“Pride makes us long for a solution to things – a solution, a purpose, a final cause; but the better telescopes become, the more stars appear.”

“The chief cause of problems is solutions.”

“No matter how clear things might become in the forest of story, there was never a clear-cut solution, as there was in math. The role of a story was, in the broadest terms, to transpose a problem into another form. Depending on the nature and the direction of the problem, a solution might be suggested in the narrative. Tengo would return to the real world with that solution in hand. It was like a piece of paper bearing the indecipherable text of a magic spell. It served no immediate practical purpose, but it contained a possibility.”

“Every problem has a solution. You may not see it in front of you, but, sooner or later, a solution will appear before your eyes.”

“And now, what will become of us without the barbarians? Those people were a kind of solution.”

“To alcohol! The cause of... and solution to... all of life's problems”