Scrabbling like mad at their beloved fence, the politicians tried to avoid taking a definite position on either side. - William Tenn

The real world. As good a name for it as any other. Carter was a mystic never and a Freudian only when the occasion suited him. His credo was simple: anything that is, is real.

And, as a result of this examination," the forked pink beard smiled down gently from above, "the specialists discovered that what you call the human race was nonviable. That is, while the individuals composing it had strongly developed instincts of self-preservation, the species as a whole was suicidal."
"Suicidal!" I found myself breathing up with rest.
"Quite. This is a matter on which there can be little argument from the more honest among you. High civilization is a product of communal living and Man, in groups, has always tended to wipe himself out. In fact, a large factor in the development of what little civilization you do experience has been the rewards contingent upon the development of mass-destruction weapons.

They said you treated them very well, that you showed them as much respect as a thing like you could generate. They also said you cheated them."
"Oh, well, Theseus," Hebster spread his manicured hands. "I'm a businessman.