“And even as he quaked with fear of such a catastrophe, he knew he was letting himself wallow in it for a superstitious reason. If you consciously envisioned something that dreadful, then it couldn’t possibly take place, could it…God or Fate would refuse to be anticipated by a mere mortal, wouldn’t He…He always insisted on giving His disasters the purity of surprise, didn’t He…And yet—and yet—some forms of doom are so obvious you can’t avoid them that way, can you!”