A.E. van Vogt > Quotes

“Resistance, however, is useless. (1939)”
― A. E. Van Vogt

“If I believe the same things today I did yesterday I've learned nothing.”
― A.E. van Vogt

“The right to buy weapons is the right to be free.”
― A.E. Van Vogt

“And the more technically developed a nation or race is, the more cruel, ruthless, predatory, and commercialized its systems tend to become … all because we continue to think like animals and have not learned how to think consistently like human beings. A. K.”
― A.E. van Vogt, The World of Null-A

“You have to remember that I was a bright but simple fellow from Canada who seldom, if ever, met another writer, and then only a so-called literary type that occasionally sold a story and meanwhile worked in an office for a living.”
― A. E. Van Vogt

“Science fiction is a field of writing where, month after month, every printed word implies to hundreds of thousands of people: 'There is change. Look, today's fantastic story is tomorrow's fact.”
― Van Vogt a.E

“[He] had the hard eyes of the disciplinarian and the smile of a man who must be tactful and pleasant to many people.”
― A.E. van Vogt, The World of Null-A

“When a people lose the courage to resist encroachment on their rights, then they can’t be saved by an outside force. Our belief is that people always have the kind of government they want and that individuals must bear the risks of freedom, even to the extent of giving their lives.”
― A.E. van Vogt, The Weapon Shops of Isher

“His mind, grooved through the uncounted ages to ultimate despair, soared up insanely. His legs and arms glistened like tongues of living fire as they writhed and twisted in the light that blazed from the portholes. His mouth, a gash in his caricature of a human head, slavered a white frost that floated away in little frozen globules.”
― A.E Van Vogt

“You assume far too readily that man is a paragon of justice, forgetting, apparently, that he has a long and savage history. He has killed other animals not only for meat but for pleasure; he has enslaved his neighbors, murdered his opponents, and obtained the most unholy sadistical joy from the agony of others. It is not impossible that we shall, in the course of our travels, meet other intelligent creatures far more worthy than man to rule the universe.”
― A.E. van Vogt, The Voyage of the Space Beagle

“People always have the kind of government they want. When they want change, they must change it.”
― A.E. van Vogt, The Weapon Shops of Isher

“In a completely unreligious sense, he longed for spiritual surcease.”
― A.E. van Vogt, The World of Null-A

“Era bueno saberlo. Las explicaciones despejaban la mente, eliminaban tensiones del sistema nervioso y liberaban al cuerpo de la servidumbre de las excitaciones negativas, permitiéndole una actividad más positiva.”
― A.E. van Vogt, The World of Null-A

“When a people lose the courage to resist encroachment on their rights, then they can’t be saved by an outside force. Our belief is that people always have the kind of government they want and that individuals must bear the risks of freedom, even to the extent of giving their lives.” There”
― A.E. van Vogt, The Weapon Shops of Isher

“He had a sudden awareness of what a wonderful organization the Weapon Makers were, with their shops existing In tens of thousands of cities and towns in the far-flung Isher Empire, an independent, outlawed, indestructible, altruistic, opposition to tyranny.”
― A. E. Van Vogt

“I looked up its history, and, surprisingly, it has quite a history. You know how in Europe they make you study a lot of stuff about the old alchemists and all that kind of stuff, to give you an historical grounding.'

'Yes?'

Kemp laughed. 'You haven't got a witch around your place by any chance?'

'Eh!' The exclamation almost burned Marson's lips. He fought hard to hide the tremendousness of that shock.

Kemp laughed again. 'According to 'Die Geschichte der Zauberinnen' by the Austrian, Karl Gloeck, Hydrodendon Barelia is the modem name for the sinister witch's weed of antiquity. I'm not talking about the special witches of our Christian lore, with their childish attributes, but the old tribe of devil's creatures that came out of prehistory, regular full-blooded sea witches. It seems when each successive body gets old, they choose a young woman's body, attune themselves to it by living with the victim, and take possession any time after midnight of the first full moon period following the 21st of June. Witch's weed is supposed to make the entry easier. Gloeck says... why, what's the matter, sir?'

His impulse, his wild and terrible impulse, was to babble the whole story to Kemp. With a gigantic effort, he stopped himself; for Kemp, though he might talk easily of witches, was a scientist to the depths of his soul.

("The Witch")”
― A.E. van Vogt, Zacherley's Vulture Stew

“Contentedly sat the old woman. Soon now, the sea would hold no terrors, and the blinds wouldn't have to be down, nor the windows shut; she would even be able to walk along the shore at midnight as of old; and they, whom she had deserted so long ago, would once more shrink from the irresistable energy aura of her new, young body.

The sound of the sea came to her, where she sat so quietly; calm sound at first, almost gentle in the soft sibilation of each wave thrust. Farther out, the voices of the water were louder, more raucous, blatantly confident, but the meaning of what they said was blurred by the distance, a dim, clamorous confusion that rustled discordantly out of the gathering night.

