“Too many dots," Miller said. "Not enough lines.”

“There's a right thing to do," Holden said."You don't have a right thing, friend," Miller said. "You've got a whole plateful of maybe a little less wrong.”

“The abyss above him shone with unflickering stars. One of the dots of light was Earth. He didn’t know which one.”

“He’d seen unequivocally that the chaos he’d dedicated his life to holding at bay was stronger and wider and more powerful than he would ever be. No compromise he could make would be enough. His death-self was unfolding in him, and the dark blooming took no effort. It was a relief, a relaxation, a long, slow exhale after decades of holding it in.He was in ruins, but it was okay, because he was dying.”

“Holden had once dated a Buddhist who said that death was merely a different state of being, and people only feared the unknown that lay behind that transition. Death without warning was preferable, as it removed all fear.He felt he now had the counterargument.”

“I know it's none of my business, but I really wouldn't let her put you off. So you don't understand sex and love and women. Just means you were born with a cock. And this girl? Naomi? She seems like she's worth putting a little effort into it. You know?""Yeah," Holden said. Then: "Can we never talk about that again?""Sure.”

“GOODY. MY SPLEEN IS COLLAPSING. HURRY UP.”