"At his last high school reunion, a man, a former football player whom Alan had despised, said, 'Alan Clay, you've got a thousand-mile stare. What happened to you?'"
-Chapter 2, p. 12

"There had to be some reason Alan was here. Why he was in a tent a hundred miles from Jeddah, yes, but also why he was alive on Earth? Very often the meaning was obscured."
-Chapter 8, p. 59

"He had just left his team, three young people tasked with setting up and demonstrating holographic communications for a king. But there was no king, and they were in a tent, alone, and there seemed to be no knowing when any of this would be rectified."
-Chapter 11, p. 71

"Then again, was there ever a time when a young American wanted to learn from an older American, or anyone at all? Probably not. Americans are born knowing everything and nothing. Born...