"Godwin, Parke - Snake Oil 02 - The Snake Oil Wars, or Scheherazade Ginsberg Strikes Again (b)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Godwin Parker)

"What happened? Wait, let me guess. Monotheism."

Purji dissolved from the lounge to reappear in somber gray near a window, a
tragic figure. "My beloved Ke1jians. No plumbing but painfully religious,
Monotheism it was. In came the patriarchs and virtually invented guilt. They
created a male deity grim as death, somewhere between an articulate volcano and
a psychotic child, I should have seen it coming."

"Indeed you should have, at your age."

She frowned at him. "That is a boorish remark. I am younger than you."

"I do have a little job experience." Coyul easily pictured her decline. In time
her worship became unpopular, then persecuted. Political power identified with
the male godhead and found it pious as well as profitable to day the old order
with a vengeance.

"Life became grotesque," Purji lamented. "There I was, demoted to a sleazy demon
with the nastiest motives and character ascribed to me, exorcised every other
week, I was exhhausted. Finally I threw fame to the winds and caught the next
survey ship home. Now it's happening to you. Coyul"-she brimmed suddenly
with mischievous inspiration-"why don' we just take my ship and
find some ordinary little world, noth. ing elaborate, and be gods together?"




The notion of a cozy little mom-and-pop religion was briefly tempting. "No, I
can't Barion's on the Rock and it's my fault as much as his these high-tech
Comanches have become what they arc. I've got to help them grow up, All
suggestions gratefully accepted,"

Someone coughed politely in the entrance, Three distin. guished older men waited
discreetly to be noticed; an archbishop in full canonicals, a tall man in
Victorian garb and a smaller man who would have stood out as an American
anywhere. Coyul bounced up to greet them.

"Gentlemen, please come in, This is Purji, a lady of my own race, Purji, let me
present-"

"Considering our mission, we would prefer to remain anonymous for the time," the
bearded Victorian gentleman interjected with a bow to Purji, "Madam,"

"It's about Candor," the American said,

"I see. Then, Purji, let me present three gentlemen from"Coyul ticked them off
"Westminster, Canterbury and Washington"

"Delighted" The archbishop inclined his mitered head to Purji "Candor indeed is
our argument. My king would have had his head at Tyburn by sundown,"