Book excerpt: PRIDE. GREED. ENVY. WRATH. LUST. GLUTTONY. SLOTH. The Seven Deadly Sins delineate the path to a person’s downfall, the surest way to achieve eternal damnation. But there is a way out, a way to reclaim salvation: blame it on the demons—taunting you, daring you to embrace these sins—and you shall be free. The painful truth is that these impulses live inside all ofus, inside all sentient beings. But alas, one person’s sin may be anotherbeing’s virtue. The pride of the Romulan Empire is laid bare in "The First Peer," by Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore. A Ferengi is measured by his acquisition of profit. "Reservoir Ferengi," by David A. McIntee, depicts the greed that drives that need. The Cardassians live in a resource-poor system, surrounded by neighbors whohave much more. The envy at the heart of Cardassian drive is "The Slow Knife,"by James Swallow. The Klingons have tried since the time of Kahless to harness their wrath withan honor code, but they haven’t done so, as evidenced in "The Unhappy Ones,"by Keith R.A. DeCandido. Humans’ darkest impulses run free in the Mirror Universe. "Freedom Angst," by Britta Burdett Dennison, illustrates the lust that drives many there. The Borg’s desire to add to their perfection is gluttonous and deadly in "Revenant," by Marc D. Giller. To be a Pakled is to live to up to the ideal of sloth in "Work Is Hard," by Greg Cox.