Instead, the totally unpredictable and highly improbable had happened. Under the only circumstances which could bring about such a turning around, the Krsh had been converted.

Though the first generation of Krsh accepted the Law whole-heartedly, still, they were Krsh. And so the inevitable changes in the interpretation of the Law and in the mode of life of the human Jews took place swiftly. It was recorded, in sound, living colour, and three dimensions that Matthias and his Libyan Jewish disciples objected to many of the changes. But Yeshua' himself did not, in fact, he blessed them, and so there were no more objections, openly, at least.

In any event, a difference about interpretation and a steady evolution towards the humanitarian spirit of the law had always been a feature of Judaism. And in no way was there any lessening of emphasis on the basics of the religion.

The Krsh and the humans became thoroughly integrated; they lived side by side, their children played together; they worshipped together. The Krsh were only different in that none of them could ever be priests or the temple servants of the priests. The blood of Aaron and Levi did not flow through them.

One of the changes that would have shocked an orthodox Jew was a minor change in the morning prayer of every adult male. For thousands of years the men had said the Three Benedictions:

'Blessed art Thou, O Lord, our God, King of the Universe, Who hast not made me a heathen.

'Blessed art Thou, O Lord, our God, King of the Universe, Who hast not made me a slave.

'Blessed art Thou, O Lord, our God, King of the Universe, Who hast not made me a woman.'

There were no heathens on Mars and very little chance that any Jew would become one. Yet there were many on Earth, and one day the Martians would go to Earth and encounter them. So the first passage was kept, though it meant little to the prayers.

There were no slaves. Though the worshipper had been taught what the word meant, he had not suffered slavery and had never seen a slave, so this, too, had no emotional impact. But there had been many on Earth when the Krsh ship left it, and for all the Martians knew, there still were. So this passage was kept unchanged.

While the first generation lived, the third benediction was unaltered. But then, under the urging of the Krsh and of the human women, affected by the Krsh views, the third passage became: 'Blessed art Thou, O Lord, Our God, King of the Universe, Who hast not made me a beast.'

Because the room for an expanding population was so limited, the first commandment of God, to be fruitful and multiply, had to be kept within bounds. Every couple was allowed three children only. But, when they became ninety years old, they were permitted, if they so wished, to have two more. At one hundred and eighty, they could have another two.

Once the children left home, the parents were free to divorce. Still, it was considered socially incorrect, a matter for gossip, and reprimand by relatives. But when a new coupling occurred, it was usually sanctified by marriage before or shortly after the fact.

To a Terran Jew the Martian society would be strange at first. There were many things to approve of; but there were also so many disconcerting things. Yet, after a while, unless he was ultraorthodox, he could become comfortable. Whatever exotic or unexpected features life here had, it was thoroughly Jewish. Here the thought of God permeated the populace. Everything that could possibly be so was based on the worship of God. The people lived in an ocean of divinity. Yet, unlike the fish who were unaware of the element they swam through, the Martian was always being reminded of this Creator and of the ancient covenants He had made with their ancestors and so with them.

'Were you the one who stood by my bed at night and watched me?' Orme said.

'I am with every one of my flock by day or night,' Jesus said, and he would speak no more on the subject.

Orme was puzzled and also a little angry. What kind of an answer was that? Why couldn't Jesus say yes or no? This reply was too much like the one he'd given when the Pharisees had asked him if it was permissible to pay the poll-tax to Caesar. He had said to them, 'Render then to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's.'

This was much quoted during the next two millennia and the basis of thousands of interpretations of proper allegiance to one's government and to one's religion. Yet there had never been unanimous agreement on the distinction between what was Caesar's and what was God's.

And there was his answer to the Sadducees' question about the resurrection of the dead, 'He is not God of the dead but God of the living.'

At the same time Jesus had made it clear that there would be a resurrection. But there would be no marrying or giving in marriage; the resurrected would be as the angels in Heaven. What did that mean? That there was a perfect sexual freedom with men and women coupling when they wished with anyone they wished? Or did it mean, as the churches said, that men and women would be sexless and, therefore, no longer men and women? Whenever Orme had thought about this, which wasn't often, he had a strange feeling in his genitals, a shrinking, as if a castrator with a big knife was about to sever them.

Orme had many questions, and when he had learned that Jesus lived and was available for questioning, he had thought that now, at last, he would get all the answers. But this Jesus, like the one in the books he'd read, was still giving ambiguous replies. Perhaps, as Bronski said, these were amplified and clarified in the many recordings of Jesus's statements made on Mars. But there was no time to go through these now. He was leaving for Earth.

On this, fateful day, all three Terrestrials were in a huge cube-shaped level near the surface of the planet. Around them were seven spaceships, six cylindrical, the seventh three times as large as any of the others, a hemisphere from which projected six long cylinders each tipped with an enormous globe. Into each ship was filing a double line of men. They no longer wore their ankle-length robes and sandals; they were soldiers uniformed for war, though they hoped that war would not be necessary. They wore calf-high blue boots, baggy red trousers, hip-long white tunics, and round brimless black plastic hats. Metal insignia of Krsh origin, denoting service and rank, were on their chests, shoulders, and hats. Many wore belts supporting holsters containing pistol-shaped weapons. Some of these were lasers which could kill a man at three miles and cut through steel three feet thick half a mile away.

Of the twenty thousand men, only four were not in uniform. Jesus wore his sky-blue robe, and the Earthmen were dressed in their IASA uniforms. The Messiah had thought that it would not be good for them to appear to be part of the Martian space navy.

'You are with us and of us and so beloved by us. But the people of Earth may regard you as traitors. It is better that you appear first as converts only. You will be of the Kingdom of the Presence and hence His soldiers. But the Sons of Darkness will be filled with suspicion, fear, and trembling. They must not identify you as one of us. You must still be Terrestrials, not Martians. Thus, you will be a bridge between us, a means of communication and reassurance. Later, you can wear the garments of the Sons of Light.

'The Kingdom of the Presence cannot be brought about by force. We do not go to destroy and slay. We will effect the rule of the Messiah by example, by love, by gifts. Of course, there may be war, but we will not be the first to attack.

'You see,' he said, smiling, 'this man whom you call Saint John the Revelator, the writer of the Apocalypse, was a poet. He cast the coming of the Messiah in vivid imagery, in hyperbole, in blazing symbols. And he based his visions upon the supernatural. But the establishment of the Messiah and the