“This is the power of the Goliath, that no one on earth, Clanker or Darwinist, can escape. So we all must learn to share the globe, or perish together!”

“Perhaps Clankers and Darwinists would always be at war, if only in their hearts.”

“He thinks Goliath can end the war," Alek managed at last. "The man wants peace!" "As do we all," Count Volger said. "But there are many ways to end a war. Some are more peaceful than others.”

“Ring around the rosie.A pocket full of posie.Ashes ashes, we all fall down.Some people say that this poem is about the Black Death, the fourteenth-century plague that killed 100-million people...Sadly, though, most experts think this is nonsense...How can I be so sure about this rhyme when all the experts disagree?Because I ate the kid who made it up.”

“You all say you need us. Well, maybe you do, but not to help, with the millions of bubbly new minds about to be unleashed, with all the cities coming awake at last. Together, you're more than enough to change the world without us. So from now on, David and I are here to stand in your way. You see, freedom has a way of destroying things.”

“Maybe they didn't want you to realize that every civilization has its weakness. There's always one thing we depend on. And if someone takes it away all that's left is some story in a history class.”

“As one does a bear riding a bicycle. One sees it so rarely.(Spoken by Volger, on Deryn)”