George Alec Effinger

She gave me a wide-eyed, innocent smile that looked as out of place on her as it would have on a desert scorpion.

The male sexual drive is supposed to fall off during moments of stress," he thought. "It is comforting sometimes to know that I must be abnormal. Especially in a situation like this. Perpetual lust has got to be good for the human race.

We tread on unsure ground, theologically. The doctrines are still in the malleable state; what eventually evolves from them will owe its existence not to pre-eminent merit, but to the shrewdness of the compromises made by the factions.

I believe that it is possible to overlegislate ourselves into a highly restrictive form of government.

How quickly I could clean this desk," she thought, "if only the wastebasket were larger.

“You shouldn’t be so critical,” said Mike the bartender. “Some people like this kind of thing, you know.”
“The kind of person who gets excited over that, I don’t care about,” said Ernest.

The network was running a pre-recorded tape of a morning quiz show. The contestants looked vapid, the announcer cheerfully bored, the questions pointless, and the prizes undesirable.

The universe doesn't have secrets," I said cynically, "only lies and swindles.

Are you happy, Norman?" asked Brant.
Well, sure, I guess.
That's what I thought," she said bitterly. "Neither am I.

Perhaps he could organize everyone. He could stand up on something and shout slogans until he had attracted enough attention. Then he could begin some rambling speech, hoping that the people around him would be so desperate for leadership they wouldn’t notice the absurdity of what he said.

Let me make it clear: You don’t want his disapproval. He never forgets these things. If he needs to, he hires other people to carry his grudges for him.

I wonder," he thought, "is it worth getting myself crushed in that crowd just to save my life? Is it worth getting all frustrated and angry, lowering myself to their level, pushing and shoving with all the rest, fighting like a common animal, just to stay alive?" He smiled ruefully. "It always comes to the simple question: what is more important, life or self-respect?

The longer I observe the way people really act, the happier I am that I never pay attention to them.

Was that what he wanted, what the grand scheme of Utopia 3 was designed for? It was a lot like death, only more tedious.

Proper knowledge defeats the shouting minions of emotion.