“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

She wondered if she could put a dart in his eye. It would not kill him, but it might take the edge off his cockiness.

The universe always feels old, though. That’s a universal truth, a universal fact of life. It felt old for her, already cobwebbed by history. Hard for us to grasp, I know. Human civilisation, it’s just the last scratch on the last scratch on the last scratch, on the last layer of everything. We’re noise. Dirt. We haven’t begun to leave a trace.

There's a catch," Skellsgard said. "Another one? But of course there is. You know, I'm thinking I should start a collection.