How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"Most we've reached are females, and many of those in mental hospitals and prisons. We find people whose minds open for an instant, but at the first real contact, they shrink in terror." (10.45)
Luciente says that many of the people they contact from the future are in mental hospitals and prisons. The suggestion is that receptive people like Connie are often mistaken for being crazy in the present. It also means that people who are seen as marginal and wrong and broken are actually the good guys.
Quote #5
Dizzy, she stuck out her hand, and Dolly again gave her a five. Oh, well, she could use it. She stared into Dolly's intense eyes, the pupils too big, too shiny. "What are you on?" (11.25)
Connie's in the asylum, but Dolly is the one so confused and messed up that she literally can't even remember what she's doing from one minute to the next. The difference is that Connie fought back when Dolly was in danger, and Dolly didn't. Which makes it look like the asylum is meant to control and pacify, rather than to heal.
Quote #6
As soon as the orderly left she climbed down. (11.171)
Connie has made herself unconscious in order to escape. Luciente taught her how to do that… which means Luciente must exist, right? This is the moment where it seems Connie is most likely not crazy. (Though of course, we learn everything from Connie's point of view, so maybe she's misleading us?)