"The crowd had gathered because there was going to be a materialization. A man and his dog were going to materialize, were going to appear out of thin air - wispily at first, becoming, finally, as substantial as any man and dog alive." Chap. One, p. 8

"Winston Niles Rumfoord was a member of the one true American class. The class was a true one because its limits had been clearly defined for at least two centuries - clearly defined for anyone with an eye for definitions." Chap. One, p. 26

"Malachi Constant lay in the wide gutter of his kidney-shaped swimming pool, sleeping the sleep of a drunkard. There was a quarter of an inch of warm water in the gutter. Constant was fully dressed in blue-green evening shorts and a dinner jacket of gold brocade. His clothes were soaked." Chap. Two, pp. 52-53

"The Magnum Opus Building was...