'Thank you. Now... tell me...'

WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF YOU HADN'T SAVED HIM?

'Yes! The sun would have risen just the same, yes?'

NO.

'Oh, come on. You can't expect me to believe that. It's
an astronomical fact.'

THE SUN WOULD NOT HAVE RISEN.

She turned on him.

'It's been a long night, Grandfather! I'm tired and I
need a bath! I don't need silliness!'

THE SUN WOULD NOT HAVE RISEN.

'Really? Then what would have happened, pray?'

A MERE BALL OF FLAMING GAS WOULD HAVE ILLUMINATED THE
WORLD.

They walked in silence for a moment.

'Ah,' said Susan dully. 'Trickery with words. I would
have thought you'd have been more literal-minded than
that.'

I AM NOTHING IF NOT LITERAL-MINDED. TRICKERY WITH WORDS
IS WHERE HUMANS LIVE.

'All right,' said Susan. 'I'm not stupid. You're saying
humans need... fantasies to make life bearable.'

REALLY? AS IF IT WAS SOME KIND OF PINK PILL? NO. HUMANS
NEED FANTASY TO BE HUMAN. TO BE THE PLACE WHERE THE
FALLING ANGEL MEETS THE RISING APE.

'Tooth fairies? Hogfathers? Little-'

YES. AS PRACTICE. YOU HAVE TO START OUT LEARNING TO
BELIEVE THE LITTLE LIES.

'So we can believe the big ones?'

YES. JUSTICE. MERCY. DUTY. THAT SORT OF THING.

'They're not the same at all!'

YOU THINK SO? THEN TAKE THE UNIVERSE AND GRIND IT DOWN TO
THE FINEST POWDER AND SIEVE IT THROUGH THE FINEST SIEVE
AND THEN SHOW ME ONE ATOM OF JUSTICE, ONE MOLECULE OF
MERCY. AND YET-- Death waved a hand. AND YET YOU ACT AS
IF THERE IS SOME IDEAL ORDER IN THE WORLD, AS IF THERE IS
SOME... SOME RIGHTNESS IN THE UNIVERSE BY WHICH IT MAY BE
JUDGED.

'Yes, but people have got to believe that, or what's the
point---'

MY POINT EXACTLY.

Полный сабджект был такой: "Мощнейшее место, да. Я хотел его выписать целиком у себя в ЖЖ в своё время, но поленился."

А "Small Gods" очень советую. Если хоть как-то можешь по-английски читать, попробуй обязательно.

По-английски, увы, только технические простые тексты. В школе и институте - немец :-)