In Order Never to Repeat the Same Thing Again

He had spoken this far in the force of realizing it, but now the thought came to Vihal that perhaps he had said far too much of his own mind, and his voice dwindled toward the end.

"Vihal and I only knew about that number business because of someone close to us, so we'd simply assumed all angels knew there were things like that.

And the numerals at the Bulletin Office always use the type of seven with the cross-stroke, so it had completely slipped my mind."

There was another angel, absent from the room now, thanks to whom Vihal and Edwin had noticed this in the first place.

"…That's why I asked for as many people as possible to hear it…"

Quite apart from the relationship between the two divisions, Vihal felt that this question of the numerals absolutely had to be resolved, and he forced his voice out as steadily as he could.

"I don't know why nothing like this happened before now… but everyone needs to know about it and take care.

And if possible, we ought to standardize one form or the other.

So that this kind of mistake never happens again…!"

At that, all the angels present seemed to agree in silence.

When one thought of having to stop every single time a numeral appeared and ask which of the two it was, it was obvious to anyone that one form should be chosen and fixed.

"Presumptuous though it is—and with apologies to the High Angel—I would recommend… his way of writing the seven.

Because if there's a sudden change or a mistake and someone has to write in a hurry, that form can still be distinguished…"

In the blamed angel's seven there was a short line through it; even written in haste, it could still be told apart.

Vihal knew full well how outrageous it was that someone in a trial period—someone who had caused such trouble himself only yesterday—should presume to speak thus to a High Angel of another division. Even so, he offered the suggestion there and then.

"…The reason this never caused problems before is probably because High Angels themselves were not doing this particular work, wouldn't you say?"

Edwin stepped up beside Vihal and asked the question.

Why had this never happened before? If one thought of it as Edwin had, the puzzle made sense.

The High Angel answered with a difficult expression.

"That is true… My proper work is to turn the directives from the Divine Realm into figures. I only covered for the one on leave and handled bulletin duties the other day…"

"Which means that until now, the person in between—the one usually handling the bulletins—kept the problem from surfacing," Edwin said.

At that, another superior from the Planning Division looked at the High Angels around him and said,

"Then we'll have to spread the word about that numeral style and make it the fixed one!"

The High Angel who had written the numbers nodded and added,

"And… we owe apologies to the Cloud Painters we troubled."

It was always the Planning Division that met them ready for a quarrel, and many angels—especially the Cloud Painters—could not hide their astonishment at those words.

"If there are apologies to be made, then ours are due as well. Had everyone spoken more closely together at the moment of the first mistake this morning, more than half the day's trouble would have been resolved before noon."

The murmuring was cut clean across by that voice, and every face turned.

It was the god of the Cloud Painters—the being above even the High Angels of that division.

The very same God who had scolded Vihal the day before had come.

"As that Vihal there says, though you need not become the best of friends, is it not possible for the Planning Division and the Cloud Painters to speak more closely than you do now? You are, all of you, without question angels—souls chosen by God…"

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