Quotes by Michael Grant

“We were disturbed the president moved too slowly, that FEMA looked too disorganized.”

“An enormous failure of the system has clearly been exposed, but this system failure is associated with the long-term failure of this country to deal responsibly and effectively with the structural problems of poverty in America.”

“The Tao of Natural Breathing by Dennis Lewis is filled with drawings, insights and guidance from an objective and subjective internal ‘organic’ awareness. Dennis walks his talk and knows well the terrain. This approach towards understanding common denominators of breathing will guide many towards health and well being as well as help dissolve cross cultural barriers. We ARE one and breath IS life. Easily one of the top five books on breathing.”

“I think its going to be fairly difficult.”

“The question I have is what alternative does either the county or the state have? ... Does anybody have a better plan for dealing with the 90,000 acres, given the property has to be sold?”

“We didnt take care of the basketball and we didnt concentrate on knocking down our free throws. I think if we made our free throws in the first half, it would have trickled down to the second half.”

“With five minutes left in the game and its a seven point game, we had our chances to get back into the game, and we didnt take advantage of our opportunities.”

“We cant afford to give away games by not executing and not knocking down our free throws.”

“Tino really battled inside. He battled against [Joe] Reitz, which was a really good battle all night.”

“The only crime, if any, that may have been committed in these circumstances is the perpetration of a dangerous act.”

Thats your solution? Have a cookie?

But first things first. First, to escape this shell, this egg in which I have gestated, all eyes will be on the fire, all eyes blinded by the smoke, and when I walk out of here, out into your large world with its billions, no one will even see. Its the beauty of light, dont you see, Sam? It reveals, but it also distracts and blinds. Its even better than darkness. (Chapter Twenty-Seven | 1 Hour, 29 Minutes)

I was a king for a while. I wasnt a very good one. I wanted all kinds of things. I wanted, well, you know. Power. Glory. To be feared. All that good stuff. But you know what? When the gaiaphage did it to me, when she made me cry and grovel and beg for mercy, I realized: Theres no end to this for me. Theres no end to the FAYZ. If we get out alive, theres still no end. And what happens to me out there in the world? No, youre wrong they cant blame you for everything that happened. He laughed. Yeah, well, actually, they can. A king, warrior, whatever I was, I want to go out in a blaze of glory. Ive risen as high as Im ever going to. And if I survive, Im just going to end up as prisoner number three-one-two-whatever. You coming to see me on visiting days. But I will come see you. And I will wait for you. No, he said firmly. I get my big finish. And you get your life. Move on, Diana.

You didnt make me responsible. You dont have that power. This—he held up his hands, and light glowed from his palms—this made me responsible. Having power made me responsible. I had the power and you had the brains. So we were chosen. Thats the way it works, isnt it? People who can have to help those who cant. The strong defend the weak from the strong. I dont think you invented that, Astrid; all you did was make me see it. Well, I see it. There it is. The FAYZ gave me this light, and the FAYZ made it necessary. And now the light isnt helping, is it? Now that monster is going to walk into town and kill people I care about and people I love.

But first things first. First, to escape this shell, this egg in which I have gestated, all eyes will be on the fire, all eyes blinded by the smoke, and when I walk out of here, out into your large world with its billions, no one will even see. Its the beauty of light, dont you see, Sam? It reveals, but it also distracts and blinds. Its even better than darkness.

