Chapter Ten

New York City

March 2021, three months after the Tollanian-Colonial conflict

One week after the arrival of missionaries on Earth

For Manhattan Island, the late March daily weather forecast threatened snow and in this instance, the prediction was correct. The light flurries fell gently from a grey overcast sky, swirling in the canyon-effect winds blowing between the city's skyscrapers. It was March and the people walking on the streets were decidedly unhappy, wishing that winter would hurry up and move on.

Elosha shivered just looking at it all through the window from inside the warm Colonial Embassy. She was reminded of the rare occasions that snow did fall on Caprica City during those winters when the planet Caprica swung away from Helios Alpha, putting its twin planet Gemenon closer to the warmth of the sun. She disliked snow there and experiencing it here was no exception.

As the flurries swirled into the courtyard in front of the embassy, Elosha peered at the gate leading into the small courtyard. Even at this grey cold morning hour, a small crowd had already gathered outside the gate, carrying aloft placards and signs, mouths opening and closing in silent shouts. Elosha had already used her smart watch to translate what was written on the signs. 'Leave us alone!' 'Pagans, go home!' 'Screw your gods!' and other such unwelcome phrases.

She sighed. There was much work to do if relations between Earth and the United Colonies could be repaired—not that there was any relationship in the first place when the Colonial government sent that doomed military expedition to Earth.

Luke Rhettus stepped up to the window beside Elosha. He was shrugging on a warm coat. "Ready?"

Elosha nodded. "That word on several of the signs. 'Pagan.' I don't know it and why do they consider it an insult? Is it another word for 'heathen'? They also use that a lot."

Luke chuckled drily. "I looked it up when I saw it outside my window upstairs. Apparently, it's from the old Roman Latin word 'paganus,' which means 'country people' or 'rural people.' In the ancient Roman Empire—Earth's version of the Rhodian Empire on Caprica, by the way—the old polytheist religion persisted in the countryside, worshipping the Lords of Kobol for centuries while the monotheist religion of the Christ dominated the cities and the Imperial government. The word came to be a pejorative for polytheists like us."

Elosha understood. "Like 'monads' and 'toasters' for us."

"Exactly."

"So these protesters are bigots."

"Yes," answered Luke. "There's only one thing I hate more than bigots, and that's pagan toasters."

Elosha threw an incredulous look at her friend. When she saw a humorous twinkle in Luke's eyes, she realized that he was very much aware of the incongruity of his subtly crude statement. She smiled, thankful for the relief in the tension. Then a thought occurred to her. "These…Romans? They worshipped the Lords of Kobol? So Earth knew about the Lords of Kobol?"

Luke blew a peeved breath, momentarily fogging the window glass. "Not exactly. First, it is implied that the Terrans were the originators of our belief." Elosha merely raised her eyebrows indicating both her curiosity and amusement. "The gods they worshipped were the same as our gods except for a few differences here and there. They had the same names but the term 'Lords of Kobol' does not exist anywhere in the records I could find in the Earth Internet." His eyebrows rose as he thought about the subject. "Maybe there are manuscripts and ancient records that they have not uploaded to the Internet. I hope I will have the opportunity to look through these."

Elosha frowned. "How is it that these Earth people knew about the gods but completely forgot about Kobol?" It was an excellent question, one she wasn't sure if she wanted to know, considering everything they had learned about Earth so far. "I tried to find something related to Kobol in the Internet, too. I couldn't find it. I was hoping you had."

Now Luke was frowning. "I'm not sure. The closest to 'Kobol' I could find is the ancient Greek word 'kobalos' which means 'mine' or 'source.' As you know, Kobalos is the ancient name for Kobol, too. Also, there's the word 'Kolob.' It's from one of the Earth monotheist sects called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or the Mormon Church for short. According to them, Kolob is either a planet or a star near the monad God's throne, or it is the planet where their God has his throne. It seems that Kolob is in the center of the universe and it controls the revolutions of all the other stars and planets of the universe. It's possible that it's a distorted memory of Kobol handed down in the Book of Mormon, and it's being confused with the core of the Milky Way Galaxy."

Elosha perked up. "Maybe they have secret records?"

Luke shook his head. "I doubt it. The headquarters and main temple for the church is in Salt Lake City on this continent. The gods were never worshipped on this continent in the past, as far as I could tell, and besides, the church was founded only about one hundred ninety years ago—far too young to really know anything about the gods. None of the other sects and religions have anything like Kobol, except for that ancient Greek word. It's interesting, though…the Mormon Church's hierarchy is organized in a similar way to our own government: it's headed by a President and a Quorum of Twelve Apostles."