Night!

She shouldn't be aware of night falling, when the blinds were drawn.

("The Witch")”
― A.E. van Vogt, Zacherley's Vulture Stew

“The mist enveloped her form. She was lifted into it, then instantly dropped. Swiftly, the mist retreated to the window.

It was gone. The old woman lay flat on her back, eyes open and staring; her mouth open, too, unprettily.

That was the over-all effect - the utter lack of anything beautiful.

("The Witch")”
― A.E. van Vogt, Zacherley's Vulture Stew

“When a people lose the courage to resist encroachment on their rights, then they can’t be saved by an outside force. Our belief is that people always have the kind of government they want”
― A.E. van Vogt, The Weapon Shops of Isher

“There is nothing more futile than arguing with someone who has no basis for his opinions but a vague backlash of emotions.”
― A.E. van Vogt, The Gryb

“Wait!” he told himself, “give it time. After all, a human being is complex and probably responds slowly.”
He was still thinking that when a voice said right into his ears, “Emergency report: power be now used by a not known unit.”
Marin jumped involuntarily and turned his head. The shock of that voice was throbbing inside him as he twisted his head and looked around wildly for the speaker. Except for the silent form, on the floor beside him, the laboratory was empty.
Before he could think about that, a second voice said, “Directional find —did be find interfere unit—Group 814 area.”
There was a pause, and once more Marin gazed around the room. It was still deserted. His mind began to work. He thought, Why, they’re speaking straight into my brain.
Mental telepathy. But how—what?
That was as far as he got. A third voice said, “No contact be possible. Receiving unit be human person. Further operation command be now necessary and include more data.”
Other sensations—not verbal—were coming now. They seemed to be more on the level of automatic processes, partly below consciousness.
Marin could feel a tugging at what seemed to be the base of his brain, and then, vaguely, stirrings inside his body: changes taking place, readjustments of functions, tiny manipulations of his glands and cells. The contact was as deep and thorough as that.”
― A.E. van Vogt, The Mind Cage

“THE VOYAGE OF THE SPACE BEAGLE”
― A.E. van Vogt, The Voyage of the Space Beagle

“He was a man who had his own urgent problems, but he visualized the life of this rejected girl, and it hurt him. She seemed to be full of energy, and—despite her deadly existence —operating on a high level of liveliness and good spirits. He began to question her casually. What kind of jobs had she held? Where did she sleep when she didn’t have a Wade Trask to provide a temporary haven for her? What about mail? Had she ever tried living in the Pripp section of the city? What about moving to the country? . . . It was a long list of questions. Riva replied, sometimes vaguely, but she seldom hesitated. In about an hour he had her life in outline.
Her early childhood was dim. She had recollections of being with parents who moved, drove, flew—always seeking remoter distances of escape. And always the reaching red tape of the Great Judge’s registrars followed them. They were among the minority who were invariably refused group status. Their past connection with the Brain dogged them, brought them to ruin and hopelessness. The finale came with crushing unexpectedness. The Control descended one day upon the hovel where they lived. The father, unbelieving and protesting, was led out and put against the wall of the shack, and shot. There was no explanation, no further direct interference—but the breadwinner was gone. For mother and daughter, the time of nightmare had come.
The transition to woman of the town took place in direct proportion to the need for food.”
― A.E. van Vogt, The Mind Cage

“The guard looked again at the card, and then said as he handed it back, “Nexialism? What’s that?” “Applied whole-ism,” said Grosvenor, and stepped across the threshold.”
― A.E. van Vogt, The Voyage of the Space Beagle

“He came forward. “Mr. Trask,” he said. “My name is Martin Carroll. I expect shortly to receive orders to obtain from you, by any means, a full account of your activities.”
Marin studied the man’s face. He was remembering Carroll. He had seen him once or twice with Slater, he recalled. Carroll was a type. Strongly dedicated to duty, he was a dangerous adversary because he had no doubt about the rightness of the work he did.
Marin had only a passing interest in the man. He knew his own needs in what was developing here. Only hate in all its violence could maintain the muscles and nerves of any living creature against torture. He had no time for kind thoughts or for reason—except at the far edge of his mind.”
― A.E. van Vogt, The Mind Cage

“Yes, Mr. Brender?” “Dave, get me all the data on the Tower of the Beast and the legendary city of Li in which it is supposed to exist.” “Don’t need to look it up,” came the crisp reply. “Most Martian histories refer to it as the beast that fell from the sky when Mars was young—some terrible warning connected with it—the beast was unconscious when found—said to be the result of its falling out of sub-space. Martians read its mind; and were so horrified by its subconscious intentions they tried to kill it, but couldn’t. So they built a huge vault, about fifteen hundred feet in diameter and a mile high—and the beast, apparently of these dimensions, was locked in. Several attempts have been made to find the city of Li, but without success. Generally believed to be a myth. That’s all, Jim.” “Thank you!”
― A.E. van Vogt, Vault of the Beast

