“All Welsh knew was that he was scared shitless, and at the same time was afflicted with a choking gorge of anger that any social coercion existed in the world which could force him to be here.” FearAngerWarfareEddie WelshSocial Coercion Book:The Thin Red Line Source: The Thin Red Line
“He could not believe that any of them might actually hit somebody. If one did, what a nowhere way to go: killed by accident; slain not as an individual but by sheer statistical probability, by the calculated chance of searching fire, even as he himself might be at any moment. Mathematics! Mathematics! Algebra! Geometry! When 1st and 3d Squads came diving and tumbling back over the tiny crest, Bell was content to throw himself prone, press his cheek to the earth, shut his eyes, and lie there. God, oh, God! Why am I here? Why am I here? After a moment's thought, he decided he better change it to: why are we here. That way, no agency of retribution could exact payment from him for being selfish.” DeathFearMathematicsSelfishnessStatisticsWarfareProbabilityPaymentGeometryRetributionAlgebraMachine GunsBell Book:The Thin Red Line Source: The Thin Red Line
