'Let us say that the Krsh never knew the true nature of these phenomena. They tried to capture some but were unable.

'Let us imagine that these electromagnetic phenomena were actually sentient beings. They were composed of pure energy fields which were as complex as human beings and just as intelligent. In some respects, they were more intelligent. They did not have a society as we know it, but they had one. They communicated with each other, they had a language, the words would be transceived modulated pulses of electromagnetic frequency.

'Let us say that one of these was possessed of immense curiosity. Instead of fleeing the strange forms of life that had landed on its planet, it investigated. And it found, through experimentation, that it could possess the body of one of the strangers, or not so much possess it as integrate with it. This led to its being able not only to share its intellect and its emotions but to become, in effect, its host. And it was able to take over control of the host without the host being aware of it.'

Jesus laughed again and took another sip of wine.

'Interesting speculation, isn't it? So, it also discovered that it could mutate its own energy fields so that it could resemble exactly any of the strangers. Its companions would not be able to tell the difference. To them, the facsimile was no different from the rest of them or any different than he had been before.

'Of course, the facsimile or the possessed would have to exhibit the same limitations as any person. He couldn't walk on water or float through! the air or repair damaged cells with a touch of the finger. Or bring life back to the dead. If he did that, he might raise questions, cause doubts, and initiate an investigation. The Krsh were not your ignorant superstitious men of Earth of that time. They wouldn't accept these strange powers as suddenly given by the Creator. They might have suspected the truth. If they had, they would have used their delicate instruments and found a troubling electromagnetism that no Krsh would have radiated.

'However, before long the possessor learned this, and it was able to confine the radiation so that there would be no chance of detection.

'But why not reveal itself to the Krsh? Would they harm it? It didn't seem likely, since the Krsh were a peaceful folk. They would allow it to spend time in the atomic reactor that provided the fuel for the drive of the ship. You see, this energy being was like every other living thing. It had to have food, and it got this from radioactivity. It could absorb, or digest, but it did not have to excrete. It used one hundred per cent of the energy taken in.'

Orme muttered, 'The sun.'

'You mean the globe that floats in this cavern. Yes, it is fuelled by an atomic reactor, though it is used much more efficiently than those on your world. This would explain why I spend so much time in the sun. I am renewing my being in more ways than one. That is, it would explain it if I were indeed this being. But this is, of course, pure speculation. I am amusing myself and, I hope, you, too.

'Let's say that this being decided not to reveal itself yet. It had to know the strangers much better before it took a chance. So, it left its host from time to time to reside in the reactor of the ship. And it occupied all the Krsh, one by one, before the ship had reached Earth. It came to know its hosts well, better than they knew themselves. It was able eventually to read the unconscious minds of the Krsh.

'Just as I, if I were indeed that being, could read your unconscious. But I, if I were this thing, wouldn't do so now. You see, becoming my hosts, I also became human. And I find the trip into the unconscious very disturbing. It's a nasty place down there, my son. Of course, I'm still imagining this; I'm speaking as if I were indeed this hypothetical creature.

'Now, on to the adventures of this pure energy-being that became human. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, this being developed a human conscience. It couldn't escape it, since it became a man. All the Krsh were highly ethical and so it, too, became highly ethical. Moral problems, which not only never had been its concern but which it never had heard of before, now occupied its thoughts.

'Was it moral to occupy the body of another sentient being and control it? The answer was that it was not. Was it moral to just live in a host and leave the free will actions up to its host? The answer was that it was moral. But as a guest in another's body, it was a parasite and a very bored one. It wished to control the body, to direct it so it, too, could act as a free-will agent. But it couldn't because that would be evil.

'Nor would it momentarily convert its energy into matter and so assume the likeness of one of the Krsh. To reveal its presence now would cause all sorts of consternation. And if the Krsh found that it had been taking over their bodies and minds, they might decide that it was too dangerous. And, being intelligent and highly scientific, they could find means to destroy it. Or if not, to hurl it into space and leave it behind.'

Jesus, still smiling, paused. 'You don't seem to be enjoying your meal. Miryam is an excellent cook, so it can't be the food.'

Orme said, 'It's very good. I was so fascinated that I forgot to eat.'

He cut a slice of mutton and began chewing. But the meat seemed to have lost its taste.

Jesus said, 'And then the ship came to Earth. As you know, it was there for three years. The energy-being thought about staying there and letting the Krsh go on without it. But it really was a horrible place from the viewpoint of the Krsh and from mine, since I was now a Krsh. The terrible plagues: leprosy, gonorrhoea, smallpox, and the rest. The horrible conditions in which most people lived. The wars, the massacres, the stupid laws, the hatreds, the plight of the children, need I go on?

'And yet I grieved for them and would have liked to change their condition. The Krsh themselves had plans for coming back some day and introducing their science, their technology, and their society. But there were those who said that to give these bloodthirsty savages the means of making weapons would result only in more horrors.

'Finally, the electromagnetic being decided to return with the Krsh to their native planet. It would become a Krsh and Jive among them as one. This wouldn't be easy, since the Krsh had records of every citizen, and the sudden appearance of an unaccounted one would cause an investigation. Perhaps it could form the body of a just-dead Krsh, get rid of it, a thing easily done, and take his or her place.

'The ship finally left Earth. Among those humans on it were Matthias and some of his fellow Hebrews. They talked much of this Yeshua' the Messiah, the Anointed of the Merciful One. The Hebrews were successful in converting their fellow Terrestrials to their religion, but they didn't get any place with the Krsh.

'And then an idea came to the being. It would form a body which exactly mimicked that of the dead Jesus. And, as Jesus, it would announce that he had decided to go with the Krsh to their world and preach there. And some day he would return to Earth, to Jerusalem itself, and establish the new state of Zion as foretold, though somewhat ambiguously, In the book you call the Old Testament and the New Testament.'

Orme cleared his throat again and said, 'Pardon me, Rabbi, but wouldn't this be unethical?'

Jesus chewed on a piece of bread and honey for a moment.

'Yes, in one sense. But this being saw a way to make the people of Earth healthy and happy. So, the higher ethics, the higher law, won.'

'I've heard that before,' Orme murmured.

'Ah, you mean evil people talk about the higher law to justify their evil actions? That is true, but there is no doubt about the validity of this particular reasoning. Nor would the thing, as Jesus, have used force and violence to bring about this Land of Beulah on Earth. These would, unfortunately, result in war. But then, as I once said, "I bring a sword, not peace." The peace comes later.'