"Philip Jose Farmer - 1952-1964" - читать интересную книгу автора (Farmer Phillip Jose)

Again, porpoiselike, he sniffed and snuffed several times, quite loudly. Then satisfied with what he had
gleaned from their breaths, he winked at them. He did not, however, mention his findings at once,
preferring to sidle toward the subject.

He said, тАЬThis Father Sparks on the Grand Canary is so entertaining. He stimulates me with all sorts of
philosophical notions, both valid and fantastic. For instance, tonight, just before we were cut off by
thatтАЭтАФhe gestured at the huge bloodshot eye in the skyтАФтАЬhe was discussing what he called worlds of
parallel time tracks, an idea originated by Dysphagius of Gotham. ItтАЩs his idea there may be other worlds
in coincident but not contacting universes, that God, being infinite and of unlimited creative talent and
ability, the Master Alchemist, in other words, has possiblyтАФ perhaps necessarilyтАФcreated a plurality of
continua in which every probable event has happened.тАЭ

тАЬHuh?тАЭ grunted de Salcedo.
тАЬExactly. Thus, Columbus was turned down by Queen Isabella, so this attempt to reach the Indies across
the Atlantic was never made. So we could not now be standing here plunging ever deeper into Oceanus
in our three cockle-shells, there would be no booster buoys strung out between us and the Canaries, and
Father Sparks at Las Palmas and I on the Santa Maria would not be carrying on our fascinating
conversations across the ether.

тАЬOr, say, Roger Bacon was persecuted by the Church, instead of being encouraged and giving rise to the
order whose inventions have done so much to insure the monopoly of the Church on alchemy and its
divinely inspired guidance of that formerly pagan and hellish practice.тАЭ

De Torres opened his mouth, but the priest silenced him with a magnificient and imperious gesture and
continued.

тАЬOr, even more ridiculous, but thought-provoking, he speculated just this evening on universes with
different physical laws. One, in particular, I thought very droll. As you probably donтАЩt know, Angelo
Angelei has proved, by dropping objects from the Leaning Tower of Pisa, that different weights fall at
different speeds. My delightful colleague on the Grand Canary is writing a satire which takes place in a
universe where Aristotle is made out to be a liar, where all things drop with equal velocities, no matter
what their size. Silly stuff, but it helps to pass the time. We keep the ether busy with our little angels.тАЭ

De Salcedo said, тАЬUh, I donтАЩt want to seem too curious about the secrets of your holy and cryptic order,
Friar Sparks. But these little angels your machine realizes intrigue me. Is it a sin to presume to ask about
them?тАЭ

The monkтАЩs bull roar slid to a dove cooing. тАЬWhether itтАЩs a sin or not depends. Let me illustrate, young
fellows. If you were concealing a bottle of, say, very scarce sherry on you, and you did not offer to share
it with a very thirsty old gentleman, that would be a sin. A sin of omission. But if you were to give that
desert-dry, that pilgrim-weary, that devout, humble, and decrepit old soul a long, soothing, refreshing,
and stimulating draught of lifegiving fluid, daughter of the vine, I would find it in my heart to pray for you
for that deed of loving-kindness, of encompassing charity. And it would please me so much I might tell
you a little of our realizer.

тАЬH

Not enough to hurt you, just enough so you might gain more respect for the intelligence and glory of my
order.тАЬ