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All the other cats sat quietly on the floor, and stared reverently at the newcomer, who was a petite gray cat with big hairy ears and a pointy nose. He looked like a big mouse.

“That’s Master Sharif!” Harriet whispered.

“I gathered as much,” I whispered back.

“Friends, I’m glad to see so many of you here tonight,” said Master Sharif. “When we held our first meeting there were only five of us, and now look. Our numbers are increasing with leaps and bounds, and I can only salute our faithful and tireless recruiters. They’re the ones who are making this miracle happen. They’re the ones who deserve all the praise. So please can I have a round of applause for top recruiters Harriet and Shanille!”

The cats all put their paws together for a muted applause. It’s tough to make noise when your paws are padded. Still, it was a sign of appreciation from the faithful.

I refrained from applauding, and so did Dooley and Brutus. The latter, however, quickly joined in when Harriet gave him a pointed look.

“Please tell us, Harriet and Shanille, how you managed such an amazing feat,” said Sharif now.

Harriet and Shanille both got up at the same time and started speaking, then stopped, then started again, then stopped to glare at one another.

“I’ll go first,” said Shanille. “After all, I recruited most of those present here tonight.”

“No, I recruited most of those present here tonight,” said Harriet. “In fact I recruited you, remember, Shanille?”

“You did no such thing,” said Shanille. “I recruited myself, and then I recruited the entire cat choir.”

“No, I recruited cat choir,” said Harriet, darting an icy look at the choir director.

“Ladies, please,” said Sharif with a chuckle. “Let’s all settle down. It doesn’t really matter who recruited whom. What matters is that we are many, and now we can all go out and spread the word.”

“And what is the word, Master Sharif?” asked a timid little cat reverently.

“The word is that it is time to put our soul front and center again,” said Sharif. “As Master Omar teaches, it’s not the material world that will grant us everlasting happiness but the soul, the center of our being, painfully neglected in the hustle and bustle of everyday life and the rush to accumulate as many material possessions as possible. The latest kibble, the newest cat toy, the best-smelling cat litter… But do these things give us fulfillment? Do they quench our inner thirst for peace and happiness? No, they don’t!”

And as Master Sharif waffled on about the soul and cat litter, I quickly lost my interest. I was seated near the staircase, and as I darted a quick look in that direction, I wondered if anyone would notice if I simply slipped away.

And then I heard voices, and they weren’t coming from downstairs, where the human contingent was gathered around Master Omar, same way the cats were gathered around Omar’s pet, but from upstairs.

They say curiosity killed the cat, and it’s true that cats are a lot more curious than humans. There’s not a sound we can hear or a flicker of light we can see that won’t attract our attention and induce us to go and explore further. So explore I now did.

While everyone was riveted by Sharif’s railings against the newest brand of kibble, I snuck unseen up the stairs and went in search of the noises I was hearing.

I arrived on the third-floor landing and glanced around. The setup was much the same as one floor down, only here no gatherings of the faithful were taking place. A couple of couches had been placed, presumably for people to take a breather and contemplate their souls, and I could see that several doors led off the landing. One of those doors was ajar, and it was here that those mysterious voices were coming from.

So naturally I snuck in for a closer look and listen.

“But it’s not fair!” a man’s voice was saying. “Why can he sit at the master’s elbow while I have to stay here and look at these stupid screens!”

“Yours is a very important job, Jason,” said a female voice. “Master has entrusted you with the task of ensuring security for His flock. You shouldn’t question His decisions.”

“But I don’t want to be cooped up in here while Jaqlyn is down there with Him.”

“Jaq is down there with Him because he doesn’t have your particular set of skills.”

“It’s not fair. The Master promised me I could sit next to Him at the next meeting, and instead He asked that stupid Jaqlyn to sit next to Him. He took my place. Just took it!”

I shook my head. Whoever this Jason was, he sounded like a real crybaby, and already I was wondering if being close to the master had this infantilizing effect on all Soul Science participants. If that was the case it spelled trouble for the rest of us.

The voices had quieted down, and since there wasn’t much more to learn, I decided to sneak back down again. I would have liked to take a peek inside those other rooms, one of which presumably was the inner circle’s lair, but the doors were all closed.