been hard converting your elders in the Pentagon to this view."
"Ever try stuffing a melted marshmallow up a wildcat's ass? It can be done, but you have to like your job.