“Gambling, in the ultimate study, stems from the passive, the submissive, the irresponsible in human nature; the gambler is one of an inferior lickspittle breed who turns himself belly-upward to the capricious deeds of Luck. Examine now the man of strength and action: he is never led by destiny. He drives on a decided course, manipulates the variables, and instead of submitting to the ordained shape of his life, creates a pattern to his own design.”

— Jack Vance

Startling Stories (September 1948), p. 113
Short fiction, Sanatoris Short-Cut (1948)

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Jack Vance 213

American mystery and speculative fiction writer 1916–2013

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