Masters of the Mortal God
Some years ago I allowed a close friend to go through all my writings, not just the ones that I have published, but all of them, including the scribbled attempts at stories I wrote when I was in high school. When she was done, I asked her what themes, if any, were shared by all my stories. I myself had already concluded that there were no such unifying points, but I thought it at least faintly possible that a less subjective eye could spot what was invisible to me.
Well, my friend paused but for a moment before nodding her head. "All your characters are moral," she asserted. "I noticed it right off."
I started to object. After all, Gibs Stelman lies and cheats and steals. He even runs for political office. Surely he is not a moral being!
And yet, even he shares this common thread. I wonder how many of us would hold up as well as Gibs does, given the accident of his gift: the ability to grant life or death, the ability to rejuvenate the old and make them young again.