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Quotes from Michaelmas — Algis Budrys

1931–2008 Lithuania

← All quotes by Algis Budrys

19 quotes

Never try to reason with a man who can see the blade swinging for his head.

Michaelmas (1977)

Always lobbying for his own emotions, he was the perfect man for a job the administration had tacitly committed to ineptitude.

Michaelmas (1977)

“The world is full of confusing coincidences.”
“And a man’s mind insists on making patterns from random data.”

Michaelmas (1977)

It’s good for us; hot breath on your heels is what keeps you on your toes.

Michaelmas (1977)

The dead must not rise—they undermine everything their dying created.

Michaelmas (1977)

Loss of dignity is after all one of the basics to a good punchy gag.

Michaelmas (1977)

Man, is it wrong to miss being young and sure of yourself?

Michaelmas (1977)

I’m just an information processor like any other living thing.

Michaelmas (1977)

I don’t know...but then, if God had intended Man to think, He would have given him brains, I suppose.

Michaelmas (1977)

“Smart isn’t ‘Can you do it, is it good to do?’ Smart is ‘Can you make ’em believe what you’re doing is real?’ And real is ‘Can you get financing for it?’”

Michaelmas (1977)

I wonder if time-traveling cultures are playing with us. I wonder if they process our history for entertainment values.

Michaelmas (1977)

“I—ah—have some idea.”
“You argue?”
“I propose.”
“Marriage?”
“No. Another form of dialectical antagonism.”

Michaelmas (1977)

“I hate acting on probability.”
“You go to your church and I’ll go to mine.”

Michaelmas (1977)

You know, even more than playing chess, I dislike dealing with self-righteous chess players.

Michaelmas (1977)

“I’m not frightened.
”“None of us are ever frightened. Now and then, we’d just like more time to plan our responses.”

Michaelmas (1977)

That was a classic maniacal farrago, and it boils down to his not being able to understand the world. It wasn’t necessary to count the contradictions after the first one.

Michaelmas (1977)

The horse is a stubborn, dirty, stupid animal that reminds me of a sheep. Its only use is to embody the wings a man feels within him, and to do this it lathers and sweats, defecates and steps in badger holes.

Michaelmas (1977)

It was understood on occasions of this sort that crew technicians are too busy to stay, since it had long ago been discovered that even one cameraman at a buffet was worth a horde of locusts, and tended to make awkward small talk.

Michaelmas (1977)

“Even so, we’re the only animal whose signals can’t be trusted by its own kind.” He smiled. “Except for thee and me, of course.”

Michaelmas (1977)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Algis Budrys (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.