In the golden age, we communed with gods. A god could be hidden, barely contained, inside the costumes of normal men. Nothing was certain. How could you refuse a beggar’s request or a gambler’s wager, the bold advance of the boss’s only daughter, without fear of causing offence to a god? You would say yes. In the golden age, whatever was offered, you would say yes.

—FRANCES LEVISTON, “THE GOLDEN AGE”