Altered Carbon (Takeshi Kovacs, #1)

by Richard K. Morgan

Only the little people suffer at the hands of Justice; the creatures of power slide out from under with a wink and a grin.

For all that we have done, as a civilization, as individuals, the universe is not stable, nor is any single thing within it. Stars consume themselves, the universe itself rushes apart, and we ourselves are composed of matter in constant flux.