“You could change it,” Tommy said, “and let Samuel take the spot sometimes.” .

“Not while I dominate the consciousness,” Arthur said. “I admit I made an error in allowing my emotions to affect my decisions. But,having decided, I will not change it.”

Thinking about heaven and hell bothered Tommy. He found himself going over and over the thought in his mind, and he wondered, if they did get sent to hell, whether there would possibly be a way to escape.

(2)

A few days later, Allen ran into a school acquaintance downtown. He vaguely remembered that Barry Hart was a friend of someone he used to know. Now, with his long hair, he looked like a hippie. Barry Hart invited him up to his place to have a beer and talk.

It was a big rundown apartment. While Allen sat in the kitchen talking with Hart, people came and went, and Allen got the impression there was a lot of drug dealing going on. When Allen got up to leave, Hart said he was going to have a lot of friends over Saturday night for a party and Allen was invited.

He accepted. What better way to follow Arthur’s instructions to get out and socialize?

But when Allen got there on Saturday night, he didn’t like what he saw. It was a heavy drug scene, with people drinking booze, smoking pot and popping pills. Most of them, he thought, were making fools of themselves. He’d stay for just a little while and have a beer. But after a few minutes, he got so uncomfortable he left the spot.

Arthur looked around, disgusted at the goings on, but he decided to sit back and observe this species of lowlife. It was interesting to see how different people made fools of themselves under different drugs: belligerent on alcohol, giggling on marijuana, trancelike on amphetamines, tripping on LSD. It was, he decided, a laboratory of drug abuse.

Arthur noticed one couple sitting apart, as he was. The girl, tall and slender, with long dark hair, full lips and smoky eyes, kept looking his way. He had the impression she would talk to him soon. The very idea annoyed him.

The fellow she was with made the first move. “Come to Harts parties often?” the young man asked.

Arthur let Allen take back the spot. He looked around, dazed. “What did you say?”

“My friend says she thinks she’s seen you here at a party before,” the young man said. “I have the feeling I’ve seen you before too. Whats your name?”

“They call me Billy Milligan.”

“Challa’s brother? Hey, I’m Walt Stanley. I’ve met your sister.”

The young woman came over and Stanley said, “Marlene, this is Billy Milligan.”

Stanley wandered off, and Marlene talked with Allen for nearly an hour, trading observations about the other people in the room. Allen found her amusing and warm. He could tell she was attracted to him. Her dark catlike eyes gave him an odd feeling and he was drawn to her. But he knew that because of Arthur’s rules, nothing would come of it.