Some people will not respond to reason. Others refuse to consider alternatives to their normal pattern of behavior. In such cases, an unexpected breaking of one’s own patterns can be an effective tool.

One whose path has taken a new turn is often initially disoriented.

I have no vision of any future, maitrakh. Not yours; not even mine. I was just thinking about children. Trying to imagine what it’s like to try to raise them. Wondering how much of their character a family can mold, and how much is innate in the children themselves.” She hesitated. “Wondering if the evil in a family’s history can be erased, or whether it always passes itself on to each new generation.

History is on the move, Captain. Those who cannot keep up will be left behind, to watch from a distance.

But there’s a school of thought that says if you’re going to go down in flames anyway, you might as well be the one lighting the matches.

Not every change is a step forward.

Uncertainties are often useful in paralyzing an opponent’s plans and actions.

All beings begin their lives with hopes and aspirations. Among these aspirations is the desire that there will be a straight path to those goals. It is seldom so. Perhaps never.

And when a mind is too deficient in understanding, the resulting gap is often filled with resentment. –.

Chiss eyes were a bit better than those of humans, their visible spectrum edging a bit into the infrared. Apparently, their ears were better, too.