[ WP ] `` So how do you kill a god , you ask ... It 's simple . You take away the people 's belief in him , you disregard his works and then you put him on display , naked , for everyone to see ''

`` A lovely method,'' Copleston sneered, checking her fingernails, `` but hardly original. I think a fellow named Pilate attempted your method once; you really ought to look up how that turned out.'' 
 
 Al-Razi scowled at her from beneath his beard. `` Hardly the same thing. He was hesitant, unwilling, never took away the people's belief. If he had taken the time to crush the burgeoning cults before executing their figurehead -'' 
 
 `` Ah, what a brilliant idea!'' Copleston said, rising from her seat and bowing mockingly. `` And what fools we are for never having thought of it before. We simply take away the people's beliefs! Astounding! Simplicity itself! And while we're on the subject, my dear friend, let me introduce you to my foolproof method for killing a man: we simply stop his heart from beating.'' 
 
 Al-Razi rose in response, his bushy eyebrows meeting in the center of his head. `` I do not have to stand for such mockery! I have killed gods myself, destroyed their holy relics, displayed them naked, flayed open-'' 
 
 `` Half-dead, forgotten deities!'' Copleston shot back. `` Less a murder than a mercy-killing. Tell me, al-Razi, how do you intend to kill a god with a congregation of billions? What theological weapons do you have of this magnitude?'' 
 
 `` War,'' al-Razi said simply. `` Genocide. We break his believers upon the wheel of fate. We destroy their capacity to continue believing. And when they turn to their god in hopeless desperation, they will see him for the mockery that he is.'' 
 
 The perpetual sneer upon Copleston's face had faded. `` That... is a workable method, to be sure. But an extreme one. Hardly one the council would sanction unless there was no other option.'' 
 
 `` And is there? Tell me, O wise one, what other options do we have?'' 
 
 `` We learn from our enemies. We adopt their methods.'' She put both palms against the table's mirrored surface. `` Gods kill each other all the time, warring over territory, preying on each others believers. And the key to successful assimilation is to adopt enough of the old symbols as your own. The bearded white-haired man in the clouds in sandals and a toga - that was once Zeus. The figure with horns and cloven hooves - that was once Pan. December 25 was once the pagan celebration for the Unconquered Sun! And we see now how poor Sol Invictus fared.'' 
 
 Copleston leaned in and smiled, showing her teeth. `` It's simplicity itself. The way to kill a god... is to consume him.''
