Uncle Ingemar said, "in the incarnate form of The
Black One, that horned and horrid specter of our days and nights. In The
Black One we find the seven cardinal sins, the forty felonies, and the
hundred and one misdemeanors. There is no crime that The Black One has
not performed--faultlessly, as befits his nature. Therefore we imperfect
beings model ourselves upon his perfections. And sometimes, The Black
One rewards us by appearing before us in the awful beauty of his fiery
flesh. Yes, Nephew, I have actually been privileged to see him. Two
years ago he appeared at the conclusion of the Games, and he also
appeared the year before that."

The priest brooded for a moment over the divine appearance. Then he
said, "Since we recognize in the State man's highest potential for Evil,
we also worship the State as a suprahuman, though less than divine,
creation."

Barrent nodded. He was having a difficult time staying awake. Uncle
Ingemar's low, monotonous voice lecturing about so commonplace a thing
as Evil had a soporific effect on him. He struggled to keep his eyes
open.

"One might well ask," Uncle Ingemar droned on, "if Evil is the highest
attainment of the nature of man, why then did The Black One allow any
Good to exist in the universe? The problem of Good has bothered the
unenlightened for ages. I will now answer it for you."

"Yes, Uncle?" Barrent said, surreptitiously pinching himself on the
inside of the thigh in an effort to stay awake.

"But first," Uncle Ingemar said, "let us define our terms. Let us
examine the nature of Good. Let us boldly and fearlessly stare our great
opponent in the face and discover the true lineaments of his features."

"Yes," Barrent said, wondering if he should open a window. His eyes felt
incredibly heavy. He rubbed them hard and tried to pay attention.

"Good is a state of illusion," said Uncle Ingemar in his even,
monotonous voice, "which ascribes to man the nonexistent attributes of
altruism, humility, and piety. How can we recognize Good as being an
illusion? Because there is only man and The Black One in the universe,
and to worship The Black One is to worship the ultimate expression of
oneself. Thus, since we have proven Good to be an illusion, we
necessarily recognize its attributes as nonexistent. Understood?"

Barrent didn't answer.

"Do you understand?" the priest asked more sharply.

"Eh?" Barrent said. He had been dozing with his eyes open. He forced
himself awake