Aw, Poke, you poor, kind, decent, stupid girl. You saved me and I let you down.

— Orson Scott Card

Bean could see the hunger in their eyes. Not the regular hunger, for food, but the real hunger, the deep hunger, for family, for love, for belonging.

— Orson Scott Card

Bean was tired of talking about this. She looked so happy when she talked about God, but he hadn't figured it out yet, what God even was. It was like, she wanted to give God credit for every good thing, but when it was bad, then she either didn't mention God or had some reason why it was a good thing after all. As far as bean could see, though, the dead kids would rather have been alive, just with more food. If God loved them so much, and he could do whatever he wanted, then why wasn't there more food for these kids? And if God just wanted them dead, why didn't he let them die sooner or not even be born at all, so they didn't have to go to so much trouble and get all excited about trying to be alive when he was just going to take them to his heart. None of it made any sense to Bean, and the more Sister Carlotta explained it, the less he understood it. Because if there was somebody in charge, then he ought to be fair, and if he wasn't fair, then why should Sister Carlotta be so happy that he was in charge?

— Orson Scott Card

Because human nature never changes.

— Orson Scott Card

Because never in my entire childhood did I feel like a child. I felt like a person all along―the same person that I am today.

— Orson Scott Card

Because never in my entire childhood did I feel like a child. I felt like a person all along--the same person that I am today. I never felt that I spoke childishly. Furthermore, I never felt that my emotions and desires were somehow less real than adult emotions and desires. And in writing _Under's Game_, I forced the audience to experience the lives of these children from that perspective--the perspective in which their feelings and decisions are just as real and important as any adult's. ... _Under's Game_ asserts the personhood of children, and those who are used to thinking of children in another way ... are going to find _Under's Game_ a very unpleasant place to live.

— Orson Scott Card

Because these fools always look up for power. People above you, they never want to share power with you. Why you look to them? They give you nothing. People below you, you give them hope, you give them respect, they give you power, because they don't think they have any, so they don't mind giving it up.

— Orson Scott Card

Being here alone with nothing to do, I've been thinking about myself too. Trying to understand why I hate myself so badly.

— Orson Scott Card

Besides," said Suriyawong. "This was not a rescue operation."" What was it, target practice? Chinese skeet?"" An offer of transportation to an invited guest of the Hegemony," said Suriyawong. "And the loan of a knife." Achilles held up the bloody thing, dangling it from the point. "Yours?" he asked." Unless you want to clean it," said Suriyawong. Achillese handed it to him. Suriyawong took out his cleaning kit and wiped down the blade, then began to polish it." You wanted me to die," said Achilles quietly." I expected you to solve your own problems," said Suriyawong.

— Orson Scott Card

Better to have the trust of the people than their respect. With trust, their respect could be earned later; without it, respect could never be deserved, and so to have it would be like poison.

— Orson Scott Card