You didnt make me responsible. You dont have that power. This—he held up his hands, and light glowed from his palms—this made me responsible. Having power made me responsible. I had the power and you had the brains. So we were chosen. Thats the way it works, isnt it? People who can have to help those who cant. The strong defend the weak from the strong. I dont think you invented that, Astrid; all you did was make me see it. Well, I see it. There it is. The FAYZ gave me this light, and the FAYZ made it necessary. And now the light isnt helping, is it? Now that monster is going to walk into town and kill people I care about and people I love. (Chapter Twenty-Six | 2 Hours, 56 Minutes)

Caine’s a guy who needs to win. He needs to win before he poofs. Or he needs to win before I poof. The point is, he’s not going to just accept us freeing all these kids from Coates and taking over Perdido Beach,” Sam said. “So we need to be ready. And we need to be ready for something else, too: tomorrow is my birthday.” He made a wry face. “Not a birthday I’m exactly looking forward to. But, anyway, we need to decide who takes over for me if…when…I step outside.”Several of the kids made sympathetic or encouraging noises about how Sam maybe wasn’t going to blink out, or maybe it would be a good thing, an escape from the FAYZ. But Sam hushed them all.“Look, the good thing is, when I go, so does Caine. The bad thing is, that still leaves Drake and Diana and other bullies. Orc…well, we don’t exactly know what’s going on with him, but Howard’s not with him. And Lana…we don’t know what happened to her, whether she left or what.”The loss of Lana was a serious blow. Every one of the Coates refugees adored her for the way she had healed their hands. And it was reassuring to think that she could heal anyone who was injured.Astrid said, “I nominate Edilio to take over if…you know. Anyway, we need a number two, a vice president or vice mayor or whatever.”Edilio did a double take, like Astrid must be talking about some other Edilio. Then he said, “No way. Astrid’s the smartest person here.”“I have Little Pete to look after. Mary has to care for the prees and keep them out of harm’s way. Dahra has responsibility for treating anyone who gets hurt. Elwood has been so busy in the hospital with Dahra, he hasn’t dealt with Caine or Drake or any of the Coates faction. Edilio’s been up against Orc and Drake. And he’s always been brave and smart and able.” She winked at Edilio, acknowledging his discomfort.“Right,” Sam said. “So unless someone has an objection, that’s the way it is. If I get hurt or I ditch, Edilio’s in charge.”“Respect to Edilio,” Dekka said, “but he doesn’t even have powers.”“He has the power to earn trust and to come through when he has to,

Caine has Drake and Orc, Panda and Chaz, and I hear Mallet has made peace with him. And maybe a half dozen other guys.”“Are you afraid of them?” Astrid asked him.“Yeah, Astrid, I am.”“Okay,” she said. “But you were scared of going into a burning building, too.”“You don’t get this, do you?” Sam demanded with enough heat that Astrid took a step back. “I know what you want, okay? I know what you and a bunch of other people want. You want me to be the anti-Caine. You don’t like the way he’s doing things and you want me to go kick him out. Well, here’s what you don’t know: even if I could do all that, I wouldn’t be any better than him.”“You’re wrong about that, Sam. You’re—”“That night when I first used the power? When I hurt my stepfather? How do you think I felt?”“Sad. Regretful.” Astrid looked at his face like the answer would be written there. “Scared, probably.”“Yeah. All that. And one more thing.” He held up his hand and inches from her nose squeezed his fingers into a tight fist. “I also felt a rush, Astrid. A rush. I thought, oh my God, look at the power I have. Look what I can do. A huge, crazy rush.”“Power corrupts,” Astrid said softly.“Yeah,” Sam said sarcastically. “I’ve heard that.”“Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. I forget who said it.”“I make a lot of mistakes, Astrid. I don’t want to make that mistake. I don’t want to be that guy. I don’t want to be Caine. I want to…” He spread his arms wide, a gesture of helplessness. “I just want to go surfing.”“You won’t be corrupted, Sam. You wouldn’t do those things.” He had moved back. She moved to close the distance.“How can you be so sure?”“Well, two reasons. First, it’s not your character. Of course you felt a rush from the power. Then, you pushed it away. You didn’t grab at it, you pushed it away. That’s reason number one. You’re you, you’re not Caine or Drake or Orc.”Sam wanted to agree, wanted to accept that, but he felt he knew better. “Don’t be so sure.”“And reason number two: you have me,

You May Now Leave The FAYZ.

If there was ever an example for redemption, its you.