I learned that poets aren’t God, but if there is a God...or anything approaching a God...he’s a poet. And a failed one at that. - Dan Simmons

The Great Change is when humankind accepts its role as part of the natural order of the universe instead of its role as a cancer.

Each of them was intimately aware of the procedure for electing a pope—not only of the antiquated mechanisms, of course, but of the politicking, pressuring, deal-making, bluffing, and outright blackmail that had often accompanied the process over the centuries.

The human mind gets used to strangeness very quickly if it does not exhibit interesting behavior.