Elosha screwed up her face at that. "That's so strange…eerie, even."

Luke shrugged. "Earth is a strange planet."

"Tell me about it." As the priestess pondered the information, she peered at her friend. "It could be an example of parallel development. But, just…just how many of these monotheist sects are there on Earth?"

Luke grimaced as if in pain from what he had learned. "In the religion the Terrans call Christianity, there are…about forty thousand Christian sects."

Elosha stared, dumbfounded. "Forty thousand…?"

Luke hurried to add, "Most of these are small splinter groups. Some of them are not even officially recognized and some are even thought to be not Christian at all by other sects. There are three main branches of the monad faith; Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant. Most of the sects come under the Protestant denomination."

The priestess shook her head. "Still, so many…! And that's not speaking of the other monotheist religions like…what are they called?"

"Islam and Judaism."

"Yes, these. They also have sects?"

"Not as many, perhaps, but numerous enough."

Elosha let out a silent whistle. "Some of our major temples have their own interpretations of the Sacred Scrolls—sometimes conflicting interpretations as with the Sagittarons, and arguments like between the Gemenese Council of Guardians and the Synod. We have different mystery cults like those of Demeter and Persephone, Dionysus, Isis, Mithras, others, but…not so many even spread out on the twelve main worlds of Cyrannus! And Earth is just one planet!"

Luke shrugged again helplessly. "Earth is a strange world full of contradictions. It's also just one world, a compact microcosm of our twelve colonies." The sound of footsteps caused him to look behind himself. He was grateful for the distraction while Elosha continued to look out the window. Tyberi Patrenus, Julian Soter, Linus Abner and Ursula Silva walked into the embassy foyer, led by the ambassador's wife Damari Saltum. The ambassador's wife would act as the liaison for the missionaries for the day. Luke muttered to his friend, "Guess it's time to go."

Elosha nodded as she mentally put aside the problem of so many diverse monotheist sects.

Damari was speaking as they came into the foyer. "Lucy wanted to come with us, but our doctors are giving her a last checkup. She's under observation for now. Maybe she will join us later when we go to the museum."

Tyberi couldn't resist rolling his eyes. "If she does, she'd better be on her best behavior. I can't bear fools."

Ursula murmured just loud enough for several others to hear, "Apparently, somebody's mother could."

An embarrassed silence abruptly fell as Tyberi threw a narrowed glance at Ursula as if he wasn't sure he heard correctly. Damari hurried to fill the void. "The Archbishop of New York, Cardinal Dolan, has been generous enough to agree to our request to tour one of the Catholic schools in the city today. He has referred us to the Convent of the Sacred Heart." As the doors opened to admit the cold outdoors air into the embassy, causing the missionaries to hold their coats tighter, Damari added, "And then afterwards, we will go to the American Museum of Natural History."

The shouts of the crowd outside the gate rose as the missionaries filed out of the embassy and into the waiting limousine. As they took their seats in the limo, Tyberi nervously said, "What about the protesters? Are they going to be a problem?"

Damari sniffed contemptuously. "No. They've been protesting there ever since we opened the embassy. At the beginning, the crowd was bigger. But over time, it got smaller and smaller. It's happening at home, too. The Terran Embassy is under siege every day, like us here." She pointed to the protestors. "Their messages may change according to events, but they are not a threat at all. Do not bother yourself about them, Father."

Police lights began to strobe from police motorcycles as the limo turned away to the gate. The protesting crowded parted away from the motor cavalcade even as they shouted silently and shook angry signs at the passing limo.

Suddenly, something splatted on a window. The missionaries were startled and turned to the direction of the splat. Elosha saw the shattered remains of a snowball slowly sliding down the window. Beyond, she could see several uniformed police officers tackling one of the protesters down to the sidewalk while other protesters moved away and shouted down at the arrest occurring.

Damari smiled humorlessly. "As I said, they're not a threat at all. We're safe."

Elosha decided to reserve her judgment of that as the convoy hummed its way down the street away from the scene.

Minoan Class Battlestar Junis

Base of operations: Colonial Deep Space Station Kotsikali

Location: fourteen hundred light years from the Cyrannus Cluster

"In five… four… three… two… one…Jump!"

