Quote 1
"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?
Quote 2
[Marcus:] "Dad, it's ridiculous. They're not catching any terrorists, are they? It's just making people scared."
[Dad:] "They may not have caught any terrorists yet, but they're sure getting a lot of scumbags off the streets." (8.14-15)
It's street-cleaning time, courtesy of the Department of Homeland Security. Because nothing catches terrorists like picking up bags of scum. Right?
Quote 3
[Marcus:] "Tell them that they can bring a maximum of one person, and it has to be someone they've known personally for a minimum of five years." (10.33)
Because if someone still speaks to you after five years and you're under the age of twenty, that's a quarter of your lifetime. That means real friendship.