“Can you hold off on the whole war thing until after I'm dead?”

“I'm missing something, aren't I?" "Brains", he snapped. "And survival instinct. The Hawklord's been waiting for you for three hours.""Tell him I'm dead.”

“I'm sworn to uphold his laws. Saying that you killed someone because they annoyed you isn't codified as acceptable, by those laws, anywhere I'm aware of.""You are clearly not looking carefully enough.”

“i'm never going to understand the Barrani.""You needn't sound so morose, Lord Kaylin. They are unlikely to understand you either.""Yes, but I'm unlikely to try to kill them for fun.”

“Kill me now.""Nonsense. Dead, you will provide no relief from the interminable boredom."Everyone needed a purpose in life. Kaylin, however, wished fervently for a better one at this moment.”

“She had managed to go almost three weeks without being late. Admittedly on two of those days she'd perambulated around the office like someone doing a good imitation of the walking dead - but she'd been timely walking dead, damn it.”

“Is there anyone’s life story you don’t want to know?”“Not really.” His expression was unexpectedly serious. “Because people make a story of their lives.Gains, losses, tragedy and triumph—you can tell a lot about someone simply by what they put into eachcategory. You can learn a lot about what you put into each category by your reaction to them. Theyteach you about yourself without ever intending to do it—and they teach you a lot about life.”