“We’ve never lied to you,” McKinley said. “No,” Bella said, “but you’ve done a damned good job of not… — Alastair Reynolds

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

Some promises are best broken. Trust me on this: I’m a politician.

“There’s still hope.”

But a small, private voice said: there’s hope, and there’s desperation.