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“Kusha felt a tinge of pride, exponentially multiplied by her Low-Grade inferiority complex, reading this footnote. It worsened when ads started coming up on her HOME page after reading it. The ads had horrible titles:

Dream Youth For The Low Grades.
Alternate Longevity.
A Secret Pleasurable Way To Youth.
Get Your Dream Citizenship With Pleasing Pleasure Contract.

The last one is for non-citizens, of course. At least, she’s a citizen. But when Kusha discovered how many unevolved men and women enter such contracts just for citizenship, it made her face crease. As if she’d caught a nasty smell. For a moment, she even thought, she hated every High Grade in the world, including everyone in her adoptive family. Right now, standing in front of Meera, the hatred swells.”
― Misba, The Oldest Dance

“Does she really have no other identities except untouchable? A liar? It’s not as if she lies all the time. She only isn’t hundred percent truthful as a strong High Grade is.”
― Misba, The Oldest Dance

“Missing this year’s Career Exam will be humiliating. Usually, a company sponsors suitable candidates regarding the exam fee. But landing on such sponsorship without a valid portfolio is impossible. And there are more. The valid portfolio has to be acknowledged by the ones whom you will reach through another valid chain of recommendations.”
― Misba, The Oldest Dance

“The four tiny lifters at each corner keep the book hovering in the air at the central lounge. As if it’s not a book but a show on his stage. But there’s no stage in the lounge. Not today. Today, the central lounge of Kuhawk—the house where the Mesmerizer lives—is only for the Devil’s Book.”
― Misba, The Oldest Dance

“The lounge usually holds his couch, his easels, inks and oils, and original handmade paper imported straight from Kappa—Nihon of the Old World.

The center of the lounge is always for the stage—a raised, soft, armless sofa where his subject poses. But this evening isn’t about the stage or his art. This evening, the lounge shouldn’t hold needless furniture. Tonight, Kuhawk is for one book. Tonight, all the moonlight coming through the transparent globe should illuminate only the Devil’s Book—the first key to everything the Mesmerizer seeks. Oh, the trouble he took to earn it!”
― Misba, The Oldest Dance

“One room in the two-story building glows, violin music emanating from it. Maroc is playing for his master: The Roar of Death Sonata, 1st Movement, one of the legendary Eleven Pieces composed after the Apocalypse.”
― Misba, The Oldest Dance

“He finishes the tea with a single swallow. Breathing deeper, he senses the energy beneath his skin. He focuses on the minute smells in the air, catching the scent of a recently varnished piano—it’s not here, not in the lounge, but the Mesmerizer can smell it along with its premium packaging—vinyl blanket and wooden box. He smirks.
That Monk mocks. Challenges. ”
― Misba, The Oldest Dance

“She gets all her old cars and tools from places you don’t want your daughters to visit. And Rashad Gaumont certainly doesn’t want her to visit Magic Mama, the not-evolved-enough, middle-aged man who lives in the Junk Land and works in the Old City. “He’s not a citizen! He lives in a bus! So what if he made it himself? So what if he teaches you about machines? Just don’t meet him.â€�

“W³ó²â?â€� Kusha used to ask Rashad, and she’d always get the same answer: “The unevolved kind brings chaos and wars.â€� ”
― Misba, The High Auction

“If nostalgia had a smell, it’d smell like her. He closes his eyes, removing the scent from his mind, just as an evolved Grade A should do—not let little thoughts infect his inner quiet.”
― Misba, The Oldest Dance

“He senses his feet touching the floor; he tunes himself to the universe. The waves of prana in the floor and the push of music relax his muscles.”
― Misba, The Oldest Dance

“The Mesmesrizer turns around, facing the woman and glancing at her uniform with golden lines that run along her curves. She must love her uniform—majestic and powerful. He can smell its colors and the fabric: 100% solid, no hologram, no color-changing particles, but not natural enough. He can still smell that 5% polyester with 15% nylon.

“Please, Vellariya,â€� he says, gesturing with his hand as if offering the floor to the performer, also ignoring that he is still naked after the shower.”
― Misba, The Oldest Dance

“What do you believe, Ra? I’ll believe whatever you say.â€� The Monk turns at her, his complete attention now at her eyes.

Mee-Hae doesn’t reply for a long time. A High Grade’s words have weight; she must now think through what leaves her lips.”
― Misba, The Oldest Dance

“A High Grade’s words have weight; she must now think through what leaves her lips.”
― Misba, The Oldest Dance

“Of course, it was a lie, and that bald man in a blue suit was definitely harassing her, teasing her with dirty, rude jokes. Nothing physical from the body of a High Grade can heal. No matter if it’s blood or sperm or saliva or even a discarded hair or nail—as some fraudulent religious groups claim, taking advantage of Low Gradesâ€� fascination with the living gods among them. Though, the archive mentions a however as a footnote:

***However, when they pass strong prana (the energy controllable by the evolved, High Grade humans) to the sick or wounded, it heals, no matter whether they are plants or animals. Their prana flows strongly when they feel strong emotions. Some people say their sperm heals, but it’s not the semen. It’s the strong prana-boosts the High Grades experience when they reach climax during intimacy �

Kusha felt a tinge of pride, exponentially multiplied by her Low-Grade inferiority complex, reading this footnote.”
― Misba, The Oldest Dance

“Will of Slayer!
Maroc guards himself against the Will of Slayer the Mesmerizer emits. His prana shields him firmly. He even goes far enough to murmur something under his breath and not just think it—the word his Master Ruem taught him. It keeps his body warm.

