How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
She spent most of her childhood trying to remember things that never happened, the life her grandfather invented for her. (4.18)
Pressia might not have had the childhood she should have had, but that doesn't mean she didn't have a childhood. Sure, her grandfather may have lied to her, but that was her reality. Pressia wants to alter the past — but she can't.
Quote #2
If the Detonations hadn't ever happened, she'd have liked to have met Bradwell—a reality in which there are no doll-head fists or scars or embedded birds, before all the losses. (4.19)
Once again, Pressia can't alter the past, no matter how hard she tries. The Detonations are a part of her world, and she needs to come to terms with the losses inflicted upon the world.
Quote #3
"They contain a version of the Before. A digitized, cleaned-up version. Information isn't necessarily the truth." (4.52)
Are facts always facts? Bradwell makes a cynical but astute point here; we can't always rely on mere information. Sometimes we just need to see with our own eyes.
Quote #4
Emi Brigid Imanaka. They're just three words. And Pressia Belze is an invention. (8.13)
Just because her name isn't technically Pressia Belze, that doesn't mean she isn't Pressia Belze. Pressia is who she has become… even if she's not willing to accept that.
Quote #5
In her dream, there was a body without a head. There was a dog without feet. There was a sheep—pale and hairless, scalded a deep scarlet. (10.28)
Dreams are weird.
Quote #6
He wonders if she dreams about their mom the way he does, doomed to find her dead body everywhere he goes. (14.42)
But dreams are also pretty telling. Our dreams are simply our subconscious bringing memories and ideas to the surface. Because of their shared trauma, Partridge and Pressia are haunted by their dreams.
Quote #7
These weren't in a dream. The bodies in the water weren't a dream. This is a memory. Her own. (22.60)
In some cases, we actually think we're dreaming, but we're not. Dreaming can distort what we think is the truth sometimes; it's like dreams and memory are in a constant battle.
Quote #8
"The truth can be manipulated. But we live within a secret within a secret within a secret. That's why we can make anything happen, Partridge. Anything at all." (34.58)
Yikes. This is both the most inspiring and the most terrifying thing we've ever heard: delusion is a powerful, powerful force.
Quote #9
She's had dreams where she gives birth to something furred, mangled, fanged, its ribs glittering with glass. (52.3)
This is called a nightmare, folks. They aren't pretty, but they can tell us a lot about our true fears and anxieties.
Quote #10
"Just a dream. Everything's fine. It's going to be all right." He tries to believe what he's saying. "I promise." (53.84)
Sometimes dreams can be the closest thing to the truth we have, so we can't ignore them. Partridge is trying to console Iralene, telling her she was just dreaming. But she wasn't just dreaming — her subconscious was imagining what the future might become.