Project Pope

Decker came around the corner of the cabin when Te

He left the door open and when Te

Te

'I found I had an extra one, he said.

Decker held it up to the light.

'You're a lifesaver, he said. 'I went through my last one a week ago. Charley sometimes brings me a couple, but not always, not on every trip. He's short himself, I suppose. He steals it, you know.

'Yes, I know, said Te

'That's the man, said Decker. 'How well did you get to know him?

'I imagine not at all. We talked off and on. He told me about Apple Blossom.

Twenty-two

'His retirement planet. Most everyone has a favorite planet. How about you, Jason?

Te

'Well, go on and sit in front of the fire. Put your feet up on the hearth if you want to. You can't damage anything here. This place is built to use. I'll join you as soon as I can find two clean glasses. No ice, though.

'Who needs ice? said Te

Seen from the inside, the cabin was larger than it seemed from the outside. There was only the one room. One corner was fixed up as a kitchen with a small wood stove and shelves attached to the wall. A kettle was simmering on the stove. A bed stood against one wall. Above it was a shelf of books. In the corner next to the fireplace was a flat-topped table and on it stood a group of small carvings. The Wayfarer captain, Te

Decker came back with two glasses. He handed one of them to Te

'God, that's good, he said. 'You forget how good it is. Each time you forget.

They sat in silence for a long time, drinking, looking at the fire.

Finally, Decker asked, 'How go things at Vatican? Up here on my hill, I hear rumors, but that's all. The whole place, Vatican and village, crawls with rumors. A man never knows what to believe. Generally I wind up believing none of it.

'Probably you are wise, said Te

'So?

'What do you mean- so?

'What was your impression?

'Disappointment, said Te

'You talking about the Heaven business?

'How would you know, Decker?

'Rumor. I told you there is rumor piled on rumor. Heaven is all the village talks about.

'Much the same is true at Vatican, said Te

'And what do you think?

'My opinion is worthless.

'Nevertheless, what do you think?

'I think Vatican, the real Vatican, the official Vatican, wants to wash its hands of it. Vatican officials are the ones who are afraid, not Mary. Mary may be afraid as well, of course, but Vatican is afraid right along with her. No one in authority wants to know what it's all about. It appears to me they may be afraid it actually is Heaven.

'Undoubtedly you are right, said Decker. 'The cardinals and the other theological hot-shots have spent these thousand years trying to get things figured out. They're clever — you have to give them that. They've pulled in tons of data from all over the universe — whatever the universe may be. Chances are it's not what you and I think it is. They've fed this data into His Holiness and His Holiness, like any sharp computer, has correlated it, probably to a point where they may think they are begi

'I'm not sure, said Te

'Certainly you are right, said Decker, 'but I still believe that what Vatican fears is any factor that would upset the theory of the universe they seem to be evolving.

'But wouldn't you think, asked Te

'Eventually, said Decker, 'they will come around to a practical point of view. Whatever else they are, they are not fools. But right now they're recoiling from the shock. Give them a while and they'll get their feet back under them.

He reached for the bottle and held it up in invitation. Te

'Think of it, said Decker. 'A concept built up painfully through the centuries by a rather ordinary life form on an ordinary planet of an ordinary sun, finally culminating in what amounted to an act of faith, continued by that faith, fed by that faith, and now threatening to topple a mille