In the darkness of space, two Minoan class battlestars, the Junis, the Tycheon,and oneautomated fuel tanker vanished in a momentary flash of light as they jumped to their last leg from designated star system sixteen Alpha to seventeen Alpha. The journey took twelve hours.

"Jump complete," Junior Officer Bettie Eliades announced. "Navigational coordinates match. We hit our target mark, sir. The Tycheon and the tanker are on our starboard side twenty and thirty-five kicks."

"Excellent," Commander Demetrius Eddlison said. "Good work, people. DRADIS report."

"Nothing but us, sir. Beginning deep sweep. Designate star system Seventeen Alpha. Yellow star, thirteen worlds, two possible life bearing. The asteroid belt may have traces of tyllium. We have precious metals in abundance, iron, magnesium, and titanium showing up on our initial scans."

"Launch viper cap and outer marker probes. Launch the raptors. I want them in-system before we arrive."

"Probes launched, sir. They will be in position in thirty minutes."

"Viper cap launched and taking position. Sir, the Tycheon has launched three search probes towards the asteroid belt, ETA twelve hours."

"I want a vector to the fourth planet, half speed."

"Aye, sir," the navigational officer repeated. "Half speed. ETA, seven hours."

Pleased, Colonel Joan Perris stepped over to her commander. "We have six hours to kill. This would be a good time to catch up on the reports from Junis."

"Might as well," James responded. "Let's see what's happening back at home. Follow me, Commander. Eliades, you have the chair."

"Yes, sir."

Both the commander and colonel took their time to reach the Commander's quarters situated less than thirty seconds away from the C&C.

The Minoan class battlestar called by some pocked-battlestars, were a little smaller than the old Colombias they were replacing. They were faster and better armored and like the Colombias, they were classified as capital carrier battleships. It was smaller than its predecessor at sixteen hundred fifty-three meters but it had faster sub-light engines and much better armor. The ship was a deep space carrier, and also served as primary escorts to the warstar-class battlestars in large scale conflicts. Unlike the other ships of their class, the deep space exploratory group hadn't yet been retrofitted back-engineered Cylon subspace sensors or communicators.

Like the Ares and Amazona combat groups that eventually came into conflict with Earth, the Kyknos combat group's original directives during the Cylon-Colonial war was to hunt down the escaping Cylon remnants. Their hunt for Cylon elements took the Kyknos group in a direction away from Earth. After a year of searching, no trace of Cylons were found. Meanwhile, Colonial Command, smarting from the defeat by the Terrans, directed the Kyknos fleet to begin an expansive exploration of the region in which they were located.

Hundreds of parsecs beyond the now-obsolete red line, a Colonial presence was established. Deep Space Station Kotsikali, a smaller version of Makaria served as the point station for the Colonial presence. Four Minoansand twelveHades-class destroyers called the station home. The Colonial Defense Forces had very few exploration class vessels as there had been little need for them until after the end of the war, so the Minoans were filling in the roles nicely until dedicated explorers could be built and placed into service.

In the commander's quarters, the two officers sat. There was some left over snacks, all of which disappeared quickly.

"Seventeen star systems," Colonel Perris muttered. "It's got to be a record."

"We were never known for our exploration, but as boring as it is, it's increasing our knowledge of the galaxy."

"Thank you, sir, for that wonderfully scripted speech straight from the Quorum's mouth to my ears." Both of them shared a small laugh at the now ancient joke. "Who knew we'd wind up being explorers instead of hunting down the last of the toasters? Such a waste. None of their ships fled in this direction."

"Could be worse, Colonel. We could have ran into the Apellai fleet and gotten our butts kicked."

"At least it would have been exciting. We could have made a difference," the brunette said, shivering at the thought of fighting against the ships of the Apellai. Those reports had been chilling. The Thirteenth Tribe were savage warriors with the power to back it up.

"We attacked them; they defended themselves. End of story." That was another old argument that hadn't been fully settled between the two of them.

"I know, but with all those deaths, I wonder if we can get past that in our lifetime?"

"I hope we can," Eddlison answered keeping the bitterness out of his voice. "I think we need to have them as allies, not relegated to become some subordinate colony I know the Quorum would have tried to mode them into. Cyclopean cretins. Talk about a confrontation!"

Joan nodded in agreement. "That would have made the Cylon war look like a small skirmish. The reports of these Goa'uld should have galvanized the government into initiating real peace talks with the Apellai years ago." She sighed as she dipped her fingers on the plate to snatch the last bits of remaining crumbs. "But, of course we know they'd put their own spin on things and ruin everything. Aliens, can you believe that?"

