"Yes, Toloth," said the Hork-Bajir-Controller, amused at Teresa's astonishment. "You did not really believe, did you, that your Controller was a traitor to the Yeerk race? I simply decided that our little tri-daily talks ought not to be interrupted by so trivial a thing as Esiln Kalkat, so I looked into the Sulp Niar pool's infestation records, identified the lone Yeerk who Controlled a juvenile human named Teresa – an uncommon name among humans, I gather?"

Teresa shrugged. "There's a bunch of saints called Teresa," she said. "But I guess not many people name their kids after saints anymore."

"Ah," said Toloth. "In any case, once I knew that datum, the rest was fairly simple. Lissim Seven-One-Three and I have long been intimates; once he felt assured that I would repay him for the favor, he had no objection to tormenting an honest human-Controller with accusations of disloyalty. Indeed, I rather fancy that he was delighted by the prospect."

"But... what will you do when your boss finds out?" said Teresa.

"Deny everything," said Toloth, in a tone of complete indifference. "Who is the Sub-Visser more likely to believe: two of his most loyal guards, or some human-Controller who comes to him with a crazy story about being falsely arrested on Esiln Kalkat so that one of those guards could discuss philosophy with her host?"

Teresa thought about that. From a ruthless, amoral, Yeerk perspective, it made sense... except...

"Why are you doing this?" she said.

Toloth stiffened, as though he weren't used to being asked such impertinent questions by a mere vessel of infestation. "I wish to know all I can about the beliefs and attitudes of humans," he said. "It will be a help to me in my future career."

Teresa shook her head. "No," she said. "That's why I thought you were doing it until just now. But now you've gone through this elaborate, dangerous scheme just to make sure that our cycle of 'one talk every three days' isn't interrupted, when, if you wanted to talk to me, all you had to do was hang out by the pool on Tuesday until Malcar came in for her alternate feeding. That's what any sensible person would have done – unless, of course, he was taking orders from some very simple-minded person who couldn't grasp the concept of varying a schedule." She raised her head, and looked straight into the gleaming red eyes above her. "So what I think, Toloth, is that you're doing this because Gef wants you to."

Toloth's face remained impassive, but inwardly he winced. Perhaps he wasn't as safe as he had thought, if he could be seen through so easily. Or did the girl just have some uncanny ability to read people's hearts? She didn't seem like the type – but he was beginning to suspect that Teresa Sickles was many things she didn't seem.

"Very well," he said, with a great effort. "Suppose that to be so. What then?"

He expected Teresa to capitalize on her advantage and find out how Gef had gained such power over him, perhaps with a view to exerting a similar influence on her own Controller. Her next question, consequently, came as a complete surprise to him. "Why is Gef so interested in Christian theology?" she asked.

Toloth snorted, partly in relief and partly in derision. "Enigma only knows," he said. "If his thoughts are any indication, even he does not fully understand his fascination with you. All he knows is that you 'have knowledge of beginning things' – and, because of this, he is willing to follow you to the ends of the galaxy."

"Wait a minute," said Teresa, in an altered tone. "You mean that he believes what I've been telling you about Jesus?"

"So he says," said Toloth.

"In that case," said Teresa, "may I speak with him?"

This was much more the sort of thing Toloth had expected from her two exchanges ago; coming as it did now, however, it caught him completely off guard for the second time in less than a minute. "Why?"

"If he really believes in Jesus, there's something the two of us need to do together," said Teresa. "Usually a priest would do it with him, but in extraordinary circumstances any Christian can."

"I see," said Toloth. "And do you need me to leave Gef's body in order to do this, or will simply ceding control to him be enough?"

Teresa thought for a moment. "I don't see any reason why you'd need to leave his body," she said. "So long as he can respond when I ask him questions, that's all that really matters."

"You are most generous," said Toloth dryly.

"I try," said Teresa with a smile. "So is it a deal?"

Toloth had long since passed the point where he could have said "No". With a sigh, he disconnected his palps from the neurons controlling Gef's autonomous functions, and sank back into the darkness of the Hork-Bajir skull.

As Teresa watched Gef slowly reclaim the use of his body, it crossed her mind to wonder where she had gotten such unwonted boldness from. Only a week before, she would never have dreamed of asking a Yeerk warrior to step aside and let his host take over, no matter how important it might have been to the host's soul. (She wondered if this was how Peter had felt, when he had witnessed before the Sanhedrin.)

"Are you ready yet?" she said softly.

"Yes," murmured Gef, in a tone of wonder. "I am free."

