The Book of Cataclysm

• A hundred elephants can wreck the outer walls of a fortress. One diseased rat can kill all those inside.

• A war refugee sought the Master. He said, "You are wise and serene. Teach me to escape the horrors of this world." And the Master blinded him with fire-irons.

• All knowledge is stored somewhere. Be it in books, heads or deep under glaciers. And when we find it, we make it ours. Faith is bricks; knowledge is mortar.

• Bravery will take you into the most dangerous of places. Overwhelming firepower will see you safely through them.

• Even the salamander sometimes burns.

• Faithful minds are not enough. Deliver unto us brains also.

• Follow the more successful thief and steal his ideas.

• He who lives in the eye of the storm is a mote in the eye of an angry god.

• He who shouts loudest can only hear his own voice. Those with true knowledge listen to those with true faith. And those with closed ears never hear the swing of the reaper's blade.

• "Here!" said the Master. "Build me a great tomb in this place." His apprentices did. It glittered in the sun. "Now go inside," said he. They entered. An earthquake then destroyed the tomb, burying those within. The Master smiled. "Even the faithful are not always chosen. This is called sacrifice."

• In the darkest times, the true believer hones his combat skills.

• Mark thine enemy, for all that separates the damned from the chosen is a dot of monochrome light, projected onto the back of a neck.

• Not only will all eyes be on the leaders of men, but all combat sights as well.

• Poor workers blame their tools. Good workers build better tools. The best workers get their tools to do the work for them.

• Remember, the meek shall inherit nothing.

• The apprentices asked the Master. "When shall we achieve immortality?" And the Master answered, "Not in this life."

• The brave hide behind technology. The stupid hide from it. But the clever have technology, and hide it.

• The courageous enter dark caves alone. The clever send in the courageous first. The cleverest wait behind the clever.

• The Master has no need for money. But still he sits and counts it. As a meditation.

• The Master told his pupils, "Forget being taught and concentrate on learning. When you're sure, question everything."

• The non-believers climbed for days to confront the master in the mountains. "Where do you get your so-called faith?" they asked. "You brought it," the master replied. "You've all climbed so high."

• The people stood like corn in the high fields and listened to the Master. As the reaper's blade scythed them all, the Master fell silent. The lesson would be learned by others.

• The world shall turn and the human race shall pass. Everything begins anew. The faith has run its course and it is over.

• There is pleasure in stealing the souls of machines.

• To take one life is sin. To take a thousand is religion.

• The Master held his palms aloft. "Behold my wounds," said He. The onlookers observed the cauterization and the sunlight that shone through His great hands. "Let there be pain."