Demetrius stretched before answering. "I'll see it when I believe it. There are no such things as aliens, well, intelligent alien life forms. These Goa'uld everyone is talking about are most likely some sort of mutated humans."

"Well, you couldn't prove their existence by us," she smirked, "not out here. Sixteen systems and no intelligent life. Mold, fungus, and some green stuff we're not sure if it's plant or animal, but that's it. There's nothing out here."

"That we've found so far," the Commander noted. "But, you're wrong. There is something out here. We're out here."

"Point taken. Even if there's nothing out here, we've should have been out here exploring a long time ago. Another reason why I hate those Cylons. It's a shame we haven't found a world compatible with humanity out here. The other fleets are tripping over them." Joan shook her head as she got up to retrieve the latest reports. "It really is a desert out here."

"Paraphrasing my ex-wife, 'sixteen star systems does not a galaxy make'. Let's see what this one has to offer."

"Miss her?"

Eddlison sighed. "Long distances and long separations does not a good marriage make. Maybe when I get back, we'll talk. But enough of this."

"Here is the report from Kotsikali,sir."

"Thank you, Colonel." He took the hexagon edged papers marked from her, fairly excited to get news from home and started reading. A few moments later the man blanched as he reread the initial report once more. "Those stupid…"

Perris was alert and concerned by her captain's abrupt change in attitude. "What's wrong?"

"Now, I know why Commander Sacca was so upset. Goesel messed up big time," Demetrius hissed. "There was a battle in the Kimtesh star system. We lost several ships."

Earth

The motorcade pulled up on the street in front of an imposing neo-Italian Renaissance mansion built like a small palace overlooking Central Park. When plain clothes police officers took their positions on the sidewalk, Damari led the missionaries out of the limo and up to the grand entryway. A middle-aged woman dressed all in stark black with a short elbow-length black cape stood at the door. A black bonnet covered her hair and was tied with a large bow at her chin. The whole ensemble evoked an antiquity that the Colonials had not yet seen on other Earth civilians. The woman made a short curtsy.

"Hello, I'm Sister James Mallory. Welcome to the Convent of the Sacred Heart. Allow me to take you to the Mother Superior."

The interior of the mansion was nearly palatial. Julian murmured, "Impressive house."

Elosha pointed out, "I've been to the Athena Academy at Caprica City. It's just as impressive. And exclusive."

Julian nodded in agreement.

Sister James said, "We are the oldest all-girl Catholic school in New York. We are also part of the global Network of Sacred Heart Schools. The Sacred Heart offers one of the best quality education for girls in all of New York. If I may be forgiven for the sin of pride, I would go so far as to say we are one of the most preeminent schools in the whole city, if not the state." It was clear to the Colonials that the nun was nonetheless proud of the school. "We have four science labs, two gyms and a fitness room, four performance spaces, a classical style photography/darkroom studio, two rooftop playgrounds, interactive smart glass in all classrooms, three libraries and virtual library access, and wireless internet access in all part of the school. Our alumnae include Nicolas and Niorte Hilton, Stefanie Germanotia—also known as Lady Gegea, and Coraline Kennady, daughter of President John G H. Kennady."

"All very eminent women, I'm sure," put in Linus. "It is our misfortune that we do not know who they are."

Sister James nodded her concession.

Elosha noticed several other women dressed in black walking the halls and herding girls in modest red, black and grey school uniforms. But these appeared to belong to a different group since they did not have the short cape and instead of the bonnet, they wore a long black cloth over a white tight-looking wimple. "Excuse me, Sister James, I notice you're dressed differently from the other women here."

"Yes. I am in the Sisters of Charity of New York, an order dedicated to education and nursing. The other nuns here are part of the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, an order also dedicated to education." She made a tiny smile. "Some would say that they are the female version of the Jesuit Order. Nevertheless, the Mother Superior is a Sister of Charity, like me."

Soon, they came into an oak-lined office where an aged nun dressed similarly to Sister James sat at a large desk. A gilt-framed portrait of an old jolly-looking man dressed all in white with a white skullcap. He smiled beatifically down at everyone in the office. The woman sitting at the desk had a long face with a long nose and thin pale eyebrows. The stark black of her bonnet made her appear pale. The fact that she, like all the nuns Elosha had seen so far, did not wear makeup didn't help. She also wore a pair of small dainty glasses, which was perhaps the first time Elosha had seen them on a Terran in her time on Earth. Did that mean she was too old-fashioned to take advantage of the Terran eye correction technology that was all the rage, or she was unable to do so?

