[...] They were scrappier out west, ex-hippie workaholics, who had their minds altered with LSD and combined that with gearheadedness. The Massachusetts computer scientists wore ties, went to church, had families, and prioritized their weekends. They accepted the world as it was and lacked the selfish that e-commerce demanded of them.

"Once you get to Kinshasa, Verms, you'll love this," Blue Jeans says. "Chez Poetique. Phenomenal cuisine and still off the beaten path even by the humble standards of the Dee-ROC."

[...] Finally she understands why it is harder to get a job as you get older: it is not lack of motivation, but experience of the sort that a resume never reveals. She will never walk into a job interview with a look of someone hopeful and innocent, who believes the doors to the future are open to everyone and just.