“She couldn’t stop watching his eyes. They were bright black, surrounded by an incredible network of lines, like a laboratory maze for studying intelligence in tears. They seemed to know what she wanted, even if she didn’t.”

“Vicki shines with intelligence as brightly as with beauty, a clear open face, black eyes, and a smile that makes you see what she looked like as a nine-year-old.”

“If she were to die, it would be out here. Not that she wanted to die. She really didn’t. She just felt suddenly like she needed, wanted more. There had to be more to life besides the constant training, orders, the rules, having every move you ever made watched and recorded. There had to be more. More what she didn’t know, but she wanted it.”

“Now was too big, like a giant dark planet coming up over the horizon. she wanted then. That's what he'd seen that day, a brightness with darkness all around, watching her, as if she were glamorous, as if she were a rare and mysterious creature.”

“Tears sprang from her eyes and she bit her lip to stop herself from howling at the bright pain.”

“She said nothing for a moment, unsure what exactly to say. She loved him with every breath she took. She would do anything for him. How could she word her affections? Moisture assembled in her eyes, and, to her surprise, a tear trickled down her cheek. There were many things she’d like to say, but she didn’t know how.”