Screwtape decided he needed to hedge his bets; keep Glubwart close to the vest. "Miss Caliente, please connect me with 'Brother Holloway.'"
"Yes, Sir."
A minute later, Glubwart was on the line. "Yes sir," he said politely.
"On this girl affair -- what's her name? Mary?" Screwtape began, pretending to forget her name. "We need to be sure we're on the same page. Getting rid of the garbage is always an attractive option. The physical death is fine -- fewer of the human refuse for the Enemy to get his claws in. But on top of that, it is the psychological damage -- much nicer. It diminishes their human pride, their respect for each other and the whole dismal human thing. We want them to be concerned only with their own selfish needs and wants, not with anything greater -- certainly not anything outside their own limited human perspective."
"Yes, of course," Glubwart answered. He sighed. It was demonology 101. "Of course, in the long run, having to feed an extra mouth would put increased pressure on the girl, maybe lead to more interesting prospects," Glubwart countered.
"Let's play this one by the book," Screwtape said firmly. "No need to over-think this thing."
"But you will admit this is a special case," Glubwart continued. "The Enemy seems particularly interested in this germ. It might need more finesse."
Screwtape was genuinely impressed with the sophistication of Glubwart's argument. He was silent for a few moments, then uncharacteristically, he said, "You may have a point there, Glubwart. I'll leave it up to your best judgement." Screwtape hung up the phone.
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