"This is Mother Superior Aloysius Beauvier," Sister James said. "She is the headmistress of the school."

Damari inclined her head in respect. "Mother, may I introduce the missionaries from my homeworlds?" As the missionaries stepped forward in turn, the ambassador's wife gave their names.

The nun stood up and gravely but politely looked to Ursula first. "Mother."

Just as gravely and politely, Ursula nodded. "Mother."

Aloysius turned to Elosha. "Mother."

The turbaned priestess nodded. "Mother."

The headmistress gestured toward two high backed chairs in front of the desk. "Mothers."

Tyberi glanced at all three women, baffled. "…Seriously?"

Elosha and Ursula shared a secret smile of amusement at Tyberi's mystification as they took their seats. Even Julian and Luke hid smiles while Linus merely looked on politely.

It was only then that Sister Aloysius nodded to the priests. "Fathers. Welcome to the Convent of the Sacred Heart. It is the hope of Holy Mother Church that all of us will learn from each other and have cordial relations with each other." Mother Aloysius indicated the portrait above and behind herself. "His Holiness Pope Pius XIII has always strived to find common ground among all religions on Earth, and since Disclosure, from other worlds as well such as yours. With that in mind, we will look at classes here, ask each other questions and end our day with the noon-time mass. Will that be satisfactory?"

The missionaries took only a moment to look at each other and nod their consent.

Mother Aloysius nodded as if it was just as she expected. Elosha could see that she was a formidable woman of authority.

Sister James, who had been discretely fidgeting, spoke up, "Please forgive my imposition, Mother."

"What is it, daughter?"

"I've received news that my nephew, Tavo, has been shot. I would like permission to go to the hospital."

Mother Aloysius crossed herself. "Oh dear. The world—or indeed any world in this universe—can be a cruel place. May the Lord keep your nephew. Yes, daughter, you may go. God go with you."

Sister James gave a quick curtsey and went out of the office, shutting the door behind herself.

Aloysius sighed. Almost instantly, she schooled her face, returning to her cool demeanor and faced the Colonial priests. "Now, are there any questions before we begin the tour?"

Elosha spoke up before anyone else could think of anything. "Mother Aloysius, I have a few questions. First, I am under the impression that Sister James' and your names are…considered male names on Earth. Am I wrong to have that impression? I mean no offense."

Aloysius gave a tight smile. "None taken. You're not wrong. We shed our old lives when we enter the sisterhood and become brides of Christ. As a symbol of that shedding, many of us are given a name. Typically, it's the name of a saint or a title of Mary or Christ. For example, Sister James is named after Saint James, one of the twelve apostles of Christ while I am named after Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, the Jesuit patron saint of students and plague victims. Some of us can suggest a name preference, but ultimately, it is up to the superior of the order or religious community."

Elosha nodded. She was familiar with the shedding of old lives. After all, she was given the choice of reform school or the monastery by a judge for juvenile delinquency and she went with the monastery.

Julian spoke up. "Are you a priestess in your religion?"

Aloysius lit up with restrained amusement and tittered with a hand delicately covering her mouth. "Goodness me, Lord, no! The Catholic Church does not have women priests. If you want to meet Christian priestesses, you would do better to meet with some from any of the Protestant sects that allow women in the priesthood such as the Anglican Church. Of course, that is not to say that it is a contentious issue in the Church, one that the Holy Father and the College of Cardinals have been discussing for years. Change does not come easy to us."

Elosha arched an eyebrow at that. The Monad Church shared many similarities with the Catholic Church but this was where they were different. The Monad Church, before it was destroyed and disbanded in during the First Cylon War, had a Blessed Mother or a Blessed Father as its leader and had both men and women in its Conclave whereas the Pope was apparently always male and women were not admitted into the priesthood even though there were female laypeople like Mother Aloysius.

Luke leaned forward. "I heard on the news that an organization in your church want to send people to Cyrannus."

Mother Aloysius frowned. "Yes. The Jesuit Order. These Jesuits have a history of sending people to the frontier and beyond to explore, study and save souls through good works and preaching. The Americas, the Far East, Africa. Whenever a new land opens, you can be sure that a Jesuit will be there soon. Perhaps it is premature, but since you are here, we cannot help but reciprocate, no?"

"Yes," agreed Luke.

