Robert Sheckley quotes - page 7
A tremor ran through him. He had chosen, he reminded himself. He alone was responsible. The psychological test had proved that.
And yet, how responsible were the psychologists who had given him the test? How responsible was Mike Terry for offering a poor man so much money? Society had woven the noose and put it around his neck, and he was hanging himself with it, and calling it free will.
Robert Sheckley
He turned to Mingus. "Why don't you just leave them alone? I really don't care what your motives are. Hasn't Earth had enough emperors, dictators, generalissimos, war lords, Great Khans, Shahinshahs, Caesars, whatever you want to call them? Some of them had admirable motives-but the only people they really helped were themselves.”
"I suppose you feel that a state of anarchy is preferable?” Mingus asked.
"I think it probably is,” Hieronymous said. "The main defect of anarchy is its vulnerability to people like you.”.
Robert Sheckley
"For information concerning the afterlife,” Miss Ophelia said, "kindly contact your nearest priest, minister, rabbi, mullah or anyone else on the accredited list of God's representatives. Thank you for calling.”
There was a sweet tinkle of chimes. Then the line went dead.
"What did the Big Fellow say?” asked General Muller.
"All I got was double-talk from his secretary.”
"Personally, I don't believe in superstitions like God,” General Muller said. "Even if it happens to be true, I find it healthier not to believe. Shall we get on with it?”
They got on with it.
Robert Sheckley
Would you define Good for me, Citizen Abbot?”
"Certainly. Good is that force within us which inspires men to acts of conformity and subservience. The worship of Good is essentially the worship of oneself, and therefore the only true worship. The self which one worships is the ideal social being: the man content in his niche in society, yet ready to creatively advance his status. Good is gentle, since it is a true reflection of the loving and pitying universe. Good is continually changing in its aspects, although it comes to us in the... You have a strange look on your face, young man.”
"I'm sorry, Citizen Abbot. I believe I heard that sermon, or one very much like it.
Robert Sheckley
Hey, what is this,” he asked.
"I guess maybe you could call it like love,” Caroline said.
"Whaddaya mean, love?” Chet asked. "Your contract expressly forbids you to fall in love during the duration of your tenth kill, and it furthermore explicitly forbids you to fall in love with your Victim.”
"Love,” Caroline said coolly, "existed a long time before contracts.”
"Contracts,” Martin said viciously, "are a lot more enforceable than love.
Robert Sheckley
"We have sympathized with the misplaced obsessive emotionality you have thrown into your delusional activities.”
"What do you mean, ‘delusional'? I know what I'm doing!”
The priest shook his head gently. "Whatever you think is wrong. I suppose you feel that you live your own life and strive to achieve your goals?”
"Well, of course!”
"But that is not the case at all. Actually, you have no independent life of your own. You do not live, you are lived! You are a completely automatic mechanism with a built-in I-reflex. Your life has no meaning, since you are not even a person. You are nothing more than a short-lived, inconsistent, and accidental collection of tendencies. Your only possible relevance is as the unwitting vehicle for the purpose of bringing forth the Avatar.”.
Robert Sheckley
This is a shopping mall,” the Professor said. "At one time it was the central artifact of American life. It was to the Americans what the atrium was to the Romans or the plaza to the Spaniards, the great place of assemblage where one comes and ritually buys food and tries to arrange romantic assignations with attractive members of the preferred sex, whichever that might be.
Robert Sheckley
My dear Dahl, the first, the primary, task is to bring the earth back into ecological balance. That's your task, you and the Bahamas Corporation. Ours is to give people something exciting to do other than war while that is going on. Without us and our Hunt, you and your high-minded scientists will just be another group of dreamers living in an imaginary kingdom of sweet reason while the madness of real politics rages all around you. Be practical, Dahl, let's do something together.”
"There is something in what you say,” Dahl admitted. "I've been aware for some time of the shortcomings inherent in the sane, dispassionate thinking that we scientists advocate. People don't pay any attention. Unless there's an emergency like Love Canal or Chernobyl, the idea of maintaining and upgrading the earth and its ecosystems is not exactly box-office.
Robert Sheckley