Whatever happens, we'll keep the story going.
-- Narrator (One)

Importance: On the night of the children's dress rehearsal, Zeno reminds them that whatever happens during their rehearsal and their performance, they must remember to keep the story going. The children take Zeno's words seriously, and even after Seymour attacks the library, they continue acting. Though his words are a literal instruction to the children, they also resonate with the author's overarching themes. Through Zeno's words, the author suggests the lasting possibilities of story across generations. In the same way that the children keep the play going, the other characters preserve Diogenes's text through significant turmoil, conflict, and suffering.

Why stay here when I could be there?
-- Aethon (Two)

Importance: When Aethon first learns about Cloud Cuckoo Land during a performance of The Birds, he wonders why he is still living his mundane human life on Earth. He then sets out from home, determined to transform himself...