And I'll tell her that I don't want my life to be samples and scraps. A taste of everything but a meal of nothing.

You know" - Hale's breath was warm against Kat's ear in the chilly ballroom- "I don't know that both of us really have to be here...." The slide changed. While hundreds of mathematicians waited with baited breath, the boy beside Kat whispered,"I could go make some calls... check on some things...""Play some blackjack?""Well, when in Rome...""Rome is tomorrow, babe," Kat reminded him.He nodded. "Right.

I'll go over again and again until I've finally crossed to where he is

And it is strange that absence can feel like presence.

Everyone dies. The don't all have the chance to see what they wanted most. At least I've seen the Above. At least I've known True.

What are the gifts given to we who live Below?""Long life, health, strength, and happiness.""What is the curse of those who live Above?""Short life, illness, weakness, and misery.""Is this fair?""It is fair. It is as the gods decreed at the time of the Divide. Some have to stay Above so that humanity might survive Below.""Then give thanks.