Belief Made No Difference To The Truth.

You Walk On Water, And Complain That You Can't Find Anything To Drink!

"power," Nita Heard Her Father Say Behind Her. "creation. Forces From Before Time. This Is--this Business Is For Saints, Not Children!" "even Saints Have To Start Somewhere," Carl Said Softly. "and It's Always Been The Children Who Have Saved The Universe From The Previous Generation And Remade The Universe In Their Own Image."

The City Breathing, Burning, Living The Life Thy Had Preserved. Ten Million Lives And More. If Something Should Happen To All That Life - How Terrible! Nita Gulped For Control As She Remembered Fred's Word Of Just This Morning, An Eternity Ago. And This Was What Being A Wizard Was About. Keeping Terrible Things From Happening, Even When It Hurts. Not Just Power, Or Control Of What Ordinary People Couldn't Control, Or Delight In Being Able To Make Strange Things Happen. Those Were The Side Effects - Not The Reason, The Purpose.

How Am I Supposed To Save The Universe With All This Noise?!

But The Trouble With Sainthood These Days Is The Robe-and-halo Imagery That Gets Stuck Onto It." Carl Got That Brooding Look Again. "people Forget That Robes Were Street Clothes Once... And Still Are, In A Lot Of Places. And Halos Are To That Fierce Air Of Innocence What Speech Balloons In Comics Are To The Sound Of The Voice Itself. Shorthand. But Most People Just See An Old Symbol And Don't Bother Looking Behind It For The Meaning. Sainthood Starts To Look Old-fashioned, Unattainable... Even Repellent. Actually, You Can See It All Around, Once You Learn To Spot It.