“Burn it,â€� the Mesmerizer mutters. The air turns denser. If air had consciousness, it would feel the weight of his voice now—the King of Mesmerizersâ€� voice.”
― Misba, The Oldest Dance

“From above, the entire plan of Kuhawk looks like a bird’s nest; the globe looks like a gem at the center.
It’s quiet. Except for the times when music happens.
Like now�

One room in the two-story building glows, violin music emanating from it. Maroc is playing for his master: The Roar of Death Sonata, 1st Movement, one of the legendary Eleven Pieces composed after the Apocalypse.”
― Misba, The Oldest Dance

“He closes his eyes, removing the scent from his mind, just as an evolved Grade A should do—not let little thoughts infect his inner quiet.”
― Misba, The Oldest Dance

“To a High Grade who has lived long enough, the past is just a tiny pixel in a large, high-resolution canvas.”
― Misba, The Oldest Dance

“Don’t worry about my pills. It’s common in this era. Thoughts are powerful,â€� Mee-Hae whispers in response.
“Just cut the negative ones,â€� the Monk says.”
― Misba, The Oldest Dance

“Sometimes, she feels each of her cells bursting whenever she hears questions. Just any questions from anyone. If someone knows you are trying to avoid something, why would they ask again? Why would they press? Isn’t that rude? It is rude, according to Learn Basic Manners. It’s a basic manner.
Every unevolved Low Grade would avoid talking about how it was like partying among the High Grades, won’t they? Won’t they try to hide that they had to hear about the healing powers of a High Grade’s semen?”
― Misba, The Oldest Dance

“Of course, it was a lie, and that bald man in a blue suit was definitely harassing her, teasing her with dirty, rude jokes. Nothing physical from the body of a High Grade can heal. No matter if it’s blood or sperm or saliva or even a discarded hair or nail—as some fraudulent religious groups claim, taking advantage of Low Gradesâ€� fascination with the living gods among them. Though, the archive mentions a however as a footnote:

***However, when they pass strong prana (the energy controllable by the evolved, High Grade humans) to the sick or wounded, it heals, no matter whether they are plants or animals. Their prana flows strongly when they feel strong emotions. Some people say their sperm heals, but it’s not the semen. It’s the strong prana-boosts the High Grades experience when they reach climax during intimacy �

Kusha felt a tinge of pride, exponentially multiplied by her Low-Grade inferiority complex, reading this footnote. It worsened when ads started coming up on her HOME page after reading it. The ads had horrible titles:
Dream Youth For The Low Grades.
Alternate Longevity.
A Secret Pleasurable Way To Youth.
Get Your Dream Citizenship With Pleasing Pleasure Contract.

The last one is for non-citizens, of course. At least, she’s a citizen. But when Kusha discovered how many unevolved men and women enter such contracts just for citizenship, it made her face crease. As if she’d caught a nasty smell. For a moment, she even thought, she hated every High Grade in the world, including everyone in her adoptive family. Right now, standing in front of Meera, the hatred swells.”
― Misba, The Oldest Dance

“Kusha heard people whisper about it in the Old City—the lawless city where sunlight never reaches the ground.”
― Misba, The High Auction

“Rashad and Meera Gaumont do everything without noise. All. The. Time. They’re High Grades—Grade A: 107-year-olds with ageless bodies, and they follow the Untouchable Code by heart.”
― Misba, The High Auction

“Not that they need to think about the don’t-get-laid-with-a-Low-Grade code anyway. They’re loyal to each other. High Grade couples who stay together for sixty years are rare.”
― Misba, The High Auction

“Meera heals her colossal plants and flowers with her strong prana, her core energy. Healing isn’t a feat a Low Grade can do.”
― Misba, The High Auction

“She’s a twenty-three-year-old. By this time, people become at least Grade C while she started the grade race only seven years ago.”
― Misba, The High Auction

“It’s hard not to be glad that the Apocalypse happened. Or they never could’ve found the highest possibilities for humans.”
― Misba, The High Auction

“Yes, time. Win time, live in youth forever, and you’ll pass Grade A, but it’s not the end. Some evolve more, for the evolution of the mind is exponentially infinite. Some High Grades have been Grade A for fifty years. Fifty. Solid. Years!”
― Misba, The High Auction