“You will never disappear," I said. "Even if it may feel like you have at some point. We're going to remain a part of each other's lives for much longer than we think. There's nothing we can say or do to change that.”

“‎"Does all the beauty of the world stop when you die?""No," said the Old Oak; "it will last much longer - longer than I can even think of.""Well, then," said the little May-fly, "we have the same time to live; only we reckon differently.”

“I would like [my readers] to better understand human beings and human life as a result of having read [my] stories. I'd like them to feel that this was an experience that made things better for them and an experience that gave them hope. I think that the kind of things that we talk about at this conference -- fantasy very much so, science fiction, and even horror -- the message that we're sending is the reverse of the message sent by what is called "realistic fiction." (I happen to think that realistic fiction is not, in fact, realistic, but that's a side issue.) And what we are saying is that it doesn't have to be like this: things can be different. Our society can be changed. Maybe it's worse, maybe it's better. Maybe it's a higher civilization, maybe it's a barbaric civilization. But it doesn't have to be the way it is now. Things can change. And we're also saying things can change for you in your life. Look at the difference between Severian the apprentice and Severian the Autarch [in The Book of the New Sun], for example. The difference beteween Silk as an augur and Silk as calde [in The Book of the Long Sun]. You see?We don't always have to be this. There can be something else. We can stop doing the thing that we're doing. Moms Mabley had a great line in some movie or other -- she said, "You keep on doing what you been doing and you're gonna keep on gettin' what you been gettin'." And we don't have to keep on doing what we've been doing. We can do something else if we don't like what we're gettin'. I think a lot of the purpose of fiction ought to be to tell people that.”

“We didn’t like each other when you were alive,” I muttered to my father. “You think living in my head is going to change that?”

“How much do you have in common withthis guy?""Not much. Basically we're polar opposites.But do you want to know the main attraction,the weird part? . . . It's the talking.""Talking about what?""About anything," I said earnestly. "Weget started and it's like sex, this back-andforth,and we're both so there, do you knowwhat I mean? We rattle each other. Andsome conversations seem to be happening ona few different levels at once. But even whenwe're disagreeing on something, there's aweird kind of harmony in it. A connection.”

“Halt shook his head. "You warriors don't do much geography in Battleschool, do you?"Horace shrugged. "We're not big on that sort of thing. We wait for our leader to point to an enemy and say, 'Go whack him.' We leave geography and such to Rangers. We like you to feel superior.""Go whack him, indeed," Halt said. "It must be comforting to lead such an uncomplicated life.”