"Oh, these aren't from me," assured the liar. "It's the offering of a shared acquaintance."

The king said, "The Machine we are in thirsts for blood. Or perhaps it craves people, and the blood is merely a sign of its consumption. This is no game of magic, but rather science wrapped in the trappings of religion. We are not of the Machine, so we are free of its hold but ignorant of some of its workings."