"The British Empire has always encountered difficulty in distinguishing between its heroes and its monsters." -- Campion Bond, from Memoirs of a British Intelligencer  (Meesons; 1908)

"Today, another wretched letter came from Johnathan. Tomorrow, I am bound for Dover to receive instruction on my recently much-changed career, from Mr. Bond. I must confess, in my new occupation I hope to meet many different and interesting people. On another note, my neck has itched unbearably all day. I wonder why? Ah, well. And so to bed..." -- From the private journal of Miss Wilhelmina Murray, May 20th, 1898.

"If our covert operations during the summer of 1898 had one flaw, it was that damnable sikh. His war with the empire has never truly ended. Nemo. Nemo was our mistake." -- Campion Bond, from Memoirs of an English Intelligencer (Meeson's; 1908).

"It is necessary that the British public be assured that they are in safe hands. It is not essential that they should know whose." -- "M", Military Intelligence (Group Five) memo, circulated June 2, 1898.

"We shall almost certainly die in this endeavor. My colleagues, saving possibly Quatermain, do not seem to care. They are, I fear, all mad. Miss Murray is, in my medical opinion, in a constant state of hysteria caused perhaps by tilting of the womb. Griffin, obviously, is a murderous lunatic. Nemo's a fanatic. And then there's me.

And then there's Edward." -- From the private diary of Dr. Henry Jekyll, August, 1898.

(Note: If I correctly recall my high school health classes, tilting of the womb is one of the possible causes of dysmenorrhea, otherwise known as menstrual cramps. In other words, Dr. Jekyll is saying that Miss Murray is the way she is because it's her time-of-the-month. Typical male.)

"We have heard of this device, above London. They say it was powered by light, but this is surely fantastic. Can it be true? Also, they tell us that the Sikh is still alive and played some part in this affair. I must confess that I do not know what to think. And now these fireballs in the sky! Our element is all in uproar, it would seem. What next? Whatever next?" -- Robur, in private correspondence with Luftkapitan Mors, August 12th, 1898.