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was something else. There was some other force involved, a protection spell perhaps.”
    “Should we go to the Guide?” Dava asked tentatively.
    “We need to know more. A vague feeling on the ground is not the same as a sighting in the Palace. Everyone should look out for other forces that might be involved.” Gal looked around the circle.
    “What if it’s too much for us?” Tal’s voice still betrayed her earlier tears.
    Gal shook his head, “There’s no such thing. If it was too much, we’d know soon enough. Until we see anyone else being deployed to deal with this, we know that it’s within our capabilities.”
    “I wish the Serfs would be just a bit more careful. If they don’t want to perform the Service can’t they at least try not to cause rifts?” Dror shook his head.
    Dava frowned, “It’s not fair, Dror, they just don’t know.”
    “They don’t want to know.”
    “It’s hardly their fault. For centuries the plan worked. We told the rest of the world the truth and called it a religion. Any insanity would be excused in the name of religion and no one ever believed us.”
    “But now our own People don’t believe us.” Noy interjected.
    “So we have to work harder,” Dava said. “We have to get past their Interlopers and show them the Palace. It’s not up to us to choose our Service. But the way to enlist them into Service isn’t to beat them over the head with a sledgehammer. We can’t just walk up to them and say, ‘Excuse me ma’am, but it’s your destiny to live in a higher spiritual realm performing Service to heaven. If you do so you will experience untold bliss, except you will also be expected to fight in a battle that will never be won. It will only take the rest of your life. If you chose not to, then you can continue with you ordinary life. But by the way, if too many people refuse the Service then the world will stop turning.’ ” Dava waited for a response.
    Dror was not convinced. “I’m not expecting them to understand, but it’s hard enough to keep the Adversary from overpowering the Connection without them helping it out.”
    “Go explain to them why eating a burger with lettuce is spiritually more harmful than eating one without lettuce, because there might be a bug on it. Try telling them that eating bugs has a negative spiritual effect and weakens their standing in the Palace.” Dava pushed back her chair in frustration.
    Noy and Tal exchanged a look. It wasn’t often that Dava got so worked up. Her calm was one of their group’s greatest assets.
    “But we don’t have to stand around and let them sabotage us.” Dror leapt to his feet. At six foot two he towered over the slight Dava.
    She stood pulling herself up to her full height and then more. Tal looked nervously at Gal. Dava had just manifested her Palace-self on the ground. For one who could See, there in front of them were two Davas superimposed. A small waif-like girl who looked much less than her nineteen years, and a proud warrior with strong battle seasoned body daring Dror to attack.
    “We’re not the ones running the world. We’re here to perform the Service that is asked of us; not sit around discussing our feelings about it. It’s not like we don’t know why we’re doing this. In order for free will to exist, there has to be a struggle between Good and Evil. We fight so that they have the choice. And sometimes they choose bad.”
    Dava starred at Dror, daring him to argue. “It is not our job to know the heavenly reckoning. He Who Knows asks us to Serve. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to. You know your way to the door.”
    Dror looked suitably uncomfortable. No one who’d seen the inside of the Palace just walked out. They lost battles, died, fell under the thrall of the Interloper, but no one just decided it wasn’t for them anymore and left.
    Dava exhaled and her Palace-self slipped away. “If it makes you feel better, I’d suggest that you work on Serf education,”