Roger Zelazny Quotes

When your house is on fire, you cant be bothered with the neighbors. Or, as we say in Chess, if your King is under attack you don't worry about losing a Pawn on the Queen's side

My old daddy used to say "kill the closest snake first".

One of the things is that in times of severe disorder, you can't worry about the dead, only the living.

When your life is being threatened there's an instinctive urge to fight. You fight for the time you have, for your relationships.

I want to do whatever I can to survive.

When your own life is threatened, your sense of empathy is blunted by a terrible, selfish hunger for survival.

No one blames a pilot who takes refuge in port when the storm begins to blow. It is not cowardice to duck under a bullet; what is wrong is to defy it only to fall and never rise again.

What to do, when a ship carrying a hundred passengers suddenly capsizes and there is only one lifeboat? When the lifeboat is full, those who hate life will try to load it with more people and sink the lot. Those who love and respect life will take the ship's axe and sever the extra hands that cling to the sides.

If there was a fire at my house I would throw more things on it. The only thing I would take out? Myself!

A move to a different town or school gives us new places to explore, new people to meet; a lost pet means we have to organize a careful search; baby-sitting requires looking out for dangers a young child can't foresee; a car crash or fire demands that we get help immediately.

New technologies can be used for destructive purposes. The answer is to develop rapid-response systems for new dangers like a bioterrorist creating a new biological virus.

I think the idea that you would do everything you can to prevent what is coming at you by way of something very disruptive - a 9/11 - it's a no-brainer.

I didn't feel that running away would change anything but when the roof of the garage started coming off I thought it was time to go.

They went into stores to get food to stay alive. Looting isn't the right word. I call it survival.

There is a limit to the application of democratic methods. You can inquire of all the passengers as to what type of car they like to ride in, but it is impossible to question them as to whether to apply the brakes when the train is at full speed and accident threatens.

Normally in dangerous situations I have a getaway car.

A man's own safety is a god that sometimes makes very grim demands.

In the pandemonium of the crisis in New Orleans, somehow getting people on busses took priority over keeping them alive.

You don't shoot to kill. You shoot to stay alive.

In 2000, I got stuck in the sea off Cyprus after I fell off a boat. I was out there for over an hour. I am not a strong swimmer, but adrenaline kicked in, and I swam back.

If I'm ever concerned about something, I'll have security deal with it.

Fear will keep you alive in a war. Fear will keep you alive in business. There's nothing wrong with fear.

I'll get out of this city alive, even if it kills me!

Self-Preservation is a full-time occupation.

I’m not running away from my responsibilities. I’m running to them. There’s nothing negative about running away to save my life.