Project Pope

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 Vatican 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.