Khan did not have a religious bone in his body. Khan was all for the science.

He could not understand the meaning of the word faith. He didn't know how people could give themselves up wholly to a lord. He just couldn't. He couldn't even comprehend it. He felt that it was naive and stupid to let yourself go so easily and so willingly.

Khan would always tell me that he did not know God. He didn't know what kind of person he was, whether he'd like him or not and so on. He described God to be someone you'd befriend, rather than worship. He said that putting someone above yourself was wrong in every way. Khan believed he had the strength, which he could also build on his own, to do whatever he wanted.

"Why do I need to let him run my life? Hm? Why can't I live it on my own? You know, people would tell me all the time, 'let God save you', 'he'll forgive you', 'salvation is near', and I understand, but I don't care."

Believe or not, but Khan did read the entire bible; he was no hypocrite to any matter. He knew all about Cain and Abel, David and Goliath, Sodom and Gomorrah, too. He read the parable of the Good Samaritan, the two two creation stories and Revelations. John was his favourite of the four gospels, saying how it was poetically intriguing, despite his lack of belief, as well. He found the story of Moses to be funny and the story of Abraham to be demeaning.

"How could he voluntarily give his son up for sacrifice? How can people see him as the Father of Faith?"

Sometimes I wanted Khan to give in to religion. I wanted him to believe something greater than himself and not only because he had a god-complex. I wanted him to see the light others proclaim to see. I wanted him to be happy on the highest degree. I wanted this for myself, also.

"Maybe you can't hear God speaking to you because you're too preoccupied with your own voice," I said bravely. He giggled quietly.

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing," I murmured, turning away.

"Nonono." He gently pulled my arm, asking me to stay. "Explain, please."

"Well, you're arrogant and a little narcissistic and-"

"And? God is speaking to me, you say?"

"Well..."

"Hold on. Why are you even defending God?"

"I'm not."

"Have you read some of the bible? It has some pretty awful things to say about women. I believe it is the leading cause for all the suffering women have been through, and are still going through." I nodded.

"Yeah, but-"

"You know what I'm talking about; the degradation, the subjugation. It's horrible."

"Morally speaking, the bible has good points, though," I tried.

"Morals?" He laughed again. "So, it's morally right to sell your daughters into slavery? Like in Exodus? Or to stone girls to death for not being virgins. Did you know that a man, if he suddenly decided he didn't like his wife anymore, could just choose to have everyone else join him in stoning the poor lady? Where's your god then?"

"I know."

"And people are suffering all the time on your little planet. Who's God to say he loves one group of people, but not the other?"

"I don't know what you want me to say."

"I want you to say that you agree with me. There is no god."

"It's impossible to be sure."

"No, I'm sure. This is how I see it, Mae, if there's no god, then I'm fine. Bad things happen to good people. End of story. But if there is a god, what's wrong with him? How can he let so many people feel such pain?"

"You are right." I slumped, part of saying it cause Khan made me understand a little and the other half just wanting to end this conversation. I sat in the nearest chair, crossing one foot on the other.

"And everyone things they've got it all figured out. You have the Hindus and Buddhists, and Muslims and Christians, there's the Atheists and the Mormons, and it goes on and on. They all think they know the real truth."

"For them it is the real truth, still," I added.

"Right. And they all truly believe they're going to Heaven and everyone else goes to Hell."

"Right." He was quiet for a moment.

"There is no heaven. No hell. I know there isn't. If there's no god, there's no afterlife. Done. You rot in the ground and become food for plants and it goes around in that ecosystem you've all been talking about."

"Hm," I grumbled.

"God doesn't have any mercy. There isn't mercy in this universe."

"Well," I said lamely, again.

"Honestly, look at you?" He sparked my interest and I squinted at him.

"What about me?"

"Well, you're stuck here. You want to be home, so badly much, but it doesn't matter. You're stuck." I stared hard at him, unable to decide whether he was making a valid point or simply mocking me further as he usually does.

"Nope, God doesn't offer second chances. Take a look at that story from the Greeks. Who was it again?"

"Which story?"

"Uh, the one we were just talking about yesterday."

"Prometheus?"

"Exactly, Prometheus. He brought fire to man. He gave mankind the ability to keep warm, cook food. What did he get? Tortured to eternity. He had to lean against that stick and have birds pick his inerds out everyday. It's horrible."

"Ugh," I sneered.

"That story, of course, is a legend, but it is the perfect example of the gods we worship. And why? I haven't the slightest clue."

Pointless to say, Khan had no connection to the Divine people rage about . It wasn't even that he didn't believe in God, or any type of faith, it was that the idea of that was never in the question. That was why we lived a religious-free life.