We're also far enough from the publishing power that we have no access to the politics of publishing, although there are interpersonal politics, of course.

[Pride and power] are the same except that pride leaves the lights on and power can do it in the dark.

People have been trying for centuries to manipulate genes, enhance certain traits, and achieve racial purity, even in humans. And of course I thought of the Nazis and their efforts toward Aryan magnificence.

Now interpersonal politics... that's what it's all about.

In our struggle to restrain the violence and contain the damage, we tend to forget that the human capacity for aggression is more than a monstrous defect, that it is also a crucial survival tool.

The second is the structure and source of cults. They have always haunted me, and I wanted to explore the fundamental notion of giving up responsibility to an outside power.