Because there was only one thing worse than dying. And that was knowing you were going to die. And where. And how. (โDeath Shipโ)
Richard MathesonIn a world of monotonous horror there could be no salvation in wild dreaming. Horror he had adjusted to. But monotony was the greater obstacle, and he realized it now, understood it at long last. And understanding it seemed to give him a sort of quiet peace, a sense of having spread all the cards on his mental table, examined them, and settled conclusively on the desired hand.
Richard MathesonI felt puny and absurd, a ludicrous midget. Easy enough to talk of soul and spirit and existential worth, but not when you're three feet tall.
Richard MathesonNot only did I rediscover every experience of my life, I had to live each unfulfilled desire as wellโas though theyโd been fulfilled. I saw that what transpires in the mind is just as real as any flesh and blood occurrence. What had only been imagination in life, now became tangible, each fantasy a full reality. I lived them allโwhile, at the same time, standing to the side, a witness to their, often, intimate squalor. A witness cursed with total objectivity.
Richard Matheson