"Harry Harrison - SSR 09 - The Stainless Steel Rat Goes to He" - читать интересную книгу автора (Harrison Harry)

I even listen carefully to sincere beliefs, no matter how nutsy they sound. But Slakey-Fanyimadu
is playing with fire. Preaching fakery, using machines to con the unsuspecting into believing in
an afterlife that in this case can't possibly be true. If Heaven is the place you go after you
die,-well there is only one way of getting there. Guided tours for a quick inspection are just not
in order. What is going on here is very dirty and could be very hurtful as well. If he were
showing his unsuspecting marks a real Heaven they would go to, well fine. He would only be
depriving them of their money, which is a wonderful and noble thing to do. But he is depriving
them of their individuality and their trust. He is lying to them, preying upon their fear of
death. When they discover what has been done to them they will be hurt, shattered, emotionally
destroyed. Whatever else happens-he must be stopped."
We growled in unison as we pulled up at the arrivals terminal. Bolivar waved and opened
the door. Tanned by UV and still wearing his spacer's gear, we brought him up to date during the
drive home. Once in the house I felt a twinge of appetite. I glanced through the autocook menu
with little enthusiasm, unadventurously punched up three of my usual aardvark steak and fries.
Silently wishing that I had been ordering for four- a banquet of exotica had that been the case.
"Very well done, Dad, you're quite a cook," Bolivar said pushing away his plate and
untouched glass of wine. "It has been dehydrated-rehydrated space rations for far too long. I have
been thinking of eating their wrappings, which would probably taste better than their contents.
So, time to get down to work..
At this precise moment as the clock struck the hour, the central computer terminal buzzed,
while its screen lit up with Angelina's image.
"I've left this recording for you, Jim," she said, and- my heart, which had leaped up into
my throat, settled slowly back to its usual position. "I'm off to church soon, for what promises
to be an interesting experience. I don't believe any of the guff this meandering idiot Fanyimadu
has been feeding us-but I do know that something most interesting is happening. Physical travel of
some kind and, I suspect, it may be offplanet. I can't tell you more right now since lam going
mostly on guesswork and, don't laugh, intuition. It will be dangerous, but I'm going prepared. So
if you lose track of me for a bit-don't lose hope. Bye."
She blew a kiss in my direction and the recording clicked off.
"Did she say offplanet?" Bolivar asked. I nodded. "Let's play it again."
We did. And when it ended a second time my mind was made up. "She said offplanet-and she
meant it. Any ideas?"
"Plenty," Bolivar said. "Let us forget Slakey, as you suggested, Dad. The police can
search the police files without our help. But this recording tells us things they don't know.
Offplanet covers a lot of space-and so will, we. We must start searching the galactic records. We
have to find this Temple of Eternal Truth when it surfaces again-under any other name or guise. We
list the characteristics it must have and get our search agencies to digging into the records."
"Exactly so," I agreed. "We will be looking for the modus operandi,"
"I'm not so great on the old dead languages, Dad," Bolivar said. "But if you mean we will
track down this joker and that nutsy religion I am for it!"
"That's the idea. It may very well have a different name, and different ways of bringing
in the suckers-but the operating basis will be the same."
"What is that?"
"I haven't the slightest idea. You'll have to work it out as you go along."
"And we search in the past as well as the future," James said.
"There is no reason that this church should be confined to just this one planet, and every reason
to believe that it isn't."
"Too right," Bolivar agreed. "That goes into the searchplan."
I was proud of my boys. They were taking over, plowing ahead without a moment lost. As for
me, I wasn't that rusty an old rat-not yet.