No exercise of will can make any of us other than what we are, or more than marginally better than who we are. — James Blish

The technicians thought I was crazy. Now, five months later, I’ve proved it.

“Something tells me that this isn’t going to be as simple as it looks.”

“What is?” Wald said, raising his eyebrows.

“Nothing, of course. But hope springs eternal in the human spleen.”

He was getting to be a little old for combat or for princesses, but what was worse, he had become a lot more cynical without having become even slightly the wiser.