And the winner is...

After rereading the entries, and giving this another night to settle before I hit post, I still come up with the same answer. All three entries were very good; very well-written. But Torainfor, your untitled and allegedly "rough" submission is the one that really changed the polarities and made me rethink the original story. Very, very, nicely done.

Arisia, "Supersubstantial" was very thought-provoking and it certainly will give me pause every time I repeat that prayer. But on some emotional level, I just failed to connect with it as a story. Henry, you have written what is perhaps the ultimate arch-villain's monologue, and it's really good... But in the end, it is just an arch-villain's monologue, and somehow, I expected a villain with an IQ of 200 to have some brilliantly intelligent reason for all that he had done, and not just an old grudge leftover from high school.

Still, good entries all, but Torainfor is the winner this—well, last—week. Now, as for this week's challenge...