'Those pockmarks on its hide, said Tennyson, 'must be sensory receptors. Sight, smell, hearing — Lord knows what else.
The cardinal said nothing. He stood erect, no longer muffled by his robes, like a soldier at attention.
The Old One sprouted an arm on his right side. It pushed out of his body and grew in length. At the end of it was what amounted to an outsize hand. It reached the hand into a pocket that had not been apparent before the hand dipped into it. It brought out something clutched in its fist and, lengthening its arm to do the job, laid it on the pavement. It was a human body. Tenderly, the fingers of the massive hand straightened the body and turned it on its back.
'My God! Tennyson cried. 'That's Decker!
He went several steps down the stairs, then stopped. The Old One's hand had dipped into the pocket again and now came out. Carefully and neatly, it deposited what it had brought from the pocket alongside Decker's body — a rifle, a rolled-up sleeping bag, a knapsack, a camp axe and a battered coffee kettle.
On the left side it also grew an arm, and with it reached into another pocket on the left side of its body. Out of it it brought another object and laid it on the pavement, alongside Decker's body — a robot with the top of its metal skull torn off, and another rifle. Carefully the fingers straightened out the dead robot and laid the rifle beside it.
The Old One pulled its arms back into its body, became a simple globe again.
It began to hum, like a vibrating drum, and its humming filled the air, as if the air itself might be vibrating. Out of the humming came human words, deep, slow, and somberous.
'We are wardens, it said. 'We keep watch upon this planet. We allow no killing here. Killing for food to keep life within the body is acceptable, for this is the plan of life for some. But not killing for any other reason.
The humming subsided and the words fell away.
Then the humming began again and more words came. 'We have lived in peace with you. We want to keep on living so. Do not allow this to happen again.
'But, sir, cried Tennyson, 'you killed three humans only a short time ago.
The humming built up. 'They came hunting us. They had it in their minds to kill us. This is not allowed. No one kills us. We killed to save ourselves. We killed because the humans were not desirable — they had no place upon this planet.
The humming died and the Old One began to spin. Once it had started spinning, it began to move away, down the esplanade.
Tennyson leaped down the stairs and knelt beside Decker in hope that there might be life still within the man. Decker was dead, had been dead for hours.
Tennyson looked up at Cardinal Theodosius, who was coming slowly down the stairs. Behind him, Tennyson heard the drumbeat of running footsteps. When he turned, he saw that it was Ecuyer.
'Jill is back, Ecuyer shouted at him.
The running man pulled up in front of him, panting from his running.
'She said she had been to the equation world. She said… He stopped and gazed in horror at what lay upon the pavement.
'What have we here? he asked.
'Decker dead. The Old One brought him home.
'So that was an Old One, said Ecuyer. 'I could not know. One hears so many stories. Jason, do you know what happened?
Tennyson shook his head. 'The Old One brought that other. A robot with the top of its head shot off.
Ecuyer walked over to the robot, stood peering down at it.
'Jason, he said haltingly, 'do you know who this is?
'Just a robot. I can't tell…
'It's our boy, Hubert, said Ecuyer. 'The one that cooked your meals and cleaned up the place, that looked after you.
Forty-three
'It seems fairly clear what happened, said Tennyson. 'Decker was hit in the upper part of the chest. One lung was damaged. He probably died soon after. But before he died, he got off one good shot at Hubert. The bullet caught the robot in the eye and took off the top of the skull. The robotic brain is a mess. A tangle of smashed circuitry. He probably died the moment he was hit.
'What I can't get straight, said Ecuyer, 'is why the two of them should have been out there, shooting up one another. And Hubert? Why Hubert? He was a scary little creature. He had his faults as a servant, but he did all right. I was really fond of him. He had been with me for years. Decker — hell, I don't think he had ever seen Decker. Knew who he was, of course. Everyone in End of Nothing knew who Decker was.
