"I guess that might do it. Why do gay men have more diseases among humans?"

"Because they have way more sexual partners-- dozens, sometimes hundreds-- and the sex they have is risky?"

"...why would they have more? If anything I'd think less - are most humans gay? Rather few Amentans are gay so they have a harder time finding people."

"I don't think most humans are gay," Andrea says doubtfully, "but women usually like casual sex less than men, I think? So if men are sexually interested in men then they have lots of casual sex."

"Oh. Amentan men and women like casual sex the same amount. Also Amentans might be... less likely to have sex while they're sick."

"There's a disease called HIV that you can get from sex and you can't cure it and a lot of people don't want to be celibate forever..."

"Oh, no, that's terrible. Do condoms work?"

"The HIV virus is so small it goes through holes in the condom."

"- it can swim?"

"I mean, it travels in the semen and stuff, I think? I'm not a biologist."

"I think viruses have to live in cells and can't move around very well outside of them but I didn't get very far in biology either. If it doesn't work it doesn't work. Can they sero-sort or are there too many strains -?"

"I don't know, all the information we get in Gilead is censored and it doesn't include a lot about coping with HIV."

"Okay. Well, uh, Amentans don't have problems like that in quantity and not particularly for folks who spring sideways."

"Amenta seems better than Gilead in a lot of ways!"

"I'm noticing that! I really hope things work out so you can come to Voa."

Andrea waits until Avalor appears!

And here is Avalor. "Sadrin says you have something interesting to tell me."

"God isn't real and the Gileadites are mistaken about almost everything."

"That... explains some things. How did you come by this information?"

"I noticed that in the apologetics books the atheists always had better arguments."

"How sure are you?"

"I'm very sure. Lots of countries are atheist... China, most of Europe, Cascadia, Canada... and none of the others can agree on who God is or what He wants."

"What is Gilead's reaction likely to be if we stop politely taking their word for it?"

"I don't know. They'll probably spend a lot of energy trying to convince you. They won't close the door or anything, if that's what you're worried about."

"It is, yes."