People From Chicago

"“You make him sound like a spiteful man,” noted Bonhomme. “No,” said Suma. “Just greedy.” “Everybody’s greedy,” replied Bonhomme. He just happens to be a little more efficient at it than most of us.”"

"“I take it you’ve never made love beneath a full tropical moon?” said the Madonna with a smile. “I’ve never made love beneath any moon,” he replied. “One of the drawbacks of a career in accountancy.”"

"It had been a good line; he had known it the instant he uttered it. The funny part, he thought with a rare feeling of serenity, was that it was also the truth."

"“I never said that.” “You never had to,” he replied with a smile. “I’m good at my job, remember? And part of that job is listening to what people say and figuring out what they mean.”"

"Redwine wondered what the going price of a conscience was, but named a figure that seemed to hover just between the top end of Reasonable and the bottom of Ostentatious."

"“You’re a fool, Harry.” “I know,” he said softly. “That doesn’t make you any less of one,” she replied."

"“Look, I didn’t ask you here to talk business.” “Just why did you ask me, Harry?” “I’m lonely.” “You should have let me select a companion for you.” “I said lonely, not horny.” He paused. “Well, maybe a little of each.” “Just a little?” she asked, arching an eyebrow. “Accounting isn’t exactly a universal aphrodisiac,” he said. “Otherwise I would have propositioned you already.” “And why am I so blessed?” “I don’t know any of the others,” he answered. “And you only go to bed with people you know?” She laughed. “That’s contrary to the whole purpose of a brothel.”"

"“I probably shouldn’t admit this to you, but I don’t enjoy sleeping alone since I’ve met you. And I’m certainly not going to seduce your body if I know your mind is still working away on this paranoid fantasy.” She paused. “So the sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can go back to behaving like normal adult human beings.”"

"“It lacks the conviction of your other lies,” she laughed. “True,” he admitted. “But you have to understand that my entire training as a liar has been directed at the tax collectors.” “I didn’t know that deceit and falsehood went to hand-in-glove with accounting.” “They go hand-in-glove with everything,” answered Redwine seriously."

"“Kabalka Five? That’s an alien world, isn’t it?” “It doesn’t take aliens long to find out what men will do for gold,” she replied."

"“What would you be if you could be anything at all?” she asked. “Happy.”"

"“I take it that you’re not much of a romantic,” he remarked wryly. “Only when I’m paid to be.”"

"Harry, I wish you wouldn’t sound so damn sincere. I’m not used to it."

"“Maybe things are different on his world.” “As near as I can tell, there’s one basic law anywhere you go in the universe: the strong eat the weak.”"

"The mind discerns and decides, and the heart vetoes. It is a very inefficient system."

"He mumbles something that wouldn’t make any sense even if he was saying it clearly."

"“He didn’t seem to mind his people being fleeced so much after I slapped him a couple of thousand credits,” remarked Flint wryly. “I guess death and taxes aren’t the only constants in the universe.”"

"“What’s your secret, Mr. Flint?” asked Jiminy with a smile. “The two greatest aphrodisiacs in the universe,” answered Flint easily. “Money and power.” He paused. “A hell of a lot of rhinos could’ve kept their horns if people had just looked at things the way they are, instead of the way they’d like them to be.”"

"“I’ve always wanted what people told me I couldn’t have,” responded Flint. “You’ve never wanted all that much of anything. Which do you suppose is worse?”"

"“These are not Men you are talking about,” said Violet. “They are aliens who eat insects, wantonly brutalize small animals, have yet to discover the wheel or the lever, and live in burrows. Would you have them remain at this stage of social evolution forever?” “Certainly not—but I would not force change upon them.” “Oh?” she said sardonically. “Then may I presume that you have not attempted to spread the word of Our Lord Jesus Christ among them?” “That is not the same thing.” “Of course not. You are doing it, not I.” She smiled. “I believe the word for that is ‘hypocrite’.”"

"She marveled, as she always did, that medical science had kept her alive and functioning this long, at the same time wondering what demons within her could so pollute this fresh blood that within four weeks it would be as useless and diseased as that which was now being drained from her. McFarley, she decided, would call it the curse of ambition. She preferred to think of it as the price of greatness. From time to time she wondered whether time would prove her or McFarley correct, or whether her condition was simply the result of an indifferent God in an indifferent universe."

"She wrote very selectively of the Peponi she remembered, emphasizing those aspects that she found praiseworthy and ignoring the less savory events of her life. As Hardwycke had put it during one of our conversations, every line of the book was true, but the book itself was one big lie."

