“I did it—I who should have known better. I persuaded Reginald to go to the McKillops’ garden-party against his will. We all make mistakes occasionally.”

“I looked out into the dead garden. Against the fading light, my shadow hovered in the glass, looking into the dead room. What did she make of us? I wondered. What did she think of our attempts to persuade ourselves that this was life and that we were really living it?”

“The old dictum was backward. It should be "Better not tohave loved at all, than to love and have lost." I had done theright thing, I reassured myself. So why did it feel like I hadmade the biggest mistake of my life?”

“Hamilton was bug-eyed. "Who are those people?"Jonah held his head. "Man, I should have known it was a mistake to say I'd be leaving town soon! Why do fans have to be so literal?""Are they going to let us go get the faxes?" Hamilton asked.Jonah stared at him. "You're kidding, right?”

“I feel that all knowledge should be in the free-trade zone. Your knowledge, my knowledge, everybody's knowledge should be made use of. I think people who refuse to use other people's knowledge are making a big mistake. Those who refuse to share their knowledge with other people are making a great mistake, because we need it all. I don't have any problem about ideas I got from other people. If I find them useful, I'll just ease them right in and make them my own.”

“When I didn't argue he was satisfied he had persuaded me, and was not the first to make that mistake.”