We are humanity, the banner read. Wrong. We’re pale reflections of it, weak shadows, distant echoes.

You know how sometimes you tell yourself that you have a choice, but really you don't have a choice? Just because there are alternatives doesn't mean they apply to you.

It's almost dawn. You can feel it coming. The world holds its breath, because there's really no guarantee that the sun will rise. That there was a yesterday doesn't mean there will be a tomorrow.

We’re here, and then we’re gone, and it’s not about the time we’re here, but what we do with the time.

And if humanity is the last war, then I am the battlefield.

We'd stared into the face of Death, and Death blinked first. You'd think that would make us feel brave and invincible. It didn't.

Then the door flew open and Mr. Faulks told us to head over to the gym. I thought that was really smart. Get all of us in one place so the aliens didn't have to waste a lot of ammunition.

He barely knew I existed. I knew some of the same people he knew, but I was a girl in the background, several degrees of seperation removed.

Time for the world to end.

Are you okay?" I (Cassie) call up to him."Um. Define okay." (Ben)"Okay means you're not bleeding to death.""I'm okay.

This is the first rule of the last war:Trust No One

Character in decay is the theme of the great bulk of superior fiction.

Culture is collective mindsets, attitudes, and behaviors.

Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves and under a just God cannot long retain it.

On sighting mathematicians poetry should unhook the algebra from their minds and replace it with poetry; on sighting poets it should unhook poetry from their minds and replace it with algebra.

Every passing minute is another chance to turn it all around.

The TSA is under fire for major security lapses. The TSA has let through pipe bombs, knives, and the last three Nicolas Cage movies.

The priceless galaxy of misinformation called the mind.

You know what despair is; then winter should have meaning for you.

Don’t accept the world as it is. Dream of what the world could be - and then help make it happen.

Expect the best of yourself, and then do what is necessary to make it a reality.