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When you cut into the present the future leaks out.

William S. Burroughs

I am not a person and I am not an animal. There is something I am here for something I must do before I can go.
WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS

Animal Death Myself Person Philosophy Purpose
In my writing I am acting as a map maker, an explorer of psychic areas, a cosmonaut of inner space, and I see no point in exploring areas that have already been thoroughly surveyed.
WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS

Act Areas Explorer Myself Point Space Survey Writing
How long does it take man to realize that he cannot want what he wants? You have to live in hell to see heaven.
WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS

Deep Hard Time Heaven Hell Live Man Realize Yourself
People have nothing to say, but they are afraid of saying nothing, so what they do say comes out flat and vapid and meaningless. The shadow of death is on every face.
WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS

Afraid Face Meaning People Shadow
If all pleasure is relief from tension, junk affords relief from the whole life process, in disconnecting the hypothalamus, which is the center of psychic energy and libido.
WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS

Afford Energy Life Pleasure relief Spiritual
The best way to keep something bad from happening is to see it ahead of time, and you can’t see it if you refuse to face the possibility.
WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS

Bad Best Possible Refusal Time Way Yourself
I don’t have any politics. I feel that as soon as politics arises, things are already in a hopeless state of deterioration.
WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS

Feeling Hope Myself Politics Rise State
There couldn’t be a society of people who didn’t dream. They’d be dead in two weeks.
WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS

Death Dreams People Society
After one look at this planet any visitor from outer space would say ‘I want to see the manager.’
WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS

Alien Appearance Funny Manager Myself Planet See Space Yourself
Whether you like it or not, you are committed to the human endeavor. I cannot ally myself with such a purely negative goal as avoidance of suffering. Suffering is a chance you take by the fact of being alive.
WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS

Alive Avoid Commitment Fact Goal Human Myself Negative Suffering
(1) Never give anything away for nothing. (2) Never give more than you have to give (always catch the buyer hungry and always make him wait). (3) Always take everything back if you possibly can.
WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS

Amount Business Mindset Rule Yourself
There isn’t a feeling you can get on drugs that you can’t get without drugs.
WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS

Drugs Feeling Yourself
Smash the control images. Smash the control machine.
WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS

Control Image Machine
We must all face the fact that our leaders are certifiably insane or worse.
WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS

Face Fact Government Insane Leadership Worse
Nothing exists until or unless it is observed. An artist is making something exist by observing it. And his hope for other people is that they will also make it exist by observing it. I call it ‘creative observation.’ Creative viewing.
WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS

Artist Creativity Existence Hope Myself Observation People View
Man is an artifact designed for space travel. He is not designed to remain in his present biologic state any more than a tadpole is designed to remain a tadpole.
WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS

Artifact Design Man Present Science Space Travel

When you cut into the present the future leaks out.

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When you cut into the present the future leaks out.

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