“Can I still wish you good luck?” “You can wish me what the hell you like. It won’t make any difference. If it did, it would mean I hadn’t prepared w… - Alastair Reynolds

I know what you're feeling," Meroka said. "You're thinking, this was my little adventure, it was all revolving around me. And now it's not. You're just a detail, swept up in the stuff she's making happen. Welcome to the way most of us spend our lives feeling, Cutter. We're just turds swirling our way down the pipe.

“Maybe it’s not as bad as she fears. Old people always think the world is going to ruin. It’s their job.”
“Maybe they’re right,” Floyd replied.

I was going to call it a mistake, but you could argue that there are no mistakes in war, only fortunate and less fortunate events.