How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
All the crap they've done, none of it would stop the bridge from being blown up again. Tracing us around the city? Taking away our freedom? Making us suspicious of each other, turning us against each other? Calling dissenters traitors? The point of terrorism is to terrify us. The DHS terrifies me. (15.43)
Marcus gets to the heart of the book here, answering a question during his online press conference. The connection of terrorism and protection quickly becomes unclear and complex, just like in real life. For Marcus it seems pretty clear that "protection" and "terrorism" overlap, which is why he continues to resist the DHS.
Quote #8
I leapt off the bed and paced back and forth. My heart thudded and my blood sang in a cruel parody of the way I'd felt when we got home. This wasn't sexual excitement, it was raw terror. (17.63)
Marcus reacts to the email from Masha, a spy for the DHS inside the web of trust. He's just had sex for the first time and is on an emotional high. Fear and desire continue to connect for Marcus through the very last pages of the book. How about for the other characters?
Quote #9
"I am so sick of being scared," I said. "Let's take this to Barbara and have her publish it all. Put it all on the net. Let them take me away. At least I'll know what's going to happen then. At least then I'll have a little certainty in my life." (17.111)
Why does Marcus feel this way? What would change for him if the DHS took him away? How would you feel in his place at this point?