from superstitions and divine disillusionment were themselves victims of
their own sophism, and while they thought themselves crowned with
enlightenment, it was naught but the Phrygian caps of their prejudices
toward the material state?" I asked, with more than the average dose of
irony and feeling, both for my subjects and myself.

"Exactly, upon disinterested examination one finds the theater of human
history to be one defined by a ludicrous melodramaticy, the soap opera
of the gods," he answered. "But we digress far from our point, Jehu,
which is a discussion concerning the implementation of our plans of
action formed in preparation of our current situation."

"So I had surmised," I smiled at the reminder, "But tell me, what are
your plans, and what is the current situation?"

"This is a time of fulfillment, with the events of many of our
prophecies coming to pass. Now is a time of action and of hope. You, our
kinsman redeemer, have come, and the time is ripe for victory and
domination, ripe, in short, for a return to natural existence, harmony
between forces interior and exterior. Our plan, my dear Jehu, is to
attack the Zards swiftly and fiercely and break their strongholds like
the walls of Jericho, literally."

"It sounds daring, certainly," I said, "But is it not overly so? I was
under the impression that the Zards were much superior in force than the
Canitaurs."

"In the southern regions, where you landed, yes, they are, but we rule
the northern sphere of action. Our forces actually form a soft
equilibrium that keeps fate's pendulum from straying from its neutral