“His voice is a chain pulling me back to Earth.”

“Is this what we have to look forward to? The world of adults feels like a universe that has reached the end of its expansion and is inexorably collapsing back in on itself.”

“I'd make oatmeal cookies.""Cookies?""I would. That's just what I would do.""Why?"He lifts one hand from the steering wheel and pinches his chin. "Because the world is changing so fast all the time. There's nothing you can do but just say, 'cool,' and roll with it. But some things can stay the same. Flour is still flour. Vanilla still smells like vanilla. Say a giant fireball is motoring toward us right now from Alha Centauri. Okay, universe. You expect us to run and scream and kill one another? Sorry, we're making oatmeal freaking cookies.”

“To call it yearning would be like calling the ocean water.”

“Welcome to my head. Let's hit the ground running.”

“Everything's a game,' Sagan said. 'When you get down to it. Everything in life is ultimately some kind of strategy. If you have a better strategy than the other guy, he's going down.”

“Life is a war, and the families are the armies. Even if you win the war, some will never see you plant the flag.”