It is a long-cherished tradition among a certain type of military thinker that huge casualties are the main thing. If they are on the other side then this is a valuable bonus.

Historical Re-creation, he thought glumly, as they picked their way across, under, over or through the boulders and insect-buzzing heaps of splintered timber, with streamlets running everywhere. Only we do it with people dressing up and running around with blunt weapons, and people selling hot dogs, and the girls all miserable because they can only dress up as wenches, wenching being the only job available to women in the olden days.

I used to like reading and you read enough books and you overflow and then you start writing.

It's not lying when you do it to officers!

Don't be smart. Smart is only a polished version of dumb. Try intelligence. It will surely see you through.

All the higher life forms scythed away, just like that. [ . . . ] Nothing but dust and fundamentalists.

That's what I don't like about magic, it does everything by magic!