Pascal's Wager

When is a game worth the candle?

Fermat and Pascal founded the essential rules that govern all games of chance. T[he rules] can be used by gamblers to define perfect playing and betting strategies. Furthermore, these laws of probability have found applications in a whole series of situations, ranging from speculating in the stock market to estimating the probability of a nuclear accident.

A mathematical formula leads to infinity.

Pascal was even convinced that he could use his theories to justify a belief in God. He stated that "the excitement that a gambler feels when making a bet is equal to the amount he might win times the probability of winning it." He then argued that the possible prize of eternal happiness has an infinite value and that the probability of entering heaven by leading a virtuous life, no matter how small is certainly finite. Therefore, according to Pascal's definition, religion was a game of infinite excitement and one worth playing, because multiplying and infinite prize by a finite probability results in infinity.

— Simon Singh, Fermat's Enigma

Painting: Caravaggio: The Cardsharps 

The Dead Imago

He woke in a start. His heart raced. Had it been a dream or was this a nightmare that even daylight could not chase away? The first sign of where he was came by way of the assault on his sense of smell. A miasma of stale alcohol and tobacco odors hung about the chamber and made the air heavy and difficult to breathe. He felt nauseous.

What sort of life could he lead if the dark deed loomed over him everywhere he went? During the day, he felt he was being followed. It could be an agent of vengeance or retribution. It could be an agent of the law. Maybe it was both. At night, he was tormented by lurking images and crouching shadows.

He had meant no harm; events simply got out of hand. His only lacuna is a failure of decisiveness, but that's not a crime. He didn't know whether to oscitate or laugh out loud. If only he could do it over again. But wait, how absurd! He caught himself imagining a magical and serendipitous turn of events, or the unfolding of some felicitous synchronicity, as the most plausible resolution to his horrific plight.

Painting: Caravaggio (1571 - 1610), The Sacrifice of Isaac

This piece of fiction was inspired by the Writer's Campaign Second Flash Fiction Challenge:

Write a blog post in 200 words or less, excluding the title.
The post should:
* include the word "imago" in the title
* include the following 4 random words: "miasma," "lacuna," "oscitate," "synchronicity"