"Whether you approve of them or not, changes are coming to Karimon. It will become a modern world, a working member of the Republic. You can make the transition from savagery to civilization easier, or you can make it more difficult, but you cannot stop it."

"Benny shakes his head. “This is America, Lamont,” he says. “America’s out there somewhere!” growls Lamont, waving his hand toward the door. “This is Manhattan.”"

"“This is survival of the fittest, Mr. Redwine.” “Or of the least moral,” he said bitterly. “It comes to the same thing in the end,” she acknowledged pleasantly."

"“Besides,” she added, “the Madonna has been very stupid.” “Oh? In what way?” “She forgot the prime axiom of a whorehouse: that there’s a difference between love and sex. Her job is dispensing sex, and instead she fell in love with the man who is rigging the Comet’s books. It was a very unprofessional thing to do.”"

"“Let’s be reasonable,” suggests Bet-a-Bunch Murphy, which I personally think would make a pleasant change."

"You measure a man by what he beats, Thaddeus—not by what he avoids."

"“Nobody wins in a war.” “Nonsense, Arthur. That sounds great in a university lecture or a book, but the fact is that someone always wins. Who do you think writes the history books? The winners.”"

"And there was never any question about coming back: no one ever goes back to Peponi. Whatever it was that brought you there has got to change before you leave, and once it has changed, you don’t want to see what it’s become."

"“I don’t believe you.” “What you believe is of no importance to me.”"

"It takes a lot out of a man to civilize a world, and it’s self-defeating in the end, because the kind of man who does it doesn’t want to see the results."

"“Is it true?” “Probably. But just for the record, is what true?”"

"If nothing else, money buys you a higher class of woman."

"I decided that the only way to judge him was to balance the good he had done against the evil—and by that criterion, he came out better than most Men."

"“Contrary to what you may think about prostitutes, Harry, none of us were brought up to screw in front of an audience. But after a couple of lives get saved because Security sees a problem developing, and after you realize that they’re not simply a batch of drooling voyeurs at the other end of the monitors, you come to accept and appreciate them, and after a while you don’t even think of them at all.” She paused. “One of the first things a prostitute learns how to do is not think of things, especially while they’re happening to her.”"

"To paraphrase J. B. S. Haldane, the universe not only held more red tape than anyone imagined; it held more red tape than anyone could imagine."

"He reminds me of my little sister, Sweetie-pie Bubba-Sue Goldberg. The only thing that’s kept me from smothering her in her sleep is that she was accidentally cryogenically frozen at the age of thirteen. Daddy’s spent a fortune on research scientists. They’re looking for a cure for adolescence."

"Gabriel Pickett looked like any farmer anywhere—lean, hard, and overworked."

"If he used Company ships and personnel to stop an alien invasion, somebody someday might file a report that would be the only sort of report that the bureaucracy handled with the speed of lightning: that someone was bypassing the bureaucracy."

"“As for talking business,” he continued carefully, “I haven’t heard any offers yet.” “You’re still alive,” said MacLemore. “That’s not necessarily a permanent condition.”"

"“Don’t believe everything you hear,” said the Mouse. Ryan laughed again. “If I believed half of what I heard, I’d be dead and buried already.”"

"“Still,” he added, “I thank you for your concern. When the election is over, I will remember who my friends are.” “I just hope you remember who your enemies are before the election is held,” said Beddoes sincerely.”"

"I’m trying to tell you that you can trust me because I’m motivated by the most basic human emotion: greed."

"“A moral assassin,” she said with an amused smile. “Not everyone gets into this business because they like to kill people,” he replied. “Then why do you do it?” “Because I find all forms of business distasteful,” answered Chandler. “This one pays me enough so that I don’t have to work very often.”"

"“Look,” said Chandler. “Either we’ve got free will or we don’t. If we do, then we are doing the right thing. If we don’t, then we can’t do anything else, anyway. So what’s the point of worrying about it?” “Because we can stop right now if we decide to.” He smiled. “And how will you know that the Oracle didn’t change her mind and choose a future in which we stopped?” She wearily leaned back on the chair. “Where does it end?” “Second guessing fate?” asked Chandler. “Never. That’s why it’s a good idea not to start.”"

"“Fast is good,” said the Iceman. “Accurate is better.” He paused again. “And knowing when not to shoot is better still.”"

"The only thing I’m really good at is wishing I was somewhere else."

"It's a world that accepts people more for who they are, and whoever you are, at this point, you can find your thing."

"Well the only way for you to know (my thoughts on political questions) would be through The Boondocks. I decided a long time ago to stop engaging in the conversation. If I had anything worthwhile to say, I should say it in the work."