"Thomas F. Monteleone - Tales of Terror and Madness" - читать интересную книгу автора (Monteleone Thomas F)

"Yes. I won't say he and the little girl will both be fine, because the
possibility of that outcome died a long while ago. But he'll get her out
of there tonight and take her through the brown metal door and,
eventually, things will be better for both of them. Not great-never
great-but better. Now believe it or not, I am on something of a
schedule, so if you would please start the car and drive out to
Moundbuilders Park..."

"Why there?"

He huffed and made a strangling gesture with his hands. "Arrrgh!-and
when was the last time you heard anyone actually say that? Look, do I
strike you as being impulsive? No? Do you think I go about willy-nilly?
Of course not. Has any of this seemed unplanned?"

I started the car and drove away.

"Have you ever seen any paintings or drawings of Jesus?" he asked.

"Of course."

"Can you remember anything specific about them?"

I shrugged. "Beard. Hair. Flowing robes. Eyes."

"But the faces have always been different somehow, haven't they? The
hair longer or shorter, the beard fuller, the cheekbones higher or
lower, fuller or more drawn, even the hue of the skin has been
different-yet somehow you always recognize the face."

"Okay ... ?"

"Ever wonder how many different versions of that face exist in statues
or paintings or sketches?"

16

"Thousands, I would think."

"Seventy-two, actually. Followers of the Prophet Abdu'1-Baha believe
that everything in nature has 'two and seventy names.' That's almost
right. The thing that has always annoyed me about the various religions
is that, with rare exceptions, their beliefs are too compartmentalized.
This is what we believe in, period. I'll tell you a secret: they're all
wrong-individually. The problem is none of them can see Belief
holistically. If they were all to 'gather at the river,' so to speak,
and compare notes, you'd be surprised how quickly people would stop
setting off bombs and flying airplanes into skyscrapers. But I digress.

"Everything in nature does have seventy-two names. But certain of these