


It was the hypothetical entity supposed to watch over the affairs of everyday life - every individual, every animal!-and to reward good and punish evil, usually in a vaguely described existence after death. 'The personal God, sometimes called God One, became Alpha. This at least stopped people arguing at cross-purposes, which caused 90% of the trouble in the past. 'instead, it was replaced by a whole constellation of specialized words. that's why it slowly dropped out of use during the third millennium except as an expletive-in some cultures, too obscene for polite use. " 'the trouble with the word god,' he began slowly, 'is that it never meant the same thing to any two people - especially if they were philosophers. My favorite part is the explanation of god that one of Clarke's characters gives: The exchange of technology and culture is a delight to experience through the eyes of Clarke's well-written characters. Ship Magellan has crossed 50 light years, stopping at planet Thalassa to pick up some water from their ocean. Mostly a water-world, these people are happily settled.

A ship bound from the now-destroyed earth comes to a planet where one of Earth's seedships had landed 7 centuries ago. It's thought-provoking and full of good vibes.
