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The trouble with being a god is that you’ve got no one to pray to.
And it all meant this: that there are hardly any excesses of the most crazed psychopath that cannot easily be duplicated by a normal, kindly family man who just comes in to work every day and has a job to do.
“How many talking tortoises have you met?” it said sarcastically. “I don’t know,” said Brutha. “What d’you mean, you don’t know?” “Well, they might all talk,” said Brutha conscientiously, demonstrating the very personal kind of logic that got him Extra Melons. “They just might not say anything when I’m there.”
The people who really run organizations are usually found several levels down, where it’s still possible to get things done.
“Yes, but humans are more important than animals,” said Brutha. “This is a point of view often expressed by humans,” said Om.
“No! Tortoises are cynics. They always expect the worst.” “Why?” “I don’t know. Because it often happens to them, I suppose.”
As if the turning of sunlight into wine, by means of vines and grapes and time and enzymes, wasn’t a thousand times more impressive and happened all the time . . .
“Slave is an Ephebian word. In Om we have no word for slave,” said Vorbis. “So I understand,” said the Tyrant. “I imagine that fish have no word for water.”
‘Around the Godde there forms a Shelle of prayers and Ceremonies and Buildings and Priestes and Authority, until at Last the Godde Dies. Ande this maye notte be noticed.’”
“This is real life I’m talking about!” “It’s not my fault if people misuse the—” “It is! It has to be! If you muck up people’s minds just because you want them to believe in you, what they do is all your fault!”
The figures looked more or less human. And they were engaged in religion. You could tell by the knives (it’s not murder if you do it for a god).
Anything was possible last night. That was the trouble with last nights. They were always followed by this mornings.
You can die for your country or your people or your family, but for a god you should live fully and busily, every day of a long life.”