"Good," said Teresa. "Now I'm going to make a series of statements, and you're going to tell me whether you believe them or not. All right?"

Gef nodded.

"Okay," said Teresa. "There is one God, who made the universe and everything in it: Mother Sky, Father Deep, and everything else, even the things that can't be seen or touched. He can do anything He wants, and His relation to you is that of a father to his child. Do you believe that?"

Gef's enormous head lowered and rose. "If Teresa say, Gef believe," he said.

Teresa frowned. "Gef, it's not what I say that's important," she said sternly. "It's what Jesus says. I could change my mind tomorrow and decide that the Yeerk sun-god was the real creator of the universe, but that wouldn't change what was true."

Gef seemed puzzled by her objection. "Gef believe Teresa now," he said, "not Teresa tomorrow."

There was a moment's silence (save for the hum of the phosphor-screen in the background) while the shrewdness of that simple statement penetrated Teresa's brain; then the young evangelist laughed. "Touchée," she said. "Okay, then, so there's one God. And He has a son named Jesus, who is just as much God as God the Father is, and who helped Him to create everything." (She could almost hear the Nicene Fathers groaning in pain at that bowdlerization of their Creed, but she didn't think that the more theologically precise version would be any use to Gef.) "In order to heal the sickness of sin in us, He became a human and died by torture – but He came back to life again on the third day after his death, and went back to His Father about forty days after that. When the universe is finished, He'll come back a second time to reward or punish everyone who ever lived, and to be honored forever the way you would honor a seer. Do you believe all that?"

"Gef believe," said the Hork-Bajir.

"Okay. And there's a third Person, the Holy Spirit, who comes from the Father and Jesus and is God just like they are, and who made certain people in history able to see that Jesus would come someday. Do you believe that?"

"Gef believe."

"Okay. Now, when Jesus was living on Earth as a human, He gave some of His power to certain humans, and told them to tell as many people as they could about Him. Those humans, and the people they told – and the people they told, and so on and so on – are all part of a huge, sacred family that can never be broken apart, and that anyone in the universe can join. Do you believe that?"

"This is what Teresa is part of?" said Gef.

Teresa nodded. "And what you'll be part of in a few minutes," she said. "But first you have to tell me that you believe in it."

The eight-foot catechumen smiled. "Gef believe."

"Okay. And do you believe that the process that makes you part of this family takes away all the bad things you've ever done, so that nothing stands between you and God anymore?"

"Gef believe."

"Do you believe that people who have died, if they are part of this family, can still know and love each other, as well as the people who are still living?"

"Gef believe."

"Do you believe that, when Jesus comes back at the end of time, everyone who ever died will come back to life again, and the universe itself will be made over again into something more wonderful than anyone can imagine?"

"Gef believe."

Teresa took a deep breath. "Okay," she said. "There's just one more thing. There is in this world a being of great cunning and malevolence, who, though you'll probably never be able to see him, will always be trying to get you to do evil and separate yourself from God. Do you..."

"Gef believe."

Teresa bit her lip to keep from laughing. "Okay, that's good," she said, "but it wasn't what I was about to ask. What I was going to say was, do you promise, when you realize that this being is making you want to do something, not to do it no matter how good it looks, or how dangerous it seems not to do it?"

Gef hesitated. "How Gef know when wanting come from evil one?"

"Usually, the thing you want to do will be something that God has said not to do," said Teresa. "Hating Yeerks, for instance. If you're not sure, you can..." She hesitated; ordinarily, she would have ended that sentence with "ask someone with more experience", but, in Gef's case, he wouldn't be in charge of his body most of the time, which would make seeking out spiritual counsel a difficult task.

"Ask Jesus?" Gef suggested.

For the second time during their conversation, Teresa was struck by the subtlety hidden inside that simple Hork-Bajir mind. "Yes," she said. "Ask Jesus. Can you do that?"

Gef nodded.

"All right, then," said Teresa. "Bend down."

Gef seemed surprised by this unexpected command, but obediently crouched down on his hands and knees with his head to the ground, looking something like a dragon dormant out of medieval heraldry. Teresa took her long, light-brown hair (still wet with the moisture of the illutilagh bath) in her hands and held it out over Gef's head; she squeezed it gently, and little rivulets of water ran out of it and splattered over Gef's horns.

"Gef Makkil," Teresa whispered, "I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen."

She withdrew her hair and draped it back over her shoulder again, and Gef raised his head with wonder in his eyes. "Gef is saved now?" he said. "Gef is new creation?"

Teresa nodded, and nearly laughed aloud from sheer happiness. "Yes," she said. "Gef is new creation."