The next day Arthur told him about Kevin and Philip. “I believe they are a product of your mind,” he said.

“Vat you mean?”

“I’ll give you the logical side of it first,” Arthur said. “As the .keeper of hate, you know what a destructive force you possess. Though hate can conquer much through violence, it is unmanageable. Now, if one wants to keep the physical power of hate but remove its evil side, one will still have hatred* with some bad traits. Our mind wanted to control your violence, to keep the anger selective and manageable. Getting rid of your evil, so that you could be strong without being angry, led to shaving off some of your evil, and thus to the creation of Philip and Kevin.”

“They-are same as me?”

“They are criminals. As long as they have your guns, they would not hesitate to put fear into people to achieve their aims. But only with weapons. Their sense of power derives from weapons. This, they feel, brings them to your level. They’re very vengeful people and certainly commit crimes against property. I declared them undesirable after Zanesville because they committed unnecessary crimes. But you know what happens during the mix-up times … Ragen, though you have shown goodness, you still have an evil aspect to your nature. There is no way to completely cleanse hate. It is the price we pay for maintaining strength and aggressiveness.”

“Vould not be mix-up times,” Ragen said, “if you controlled spot properly. Vas better in prison.”

“There were mix-up times in prison, even when you were dominant, thought you were often not aware of them until afterward. Philip and Kevin and some of the other undesirables stole time in prison. Its most important now that they not get in touch with their old criminal friends from Columbus or Lancaster. They would violate the terms of parole.”

“I agree.”

“Weil have to make new friends, begin a new life. Working here at Channingway is a splendid opportunity. We must fit into society.” Arthur looked around. “To begin with, we should really fix up the flat.”

In September, he bought furniture. The bill came to $1,562.21, and the first payment was due the following month.

Things seemed to be going well at first, except that Allen was having problems with Sharon Roth. He didn’t know why, but she bothered him. She looked so much like Marlene and she was just as bossy and know-it-all. He sensed she didn’t like him.

By mid-September, the mix-up time was worse than ever, confusing everyone. Allen would go to the rental office, pick up the work order, drive to the job location and wait at the apartment for Tommy to come and do the work. But more and more frequently, Tommy wouldn’t show up. No one could reach him and no one else could handle the job. Allen knew that he himself could never figure out how to do the plumbing or heating repair. And he was afraid that if he touched something electrical, he might blow his shoes off.