Which perspective is true? he thought. Which do I want to be true? - Tim Powers

You ever notice, Joe," he asked, mechanically picking up the mug, "that it always takes a little more trouble to get something than the thing was really worth?"
Joe considered it. "Better than taking a lot of trouble and getting nothing."
Dundee sipped the coffee. He didn't seem to have heard Joe. "There's so much weariness and fatigue in it all. For every action there is an equal...stupefaction. No, that might be bearable—it's greater than the action.

When the story was finished, Orcrist shook his head wonderingly.
“The Fates must have something planned for you, Frank.”
“I hope it’s something quiet.”

“Under what circumstances do you think you might want to…return to the real world?”
The real world and I never did get along, she thought.
“I can’t imagine,” she said.