"Brad Ferguson - To Tell The Troof" - читать интересную книгу автора (Ferguson Brad)

order. If my church allowed women to become priests, IтАЩd let you run the
mission. IтАЩve really made a mess of things, havenтАЩt I?тАЭ
Edith frowned. тАЬYou didnтАЩt know anything about this,тАЭ she said. тАЬHow
can you blame yourself? YouтАЩre not being fair. Even blaming Zweebl is out
of line тАФ from his point of view, heтАЩs being devout.тАЭ
тАЬI suppose he is,тАЭ McAleer agreed. тАЬLook, IтАЩm glad that you found out
whatтАЩs wrong here. I really do wish youтАЩd gotten here a year ago; maybe I
could have fixed things then. Now, though, the situation seems
irredeemable.тАЭ
Edith smiled a secret smile. тАЬNow, really, Father тАФ you run a mission,
donтАЩt you?тАЭ
McAleer shrugged. тАЬOf course.тАЭ
тАЬWell, then тАФ does the word тАШconversionтАЩ ring a bell?тАЭ
McAleer blinked. After a moment, he smiled.
The site of McAleerтАЩs conversion was a large hall near the square in the
middle of Trooftown. McAleer had never been inside before; Zweebl had
told him it was a warehouse, and McAleer had had no reason to doubt
him. Actually, the hall was the nearest thing to a church the yerega Troof
had тАФ more like a Quaker meeting house in spirit, something like a
theater in fact.
The priestтАЩs imminent conversion from one sect to another had aroused
great interest among the Troof. Conversions were rare enough and
provided a reason for splendid spectacle and feasting for both sects. The
yerega Troof were genuinely happy about McAleerтАЩs conversion; the
ilantha Troof only pretended to be.
McAleer just hoped he could get through the ceremony without
incident. His sponsor was the merchant Haraska, who was serving in that
role as a favor to Edith. (Edith wondered how she would pay that one
back, too.) There had already been an hourтАЩs worth of Troof hymn-singing,
and McAleer had anointed the stubby blue feet of the yerega leader,
Sethaber, with fasgat oil to prove his humility and sincerity.
But there would be a test, too. Haraska had warned him that there
would be one near the close of the ceremony, but would not say what it
was, other that to say it would not be physical. McAleer wasnтАЩt worried; he
was determined to tell the absolute truth about anything, no matter what.
That, he thought, would see him through.
It was really too bad that the test had nothing to do with McAleer
telling the truth.
When the time for the test finally came, Sethaber stabbed a stubby
finger at random toward three Troof sitting in different parts of the hall.
They rose and waddled toward the front, stopping in front of McAleer.
Edith, nearby, watched with great interest.
 тАЬI have chosen these three at random,тАЭ Sethaber said. тАЬI know none of
them personally. The test, Father McAleer of Terra, is for you to tell me
which is yerega, if any, and which is ilantha, if any. A true yerega has no
guile and will be able to tell. A true answer will validate your conversion.
You are allowed to question each one of these three only once. You may
not question me or anyone else at all. Let the test proceed.тАЭ
McAleerтАЩs mind was boggled. He knew what he had to do, but had no
idea how to do it тАФ and he couldnтАЩt afford to waste a question. He