[Distraction, Evaluate]

  When we arrive back at the mansion, I realize that I shouldn’t have stayed away so long. Everyone is upset except for Nyxi, who still has her organs apparently. She’s been using the chapel as her de facto box. Harry couldn’t find any food in the house, but I still had my emergency supply in the knapsack, so he was feeding her from that, along with bowls of water. But that emergency supply wouldn’t last forever.

  “Jaq, my organs are gone. Including the organ I love more than anything in the world. I think you know the organ I’m referring to Jaq. How do I get it back Jaq? I can’t sleep without that. I can’t sleep, eat, or poop, anyway but still I need that organ back. What am I supposed to throw if I can’t poop. I hate Literal Heaven, hell was so much better. I had all my organs.”

  “I know Groucho, I have another twelve hours of praying to do to get the information I need on my Grandfather. I’m hoping that opens a portal out of here, it hasn’t been fun for me either. If you and Harry join in we could cut that in half to six hours if we pray in a cathedral.”

  “You want me to pray to a guy who took away my most favorite organ, no way Jaq. Hasn’t he ever heard of free will? I thought he claimed that he invented it, and that’s why evil exists on Earth. Well evil exists in Literal Heaven, it’s called organ theft.”

  “Harry, has anything else happened I should know about, do you think?”

  “No, nothing has happened, there is no library nor video room, that’s kind of the problem there is nothing to do here.”

  “Why not make a chess set, " Groucho was bragging about how many people he beat. This would give you a chance to see just how good he is. How’s Draco handling it?”

  “When the angel’s not around he can at least turn visible and talk to us.”

  “Ask him if he’s comfortable scouting out the place from the air. This place seems huge compared to heaven and hell. The family record’s buildings seem to go on forever.”

  “I’m right here Jaq, scouting would give me something to do, so I gladly do it.”

  “Draco, any idea why Nyxi would be the only one of us to avoid organ loss.”

  “No idea Jaq, but it is suspicious that they don’t allow cats and apparently cats are unaffected by whatever biologically changes us. Another thing to consider Jaq, before you go wrecking this place, we might need this place working if we are ever to get all of our organs back.”

  “Good thinking Draco, but this place is so huge, I haven’t a clue how we ever could take down the place, even if that was the aim. Which it never was. Is this another of Merlin’s floors or did you have a part in it?”

  “I designed this floor, as a game preserve, clearly it’s been repurposed. But now that you mention it, I did have a manual set of stairs, but it’s pretty far from here. While I’m out scouting, I’ll check if the stairs are still accessible. If a portal opens for you and Frida just take it, we’ll just access the stairs.”

  “I don’t like that idea Draco, you just said that you don’t know if the stairs are accessible or not. Frida and I will go to the nearest cathedral and pray for twelve hours, then we’ll come back here and talk over future plans. So Draco try to be here in twelve hours. Harry lets talk to Angel to see if we have any neighbors. If we do, either you or you and Groucho could go and talk to them. Find out anything you can.”

  “Sounds good, but Groucho should probably stay here, or go with you. He’s really quite upset.”

  “Yeah I could tell and I don’t blame him. I already asked him to come pray and he won’t pray to a god that stole his favorite organ. Meanwhile I’m praying to one that I don’t even believe exists.”

  “Alright, I’ll find Frida and we’ll be back in about twelve hours, hopefully you two will discover something Frida and I will look for anything stranger than we’ve already seen.”

  I found Frida upstairs playing with Nyxi in our bedroom. Why do we even have bedrooms, kitchens, no sex, no sleep, no food, no eating. We are all basically just ghosts. I wonder why all the other people are praying, are they all trying to locate family, are there other perks they get. Nyxi seemed happy to see us both, but finally tired out. She went to sleep and we found Angel and left for the nearest cathedral.

  “Angel, why are all the people praying in the churches, are they all looking for family, or do they get something else out of it?”

  “It gives them purpose Jaq. That’s why you all are here, to give glory to God.”

  “So they are so bored they spend all day and night praying. What does God get out of it?”

  “He gets the glory, to be adored by so many Jaq.”

  “I mean does he get a powerup from all that prayer.”

  “My god, you are such a heathen, Jaq, god is omniscient, all powerful. God is never changing, prayer doesn’t transform God, it transforms the sinners praying to him.”

  “Transform them into what?”

  “Into beings that live for god’s glory.”

  “Aside from being bored, having nothing better to do, the praying just relieves boredom.”

  “After a few years Jaq, praying becomes an enjoyable activity, you can do with others. You’ll see Jaq, in a few years, you’ll wonder why you ever fought it.”

  “I don’t know Angel, I can be pretty stubborn.”

  We arrived at the church and Frida and I began a twelve hour prayer session. I wanted to interview these people, find out really why they were doing what they were doing here. It seems like a grift, taking away everything about a person. The one group activity left is praying, so everyone prays to pass the time and have contact with other people.

