Stranger in a Strange Land

«I never had a minute's trouble from the day George saw the light,» she told Mike and Jill. «He still drank … but only in church and never too much. When our holy leader returned, George had started his Great Project. Naturally we wanted to show it to Foster — » Mrs. Paiwonski hesitated. «Kids, I ought not to tell this.»

«Then don't,» Jill said emphatically. «Patty darling, we don't want you ever to do anything you don't feel easy about. 'Sharing water' has to be easy.»

«Uh… I do want to! But remember this is Church things, so you mustn't tell anyone … just as I wouldn't tell anything about you.»

Mike nodded. «Here on Earth we call it “water brother” business. On Mars there's no problem … but here I grok there sometimes is. 'Water brother' business you don't repeat.»

«I … I “grok”. That's a funny word, but I'm learning it. All right, darlings, this is “water brother” business. Did you know that all Fosterites are tattooed?Real Church members, I mean, the ones who are eternally saved forever and a day — like me? Oh, I don't mean tattooed all over but — see that? Right over my heart? That's Foster's holy kiss. George worked it in so that it looks like part of the picture … so that nobody could guess. But it's his kiss — and Foster put it there hisself!» She looked ecstatically proud.

They examined it. «It is a kiss mark,» Jill said wonderingly, «like somebody had kissed you there wearing lipstick. I thought it was part of that sunset.»

«Yes, indeedy, that's how George fixed it. Because you don't show Foster's kiss to anyone who doesn't wear Foster's kiss — and I never have, up to now. But,» she insisted, «you're going to wear one, both of you, someday — and when you do, I want to tattoo 'em on.»

Jill said, «I don't understand, Patty. How can he kiss us? After all, he's — up in Heaven.»

«Yes, dearie, he is. Let me explain. Any priest or priestess can give you Foster's kiss. It means God's in your heart, God is part of you … forever.»

Mike was suddenly intent. «Thou art God!»

«Huh, Michael? Well — I've never heard it put that way. But that does express it … God is in you and of you and with you, and the Devil can't get at you.»

«Yes,» agreed Mike. «You grok God.» He thought happily that this was nearer to putting the concept across than he had ever managed before … except that Jill was learning it, in Martian. Which was inevitable.

«That's the idea, Michael. God … groks you — and you are married in Holy Love and Eternal Happiness to His Church. The priest or priestess kisses you and the mark is tattooed on to show it's forever. It doesn't have to be this big — mine is exactly the size and shape of Foster's blessed lips — and it can be placed anywhere to shield from sinful eyes. Any spot where it won't be noticed. Then you show it when you go into a Happiness gathering of the eternally saved.»

«I've heard of happiness meetings,» Jill commented, «but I've never known quite what they are.»

«Well,» Mrs. Paiwonski said judicially, «there are Happiness meetings and Happiness meetings. The ones for ordinary members, who are saved but might backslide, are fun — grand parties with only the amount of praying that comes happily, and plenty of whoop-it-up that makes a good party. Maybe a little real lovin' — but you'd better be mighty careful who and how, because you mustn't be a seed of dissension among the brethren. The Church is very strict about keeping things in their proper places.

«But a Happiness meeting for the eternally saved — well, you don't have to be careful because there won't be anybody there who can sin — all past and done with. If you want to drink and pass out… okay, it's God's will or you wouldn't want to. You want to kneel down and pray, or lift up your voice in song — or tear off your clothes and dance; it's God's will. There can't possibly be anybody there who would see anything wrong in it.»

«It sounds like quite a party,» said Jill.

«Oh, it is — always! And you're filled with heavenly bliss. If you wake up in the morning with one of the eternally saved brethren, he's there because God willed it to make you all blessedly Happy. They've all got Foster's kiss — they're yours.» She frowned thoughtfully. «It feels a little like “sharing water”. You understand?»

«I grok,» agreed Mike.

(«Mike?????»)

(«Wait, Jill. Wait for fullness.»)