Deaths Gambit Quotes

The universe ran on death. All the clockwork wonders in the world couldn’t halt entropy. You could work with death or you could let it happen; that was all.

The Wookiee gambit.' he said with a smile. I didn't have a clue what he was talking about, but somewhere in my head a distant memory was forming. He raised an eyebrow. 'Christ, Alex, what have they done to your brain? You don't remember Star Wars?

The Kel unsheathed their swords, each tinted differently, blank bars of light. Cheris's ran from blue near the hilt to red at the tip. As they closed with the enemy, numbers blazed to life along the lengths of the blades: the day and the hour of your death, as the Kel liked to say.

Never Submit, Never Surrender.

She observes their habits and the games they play to stay alert. Regicide, Nine-gambit and Senet in the officers’ refectory; Ashtapada in cartography; Gow, and Hounds and Wolves, in the war room; games of dice and wager in the billet decks; hands of Tarock on the fuse canisters of the autoloaders; rounds of Song and Cartomance in the dining halls, fast-shuffled turns of Thrice-My-Trick in the boiler sumps.

Even when the military pundits explained it would rip apart the city and kill untold millions in the capital, they could not be dissuaded. They relished the opportunity to attack those different from them, no matter the cost to those who lived in the blast zone. Their gods were mayhem, destruction, and death, not necessarily in that order.

When you give me the insufficient with requirements making it improbable, you finally admit you think it is impossible to accomplish.

But then that raises the question for you as the leader: What are you willing to do to accomplish what you set out to do? What are you willing to accept? Know that, and then you will understand and your core is hardened to the point your people need it to be to follow where you go. Not because they believe in you, but because they trust that you are going where they already wish to go, but need your help to get there. Not everyone is in this life only for themselves. They want to be part of something larger and if that means they become a programmer, marine, cook, janitor, whatever the hell it is so that the goal which is bigger than themselves is accomplished, then they are satisfied with their efforts and they have done something amazing. As a leader, you have to accept the hurt, the pain, and the deaths that your choices will cause. This is your task: Focus on the totem (the goal, if you will), lead your team with empathy, never wavering from balancing life against the short term needs, and allowing those around you to help advise, but always be steadfast, especially in times of greatest sorrow.

Never lose sight of love, even when you cry as you send your people to their deaths. And know that you’re not asking them to do anything you aren’t doing yourself. Finally, just a note on your comment about me not being a ‘Monster.’ Just know that monster is just a term of perspective, of opinion and often as a result of fear. I am over two centuries old, and I can tell you that my desire to right the wrongs of injustice are a peculiar set of desires that well up in me regardless of my other feelings. They are based on a particular mindset, that other alien species do not ascribe to. They kill without concern; I kill them back. What they term acceptable, I term evil, and so the witch in the night visits them. To them? I am a monster. And I fall asleep knowing that the fear of me keeps evil’s hands in check. Bethany Anne

When you push, and push, and push someone trying to act civil, and strip away all reasons to stay shackled with the irons of civility you are left with Death and Her Four Horseman.

With a voice only starting to come back, Carl replied, “Do? Frank. There is only one choice. I have to wake Him up.” Any color left in Carl’s face totally faded away. Oh my, God, he thought. What’s going to happen now? Frank, on the line hundreds of miles away, had much the same thought. Except his thought was even more concise. It was simply, “Oh shit.” Washington,

Rock, meet hard place. This

Michael believed in the old biblical philosophy of cut down the tree, burn out the roots and then salt the ground so nothing ever grew there again. Nathan

at all,” he said. “I was surrounded by hundreds of men waiting for the end of their lives, waiting for that something better that comes after death. I felt the same way. I wanted to believe there was something better on the other side. I was killing time in prison, waiting for that crossover. And that's when Pascal's gambit popped into my head, but with a small twist. What if I was wrong? What if there was no other side. What if, in all the eons of eternity, this was the one and only time that I would be alive. How would I live my life if that were the case? Know what I mean? What if this was all there is?

One should know truth, and truth was taking the time to know oneself. Not to lie about your actions, your feelings, your thoughts and beliefs but accept yourself for what and who you are. Once you understand those things, your future is more assured as you won’t subconsciously be fighting both your enemies and yourself to accomplish your goals. Michael

once you go down the stupid path when you’re older you tend to stick to the path.

Admiral,” he said.  He couldn't resist.  “Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.

Space and time blurred and the void filled with explosions and shards and narrow misses and voices in the Force: his pilots, laughing and swearing and howling to their deaths. He laughed and swore and howled along with them, the silence unbearable. Kill, kill, and kill again, slaughter the starfighters, slaughter the Tuskens, every loss is the same loss, every pain springs from one source. Save Kothlis, save Coruscant, save Padmé. Save them all.

Not all love is hugs and kisses, not for those you want to protect.

opposite of love isn’t hate—” she started. “It is indifference,” he

Gott Verdammt!

Gott Verdammt,

She had read somewhere about how to live a purpose-driven life. She figured she’d just had a purpose-driven moment and could work up from there.

philosopher named Blaise Pascal said that if you have a choice of believing in God or not believing in God, it's a better gamble to believe. Because if you believe in God and you're wrong—well, nothing happens. You just die into the nothingness of the universe. But if you don't believe in God and you're wrong, then you go to hell for eternity, at least according to some folks.” “Not much of a reason to be religious,” I said. “Not much at all,” he said. “I was surrounded by hundreds of men waiting for the end of their lives, waiting for that something better that comes after death. I felt the same way. I wanted to believe there was something better on the other side. I was killing time in prison, waiting for that crossover. And that's when Pascal's gambit popped into my head, but with a small twist. What if I was wrong? What if there was no other side. What if, in all the eons of eternity, this was the one and only time that I would be alive. How would I live my life if that were the case? Know what I mean? What if this was all there is?” “Well, I guess there'd be a lot of disappointed dead priests,” I said. Carl chuckled. “Well, there's that,” he said. “But it also means that this is our heaven. We are surrounded every day by the wonders of life, wonders beyond comprehension that we simply take for granted. I decided that day that I would live my life—not simply exist. If I died and discovered heaven on the other side, well, that'd be just fine and dandy. But if I didn't live my life as if I was already in heaven, and I died and found only nothingness, well…I would have wasted my life. I would have wasted my one chance in all of history to be alive.

Musashi’s opponents depended on brilliant technique, flashy swords, and unorthodox weapons. That is the same as fighting the last war: instead of responding to the moment, they relied on training, technology, and what had worked before. Musashi, who had grasped the essence of strategy when he was still very young, turned their rigidity into their downfall. His first thought was of the gambit that would take this particular opponent most by surprise. Then he would anchor himself in the moment: having set his opponent off balance with something unexpected, he would watch carefully, then respond with another action, usually improvised, that would turn mere disequilibrium into defeat and death.

One should know truth, and truth was taking the time to know oneself. Not to lie about your actions, your feelings, your thoughts and beliefs but accept yourself for what and who you are. Once you understand those things, your future is more assured as you won’t subconsciously be fighting both your enemies and yourself to accomplish your goals.

The two ways to win at gambling were to read the situation and know the odds. Cheris had calculated her situation already. She had only a single life to offer, and she was aware of the ugly deaths that awaited her should she fail, but at some point you had to trust yourself.

It figured: lucky unlucky four, the number of death and the favored number of the Kel.