He felt the almost sexual thrill of being the one in the room with all the power. - Ellen Kushner

Tell me about the city, then." The master shrugged. "It's crowded. It smells. There are lots of things to buy.

In a city where most of the wealth is controlled by a small few, certain things are overlooked, particularly when it comes to the assertion of privilege.

"You founded the place. Why don't you want to go?"
"I don't like children," the duke replied.
"Then why put out all that money to preserve them?"
"Because it is wrong to let them die."