“What are you on, Samuel?"This was easier, he glanced down. "Laminate.”

“Dexter thrust a pamphlet into Samuel's hand. "Greenstreet Mission. We're doing a Christmas dinner. You can get a meal and hear the word of God."Samuel smiled in relief. This, finally, he understood. "Which word?""What?""Well, God's said a lot of words, you know, and a word like 'it' or 'the' wouldn't be worth hearing again but its always fun listening to Him try and say aluminum.”

“The world tilted slightly sideways. 'I think I need to sit down.' The floor seemed like the best option. It was close and he'd already proved that he could hit it. His legs folded.”

“I'm sorry."About what?"He shrugged, made uncomfortable by the question."I'm not sure. It's a Canadian thing.”

“I tell you what I won't put up with. You chose how to behave.”

“He read disappointment at his response and wondered if she realized that she expected a certain amount of effusive sympathy from the people she told. Rejecting that sympathy made her feel strong, compensating for what she perceived as her weakness. He suspected that the disease was the first time she hadn't been able to make everything come out all right through the sheer determination that it would be.”

“A quick check on the platoon showed everyone more or less enjoying the flight."Whatever it is you're eating, Ressk, swallow it before we land," [said Staff Sergeant Kerr]."No problem, Staff.""More like whoever he's eating," Binti muttered beside him."You ought to count your fingers," he suggested. "You're too serley stupid to notice one missing.""Maybe you ought to gren sa talamec to.""That's enough, people."When the Confederation first started integrating the di'Taykan and the Krai into what was predominantly a human military system, xenopsychologists among the elder races expected a number of problems. For the most part, those expectations fell short. After having dealt with the Mictok and the H'san, none of the younger races - all bipedal mammals - had any difficulty with each other's appearance. Cultural differences were absorbed into the prevailing military culture and the remaining problems were dealt with in the age-old military tradition of learning to say "up yours" in the other races' languages. The "us against them" mentality of war made for strange bedfellows.”