“Can you really change anything, Joel?”

“People are sometimes really different from what you first think. You have to give them a chance.”

“In Ixion music and party are our only beliefs. Darkness is our comfort. We have few rules but they are absolute. Your endocrine systems have been altered by changes to your hypothalamus. You no longer need to sleep or see sunlight.”

“Pain can be dismissed.”

“Will you wait for me on the platform then?’Suki looked at Rollo and cast her eyes upward. ‘I suppose so.’Retra smiled at her. ‘Don’t you mean, “I guess so”?”

“Ixion’s not a place for friends. They die or they leave. On Ixion you need allies.”

“Ixion exists as an antidote to the rules and conventions of other places. We believe that indulging in pleasure will make better people. Self-denial and discipline and virtue are all myths invented to control you.”