He'd been fighting in the cause of civilization, and his stomach reminded him that he deserved some of its fruits. - S. M. Stirling

....another vision, where water still curled on the sandy beach beneath a clear blue sky where birds flew, but their patterns were mathematics precise beyond his comprehension. A man walked between buildings that were perfect, and empty. He turned to look at Rudi for an instant and where his eyes should have been were silvery tendrils that waved and sought.

When men hunted each other to eat, there could be no trust, and trust was what let even the wildest men work together.

They rode armed for war, curved swords at their side and the thick horn-and-sinew bows of mounted archers in cases at their knees.