Three Parts Dead

In three states is the mind most vulnerable, Professor Denovo had once told her: in love, in sleep, and in rapt attention to a story.

“He drinks the life of those who come too close to him. Steals their youth. Also,” she said after a pause, “he moisturizes.”

“The eyes have burst. The tongue, here, well. The brain, missing out the back of the skull. The spine you see, and the heart is gone entirely.” She looked up at the Blacksuit. “Did you really think it was possible he died of natural causes?”
These are strange days. We have had to widen the definition of the word “natural” six times in the last decade.

Religious men often think about death, and Abelard had given some thought to his last words. “I told you so” had not been on the list.

If you let your ego rule your reason, you’ll find the villagers with pitchforks waiting, no matter how far you’ve traveled, no matter what you’ve done on their behalf.

Engineers: they spend so much time solving physical problems and obeying physical rules, they forget that nonphysical phenomena obey rules every bit as strict.

...a tremor in her soul like a caress from everyone who had ever wronged her.