- Ozymandias: About a hundred years ago - not long - when the Tripods first appeared, they destroyed whole cities. Millions of people were killed or starved. And those that were left, the Tripods capped.
- Ozymandias: Once that cap goes on, out go other things.
- Will Parker: What other things?
- Ozymandias: A sense of wonder, curiosity... feelings of aggression and rebellion.
- Ozymandias: There is no land in this whole world without Tripods. But there is a place where men are free, waiting for sufficient numbers and power to rid the world of Tripods.
- Will Parker: Where is this place?
- Ozymandias: We call it the White Mountain.