'The rifle Hubert used, said Jill, 'was the one the doctor had carried when he went out to hunt the Old Ones. It might be interesting to know where and how Hubert got that rifle.
'It might not have been hard for anyone to pick up, said Ecuyer. 'The robots would have made no great fuss about it. They'd just have tucked it away somewhere when it was brought back with the men the Old Ones killed. No one would have attached much importance to the rifle. Robots have no use for rifles.
'One of them had, Tennyson said bitterly. 'It's a damn shame. Decker was a good man. I liked him from the ground up. He was a friend of mine. The only thing wrong with him was that he might have known where Heaven is.
'I'd go along with you on that, said Ecuyer, 'except I can't believe Hubert would have been mixed up with the theologians. I don't know what he thought about the issue. I never talked with him about it. But he was not the sort of robot-
'He could have heard us talking, said Jill. 'He was always hiding around a corner, listening. He could have heard one of us say that there was a chance Decker could show the way of Heaven.
'Yes, that's true, said Ecuyer. 'He was always listening. He soaked up information. He was hell on gossip, and Vatican is just one great gossip factory. But he had been with me for years before I loaned him to you, Jason, and I would swear that he was harmless.
'You were wrong, said Jill. 'He was far from harmless.
'You have to look at it this way, said Tennyson. 'The two Heaven cubes disappeared — which, I think, means they were stolen. Decker had been killed and when we searched his cabin, we found nothing to indicate he had any knowledge of Heaven. Someone, maybe Hubert, maybe someone else, searched the cabin before we did and either found the evidence or didn't find it. If they didn't find it, it's probable Decker had hidden it somewhere else. If he did, there's little chance of ever finding it. If someone else found it in the cabin, there's no chance it will turn up. It probably has been destroyed, as the cubes may have been destroyed. With the cubes gone and whatever evidence Decker may have had gone as well, and Decker dead, there isn't a chance of anyone getting to Heaven.
'Maybe Mary, said Jill.
'I don't think so, said Tennyson. 'She's in a coma. She may not make it through the night. The shock of going out to face that crowd of fanatics — she collapsed and had to be carried back to bed.
'Which leaves us empty, said Jill.
'And plays into the hands of the theologians, said Ecuyer. 'Dead, Mary would be more acceptable as a saint than if she kept on living. There's something slightly phoney about a living saint. But once she is dead, they can ram this saint business through to a finish. Vatican will have its first saint and no one arguing about Heaven, for that first saint found it and-
'But the cardinals can block it, can't they? asked Jill. 'I'm sure not many of them are for it. I know Theodosius isn't.
'I suppose they could, said Ecuyer, 'if they were willing to risk a full-scale rebellion. They could oppose it and probably make it stick, but that would leave Vatican in an uproar. That would be unacceptable. Vatican, you understand, must always be a place of perfect tranquility, reeking of sanctity. No matter what else they may do, the cardinals must hold fast to the odor of sanctity.
'If the theologians win, said Tennyson, 'and it looks now as if they will, that means the end of the Search Program, and without that….
'In face of that, said Ecuyer, 'your cardinals would take the long view. Always the long view. They'd accept a setback for the moment, then work through succeeding centuries to bring Vatica
n around again to their point of view. Time doesn't mean a damn thing to a robot. He has all the time there is.
'You must consider, said Tennyson, 'that the cardinals who look favorably on the Search Program may never get the Vatican turned around. Not in your lifetime, anyhow. You've got to win now or you, personally, lose forever.
'I know that, said Ecuyer. 'I've been thinking…. He turned to Jill and said, 'Jason told me something — not much, but something — just a while ago, about this thing called Whisperer and how he went to the equation world. Now I understand you have gone as well. That's where you were when we were looking for you.
'I thought it would be all right to tell him, Tennyson said to-Jill. 'Decker's gone now and we no longer have to consider Whisperer his secret.
'I suppose that's the way it is, said Jill. 'Probably there never was good reason for it to be his secret.
