There being no divine patron, there is no flow of godly energy to humans. As far as our temporal selves are concerned, Alphoma does not currently exist. There is no point in appealing to it. However, this does not negate the notions of grace and prayer. They have been extant for thousands of years and they are therefore likely to have some basis in fact. The strong probability is that humans possess considerable powers which rely on relatively weak energy effects. For the time being these forces are beyond the scope of our research instruments but the prediction is that one day they will be measurable. Evidence for this comes from innumerable personal experiences and from powerful, undeniable phenomena such as the emotion-enhancing effects of crowds. It is by no means unreasonable, therefore, to assume that by focusing the mind, some effect on others can be achieved. It is also acceptable to assume that gathering together and focusing can multiply the effect. And research will very likely eventually show that a belief amongst participants that something positive is happening enhances the effect whilst scepticism probably inhibits it. The outcome for the Alphomist is that it is entirely rational to engage in something akin to prayer and to believe that something positive, which might be called ‘grace’, is being transmitted. But the power of prayer, if it does indeed turn out to exist, is a human one and ‘grace’ is a natural force. There is nothing illogical, therefore, in Alphomists gathering, if they so choose, to create the likely multiplying effect which closeness has on the subtler human forces. They will not be asking any other entity for support, they will be making use of their own powers. It follows from this that all of the religious efforts over the centuries have not by any means been wasted. The fact that prayer has usually been based on a belief in a god will surely not reduce its efficacy. However, one big advantage of non-deistic prayer is that it removes the anomaly of asking a god to make good something which, if theism is true, the god could have prevented. BACK