“All right. But your beliefs about the gods are important too, Seven. Don’t forget that,” Cyprus cautioned. She made the vowels and syllables disappear, and Lydia walked into the room.

She looked to be in her early twenties. She gave her long black hair a decisive toss, snapped her fingers, and said, “A doctor’s office. Physician of the soul and all that stuff, I bet.”

Oversoul Seven grinned and said, “I thought it applied.”

“It does,” she answered. “Physical doctors aren’t very competent, and physicians of the soul probably aren’t any better.” She smiled, though, and took a hallucinatory cigarette from her dungaree pocket. Seven lit it for her and said to Cyprus, “What did I tell you? She’s … difficult.”

Lydia had met Cyprus on several occasions. She gave her a grin of welcome and shrugged her shoulders. Seven ignored the flippancy; or almost. He frowned slightly and said, “Anyhow, Lydia is going to advise me about earth conditions, in case we find any new gods to insert into time.”

Cyprus turned into a young woman, more or less. That is, she tried to relate to Lydia by adopting a similar image. Her thoughts went so fast again, though, that to Lydia it looked as if she appeared and disappeared in the most confusing fashion.

Lydia puffed nervously on her hallucinatory cigarette and said, “If I’m going to be born again, then first I want to find out about the gods—or God, or whatever. When I’m in a physical life, I get sidetracked, so I’m taking the opportunity now, while I can. Otherwise, I don’t know. The gods never did much good as far as I can see—if there are gods. But I thought that if we found a decent one, we could—well, insert him in time. Or her. Earth could do with a woman god for a change, if you ask me.”

Oversoul Seven smiled brilliantly at Cyprus and said, “See, the gods can be inserted just after Lydia’s time in her last life. She knows all about that period. Even her prejudices are still fresh in her mind.”

“I suppose that’s considered an asset?” Cyprus asked. “And if I were you, I’d forget about inserting any new gods in time—if you find any willing to undertake such a venture. I should tell you, Seven, that there are a few things you’ve forgotten on purpose for this semester’s work. Your own entire range of knowledge on certain subjects isn’t available to you, because otherwise you might be tempted to overdirect your personalities.”