“The old world was destroyed because of its own greed and secretiveness. Those least evolved rose to the top, as happens here. Your leaders, as you call them, are all people with damaged senses of self-worth. The damaged goods run the civilization. That’s why it cannot last." "Abraham Lincoln was damaged goods?""The need to lead is a symptom.”

“In the eyes of the others we who met them saw ourselves. And there were demons there.”

“This is a temple to lost knowledge, girl. This is where sense comes to die. This is where we learn to live when the world is empty.”

“Justine, whenever someone says 'this is for your own good,' it's a guarantee they're about to cause you some kind of damage.”

“The thing I didn't see back then is that people can be destroyed by goodness. Damage can be done by hope. If people aren't ready for hope, it's a cruel trick to put it on their doorstep.”

“Here, just like in my own world, popularity was power; survival required the occasional sacrifice of a damaged limb—or a damaged cousin—and alliances were crucial.”

“we wouldn't ask why a rose that grew from the concrete for having damaged petals, in turn, we would all celebrate its tenacity, we would all love its will to reach the sun, well, we are the roses, this is the concrete and these are my damaged petals, dont ask me why, thank god, and ask me how”