Goneril made a face. "Well, when you put it that way," she replied. "Anyway. It's about more than that. It's about science and the power of the individual and our ability to control our own destinies."

"Ah. I can see where that might clash somewhat with the idea of being beholden to the gods, and having to beg favors of them," he said.

"Yes," Goneril replied. "And it's not discounting a Creator. We're not atheists," she said, very carefully, as if she'd been asked this before. "But it is saying that we shouldn't be expecting divine intervention, and that gods don't play a role in the choices we make or the direction our lives take. Only we do."

Judging by Faolin's blank look, he was trying to make some contextual sense of 'atheists.' "I've never--well, this is uncomfortable," he admitted. "That, to me, seems to skim terribly close to flicking one's thumb toward the gods--like asking for trouble."

Goneril snorted. "I don't know about your gods, but ours hasn't bothered with anyone in almost two thousand years. If we believe that."

He smiled. "What do you believe, then?"

"Me?" Goneril asked. "Or people?" She shook her head. "I don't know what I believe. The existence of the universe, of people, of life itself is so complex and miraculous and full of mysteries we are only beginning to unravel. Did you know that where I am from, a Dutchman built a glass that allows people to see the tiny tiny particles that make up our bodies, and plants, and all other living things?"

Faolin, who was still in the dark on what a Dutchman was, shook his head. "I am not sure. I think there there are far too many people who attribute ordinary things to the will of the gods--one would have to be a god, to get away with as much as people put to them. But I do not doubt that they have their workings, too."

"Well, yes," Goneril replied. "I suppose that's what I'm trying to say. We use religion to explain things away that should not be explained away, but the universe is so much like a magnificent and impossible work of art that it is hard to believe it is not the creation of someone greater than ourselves."

"I think . . . that what is putting me off about this, is that there is some feeling there that there is the rest of the world . . . and then there's you." He gave her a look. "Not you individually. You as in the tallfolk."