There is a saying among those of us who have careers with the Council of Humanity that skiers, cooks, painters, and diplomats must work with what is … - John Barnes

He wasn’t as dumb as I thought, I realized—just not interested in the same things I was.

Shan had always said that in any multiple choice about human motivation, the real answer was always "all of the above."

You thought you could treat me the way you did everybody else and beat me up for being smarter than you. Because you’ve always been the big king of the class, haven’t you, Your Majesty? Well, you’re not anymore. You were never anything but the plain old class bully, and now you’re the ex-bully. And the only reason people are bullies is because they’re stupid.