Angelo gave me a long look.

‘We may not be as infallible as we’d like to think, but we are doing our best. We’re bringing the light of wisdom to the savages. Without us they’d still have been dressing in hides and killing each other with clubs. They are little better than animals, and sometimes they are worse than animals. We are the shepherds and we do what we can to protect and guide our flock. Even if it takes culling out some black sheep.’

Black sheep… They don’t even realise that it is them who are the black sheep of the humankind. Or rather, they are wolves in sheep’s clothing. Their oily smiles reveal the bloody fangs. They kill, torture and cheat. They talk about God while serving the Devil…

I was suddenly crushed by an overwhelming weariness. Try as I might, they just didn’t get it. I had been saying it over and over again, but nobody would listen…

Well, this was my very last chance indeed—the chance to speak out.

‘There are no “us” and “them”. Alt’hars or dek’hars, Jews or goyim, Christians or Muhammadans, Negroes or Whites or whatever—none of these matters. People are different, but everyone’s blood is red. We are all one, this whole Universe is one whole. Whatever you do unto others, you do unto yourself. Is this so hard to understand? Your thirst for power, your greed for money are foolish…’

‘What’s foolish is your obstinacy!’ Angelo suddenly exploded. ‘It’s one thing to be a naïve idealist at fifteen and quite another to hold onto your delusions at fifty! It’s one thing to be a harmless dreamer and quite another to stir up trouble and lead innocent souls astray! People are different and everyone has his own place! Some are to make orders and some are to take orders. This is the way things have been and this is the way things will always be! And if you’re unable to see this fundamental truth, then you’re really not as smart as people say you are.’