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''How's that possible?'' Gregory asked numbly. |
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"They mate with those they do not destroy. Over the centuries they have multiplied." |
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"Holy shit," Madden muttered, "are you saying that nut and the Erickson woman, those three boys, those two girls from the commune have have evolved into those creatures now?" |
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"They have, and untold more like them. Now they are true believers; now they, like those they have mated with, must have Sate free them from their perpetual state of atonement." |
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Madden's troubled face was drawn and weary. |
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"What about Bell?" I protested. "If what you say is true, if he was an Emissary, why isn't he with Sate? Why is he sitting up there in some half-forgotten corner of the world reading the Bible?" |
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"Myron Bell is a soul in conflict, torn between two masters. Now he serves neither." |
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Little by little, the jigsaw pieces were coming together. Kelto's frequently confusing revelations had again peeled away one more shadow from the cloak of mystery that surrounded those who called themselves the true believers. Still, I had to decide just how much of it I was willing to |
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