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    Leveraging these skills to their full potential is what I want in this life, isn’t it? Of course, the ladies already are infatuated with me, so I’m not sure how he can help in that regard. I laugh to myself. I wonder about all of the things Lucifer has said. It was odd to me that he claimed that God gave the angels their gifts. If that were true, it would seem that God gave humans our gifts as well. Yet here I am, with Lucifer, who is manipulating those gifts, which are God given, for his own purpose. The implications confuse me, but I start to understand a bit more how Lucifer operates.
    Suddenly he reappears, but this time with two others: a woman at his right and a man at his left. They both wear white gowns, creating a startling effect of beautiful white motion. They are not like the others I have seen with Lucifer. They are anything but hideous. In fact, they are beautiful, startlingly beautiful. I have not seen their equal in my life.
    The woman wears an elegant white dress and seems to float by his side. She has dark, wavy hair in incredible contrast to the white vision as a whole. Her skin is pale, but her cheeks are flushed. Her lips are red like blood. She looks at me. I can’t turn away. Her eyes draw me in, and I don’t want to leave. She smiles, understanding that I am transfixed. She seems to be talking to me without speaking. I try to listen, but I can’t understand everything she says. It upsets me to not understand her, but I am amazingly relaxed in her gaze.
    I force myself to look at the man next to Lucifer, or does the woman allow me to look away? The man wears a white robe that flows naturally over his shoulders. Under his hood, he has straight blond hair pulled back in a ponytail. He is perfectly tanned, with piercing blue eyes. He looks at me with a penetrating gaze as he walks beside Lucifer.
    I find the scene relaxing, almost hypnotic. This is a dramatic change from the ugliness that had been forced on me earlier. I think that this serene scene would have been much more effective for Lucifer to use at the outset. I didn’t need to be tortured to understand.
    As the trio move closer to me, the man and woman become hazy and disappear. Like an early fog that gives way to the rising sun, they fade into mist and are gone. I long to see them again. I try to shake the vision as Lucifer sits down. The image is emblazoned on my mind, though.
    Clearly understanding my thoughts, he smiles. “Pleasant, isn’t it?” He doesn’t expect an answer. “I can make you that beautiful in this life and beyond. Those two have served me well, and that is their reward. I ask very little of you. I simply need the gifts you have developed. I need you to be what we both know you can be. I want you to do what you do and be yourself . . . only better.
    “I want you to be one of my voices in the world—one of my most important voices. You won’t be alone. I have many disciples, each possessing talents to achieve my purpose. Think of us as one body, with me as the head. You, Thomas, will use words, language, and philosophy to my ends. The beauty of this arrangement is that you have unwittingly been doing it your entire career. Now, I will be more active in refining your words and deeds and shaping them for more influence. You lack the conviction and courage to take your philosophy to its natural, ultimate conclusion. You are weak and foolish compared to me, but I will help you. Through me, all things are possible. I will also put you in front of influential people who will embrace you and your ideas. People who otherwise would never notice someone of your stature.”
    Though he hasn’t spelled out any terrible thing I must do, I feel uneasy and push my chair back slightly. Many thoughts rush into my mind. Am I being asked by Lucifer to become his weapon in the world? What are his ends? What does he mean that I lack the conviction of my philosophy? My philosophy is all about humanity, not