Pages 108-138 Summary

The narrator offers Koomi's expert opinions on the nature of god. The philosopher suggests that, while their may be a supreme being, the imperfect universe was probably created by an underling. He postulates that gods grow or shrink relative to the amount of faith they engender in people. The Omnian Church, the narrator reveals, eventually executed Koomi.

Om uses his godly status to parlay with the ocean goddess, demanding that she spare the ship. She agrees, but only for a price to be established later. The ocean grows suddenly violent. Several sailors, looking to atone for the slain porpoise, intend to use Brutha as a human sacrifice. The novice prays and, soon after, the skies clear. Everyone, Brutha included, is amazed. Om ponders, for the first time in his long life, the concept of justice.

Om dreams of his early days...