"Ellaow," we echoed.

"WHAT... is your name!" he demanded, quoting from the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

"Sir Waff-noid," offered Sal.

"WHAT... is your quest!"

"I seek the higher worlds."

"WHAT... were you thinking about last night at 11:30!"

Sal blushed.

"Alas, my lad," said Atmananda, patting him on the shoulder. "You won't reach the higher worlds thinking about that."

Atmananda showed us a poster. It read: "ECSTASY AS A WAY OF LIFE." Also printed were details about a free lecture series, "With Atmananda-Dr. Frederick Lenz." But before he sent us to Manhattan, Atmananda inspired us, told us how to protect ourselves, how to change.

"Guru's mission," he said in a pacifying voice, "is to bring peace, light, and bliss into a world that is rapidly heading towards darkness."