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“Very well, you possess free will; but now you must use your free will to enslave yourself to God and to us.”
― Robert Sheckley, Dimension of Miracles

“A great majority of Terrans were idealists, and they believed fervently in concepts such as truth, justice, mercy, and the like. And not only did they believe, they also let those noble concepts guide their actions—except when it would be inconvenient or unprofitable. When that happened, they acted expediently, but continued to talk moralistically. This meant that they were “hypocrites” —a term which every race has its counterpart of.”
― Robert Sheckley, Store of the Worlds: The Stories of Robert Sheckley

“Perfection does not exist. To understand it is the triumph of human intelligence; the desire to possess it is the most dangerous kind of madness.”
― Alfred de Musset

“I could probably sit here in my office and do nothing, and the criminal would find his way to me. That’s how strong the probabilities are in my favor.”
― Robert Sheckley, Mindswap