“It was not a great presence but a great absence, a geometric ocean of darkness that seemed to swallow heaven itself.”

“In the presence of greatness, pettiness disappears. In the absence of a great dream, pettiness prevails.”

“Fear swallowed her, deep and dark as the ocean and she sank into it.”

“These were everyday sounds magnified by darkness. And darkness was nothing - it was not a substance, it was not a presence, it was no more than an absence of light.”

“Geometry exist everywhere.It is necessary, however, to have eyes to see it, intelligence to understand it , and spirit to wonder at it.The wild Bedouin sees geometric forms but doesn't understand them ; the Sunni understands them but does not admire them; the artist, finally, perceives the perfection of figures, understands beauty, and admires order and harmony.God was the Great Geometer.He geometrized heaven and earth.”

“Rhage exhaled slowly, air easing out of his nose. As he sank into his skin, he reveled in the perfection of peace. The heavenly silence. The great roaring absence.”