The Sirens of Titan

by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

"Rebuttal—a punctual word if there ever was one," said Rumfoord. "I say this, and then you rebut me, then I rebut you, then somebody else comes in and rebuts us both." He shuddered. "What a nightmare where everybody gets in line to rebut each other."

nobody thinks or notices anything as long as his luck is good.

"Any man who would change the World in a significant way must have showmanship, a genial willingness to shed other people’s blood, and a plausible new religion to introduce during the brief period of repentance and horror that usually follows bloodshed.

"Don’t truth me, Unk," said Boaz, "and I won’t truth you."

colorlessness. "I was a victim of a series of accidents," he said. He shrugged. "As are we all," he said.

The Earthlings behaved at all times as though there were a big eye in the sky—as though that big eye were ravenous for entertainment. The big eye was a glutton for great theater. The big eye was indifferent as to whether the Earthling shows were comedy, tragedy, farce, satire, athletics, or vaudeville. Its demand, which Earthings apparently found as irresistible as gravity, was that the shows be great.