Clifford Simak - Project Pope

Tennyson hauled himself erect. One shoulder, the one he had fallen on, was sore and there was a throbbing pain in it. He hobbled along lopsidedly as he walked over to join Decker and Haystack.

'He just wouldn't give up, said Decker, making a thumb at Smoky. 'He is one of those fanatics who never know when they are licked. Even when he was flat on his butt and knew it, he still had to make another try. You know what his motto is? First the galaxy, then the universe.

'He is mad, said Tennyson.

'Of a certainty, said Decker.

'But you stayed with him.

'As I told you, friend. Survival.

By now Smoky had reached a position in front of Theodosius. He stopped his crawling and remained face down on the pavement.

Decker spoke to him and Smoky answered in a muffled voice.

'I told you, Eminence, said Decker, 'that he was humble when I spoke to you before. I missed a lick, it seems. But he's humble now. He's truly humble now. Take the bastard and lock him up, as tightly as you can. The best way would be to put an end to him.

'We do not put an end to life, said Theodosius. 'With us, all life is sacred. But we have a place for him. How about the hopper?

'Throw it in with him. It's not likely it will live.

'And the other?

'You mean Haystack, Eminence?

'Yes, I suppose I do.

'Haystack's all right. Harmless. Even decent. I'll vouch for him.

'All right, then. We'll take care of the other two. And please accept my gratitude"

'Your gratitude?

'For telling me that one of our Listeners was frightened from your Center.

The crowd was buzzing again, beginning to pick up steam.

A voice boomed above the chatter.

His Holiness was speaking.

'These proceedings, he said, 'are ended. In due time all the facts in this situation will be taken under careful consideration. The results will be announced at a later time.

They had gathered in Tennyson's suite, in front of the blazing fire. Tennyson got up to refill Ecuyer's glass. He said to Theodosius, 'It seems to the, Your Eminence, to be inhospitable to be able to offer you nothing while the rest of us chomp down sandwiches and slosh down the booze.

The cardinal hunched down more solidly on the stool that Jill had brought in from the kitchen. 'It is sufficient, he said, 'to be here, in this circle of friendship before this warming fire. You remember the night I came and you invited me in?

'Yes, I do, said Tennyson, 'and you couldn't because you were bringing a summons from His Holiness.

'That is right, and I have looked forward ever since to an invitation.

'There is no need to await an invitation, said Jill. 'Drop in any time. You'll always find a welcome.

'It seems to have turned out all right, said Ecuyer. 'It looks as if we can pick up where we left off. The Listeners can settle down and start going out.

'His Holiness said an announcement will be made at a later time," said Jill. 'Do you think there is any chance…

'None at all, said Theodosius. 'After listening to what the second Decker had to tell us, especially about the Center having been aware of Mary's visits, I would think there'd be no question. His Holiness, as a matter of fact, would accept lesser proof than what we have. He was more upset than any of us knew by the Heaven business and the proposal to make a Listener a saint. You must remember that he is, basically, a computer, although a most sophisticated one. None of us should have had any doubt where his interest lay.

'Yet had it come to a pinch, said Ecuyer, 'he would have ruled against us.

'He would have done anything to hold Vatican together. And so, I think, would have all the rest of us.

'There's still one thing that worries me, said Ecuyer. 'The Bubblies, so-called, did survey this planet. Some centuries ago.

'There is little need to worry about it, said Tennyson. 'Decker assures me that portions of every survey record still lie in the files and, with new data flooding into the Center all the time, there's not much likelihood any of them will go digging back. They have no way now of knowing they have a record of the planet.

'But there are your recreations, Jill II and Jason II. They could tell them the record is in their files. They could tell them where we are.

'It is a danger surely, said Theodosius. 'It is a wonder that someone has not nosed us out before. It is a situation that we must accept. We are not entirely defenseless. We don't talk about it or flaunt it, but you saw what His Holiness did to quell the Plopper. A damping effect. A rather humane weapon, as a matter of fact. It simply squelches everything in its path. We have others…

'I was not aware of this, said Ecuyer.

'Few are, said Theodosius. 'We would use them only under the greatest provocation. From what Decker tell us, the Bubblies must be a vicious race. Each one of them a little island to itself, waiting for the chance to move up a rung or two.

'Smoky had plans to take over the galaxy and then take aim at the universe, said Tennyson. 'He was mad, of course. He had found this feeble little god and planned to use it as a secret weapon.

'Only he used it too soon, said Jill. 'Jason, you goaded him into it. Did you have an inkling of what was going on?

'No, I was just smarting off. I was determined he'd get no information from us. I guess I carried it too far.

'A good thing for us you did, said Ecuyer.

'A little god, you say, said Theodosius. 'There are no little gods. There is only one God, or one Principle, whatever you may call it. I am sure of that. One must beware of little gods. There are no such things.

'The thing we don't understand, said Jill, 'is that finding, or thinking he had found, a god of any sort would have loomed very large to Smoky. He ascribed it much greater power than he would have otherwise because the Center had become convinced, through its studies, that no spiritual values existed — that all religion and all faith had no basis whatsoever.

'How true, said Theodosius. 'How true. Always there are those who think that. They stand naked before the universe and glory in their nakedness. Even when we find the true faith that we seek — if we find it — there'll still be those who will deny it. They will be those who cannot subject themselves to discipline or restraint.

'How about Decker II? asked Ecuyer. 'What will happen to him?

'He and Haystack; said Theodosius, 'are being held in house arrest. They seem harmless enough, but we have to be sure. The only one we need to worry about is Smoky and, where we have him, he'll not be going anywhere.

'He wouldn't be going anywhere anyhow, said Tennyson. 'The other Bubblies know by now what he was planning and he wouldn't dare go back. It was a stroke of genius when Whisperer grabbed hold of Plopper and brought him along. Even if the equation folk hadn't brought us the other three, Smoky probably would have had a try to seek out Plopper. I don't know. When I try to think about it, it gets all tangled up. Whisperer maybe has it clear in his mind, but I haven't, not yet. Whisperer claims he didn't actually intend to haul Plopper along, but I can't be, certain of that. Whisperer's thinking can get complicated.

'It worked out well for us, said Ecuyer, 'that the equation people brought the other three to us. Why do you think they did it?

'Who can say? said Jill. 'The equation folk are faster on their feet than we ever dreamed they were. I have a feeling — well, I have a feeling….

'Go ahead and say it, said Ecuyer. 'We won't hold you to it.

'Well, I have a feeling they can look a ways ahead. Into time, I mean.

'I wouldn't doubt it for a moment, said Tennyson. 'I wonder if they're still around. I lost track of them.

'No, they left, said Jill. 'I don't know where they went. I'm sure that if we ever need them, Whisperer can sniff them out again.