'I think he may have had many secrets, said Ecuyer. 'He was a very private man. Since Jason told me, however, I've been wondering.
'If you've been thinking Whisperer could take us to Heaven, said Jill, 'I don't think he could. He took Jason to the equation world because Jason had seen the cube. I'd not seen the cube, but Whisperer could take me because he knew the way, having been there once. Jason showed him the way and he remembered it.
'But he doesn't need coordinates.
'No, that's right. There were no coordinates for the equation world, but once he saw Jason's memory of it, he could go there. He must use something other than what we think of as coordinates. 'Then why not Heaven?
'Because he has to get into the mind of someone who has seen a cube of the place, said Tennyson.
'Into the mind — that's the way he does it? 'That's right.
'Then why couldn't he get into Mary's mind? Even if she is in a coma.
'Because in a coma she would retain no memories. Her mind's a blank. More than likely, even if she were alert and well, he couldn't get into her mind.
'You mean he can't-
'Look, Paul, as close as Whisperer was to Decker, he never could get into his mind.
'But he gets into yours and Jill's. What makes you so different?
'I don't know. I've puzzled over that. Most people can't even see Whisperer. You can't, I know. Whisperer tried to strike up an acquaintance with you. He showed himself to you and you didn't even see him.
'How do you know this?
'He told me. I have a hunch he tried a lot of people here in End of Nothing, with the same result. He never tried with the robots. They have a different kind of mind, he said, maybe a different kind of senses. He snooped around Vatican a great deal, trying to pick up information. He's gone on information. His task in life is to gain an understanding of the universe. He picked up some stuff from Vatican, but not a great deal. He worked hard for what he got.
'Vatican was aware of someone snooping, said Jill. 'Like a mouse nibbling at a ton of cheese. That's the way Theodosius put it. But they never could find what or who it was. It worried them a lot. Apparently they just caught the edges of it.
'So there's not any chance, said Ecuyer.
'I'm sure there's not, said Tennyson.
'Dead in the water, said Ecuyer. 'We just sit here and take it. Christ, when I think of all we had going for us. The entire universe out there and us picking away at it. Now it's all going to be thrown away because of an imbecilic search for a true religion.
Tennyson stirred uneasily in his chair. 'I wish I could be of some help. I think Jill must wish the same. I have a feeling I'm failing you.
'Not at all, said Ecuyer. 'This isn't your problem.
'But it is, said Tennyson. 'It's a human concern as well as a Vatican one. Maybe it concerns everyone. I don't know. All life would benefit if we could get some answers.
'We may be able to think of some way to go, said Jill. 'I don't think we should give up. I can talk to my own tame cardinal.
'A lot of good that will do, said Ecuyer. 'He'll pooh-pooh your concerns. He will say it'll all work out — don't worry about it, child; in the long run, it'll come out all right.
Tennyson rose to his feet. 'I should have a look at Mary.
'I'll go with you, said Ecuyer. He said to Jill, 'Would you like to come along?
Jill shuddered. 'No, I don't think I would. I'll whip something up for dinner. Paul, would you like to join us?
'No, thanks. I'd love to, but there are chores to do.
Outside he said to Tennyson, 'I didn't want to ask in front of her, but how about her face? What really happened?
'Someday, Tennyson promised, 'we'll tell you all about it.
Forty-four
'I wish I could tell you, Jill said to Tennyson, 'but my mind's all cluttered up. So much strange was happening. As I told you, I looked at that insane diagram with the squiggle to one side and I knew the diagram was me and the squiggle was a question mark. He was asking what I was and I was racking my brain about what I could tell him when Whisperer spoke inside my mind and said he would take over.
'So he did.
'Yes, and I was there with him. He was inside my mind and we were, really, Just one mind and I knew what was going on, but I had no idea what it was. Back, millennia ago, they had this device called a telegraph over which men talked to one another with clicks transmitted over wires; you could stand there and listen to all that clicking and not know what was going on because you did not know the code. Or listening to two aliens talking and hearing all the words, all the clatter and the jabber that they use as words, but completely lost because you know nothing of the language.
