"Christopher Stasheff - Warlock 04 - The Warlock Unlocked" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stasheff Christopher)

Stasheff, Christopher - Warlock 04 - The Warlock Unlocked (v1.0) (html).html




PROLOGUE
Pope John the XXIV said his first Mass with the whole world watching through
its 3DT cameras. He said his second at sunrise the next morning, with a handful
of devoted clerics watching, in a little chapel adjoining his chambers. Not too
many were willing to get up at 5:00 AM, even for a Mass said by the Holy
Father.

After a frugal breakfastтАФhe had resurrected the quaint, antique custom of saying
Mass on an empty stomach, in spite of what his doctor told him that thimbleful
of wine every morning was doing to its liningтАФthe Pope sat down at his desk to
face his first day on the job.

Cardinal Incipio gave him just time enough to get settled before entering with an
armful of fiche-wafers. "Good morning, Your Holiness."

"Good morning, Giuseppe." Pope John eyed the bulging case, sighed, and pulled
over his wafer-reader. "Well, let's get started. What've you got for me?"

"An air of mystery." Cardinal Incipio produced an ancient envelope with a
magician's flourish. "I thought you might like to start the morning with a dash of
intrigue."

The Pope stared at the nine-by-twelve parchment container. "You've certainly
got my attention. What, by all the stars, is that?"

"An envelope." Cardinal Incipio handed it to him reverently. "Be careful, Your
Holiness; it's rather old."

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"An envelope." The Pope took it, frowning. "Enclosures for messages. So large?
It must be old!"

"Very old," Cardinal Incipio murmured, but Pope John wasn't hearing him. He
was staring, awed, at the sprawling, handwritten inscription:

To be opened by:

His Holiness, Pope John XXIV On August 23, 3059

Pope John felt a tingling spread from the base of his neck over his upper back
and shoulders.