Stranger in a Strange Land

us."
                "Uh ... but I do want to share it. Look, darlings, I trust you both utterly. But I just want you to remember that this is Church things Pm telling you, so you mustn't ever tell anyone . . . just as I wouldn't tell anything about you."
                Mike nodded. "Here on Earth we sometimes call it 'water brother' business. On Mars there's no problem . . . but here I grok that 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 ever and a day-like me? Oh, I don't mean tattooed all over, the way I am, but-look, see that? Right over my heart . . . see? That's Foster's holy kiss. George worked it into the design so that it looks like part of the picture it's in ... so that nobody could guess unless I told 'em. But it's his kiss-and Foster put it there hisselfi" She looked ecstatically proud.
                They both examined it. "It is a kiss mark," Jill said wonderingly. "Just like somebody had kissed you there wearing lipstick. But, until you showed us, I thought it was part of that sunset."
                "Yes, indeedy, that's why George did it. Because you don't go showing Foster's kiss to anyone who doesn't wear Foster's kiss-and I never have, up to now. But," she insisted, "I'm sure you're going to wear one, both of you, someday-and when you do, I want to be the one to tattoo 'em on."
                Jill said, "I don't quite understand, Patty. I can see that it's wonderful for you to have been kissed by Foster-but how can he ever kiss us? After all, he's-up in Heaven."
                "Yes, dearie, he is. But let me explain. Any ordained 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, that is a strange way to say it-I've never heard a priest put it quite that way. But that does sort of express it . . . God is in you and of you and with you, and the Devil can't ever 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 maybe priestess-it can be either-kisses you and then the kiss mark is tattooed on to show that it's forever. Of course it doesn't have to be this big-mine is just exactly the size and shape of Foster's blessed tips-and the kiss can be placed anywhere to shield from sinful eyes. Lots of men have a patch of skull shaved and then wear a hat or a bandage until the hair grows out. Or any spot where it's blessed certain it won't be seen unless you want it to be. You mustn't sit or stand on it-but anywhere else is okay. Then you show it when you go into a closed 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 an awful lot of fun-grand parties with only the amount of praying that comes natural and happily, and plenty of whoopit-up that makes a good party. Maybe, even, a little real lovin'-but that's frowned on there and you'd better be mighty careful who and how, because you mustn't be a seed of dissension among the brethren. The Church is way strict about keeping things in their proper place.
                "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. Although," she added, "you might not have any clothes on at all, because there can't possibly be anybody there who would