“But I’ve always thought—tests are a gift. And great tests are a great gift. To fail the test is a misfortune. But to refuse the test is to refuse the gift, and something worse, more irrevocable, than misfortune. Do you understand what I’m saying?” “No,” said Vortala. “Yes,” said Vorkosigan. “I’ve always felt that theists were more ruthless than atheists,” said Ezar Vorbarra.
