The History Of The Universe

What's One More Meaningless Act Of Violence On That Zoo Of A Planet? It Would Be Appropriate. When In Rome; Burn It.

An Outside Context Problem Was The Sort Of Thing Most Civilisations Encountered Just Once, And Which They Tended To Encounter Rather In The Same Way A Sentence Encountered A Full Stop.

...[changers] Were A Threat To Identity, A Challenge To The Individualism Even Of Those They Were Never Likely To Impersonate. It Had Nothing To Do With Souls Or Physical Or Spiritual Possession; It Was, As The Idirans Well Understood, The Behavouristic Copying Of Another Which Revolted. Individuality, The Thing Which Most Humans Held More Precious Than Anything Else About Themselves, Was Somehow Cheapened By The Ease With Which A Changer Could Ignore It As A Limitation And Use It As A Disguise.

-"then What," Lededje Asked, Trying To Keep Her Voice Cold And Not Get Caught Up In The Avatar´s Obvious Enthusiasm, "is Making You Smile About A Disaster?" -"well, First, I Didn´t Cause It! Nothing To Do With Me, Hands Clean. Always A Bonus.

"don't You Have A Religion?" Dorolow Asked Horza. "yes," He Replied, Not Taking His Eyes Away From The Screen On The Wall Above The End Of The Main Mess-room Table. "my Survival."