"Once more, please? I cannot hear you when you talk into your hand."

"I said, 'the patriarchs rejected this line of reasoning at the Council of Thessaloniki in 1997. It was specifically about the Question of Espers, and it concluded that espers can use their gifts by the grace of God. The bishop was simply wrong when he wrote that.'"

"In his letter, the bishop claims that that is true in the abstract but does not exempt espers from the moral teachings around sexuality, so practically—"

"I believe that the bishop was wrong. He has to be wrong. Dungeons demand our powers to answer them. Espers are acts of God's mercy. There's no other explanation."

"So it's all good, then? He sent his legion of cocksuckers to save us from hell? That sounds a little bit libertine for you, Konstantinov."

"I haven't needed to evaluate fellatio for its godliness, Boris, because skin-to-skin contact and saliva are plenty, but if I ever come to that conclusion I'll be sure to inform you so you can get right on it."

"God didn't curse me with your predilections, Kliment—"

"And yet you seem so fascinated by the topic! Sort of like how if someone fantasizes enough about skinning squirrels alive, you refer them to a psychiatrist, when you talk this much about sex with men, one develops the urge to warn your wife."

[Angry crosstalk]

"Enough! Enough!" [Crosstalk] "Boris, go cool off. Boris!"

"Kliment Ilyich, please sit back down. There's no need to glare like that. Boris is simply concerned that you may harbor... reservations about the nature of your work with the bureau, on account of deeply held personal beliefs. Which, were it the case, I would be very sympathetic to."

"Are you also worried about the moral implications of sucking cock, Nikolaev?"

"I think a lot about the moral dimensions of counterintelligence, and that paranoia it breeds. Am I really doing good, working for the state like this?"

"The necessity of counterintelligence work is self-evident, I would say."

"Even when it requires moral or ethical transgression?"

"That depends on the nature of the transgression. In a fallen world, situations can arise through the actions of man that leave no pure moral choice, and the least offensive option is then the right one."

"I went to school to be an accountant, not a monk, Klim, so you are more knowledgeable on this than I am. Would the least offensive option, in the case of a state bureau that constantly tempted men into sin in service of some supposed greater good, be to further the works of that institution or attempt to sabotage it?"

"The thorough answer is that is depends on the particulars, but since there's really only one direction you could be heading with that question, I'll answer in the specific case: the work of the GBE is noble and I support it without reservation, even if its operations incidentally proffer the opportunity for moral transgression."

"Would it help to show you the security camera footage of some of these transgressions? You might even recognize a few characters within it."

"Boris—"

"I am perfectly well aware of the realistic video outputs that modern computer-generated graphics work is capable of. There's no need to threaten to enjoy yourself so."

"Let's please return to the subject at hand."

"By all means, Mr. Nikolaev."

"Do you remember the last letter Bagraniev wrote on the subject of espers, just before he died?"

"I stopped following his activities years ago. I was only aware of his death due to the obituary."

"You requested leave to attend his funeral, though."