“When I was very little, my dad would tell me stories about "Billy the Lucky Pup." Billy's doggie buddies were constantly getting in jams, careening toward the brink of something, and Billy would always, always come charging over the hill. With no more than a "ruff, ruff," he would signal that the cavalry had arrived - that Billy was on the case, and disaster had once again been avoided. In those months of relentless havoc, I'd arrive at an odd moment of consideration, and I would think, Where the fuck is that dog, anyway?”

“-Are you ready to return to the outside world, Billy?-No, definitely not, sir.-Well, you can't stay here forever now, can you?-Why not? I'm not bothering anybody, sir.-Because it's not healthy. You're a very special young man, Billy. It's time you found that out on your own, out there. The world may not be as terrible as you think.-I would like to stay here one more month, if I may, sir.-One more month? Why?-Summer will be over, sir. I can't go out there if it's going to be summertime.-And why not?-I wouldn't want to see any young girls playing. I would not want to see any flowers outside.-Why?-Because everything happy right now is going to die.-But Billy...-I would not like to be reminded of anything pretty.-But Billy, of course, anything might...-I would not like to be reminded.-OK, OK. We will se what we can do, Billy.”

“BILLY: Did you ever watch Star Trek?MACHIAVELLI: Do I look like I watch Star Trek?BILLY: It's hard to tell who's a Trekkie.MACHIAVELLI: Billy, I ran one of the most sophisticated secret service organizations in the world. I did not have time for Star Trek. (pause) I was more of a Star Wars fan. Why do you ask?BILLY: Well, when Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock beamed down to a planet, usually with Dr. McCoy and sometimes with Scotty from engineering...MACHIAVELLI: Wait a minute--what's Mr. Spock again?BILLY: A Vulcan.MACHIAVELLI: His rank.BILLY: The first officer.MACHIAVELLI: So the captain, the first officer, the ship's doctor, and sometimes the engineer all beam down to a planet. Together. The entire complement of the senior officers?BILLY: (nods)MACHIAVELLI: And who has command of the ship?BILLY: (shrug) I don't know. Junior officers, I guess.MACHIAVELLI: If they worked for me I'd have them court-martialed. That sounds like a gross dereliction of duty.BILLY: I know. I always thought it was a little odd myself.”

“Never before had I recognized the ring of majesty that was in Billy Black's voice, though I realized now that this authority had always been there.”

“I need something dramatic.I thought we would start with something theatrical, something that will make an impact on the city,something to focus their attention."Nereus considered for a moment and then he smiled, revealing his hideous teeth. "I do have the Lotan."Machiavelli and Billy looked at him blankly. "The Lotan," Nereus said. The two immortals shook their heads. "I have no idea what that is," Machiavelli admitted."Doesn't sound scary to me," Billy said."It's a seven-headed sea dragon."Machiavelli nodded. "That might work.""It'll certainly get their attention," Billy muttered.”

“It would sound like a dream,” said Billy. “Other people’s dreams aren’t very interesting usually.”