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trying to correct.
But your own political philosophies of utopianism aim toward a technological
version of this goal that is far worse-man into insect, or, worse and more
probable, man into machine. Please do not go sanctimonious on me about your
civilization. A heaven there I leave a ques-tion mark, but even without Mogart
you would have a Hell."
She let the remark pass. Arguing fine points of philosophy wasn't getting the
job done.
"
Getting back to the jewel-the amplifier, she said. "You are bound by the Holy
Covenant here
"
even as I am and as all the rest are?"
The white hood nodded. "Of course. The jewels and our knowledge might give us
an edge or additional capabilities in any world, but we are bound by its
rules." His voice started becoming a little uneasy, as if he scented a trap
but was too fascinated to flee.
She smiled inwardly. Her scheme was going to work!
"
My world is dying," she told the Holy Elder in as somber a tone as she could
manage. "In a matter of hours by its time frame, days here, a giant asteroid
will crash into the Earth in that plane.
There is pre-cious little left of civilization and humanity even now
-then it will be too late.
Everything has been tried, and everything has failed." She went on to tell,
straightforwardly, the story of meeting Mogart in the Reno bar and the
last-ditch attempt to gain enough jewels to stop the asteroid.
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When she finished, the Holy Elder sat there in silence for some
time. Finally he said, You
"
realize, of course, that the same number of amplifiers required to do what you
need can also do almost anything to your plane? Mogart might well be able to
stop the destruction with six of them, but in doing so you would be handing
the devil the keys to Heaven. The price might be dear indeed."
"Dear!" she exploded. "Dearer than what? My friends and relatives
are gone-my world is already gone! Still perhaps a few thousand around the
globe, maybe a million, are facing terrible death. Can you think of anything
more terrible to me than the extinc-tion of my planet and my people?
"
The demon sighed. "No, I cannot," he admitted. "But I'm certain Mogart could.
"
"If he's so dreadful, why don't you come and help save us?" she pleaded.
"Surely you could do what was necessary."
"Anybody could with six amplifiers," the demon agreed. "Even you, if you knew
how to use them. But I cannot. I am limited to this world and the Univer-sity,
as Mogart is to yours. Nor is the destruction im-portant in the scheme of
things. It is a large universe that you have, you know, and you are such an
infini-tesimal part of it."
That started her again. "You say you're bound by Holy Covenant, yet you
talk so glibly of condemning millions to death. It doesn't matter, you say.
Let them die. Is that the morality of the
Holy Spirit and the Holy Covenant?" She was on her feet now, and her spirit
was on fire. "I think not! You will give me the jewel because you must! With
it we may still lose, but without it we will most certainly die! You will give
it to me, or you will be answerable for all the deaths of my
people! You will give it to me because you have no other choice!"
She stood there in front of the white-robed figure, waiting. It was done. She
had shot her wad.
Finally he sighed, got up, and faced her through his white mask. "You know,
he said, "you
"
would make an excellent philosophy player yourself. Mogart chose
well. You are correct, of course. The devil has found the one way to my
power, and I must turn the jewel over. Wait here and I will get it.
"
He walked out, and she held her breath, not even daring to sit back down.
She'd believe he would give her the jewel when she saw it, had it in her
hands.
The Holy Elder returned with a cedar box, plain and small, and walked up to
her. A taloned hand flipped a latch on the box and popped the lid open.
Inside, lying in velvet, was the living jewel that pulsed with un-earthly
fire.
She reached out for it, and as she did he said, "Re-member-there are worse
fates than death, and you may experience them."
"I'll take that chance," she replied, and took the jewel in her hands. It
burned but she clutched it tightly.
"If possible, I will get this back to you," she told him.
He laughed. "I shall not lose sleep in expectation of that. It's not so bad,
though. I haven't left this tem-ple in over a century as it is."
"You should," she replied. "Go out into the streets and see how the common
people live or don't live-particularly the feudal serfs and the beggar
children of the city. You have been here so long that you have stagnated
yourself. Even within the rules of the Holy Covenant there is room for great
improvement, mod-ernization, and change for the better. Perhaps you
should tend to some of it."
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He shrugged. Maybe you're right. I'll sleep on it, anyway."
"
She clutched the burning jewel in her hands and shut all else from her mind.
"Take me to Asmodeus Mogart!" she commanded, and vanished from the room.
Main Line + 2076
ASMODEUS MOGART WAS DRUNK, NOT DRUNK ENOUGH for him, but far too much for
anyone else to stand him. This didn't matter, though; although the small Reno
bar still stood, hed remained a little out of phase with it-enough so that he
was, in fact, in his appointed plane, but
'
with a far accelerated time rate. This gave him complete access to the booze
stocks while the few people and the holocaust building outside seemed to stand
still. It was illusion, of course, and he knew it; but it was a pleasant
illusion.
A slight note of sobriety intruded into his general feeling of well-being when
he suddenly caught the irony of himself, an immortal being who had been here
since the beginnings of time for this phase, trying to grab a few more
precious minutes, hours, even days of life of this now-dying planet's
existence for himself.
There was nothing else for him. Either those two young people came across with
the goods or it was the end for him. He wouldn't go back, ever-not to the kind
of high-technology lobotomies they'd use-never! Walk around smiling at
everyone and tending the little animals and happy and unthinking and unfeeling
...
"Never!"
he roared, and poured himself another drink.
Suddenly there was a sharp pop as air was dis-placed, and he
turned, startled, to see the woman-he couldn't even remember her
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