Pham was overwhelmed by the other things that Gunnar Larson had to say, the advice that might be worthless but that had the stench of wisdom. - Vernor Vinge

Wil wondered fleetingly if she might be psychopathic, and not merely young and naive.

He claimed that nearby gun thunder cleared the mind—but most everybody else agreed it made you daft.

Even as my conscious mind concluded that we were under fire, I threw myself on the ground and flatten into the lowest profile possible. You’ve heard the bromide about combat making life more real. I don’t know about that, but it’s certainly true that when you are flat against the ground with your face in the dirt, the whole universe looks different.