How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I did not throw the grenades on that night on the hill under the moon, it threw them, and it did a near-perfect job. (1.7)
It's a little frightening that Rojack doesn't experience anything supernatural until he's forced to kill someone. Regardless, the important question is why? Is it just the stress of war bringing out his animal instinct? Or is it something more?
Quote #2
Suddenly it was all gone, the clean presence of it, the grace, it had deserted me in the instant I hesitated. (1.7)
Rojack loses his supernatural powers as soon as he becomes aware of what he's doing. This certainly gives some credence to the idea (illustrated in Rojack's own philosophical work) that society lost a piece of its magic when it became self-aware.
Quote #3
I was now […] a professor of existential psychology with the […] thesis that magic, dread, and the perception of death were the roots of motivation. (1.11)
Yeah, it's really surprising that Rojack of all people focused his studies on death and magic… not. His thesis certainly holds true to his own experiences: After all, he only felt a touch of the supernatural when his life was in serious danger. Now that he's back in society, he can see traces of that magic wherever he looks.