Horatio frowned. It was a question he couldn't answer. Any answer he thought of that he could state with force was near-- if not outright-- blasphemy. Still, with Archie... perhaps he would risk it.

"Because perhaps if people won't pray to Him, won't follow Him, he would not have the power He does." It was blasphemy, worse in his thoughts. A captain was God on his ship, but without his crew following him, he had no power.

He swallowed hard and shook his head again. "And a God who gave His son to fie for the sins of men... has more mercy than that."