Rituals should have some unpleasantness, or you don’t appreciate them properly. — Kim Stanley Robinson

“It’s the same old story,” he said bitterly. “The resistance begins fighting itself, because that’s the only thing it can beat. Happens every time. You can’t get any movement larger than five people without including at least one fucking idiot.”

If enough data points trouble the theory, the theory may be wrong. If the theory is basic, the paradigm may have to change.

“We could have a contest. Who does Jackie listen to least?”

Maya laughed out loud. “Everyone would win.”