[ wp ] after dying god informs you that hell is a myth , and `` everyone sins , its ok '' . instead the dead are sorted into six `` houses of heaven '' based on the sins they chose .

`` So House 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6? Seriously?'' the spirit asked. 
 
 `` TECHNICALLY THOSE ARE ADDRESSES. THE HOUSES THEMSELVES DO NOT HAVE NAMES. NO NEED, REALLY.'' came the reply, echoing in the cavernous room called The Hub. 
 
 The spirit again resisted the urge to look for the source of the voice. It was bad enough learning that no religion or philosophy had imagined *this* afterlife: an empty, spherical room with no corners, furniture, or gravity. It was the convergence of six hallways, each radiating out of the hub in a different direction. It resembled a toy jack, except instead of being a piece of metal used in a rubber ball game, it was eternity. 
 
 `` And I'm supposed to choose my house based on what criteria?'' it asked. 
 
 `` THE SINS OF YOUR PAST.'' boomed the voice. 
 
 `` Er, can you explain the Sin thing a bit? I was n't exactly a religious person before...'' the spirit looked down at its floating, translucent self. `` Well, before *this*.'' 
 
 `` THE PAIN AND SUFFERING THAT YOU GAVE AND RECEIVED. THAT WILL BE THE BASIS OF YOUR DECISION.'' 
 
 `` Great, I'm stuck for all eternity with a bunch of perverts just because I had naughty thoughts about Mr. Peterson.'' 
 
 `` ONLY IF YOU WISH IT.'' 
 
 `` Wait, so I'm *not* stuck in the House of Lust, or the other...'' the spirit did some quick addition. `` Five... sins? Are n't there supposed to be seven? 
 
 `` NO,'' said the voice, and no further explanation followed. 
 
 When it realized the voice was n't going to continue, the spirit spoke again. `` So the houses are not about Lust, or Pride, or whatever the rest of them are. All right, god voice, what exactly is in these houses?'' 
 
 `` SINNERS.'' 
 
 `` What's that now?'' 
 
 `` PEOPLE WHO HAVE GIVEN AND RECEIVED PAIN AND SUFFERING.'' 
 
 `` So it's just a bunch of people who can never leave each other. This *definitely* does n't seem like heaven.'' 
 
 `` YOU MAY CHOOSE ANOTHER HOUSE WHENEVER YOU LIKE.'' 
 
 The spirit contorted its featureless face in the approximation of a thinking expression. `` Ok, let me see if I understand this. I can choose any of six houses, that are,'' the spirit looked around. `` Up, Down, Left, Right, Forward, and Behind me. My choice is based on the pain and suffering I have given and received in my past. The houses are full of people with the same choice, and at any time any one of us may come back to The Hub and choose a different direction?'' 
 
 `` YES.'' 
 
 The spirit was silent for a long minute. 
 
 `` Is there Love in any of these houses?'' 
 
 `` THAT IS WHY THEY EXIST.'' 
 
 The spirit paused a moment before asking its next question. `` How exactly is this different from *before*?'' 
 
 The quiet was deafening. 
 
 What could have been a smile tugged at the corners of the spirit's non-existent mouth. It remembered the pain of always reaching for more, trying to get to a higher place in life, a further goal. It looked at the hallway below its feet, stretching onward. 
 
 `` Down sounds like an interesting place.''
