Josef yelled after them, triumphantly: “The house was meant as a bonus to repay you for your great kindness.”

“Oh, Josef,” Seven sighed.

Cyprus said, “You realize what you’ve done, of course: become so involved in Josef’s difficulties that you’ve forgotten everything. Even the examination.”

Seven came back to himself with dismay. “But I have to wait till he finishes the underpainting, now that I’ve started, “he said. “Then Josef can do the rest himself well enough.”

“I’ll speak to you when you’re finished, then,” Cyprus said. For a moment Seven wondered why he couldn’t pick up more of Cyprus’ thoughts, but already she was gone. Seven stayed there while Josef continued to paint, his brush like a perfect extension of the picture in his mind.

Chapter Three

Ma-ah’s Trek: The Earthization of Oversoul Seven — Part Two of the Examination

Oversoul Seven and Cyprus were two points of light.

“I chose Lydia’s study for our discussion for several reasons,” Cyprus said. “For one thing, the next part of your examination will definitely be Earth-oriented, and in ways that you may not suspect—”

“Suspect?” Oversoul Seven said. “I don’t like the implications of that word. Are you sure you’re using the language properly?”

“Yes, I am, and I used the word purposely, to give you a clue as to what might happen,” she said. “For another thing, we have to take Earth forms, invisible of course, and I want you to relate to the environment the way humans do. For example, let’s get off the windowsill and move properly into the room. We’ll sit in one of those chairs there.”

“Now tell me precisely where and when we are,” Cyprus said. She materialized, to Seven at least, as a young woman of mature years, or as a mature woman of young years. Either way it seemed to fit. Yet if you kept looking at her, she became a young man of mature years or a mature man of young years. She laughed: “It’s according to which part of my personality you focus on. I’m not as Earth-oriented as you, and I just can’t get all of myself into an exclusively male or female form. No one ever does, of course. At my level it’s just more apparent.

“But what form do you want to adopt?” she asked. “You’ll have to use it for all of our discussions, so make up your mind. For one thing, I want to see how good you are, remembering details.”

Seven’s point of light wiggled indecisively. “I hadn’t counted on a test of form,” he said. “But since details are important, I’ll pick something with as few of them as possible. What about a glowing round orange ball?”

“No,” she sighed. “A human form.”