IN> The Book Traders

[John Dallman]

Human souls in Heaven usually lose the visible signs of age or illness 
quickly. Obsessions and other mental problems last longer, but are 
usually cast aside in the end. But the line between obsession and 
interest is fuzzy, even to a Seraph, and some souls maintain their 
earthly interests for a long, long time. 

Near Yves' Library, on the borders of Commerce Park, there are a few 
large halls, of ill-matched design, that are a heaven for second-hand 
book dealers and their customers. They are not magnificent buildings; 
they seem in keeping with their slightly shabby, but immensely varied 
contents. Some newcomers actually buy and sell books; they view it as a 
chance to continue with their old lives without pain, the struggles of 
mundane commerce and the most annoying kinds of customer. 

Others realise that Heaven makes the actual buying and selling 
unnecessary, and move straight onto the next stage; the chance to talk 
with their fellow-traders and many of the customers of history about the 
books, their history, and what can be learned from them. Some lend their 
stock out, while others just swap volumes. It provides a structure for a 
long life in heaven, to sit and wait with a few thousand volumes of 
conversation-bait laid out on a long table, and a friend or two with you 
to share the "work". 

They know it isn't true that "The one who dies with the most books 
wins", but it remains, nonetheless, a good start. You can't take your 
books up Jacob's Ladder. But trading them away, and teaching others 
thereby, is a good lesson, and an enjoyable one, to those who took that 
route through life. 

In Memorian, KFS. 

-- 
John Dallman, jgd at cix.co.uk, HTML mail is treated as probable spam.