'You said telegraph. Were there clicks?
'Some clicks, I guess, and a lot of other things, a lot of other sounds, which I suppose that I was making, not knowing how or why I made them and a bunch of funny thoughts running through my brain, as if they were my thoughts, but they must have been Whisperer's, for they surely weren't mine. At times I would think that I was catching on to what was going on and then I'd lose the thread of it and would be lost again. Ordinarily such a situation would have bothered me; in another situation I might have gone insane wondering what kind of creature I had turned into. But it didn't bother me. It wasn't as if I was in a daze, for I wasn't. My mind was entirely clear, although considerably flabbergasted. At times it seemed to me I was something else entirely and, at other times, I seemed to be standing off to one side, simply looking on, standing outside myself and watching this other self doing all those strange things. All this time the equation person, with a number of others all grouped about him, was slowly running through a number of equations and some diagrams, very simple basic equations and diagrams, not long strings of equations and complicated diagrams, as if he were talking carefully to a child. Baby talk, like one talks to children. And I thought, why, he's as confused as I am. He doesn't know any more about what is going on than I do. For the clicks and grunts and treebles and all the other sounds I was making could not have seemed like a language to him, any more than his diagrams and equations looked like a language to me.
'Whisperer probably was understanding some of it, said Tennyson. 'Whisperer was the one in control. He was a sort of double-jointed interpreter.
'He didn't pan out so well as an interpreter for me, said Jill. 'Although I think that may have been the case. He was working both sides of the street. We moved up close — I mean I moved up close to this equation person and watched what was going on and every once in a while, I'd point a finger at an equation or a diagram as if I might be asking a question about it, although it wasn't me who was asking the question. It was Whisperer, and when that happened, the equation person would go through all of it again, patient, trying to make us understand. Sometimes he had to go through it several times before Whisperer seemed to understand.
'But you understood none of it?
'Jason, I think I did — some of it. Not a full understanding, of course, but snatches of it. And some of it I may have marginally understood I plain forgot because I don't think it was the kind
of information that the human mind could be expected to grasp the first time around. Some of it, I know, was outrageous — outrageous by human standards. There seemed to be no logic in it. You know what I think, Jason? — 'No, what do you think?
'I think the equation world operates on a variable logic pattern. One statement can be logical in one context, but not in the next. It was infuriating. I'd grab a piece of it by the tail, then something would come along to make that one piece I had grasped outlandish. I don't know. I really do not know. Some of it I'm sure I caught the drift of at the time, but I don't have it now. Whisperer said he wanted me to go with him because my viewpoint might be different from yours and I guess it must have been. Nothing like this happened to you when you were there — did it?
'No, it didn't. I was just confused.
'The difference, said Jill, 'might not have been with you and me. Come to think of it, I don't believe it was. The difference was with Whisperer. He'd been there twice, you see. He might have been getting the hang of it. On a second trip you, too, might get the hang of it. And he'd probably been thinking about it all the time since he got back with you.
'Jill, I'm sorry you had to go through this. There was no reason that you should. I told Whisperer to leave you out of it. He thought he could work with you as he had worked with me, but I told him-
'Yes, I know. He told me you had told him.
'Where is Whisperer now?
'I don't know. I came back. All of a sudden, I came back. Not here, but to my own suite. That's where we started out. Whisperer wasn't with me. He wasn't in the room and he wasn't in my mind. I don't know how I knew this, but I knew he wasn't.
'I wonder if he knows that Decker's dead. That will hit him hard. He and Decker were great pals. Decker tried to pretend that he didn't care one way or the other, but he did. He thought a lot of Whisperer.
Jill picked up the coffee pot and filled Tennyson's cup. 'I made a cake, she said. 'Do you want a piece?
'Later, he said. 'A little later on. That stew you made….
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