The Rule of One (The Rule of One, #1)

by Ashley Saunders

It’s impossible to fight back; the government made sure of that long ago. Civilians are not allowed to own weapons—only the Guard has that authority. The people can fight solely with their raised voices, and I’ve only ever heard them silenced. The ones with the guns always win.

Resist much, obey little; Once unquestioning obedience, once fully enslaved; Once fully enslaved, no nation, state, city, of this earth, ever afterward resumes its liberty.

In grief all the little flaws of those we loved are colored over.

For people to understand their place in the world, they only have to stand in the center of an ancient forest and surround themselves with huge western red cedars, hemlocks, and cottonwoods that soar so high their expansive canopies absorb nearly all sunlight. No need to look to the immensity of space.

Humankind is everything’s and everyone’s most dangerous predator. Blindly killing its own planet, slowly wounding it over the centuries. Forcing my generation to mop up the blood.