The Status Civilization

Barrent said, "I was just closing up, sir. But if there's anything you wish to buy--" "I did not come here to buy," the caller said. He permitted himself a faint smile. "I came here to sell." "Sell?" "I am a priest," the man said. "You are a newcomer to my district. I haven't noticed you at services." "I hadn't known anything about--" The priest held up his hand. "Under both the sacred and the profane law, ignorance is no excuse for nonperformance of one's duties. Indeed, ignorance can be punished as an act of willful neglect, based upon the Total Personal Responsibility Act of '23, to say nothing of the Lesser Codicil." He smiled again. "However, there is no question of chastisement for you as yet." "I'm glad to hear that, sir," Barrent said. "'Uncle' is the proper form of address," the priest said. "I am Uncle Ingemar, and I have come to tell you about the orthodox religion of Omega, which is the worship of that pure and transcendent spirit of Evil which is our inspiration and our comfort." Barrent said, "I'll be very happy to hear about the religion of Evil, Uncle. Shall we go into the living room?" "By all means, Nephew," the priest said, and followed Barrent to the apartment in back of the store. Chapter Six "Evil," the priest said, after he had settled comfortably into Barrent's best chair, "is that force within us which inspires men to acts of strength and endurance. The worship of Evil is essentially the worship of oneself, and therefore the only true worship. The self which one worships is the ideal social being; the man content in his niche in society, yet ready to grasp any opportunity for advancement; the man who meets death with dignity, who kills without the demeaning vice of pity. Evil is cruel, since it is a true reflection of the uncaring and insensate universe. Evil is eternal and unchanging, although it comes to us in the many forms of protean life."