“Yeah, monotheism has become pretty popular over the years,” Sam said, drawing a finger along the edge of the spoon and trying the sauce. It was good. “In the western half of the world especially spiritual belief tends to be dominated by one God who is interpreted and worshiped differently by several different religions. But there’s still polytheism, too, including a widespread eastern religion which believes in a large number of gods but doesn't hold them to be the highest of all beings. And there are polytheists everywhere, in western and eastern countries, people who still follow older religions or reinterpreted versions of them.”

His stomach chose the moment Starbuck announced how long the pizza would take to rumble loudly, and he grinned and ducked his head.