“Do you love him?"
Deryn swallowed, then pointed at the screen. "He makes me feel like that. Like flying.”
“Let others wage war. You, lucky Austria, shall marry.”
“Reality had no gears, and you never knew what surprises would come spinning out of its chaos.”
“I'm a girl."
When Deryn opened her eyes, the lady boffin was staring at her with no change of expression.
"Indeed," she said.
Deryn's mouth feel open. "You mean you...Did you barking know?"
"I had no idea at all. But I make it a policy never to appear surprised." Dr. Barlow sighed, staring out the window. "Though on this occasion, it is proving rather more demanding than usual. A girl, you say? And you're quite certain?”
“Have a little faith in me, Volger."
"I have great faith, tempered with vast annoyance.”
“That letter was your whole future, you daft prince."
"It was my past. I lost that the night my parents died. But I found you, Deryn. Maybe I wasn't meant to end the war, but I was meant to find you. I know that. You've saved me from having any reason to keep going."
"We save each other. That's how it works.”
“Oh, this beast? It's...perspicacious loris. 'Perspicacious' meaning 'wise or canny'."
"Get stuffed," Bovril said, then giggled.
"And it insults people," Telsa said. "How peculiar.”
“To everyone who loves a long-secret romance, revealed at last.”
“Emperors are vain and useless things.”
“He makes me feel like that. Like flying.”
“You can't blame a match for a house made of straw”
“You young things are too easily persuaded by the touch of lips.”
“Miss Rogers waved a hand. "But Mr. Hearst just wants a dramatic story. If the rebels destroy us, he'll get no story at all!"
"Aye, but has anyone explained that to the barking rebels?"
"These are civilized rebels, young man. They have movie deals!"
"That's no guarantee of sanity!”
“Alek said, "Do you think I'm being a fool?"
"I think you're trying to do something good. But doing good is rarely easy, and no weapon has ever stopped a war.”
“Sprinkled across the black waters below were at least a hundred small boats set out to greet the Leviathan, their navigation lights like shifting stars. Among them loomed a glittering cruise liner, her fog horn bellowing in the night. The low groan grew into a chorus as the other great ships in the harbor joined in.
Perched on Volger's desk, Bovril attempted to imitate the horns, but wound up sounding like a badly blown tuba.
Alek smiled. "But they're already singing our praises!"
"They are Americans," Volger said. "They toot their horns for anything.”
“Did you really think I was too fragile to know what Deryn was?"
"Fragile?" Volger looked about. "I hadn't thought so, but now I find you brooding in a bathroom. This doesn't speak well of your sturdiness.”
“He thinks Goliath can end the war," Alek managed at last. "The man wants peace!"
"As do we all," Count Volger said. "But there are many ways to end a war. Some are more peaceful than others.”
“Surely no one would ever use such a weapon against a city."
"There are no limits in war," Volger said, still staring out the window.”
“...that was what kept the world interesting...reality had no gears, and you never knew what surprises would come spinning out of its chaos.”
“But they're already singing our praises!"
"They are Americans. They toot their horns for anything.”
“No matter how far from the war we run, it always catches up with us.”
“It's just the way things are." she shrugged. "It's no one's fault."
"Or everyone's.”
“Fate didn't care a squick about what anybody was meant to do.”
“Perhaps Clankers and Darwinists would always be at war, if only in their hearts.”
“Assisted him? Dylan made the repairs. I only fell and hit my head, from what I can recall. Yes, I make excellent deadweight.”
“Ah. So he's forgotten the most important rule of warfare.
Which is...
That nothing ever goes to plan.”
“This is the power of the Goliath, that no one on earth, Clanker or Darwinist, can escape. So we all must learn to share the globe, or perish together!”
“You have a bad habit of listing anything that can go wrong, Volger."
"I have always considered that a good habit”
“I make it a policy never to appear surprised" - Dr Barlow”
“Use your internal grandmother for guidance and advice.”
“WHY did she do this? She was a terrible drunk texter. All the things she wanted to say to people during the day came out at night, like a vampire.”
“It is idle to attempt to overtake a pretty young woman carrying pork chops. I was now determined to be done with her. First, however, to find out their abode, which was probably within easy distance of the shop. I even conceived them lured into taking their house by the advertisement, "Conveniently situation for the Pork Emporium.”
“Most people don't seem to appreciate a person as honest as me. So don't ask me how George Washington ever got to be president.”
“The watching feeling is getting worse.
I am not an experiment.
I am not a stupid joke, or a trippy game, or an experiment. I will not go insane. Something bad is gonnae happen, though. I can feel it. It’s in the way that crisp bag has faded from the rain. I am not an experiment. If I keep saying it, I’ll start believing it. I have to try. I am not an experiment. It doesnae sound convincing. It sounds stupid.
Try it in German. Ich bin nicht eine experiment. My German’s shite. Inhale slowly to the count of four, look hard at the tip of my nose and try again. This time I go for an official BBC broadcaster circa-1940 accent.
Today, one finds one is not, in actual fact, a social experiment. One is a real person. This is real actual skin as seen containing the bodily organs of a real actual human being with a heart and soul and dreams.
It’s true that I came from real people once too, and they were a jolly old sort, with no naked psycho-ess in any way.
I, the young Miss Anais, understand wholly that I am just a human being that no one is interested in. No experiment. No outside fate. I am not that important, and that is just fine by me. I propose a stiff upper lip and onward Christian soldiers, quick-bloody-march! This is Anais Hendricks, telling the nation: to be me is really quite spiff-fucking-spoff, lashings of love, your devoted BBC broadcaster since 1938.”
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