And once again I found myself wondering, as I drifted off to stunned and unbelieving sleep:How do these terrible things always happen to me?

Our universe is ruled by random whim, inhabited by people who laugh at logic.

Life teaches us that human thought almost never walks hand in hand with logic, and it is usually counterproductive to raise the point.

Of course, having information to use is one thing. Knowing what it means and how to use it is a different story.

It was almost enough to make me feel emotion.

A reasonable being might think that he and I could find some common ground; have a cup of coffee and compare our Passengers, exchange trade talk and chitchat about dismemberment techniques. But no: Doakes wanted me dead. And I found it difficult to share his point of view.

When faced with people who have very limited conversational skills and no apparent desire to cultivate any it's always easier to simply go along.