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"I have put my throne above His throne梐s the poets and theredactors of Scripture say it梑ecause I know that for souls to attainHeaven, suffering was never necessary, that full understanding andreceptivity to God never required a fast, a scourging, a crucifixion, adeath. I know that the human soul transcended Nature, and neededno more than an eye for beauty to do this! Job was Job before hesuffered! Just as after! What did the suffering teach Job that he didn'tknow before?""But how do you make up for it in Hell?""I don't begin by telling them that for Him, the human eye expressesthe perfection of creation when it looks with horror upon amaimed body, just as it expresses the perfection of Creation when itlooks in peace upon a garden.
"And He persists that it's all there. Your Savage Garden, Lestat, isHis version of Perfection. It all evolved from the same seed, and I,Memnoch, the Devil, fail to see it. I have an angel's simple mind.""How do you fight Him in Hell and still win Heaven for thedamned, then? How?""What do you think Hell is?" he asked. "You must have a surmiseby now.""First of all, it is what we call purgatory," I said. "No one isbeyond redemption. I understood from your argument on thebattlefield. So what must the souls of Hell suffer to be fully qualified forHeaven?""What do you think they should suffer?""I don't know. I'm frightened. We're about to go there, aren'twe?""Yes, but I'd like to know what you expect.""I don't know what to expect. I know that creatures who haverobbed others of life梐s I have梥hould suffer for it.""Suffer or pay for it?""What would be the difference?""Well, suppose you had a chance to forgive Magnus, the vampirewho brought you into this, suppose he stood before you and said,'Lestat, forgive me for taking you out of your mortal life and puttingyou outside Nature, and making you drink blood to live. Do with mewhat you will so that you can forgive me.' What would you do?""You chose a bad example," I said. "I don't know that I haven'tforgiven him. I don't think he knew what he was doing. I don't careabout him. He was mad. He was an Old World monster. He startedme on the Devil's Road on some warped, impersonal impulse. I don'teven think about him. I don't care about him. If he has to seekforgiveness from someone, then let it be from the mortals he killedwhen he was in existence.
"In his tower was a dungeon filled with slain mortal men梱oungmen who resembled me, men he'd brought there to test, apparently,and then killed rather than initiated. I remember them still. But it'sjust one form of massacre梙eaps of bodies of young men, all withblond hair and blue eyes. Young beings robbed of potential and oflife itself. His forgiveness would have to come from all those whomhe robbed of life in any fashion梙e would have to gain theforgiveness of each one."I was beginning to tremble again. My anger was so familiar to me.
And how angry I had become many a time when others had accusedme of my various flamboyant attacks upon mortal men and women.
And children. Helpless children.
"And you?" he said to me. "For you to get into Heaven, what doyou think would be necessary?""Well, apparently working for you will do it," I said defiantly. "Atleast I think it would from what you've said to me. But you haven'treally told me precisely what you do! You've told me the story ofCreation and the Passion, of Your Way and His Way, you'vedescribed how you oppose Him on Earth, and I can imagine theramifications of that opposition梬e are both sensualists, we are bothbelievers in the wisdom of the flesh.""Amen to that.""But you have not gotten to a full explanation of what you do inHell. And how can you be winning? Are you sending them speedily toHis arms?""Speedily and with powerful acceptance," he said. "But I am notspeaking to you now about my offer to you, or my Earthly oppositionto Him; I'm asking you this: Given all that you have seen梂hat doyou think Hell should be!""I'm afraid to answer. Because I belong there.""You're never really that afraid of anything. Go on. Make a statement.
What do you think Hell ought to be, what should a soul haveto endure to be worthy of Heaven? Is it enough to say 'I believe inGod'; Jesus, 'I believe in Your Suffering'? Is it enough to say, 'I'msorry for all my sins because they offend thee, my God?' Or to say,'I'm sorry because when I was on Earth, I really didn't believe in Youand now I know it's true, and wham, bang, one look at this infernalplace, and I'm ready! I wouldn't do anything the same way, andplease let me into Heaven quick.' "I didn't answer.
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