  Was this perhaps a bunch of gods getting together for a game of Glory. The god who gets the most prayers wins. If I made a bunch of virtual computer people, I’d be disappointed if they spent all their time. Talking to themselves about how great I am or would I perhaps somehow get hooked on it. Like Celebrities on Earth who just don’t want to let go of fame. Are Fame and Glory comparable like humans and gods, I could do with a good talk to Aya about all this.

  Twelve hours later we got back in the limo and headed for home. Groucho was waiting at the door.

  “Jaq, am I getting my organs back soon?”

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  “I hope so Groucho, are Harry and Draco here?”

  “Yeah in the kitchen.”

  “Come on, let's all go in and see what they found out.”

  “Draco, are the stairs still there?”

  “No, they were removed completely. The link to the lower floor was severed entirely.”

  “So we're trapped without a portal. Frida and I have enough prayers I think, to get info on granddad, finding granddad clues has opened a portal in the past. So grab Nyxi and gather in the living room, if the portal opens take it. When I get back I’ll follow. You too Frida, you stay here, with everyone else, and you take the portal with everyone. I’ll figure another way if the portal closes.”

  “I’m not going Jaq”

  “Frida there is no point of us both being trapped here. None, he’s my granddad so the information will only come to me. It doesn’t take two to get the info.”

  “I’m not leaving you alone in this limbo Jaq, it just’s not happening so you can stop arguing.”

  “Well stay here and make sure everyone else and Nyxi get through, when we run out of food, Nyxi will die, so just make sure she gets home. Groucho, you’ll look after her won’t you?”

  “Of course Jaq, you can depend on me, I’ll bring her to the barn to live with us.”

  “Great thanks Groucho.”

  “Jaq, I went to a neighbor's house to introduce myself, they said they were too busy praying, and to come back another time. The other two houses that I went to were empty or the occupants might have been out to a church. I’m sorry that’s all I could reach on foot.”

  “Draco anything interesting from the air?”

  “No pretty much what you already know, it’s vast, those huge stone Parthenons were all over so were churches. What I didn’t see were living quarters. No skyscrapers, no cities, just the government buildings and churches. Creepy.”

  “I just had a thought Draco, can you fly up to the next floor?”

  “Good idea Jaq, I’ll go check right away, give me an hour to get back here.”

  “Thanks Draco”

  An hour later he came back with the bad news, if there ever was a passage between floors it’s been removed by whoever took out the exit to the lower level. I tried one more time to convince Frida to return with the others if a portal opens. I told her it’d be easier for me to sneak out alone. She was going to call me out for lying but realized I couldn’t lie here.

  “You really love me don’t you Jaq?”

  “Well, Frida, it's really too early in our relationship to say something like that, and we may be stuck here.”

  “Come on Jaq, it’s a simple yes or no question isn’t it?”

  “I wouldn’t say it was a simple question, in many ways it’s quite complex.”

  “One word answer Jaq, Yes or No, if you try to dodge any more I’ll assume it’s a no, that you love someone else maybe Nyx. Come on Jaq, Yes or No.”

  “If I answer, will you promise to do something for me?”

  “Yes as long as it isn’t going through the portal without you.”

  “Yes, that’s why I love you, you not only have a body to die for, you are smart as a whip and yes I love you, that’s why I want you to use the portal.”

  “We’ll use the portal together Jaq, if you can figure a way to open the portal once, why wouldn’t you be able to open it for a second time. I believe in you Jaq and I love you too, that’s why I’m not going through that portal without you. I would rather be with you organless, then alone back home.”

  “You wouldn’t be alone, Nyx said that you’d wind up with Farthing, out of survivors' guilt.”

  “Nope, that's never happening. I’ll be so glad to bring the Colonel back. He’s getting rid of Farthing and bringing in some new artists.”

  “That will be a nice change, well I better get going. I’ll see you soon”

  I kissed her goodbye and found Angel and took the long limo drive back to the government information building.

  “Angel, where is the city where all the people live?”

  “You are driving through it Jaq.”

  “We’ve driven past many churches, and government buildings, but I don’t remember seeing an apartment building and the few mansions we drove past could handle a few hundred people but the lines I’ve seen, thousands or hundreds of thousands of people.”

  “Well eventually Jaq, the people don’t want to remain home alone, they prefer to gather in the churches in prayer for the glory of God."

  “So the housing is just to transition the newcomers, then they are expected to pray full time. This is the biggest scam of all time.”

  “That’s blasphemy Jaq.”

  “No using people for some sort of game, that’s blasphemy, Paula.”

  We finally reach the building we need to get to. I go in alone. I don't need Angel, I know just where to go. The second line is shorter but I still wind up waiting around an hour.

  “Name please.”

  “I’m looking for Colonel Henry Holland.”

  She types in the name.

  “It’ll just be a minute the information is printing now.