That was the universe: you could beat it once, you could float a message in a bottle across half of eternity… — Alastair Reynolds

The existence theorem says that it is always much easier to find a solution when you can be confident that one exists.

I wish there was something we could do. But organised structure is the most precious thing in the universe. When it is lost, it is truly lost.

“Is he going to be okay?” Svetlana asked.

“He was dead, Svieta,” Axford said patiently. “Anything else has to count as an improvement.”