Sometimes wealth and power merely created the desire for more of the same. - Charles Sheffield

Many plans featured that old standby, prayer. Its historical record of effectiveness apparently discouraged few people, although I, regrettably, am among the skeptics. All the churches were full. It is not clear to me exactly what prayers were being offered by their occupants. The temporary suspension, perhaps, of the laws of physics? The art galleries and theaters also reported record crowds. If religion is an opiate, art is an anodyne.

You pursue progress, even if you suspect that it is an illusion.

The laws of probability not only permit coincidences; they absolutely insist on them.