A malfunction of this type can be cured only by changing the nature of the universe, which is, of course, impractical. - Robert Sheckley

The coincidence would be too great anywhere except in Venice, where the machinery of illusion delights in casting up the improbable, the unusual, and the unexpected. There is a price, of course; by tampering with probabilities, Venice induces a deterioration in the commonplace—to her disadvantage.

A little prescience goes a long way, especially in a galaxy as disorganized as this one.

For the question inevitably remains, is Polletti’s admission of fear a magnificent conquest of the unconquerable, or a mere admission of the inadmissable?