“Sad se možete, zapovjedniče, upitati kakve to veze ima s vašim pitanjem. Moj odgovor glasi: u povijesti ne postoji primjer da bi neka kultura najednom ušla u razdoblje anarhije i građanskih ratova. Uvijek je riječ o sporom razvoju; a prvi je korak bespoštedno preispitivanje svega što je nekad bilo sveto. Unutarnja izvjesnost prestane postojati i raspada se pod nemilosrdnim sondiranjem znanstvenog i analitičkog uma. Skeptik postaje najviši oblik postojanja.”
― Alfred E. Van Vogt

“His mind drifted oddly. . . .
. . . Hard to imagine what moment would be right for a rebellion against so powerful an adversary as an immortal dictator. The group in Jorgia might delay their action too long; he couldn’t wait.
Marin frowned sleepily. “Did I think that?” He had not ever before even considered rebellion. And what was that about a Jorgian group? Could it be that, just for an instant, here at the edge of sleep, a Trask plan had slipped through to his consciousness? But why rebellion? It didn’t fit. A man who could shift his awareness and his identity from one body to another didn’t need revolutions. Besides, it would be impossible.
The group idea, combined with free enterprise, and pregnant with great ideas, was just beginning to take hold. Like a giant, it strode over the land, crushing all resistance and simultaneously inspiring hope. At such moments men did not listen easily to voices that warned against faraway disaster or urged the possibility of even greater creativity.
Again his mind wandered. If they don’t act, he thought, I’ll have to act on my own.
He felt relieved that he hadn’t told anyone of his invention. And so, all by himself, he was able to act—on the greatest scale.
Marin slept uneasily, and his dreams were vague yet purposeful. He seemed to be permeated with secret plans that were not his own.”
― A.E. van Vogt, The Mind Cage

“She said, “You’re going to kill me, aren’t you? The Great Judge always orders the death of the leaders of the territory he takes over. I want you to know that I am ready for death, but I wish to make one request of my conqueror.”
It was not the moment to disillusion her about her fate. But there was no doubt that she was in a melodramatic state. He guessed he was about to have some sort of emotional appeal made to him. He said, in an even voice, “Any reasonable request, which does not conflict with my instructions, will be granted to your highness.”
She came toward him, swaying a little, and there was a hint of imminent tears in the way she held her mouth, and in her voice, as she said, “General, to you this conquest of Jorgia may only be an episode, but for me it is the end of an era. In my death throes, I have wild thoughts about many things.
To me, being the conquered is laden with symbolic meanings, and somehow the conqueror is interwoven into these symbols. I am woman, conquered, and you are man, conqueror. Although I had no more than a fleeting glimpse of you . . . earlier . . . I had then the feeling of fear and hate . . . and love.”
He didn’t have to lock the door. That had been done automatically on his earlier instructions.
He lifted the woman lightly into his arms and carried her into the bedroom. The fire that was in her made her reach for him. She had strength, this woman, at this moment, as she grasped at him and pulled him down.
In the pale light of dawn, they lay side by side, exhausted but not asleep, and she said, “You’ll never forget me, will you?”
“Never,” said Marin.
“You may kill me now,” she said, sighing. “I feel a rightness in me. The defect is consummated.”
And he thought, wonderingly, Perhaps it had been two condemned people clutching at a last fling of life. For, unless he could find a solution to his problem, he was really condemned. And she thought she was.”
― A.E. van Vogt, The Mind Cage

“. . . Wasted. . . .
Breakfast with the Great Judge was uneventful. They did not talk of the Jorgian war.
Shortly after breakfast Marin winged away from the Judge’s Court.
As he removed the Marin disguise from the face and body of Wade Trask, he could mentally list only two things that had occurred during his visit. The Great Judge had listened to his plea on behalf of Wade Trask. And Delindy had secretly come to him to arrange the details of her going with him to Asia.
It seemed to him, who could leave nothing to chance, that either event could have been the main reason for his being invited to Court. He could well imagine that the conversation of the previous evening had been promoted by the Great Judge himself, and not by Edmund Slater. And Delindy’s coming to him had three possible explanations. On the one hand the Great Judge might be coolly using his own mistress to spy on her former lover, clearly confident that she would be loyal to the ruler of a planet rather than to some underling. On the other hand, Delindy herself might be a Jorgian spy using her body, first to ensnare a Group Master, and then the dictator, for her own country. The third possibility was that she loved David Marin.
There was actually, Marin realized, a fourth consideration that he could have. She was a pawn of the Brain, unconsciously doing that mechanical being’s work and consciously just being whatever she normally was.
Uneasily, Marin put that thought away from him. Not that it didn’t have substance or meaning. It was simply too bizarre and out of his control.”
― A.E. van Vogt, The Mind Cage