"Some call it so," Solomon said with a shrug. "But then, they say the same about any religion with which they don't agree, do they not? Muslims are terrorists. Insular Christian denominations are cults. People see something they don't understand, something which is inaccessible to them, and judge it."

She was observant. Observant and smart in a way most children didn't know how to be anymore. Worldly. It was intriguing. "Quite," he said. "Therein lies the issue. Information in the modern age is available in degrees and quantities like never before. People aren't used to being told they cannot know something. So, naturally, anything which refuses them knowledge must be suspicious and exclusive."

He shrugged. "We're exclusive, certainly, but no more than anything else with specific beliefs. Would you rather we enforced our tenets on those who don't want them? Of course not. We simply make offers to those few who might understand our cause, such as yourself."