“Now, it's a fact well known to those who know it well that prophets of doom only attain popularity when they get the drinks in all around.”

“Have you ever head this theory about drinking yourself sober?' Eddie asked. 'It's a very popular theory. Amongst drunks, anyway.”

“What is believed to be a fact is only a fact until another fact supersedes it. Science is only a fashion. Nothing more.”

“It was joy, joy, happy joy.Happy, happy joy.A big fat smiley sun rose above the rooftops and beamed down its blessings onto the borough known as Brentford.”

“Science,' said Mr Anders Anders. 'Science, not magic. I told you before: when things are not as they appear to be, it's because they're actually simpler than you think them to be. Things are never as difficult and complicated as folk believe. You'd be surprised just how straightforward and obvious things really are. The secret is in knowing how to look at them the right way.”

“And yes. They did become very drunk, the three of them.And you're not supposed to be drunk when you get involved in matters such as this: Big Matters, Matters of an Apocalyptic Nature. You're supposed to be coldly sober. And you just can't be coldly sober when you're drunk.”

“Still,' whispered Jack, 'you have to keep at it. Overcome the miseries of vomiting and the whirling pit. Pay your dues and work towards the real rewards of big-time adult drinking. Something to look forward to.”