Endymion (Hyperion Cantos, #3)

by Dan Simmons

So many important things pass quickly without being understood at the time. So many powerful moments are buried beneath the absurd.

“If we had some cheese, we could have a ham-and-cheese sandwich,” replies Father Captain de Soya, “if we had some ham.”

Evolution brings human beings. Human beings, through a long and painful process, bring humanity.”