They had made that assumption for a long time — that because I was quiet, because I was far away, because I put my head down and worked and did not make noise, I must be a fool who could be milked forever without consequence.

It is a very old mistake, and people who make it never seem to see it coming.

A man can be patient for a long, long time.

But patience is not the same thing as blindness, and it is surely not weakness.

Patience is just a man waiting until he knows exactly where the machine has broken — and exactly where to put his hand.

Chapter 18 — We’re Finally Home