El squinted. "They seem what?"

"... Brainwashed."

His expression turned fierce. "Do you even know what that term means?"

"People whose brains have been coercively washed clean by some outside force," I said.

"... And filled by another? Or should I say, programmed by another. You, of all people, should not be casting stones," he said, his voice ripe with disgust. "An advertising man."

"Our job was to inform," I said.

He laughed. "Is that what you told yourself?" He leaned on one elbow. "Your job was to change behavior to profit your clients. Am I right?"

"Yes," I relented.

"My motives are much more pure. I'm informing these people of the truth and providing them a practical structure in which the truth can flourish. Tell me, do these people look unhappy?"

I had to admit that they looked content. "No."

"Their service to me, is it beneath them?"

"Some would say-"

He pounded his fist on the table. "Don't patronize me. I'm not talking about some ambiguous cultural psychobabble. What do you say, Alan?"

His sudden outburst unnerved me. "Making others serve you seems self-serving."

He looked at me for a moment, then said with a softer voice, "Fair enough. But it is in losing themselves that they find themselves. It is in their service that they find use and meaning. Do you think they are suffering?"

"I don't know."

He tilted his head. "Then why don't you ask them? AshEl," he said, motioning over a young, strawberry-blond woman. She walked over to us, knelt at El's feet and kissed them. "Yes, Master."

"This Earthman wants to know if you are suffering."

"Suffering?"

"Yes, he's afraid you might be suffering here," he said. "You may speak to him."

She looked at me with a vacant expression. "Why would you think I'm suffering? Outside these walls the world is full of confusion and hate. For the first time in my life I feel peace." She turned back to El. "My master is to be praised for my salvation."

"Tell the Earthman about your life in the dark."

"I was an exotic dancer and an alcoholic. For the first time in my life I'm free." She again kissed El's feet.

He ran his hand over the crown of her head. "Thank you, AshEl. You may wait for me in my pod."

A large smile crossed her face. "Yes, Master. Thank you, Master."

She glanced back at me, then ran off.

"Suffering?" El said. "She's never been happier."

"What about the woman I met by the road?"

"Her sanctification is the most important thing she's done in her previously inconsequential life, as it is for all of them. I take their mental and spiritual anarchy and organize it, even as the G.o.ds organized the chaos of s.p.a.ce into this world and universe. I'm giving them order. And with it, joy, freedom and peace."

"I can see peace," I said, "maybe even a sense of happiness, but freedom?"

"Definitely freedom. Freedom from the burden of choice. The human mind, cynical as it may be, is seeking to be controlled. And, when you understand the mechanics of the human brain as the Guardians do, it is a very easy thing to control. Even one as intelligent as yours."

I said nothing and he looked at me with a dark, wry stare. "Well done, Alan. You're as wise as I thought."

"Why do you say that?"

"You didn't say that you couldn't be controlled. Ironically, the most susceptible to mind control are precisely those who don't believe they are susceptible."

My head was hurting. "Are you saying that your followers will do anything you say?"

He looked at me for a moment, then said, "Anything and everything. As they should."

"Would they kill for you?" I immediately regretted asking the question, realizing that I might have endangered myself.

His eyes turned dark. "I would not ask." Then, to my relief, his expression softened. "Enough of this. How was your dinner?"

I breathed out. "It was good."

"It was exquisite," he said. "I am fatigued. Do you have any other questions?"

"Just one. Do you believe in the devil?"

"Of course. But, again, we actually understand him. Actually, them. Like G.o.d, Satan is a group. More of a movement, a faction if you will."

"Explain," I said.

"The Guardians are democratic. They support the Father, Alpha and Omega, as their Supreme Leader. But, in all societies, there are dissenters. Especially when it comes to the issue of h.o.m.o sapiens. The Guardian Supreme, or G.o.dhead, believes that mankind has intrinsic value. They believe, if you will, in our potential. But not all of the Ahn are of the same opinion. Many, especially the Satanists, believe that humans are beasts, only good for servitude. They believe that too much knowledge has been given to humans already, wasted on us. They, like the Guardians, have access to the same telepathic technology. They use it to tempt us to defy the Guardians and to follow our baser, animal instincts, proving that we are, truly, primitive beings-something not easily disputable given the current state of humanity."

"Tempt?"

"Yes, temptation. Think of how inspiration works. It is simply the enlightening of the mind with an idea. Isn't temptation just inspiration with a negative bend?

"We are living in a spiritual war zone, Alan. Deny it at your own peril. Let he who has eyes see, the war rages on and soon everyone must choose a side. Freedom or eternal bondage. That is the only question. So let me ask you, Alan. Which side are you on? Will you join us? Or will you continue to wander, as you have, lost in a dark, confused world?"

"You're asking me to stay?"

"I'm inviting you to stay. At least for the night."

I hesitated. "I don't think so."