“Remembering is just an invention of the mind... It means that if you want to, you can remember anything, whether it happened or not... You don't need a time machine if you can remember.”

“You don't need a time machine if you know how to remember.”

“Remembering is a great invention of the mind.”

“Sure it will hurt. But so what? Pain is just a state of mind. You can think your way out of anything, even pain.”

“Pain is just a state of mind. You can think your way out of everything, even pain.”

“Will it hurt?" I ask. "Getting your parts replaced?"Freak doesn't answer for a while and then he says in his stern, smart voice, "Sure it will hurt. But so what? Pain is just a state of mind. You can think your way out of anything, even pain."I'm pretty worried about the whole deal, and I go, "But why do you want to be the first? Can't someone else be first? Isn't it dangerous?"Life is dangerous," Freak says.”

“You ever notice how long it takes for things to happen when you know they're supposed to happen? My fake Walkman has a built-in alarm, and I set it for two in the morning and wear the headphones to bed, but before you can wake up you have to fall asleep, and I never DO fall asleep because I keep waiting for the alarm to go off.”