if there was anything that depressed him more than his own cynicism, it was that quite often it still wasn't as cynical as real life.

we've got along with the other guys for centuries, he thought. getting along has practically been all our foreign policy. now i think i've just heard us declare war on an ancient civilization that we've always got along with, more or less, even if they do talk funny. and after that, the world. what's worse, we'll probably win.