One interpretation of Sam’s childhood is that he was simply waiting for it to end. That’s how he thought about it, more or less: that he was holding his breath until other people grew up so he could talk to them. “A lot of childhood just never made sense to me,” he said. “If you don’t find it magical to think about Santa Claus then it’s just fuckin

Kilgore Trout was and is a science-fiction writer, of course.

shook his head like he couldn’t bring himself to break the rules. “No, fuck, we got a bet.

He felt nothing in the presence of art. He found religion absurd. He thought both right-wing and left-wing political opinions kind of dumb, less a consequence of thought than of their holder’s tribal identity. He and his family ignored the rituals that punctuated most people’s existence. He didn’t even celebrate his own birthday. What gave pleasure