"I would not know much about that request. You can try to get a meeting with Father Emilio Sandoz. He's the one pushing for that mission." Aloysius raised her eyes toward the ceiling as if seeking help from there. "When Disclosure happened, Father Emilio immediately petitioned for a Church mission to explore and chart Alpha Centauri, with an eye to possible future colonization, even a possible future establishment of an archbishopric at Alpha Centauri. I think that was premature. Apparently, the Holy Father and the other Jesuits agreed since they deflected that into a potential mission to your homeworlds."

Ursula and Tyberi shared a look at that. They knew that High Priestess Livia Sytomia wouldn't like that. But upon reflection, both of them realized that Livia would not have a choice in the matter. In fact Tyberi knew that this reciprocation was a distinct possibility that might well be impossible to refuse. Livia knew this as well and had to have nightmares because of it. Nothing could happen to them. Security would have headaches the entire time they were there.

Julian cleared his throat, attracting the others' attention. "Excuse me. The leader of your church, what are his views on souls from other worlds?"

Mother Aloysius raised her eyebrows a little at that. "Pope Pius has discussed the possibility of extraterrestrial life several times before Disclosure. Essentially, the Holy Father said that any entity, no matter the form or shape it may take beyond Earth, has a soul. All life, wherever it may be in the universe, is part of God's creation. If an alien comes to the Pope or a priest of the Church and requests baptism, who are we to close the doors to the Holy Spirit?"

Julian nodded ponderously while Luke scribbled on a page in his notebook.

"Furthermore," added Mother Aloysius, "the Pope has been asked about Original Sin and whether it exists on other worlds. That issue may require a Church Council, but the Holy Father has expressed the opinion that if there are humans on other worlds, and they are indeed human, then their nature indeed includes Original Sin and as such, they need to be saved through the grace of God and His son, Jesus Christ."

The Colonial priests shifted uncomfortably on their feet as frowns appeared on several of their faces. This piece of information added weight to the news that the Jesuit Order may send a mission to the United Colonies of Kobol.

Elosha wanted to head off any potential objection which would only lead to an undiplomatic argument so she quickly said, "I noticed that the students here wear a cross on their necks and your sisters wear a cross hanging from a string of beads. Is there a special significance to it?"

Aloysius inclined her head with respect while raising her dainty pale eyebrows. "I see that you are quite observant." She looked around at the other missionaries. "I take it Mother Elosha is the pre-eminent expert among you?"

Tyberi smiled with a small chuckle, "Oh, she was eminent when my eminence was merely imminent."

Ursula rolled her eyes at Tyberi's attempt to appear clever.

Aloysius said, "Getting back to your question, Mother Elosha: Yes, the cross has an important significance for us. It symbolizes our Savior, Jesus Christ, dying for our salvation. As son of God, he died so that our souls could be saved and be admitted into Heaven if we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Son of God. Then three days later, he resurrected, thereby showing us that God is merciful and promises us eternal life. Do you not have something similar in your religion?"

Elosha looked around at her compatriots who seemed content to let her be their spokesperson in this instance. "We do have something similar. Dionysus is said to have introduced the joys of life to us, including women, died for that and was resurrected by the gods and made into one of the gods. It is similar with Adonis. Also, Mithras died for the salvation of the universe and then resurrected three days later. However, most adherents of Mithras are on one of our homeworlds, Gemenon. Furthermore, it would seem that our story of the goddess Athena dying for our salvation from the destruction of Kobol and rejoining the gods after a few days in her tomb is unique to us."

"So if you are saved by believing in your gods, you will go to Heaven?"

"No. Eternal life in the Elysian Fields is not just for the elect or the saved, but for us all. For us, salvation concerns the community rather than the individual soul."

"You…do not have the concept of sins?"

"Yes, we do. Our moral theology is rooted in the community. We are expected to follow the examples of the gods. When one of us sins, we sin against the community rather than against the gods. Each of us are expected to behave towards others in ways that support the community. Hence, our phrase, 'The gods lift those who lift each other.'"

"Then in your religion, you do not have a personal relationship with your gods?"

"Not as much as you do with your god. It's about our relationship with the community, both living and dead, and the examples of the gods guide us in this. In fact, when we end prayers, we say, 'So say we all' as a way to emphasize that relationship with the community."

Aloysius slowly nodded, looking puzzled but there was kindness in her pale face. "I cannot claim to understand your moral theology."

Elosha smiled. She liked the Mother Superior. "Likewise."

TBC