Now what we don’t want is Facts. What we want is bewilderment. What we want is repetition. What we want is repetition. What we want is people in power saying the truth is not the truth.
-- Florence (writing as anonymous PR demagogue) (Part 1 paragraph 1)

Importance: These are the very first lines of novel. As the reader later discovers, this is an excerpt from Florence's writings, written as a type of scathing parody. Florence imagines in her writings an anonymous PR demagogue, someone powerful and venomous to society.

The truth is a kind of regardless.
-- Florence (writing as the Earth) (Part 1 paragraph 2)

Importance: This is the second excerpt from Florence's writings from Part 1. It is written from the perspective of the Earth. The Earth is speaking dispassionately about the ravages of climate change and telling mankind to brace itself for catastrophes. The pursuit of truth is a constant theme throughout the novel. In this quote, it is suggested that truth and lies are afterthoughts to the physical...