"THE GODS, TO ME, DO NOT EXIST," Smoothie told him.

  This answer caught him off-guard. "What do you mean? The gods exist...?" he replied, not sure what was going on.

  "I am not saying they do not literally exist. I would have to be an invalid in more ways than one to disbelieve in their literal existence. I'm an atheist," Smoothie said, as though that explained everything.

  "I'm sorry. I don't know what an 'atheist' is and neither have I ever heard of the term before," he replied. To himself, he thought, 'Can anything ever be easy? Now, I am going to get a lecture on spiritual philosophy or something...'

  "An atheist is someone who, like me, doesn't believe in over valuing the gods, in overemphasizing their role in our lives. Our village was never the most spiritual, so you wouldn't know of us, except perhaps as a warning from that traveling snake oil salesman. Most people devote all that they have to the gods in the hopes they will enter into that god's 'favorited' sum of mortals. I don't do that; I don't think the gods care about us anymore than we care about a herd of cattle or our pets. Regardless of what they might say through their mouthpieces or through periodic 'visions.' Oh, speaking of which, don't get me started on freaking visions!" Smoothie exclaimed.

  "I had no idea," he said, keeping it casual. He wanted to ask what she meant by 'snake oil salesman,' but he had the Interview to do. It would be poor form to drag the interview down with senseless information. Besides, if he were to ever review the Interview content at a later date, he didn't want a bunch of silly talk to drag down his study.

  "Oh, yes. People like me exist. And we do not cow so easily under the might of the gods," she stated.

  "Then I guess my next questions are irrelevant. I take it you don't worship, right? If you don't worship, then I guess you don't provide any services to the gods..."

  Smoothie surprised him and said, "I do not worship, true. I do provide services to the gods, actually. I provide them with spiritual energy. Unwillingly, of course, but it is something which I cannot help but do from time to time. It is almost impossible not to use magic, right?"

  "Spiritual energy?" he asked. "But magic comes from the gods. I'm confused..."

  "You must be very new in the Denomination you joined if they haven't taught you about the difference between magic and spiritual energy," Smoothie said. "Listen, I'm no scholar. It's essentially like this, magic is farts and smiles from the gods, right? Spiritual energy -- actual spiritual energy and not what people like to confuse as 'spiritual' energy, like soul-based magics -- is what happens after we use magical energy. Using magic burns off spiritual energy which the gods then use for their own purposes, whatever those purposes are. I don't know how well understood spiritual energy is by the mages. I'm no mage, clearly!" she said, laughing at herself and the notion.

  Stolen story; please report.

  "So, it's bigger than just 'worship.' There is a whole range of ways to do stuff for the gods," he said, trying to suss out the issue of the situation.

  "And you don't like this?" he asked, continuing the conversation as he found it extremely intriguing.

  "No! I do not... it's like the taxes we pay to the kings. Except it's worse because it is something they are stealing from us without our consent," Smoothie told him which also managed to take from him a giggle.

  "Taxes? If that's the case, what can we use this spiritual energy for? With taxes, it's clear what you mean. There are daily provisions we could buy with those taxes. Spiritual energy, though? If most people are not aware of this spiritual energy, then why is it so awful the gods benefit from it?"

  Smoothie then appeared heated, like she wanted to say something she would regret. She stuffed down the less than amazing remark, though, and calmed herself. "It's more the principle of the matter," she said.

  "Maybe the spiritual energy the gods take from us when we use magic helps us in some way?" he told her, purely spit balling.

  "I doubt it..."

  She blinked. He blinked. Silence.

  "Well, if there is nothing more to say, then can I ask one final question? Why ask for an Interview if you're an atheist?"

  "Because I wanted to know what kind of man you were if I am to serve under you and in this Martial Order. I guess Shiv philosophy is only gods-adjacent, but still, if we are to offer ourselves in part to the gods, I want to know how much that actually would entail, for how long, and whether my commander was a hard-up about it. Now that I know you are alright, I will be sticking around after all."

  "You were considering leaving?" he asked.

  "Of course. A gal has got to keep her options open, right?" he said with a laugh.

  The Interview ended. He stopped the Memory Marble's record function. To empower it in the first place, he had to draw on the energy stored within his Fairy Silk armor of which was not much, but just enough for the Interview. And those to come. 'Why is the Slipstream taking so long to come out?!' he grunted internally. 'Here I am, trying to tend to the people's spiritual needs, and there's no magic! Come on, gods!'

  The next interview began. It was not nearly as interesting, however. The Interview after that was much the same. Both Interviewees were from the Civilian sector of the camp. General laborers who either were not formal members of the Order, due to their rejection, or which were part of the Order but physically or intellectually unable to the labor of the general population. They told him about their lives, mostly in the same way the people at Guygale used the Interviews -- as an excuse to dump.

  Ending his third Interview of the day, he returned to his room to sleep off the ennui from the Interviews. When he woke, he woke to a wonderful sound in his earpiece. Sigma-Prime told him the Chamber was ready.