BLASPHEMY!“Foster looked up. .Something bite you, Junior?“ This temporary annex hadbeen run up in a hurry and Things did get in-swarms of almost invisible impsusually - . . harmless, of course, but a bite from one left an itch on the ego.

　　.Uh ... you’d have to see it to believe it-here, I’ll run the omniscio back atouch.“.You’d be surprised at what I can believe, Junior.“ Nevertheless Digby’ssupervisor shifted a part of his attention. Three temporals-humans, he sawthey were; a man and two women-speculating about the eternal. Nothing oddabout that. .Yes?“.You heard what she said! The .Archangel Michael’ indeed!“.What about it?“.’What about it?’ Oh, for God’s sake!“.Very possibly.“Digby was so indignant that his halo quivered. .Foster, you must not havetaken a good look. She meant that over-age juvenile delinquent that sent meto the showers. Scan it again.“Foster let the gain increase, noted that the angel-in-training had spokenrightly-and noticed something else and smiled his angelic smile. .How do youknow he isn’t, Junior?“.Huh?“.I haven’t seen Mike around the Club lately and I recall that his name hasbeen scratched on the Millennial Solipsist Tournament-that’s a Sign that he’slikely away on detached duty, as Mike is one of the most eager Solipsismplayers in this sector.“.But the notion’s obscene!“.You’d be surprised how many of the Boss’s best ideas have been called.obscene’ in some quarters-or, rather, you should not be surprised, in view ofyour field work. But .obscene’ is a concept you don’t need; it has notheological meaning. .To the pure all things are pure.’“.But-.

　　.I’m still Witnessing, Junior. You listen. In addition to the fact that our brotherMichael seems to be away at this micro-instant-and I don’t keep track of him;we’re not on the same Watch list-that tattooed lady who made that oracularpronouncement is not likely to be mistaken; she’s a very holy temporalherself.“.Who says?“.I say. I know.“ Foster smiled again with angelic sweetness. Dear littlePatricia! Getting a little long in the tooth now but still Earthily desirable-andshining with an inner light that made her look like a stained glass window. Henoted without temporal pride that George had finished his great dedicationsince he had last looked at Patricia-and that picture of his being called up toHeaven wasn’t bad, not bad at all, in the Higher sense. He must remember tolook up George and compliment him on it, and tell him he had seen Patriciahnun,where was George? A creative artist in the universe design sectionworking right under the Architect, as he recalled-no matter, the master filewould dig him out in a split millennium.

　　What a delicious little butterball Patricia had been and such holy frenzy! Ifshe had had just a touch more assertiveness and a touch less humility hecould have made her a priestess. But such was Patricia’s need to acceptGod according to her own nature that she could have qualified only amongthe Lingayats . . . where she wasn’t needed. Foster con............