Chapter 7 07

07 "Nor does it explain why thousands of believers have followed him for so long," Wheeler said. "Especially recently, after attacks on religious believers and the advent of science, it's impossible to keep people faithful." .” "Also, non-Christians wrote about Jesus," Randall remembered, "Jewish historian Josephus was one, and there were some Roman jurists." "But, Steve, that's not enough, it's not very conclusive, and it's not even as good as what the Christians wrote. Some Roman evidence speaks of the existence of Christianity, but doesn't paint a picture of Christ. But , we can say with absolute certainty that if the enemies of Christianity admit its existence, there must have been Christ. In fact, we have two Jews who actually said Christ." Wheeler put the cigarette butt in the ashtray. "Josephus, whom you mentioned, first claimed to be a priest and Jewish historian, then became a Roman. He was born around AD 37 and died around AD 100. If we can believe that his legacy If there are manuscripts, then we admit the four Gospels. Josephus completed the book "The Old Jew" in AD 93. He clearly mentions Christ in two of them. Naomi, do you have these materials at hand? "

Naomi Dunn had already taken out the documents she had prepared. "Josephus, the longer of the two, writes: 'At this moment there appeared a wise man Jesus, I do not know if he could be called a man. For what he did was unearthly, he was human Teacher, he also attracted many Jews and Greeks. He is the Christ. When the ruler sentenced him to be crucified, those who followed him from the beginning did not renounce their faith, to his holiness On the third day after he came back alive to them again, as the prophecy of God said, the ranks of believers increased by another ten thousand. Even now there is a Christianity named after him.' And here comes the second—"

Wheeler raised his hand. "Enough is enough, it's telling, Naomi," he said to Randall again, "Now, if Josephus really wrote it himself, it would be the earliest reference to Jesus. Unfortunately , I have yet to meet a scholar who believes that Josephus wrote the article in its entirety. No one thinks it is true, because it is too pro-Christian for it to come from an early Jewish writer. It is too Puzzlingly, a pagan historian called Jesus a wise man, if he could be called a man, and declared 'he was the Christ'. The latter is thought to be a medieval figure who wanted to create a historical meaning of Jesus. Also, we have several experts on the Second Resurrection, one of whom, Dr. Bernard Jeffries, whom you will meet, believes that Josephus did mention Jesus twice, but They also agree that what Josephus wrote must not have been flattering, and that it was altered centuries later by a holy Christian jurist who disliked these passages."

"In other words, your scholars still feel that Josephus himself acknowledged the existence of Jesus?" "Yes. But they're speculative, so they don't prove anything. We're concerned with historical fact. Another Jewish source that describes Jesus is the Jewish Canon. It's a second-century text written by Rabbis The writings of these rabbinical scholars are mainly based on hearsay, saying bad things about Jesus, saying that he practiced magic and was finally hanged for heresy and leading the people astray. Christian or Roman Jesus. The first is—" He frowned slightly, trying to remember, and Naomi quickly interjected, "The first is Salas, who wrote three history books in about the middle of the first century."

"Yes, the first was Salas. He recorded the dark scene in Palestine after the death of Jesus. He believed that the eclipse caused the chaos in the world, and then future Christian authors insisted that it was actually a miracle. Then, the little When Pliny was the governor of Bithynia, he mentioned in a letter to the Roman emperor about 110 AD that he contended with the Christians in his jurisdiction. He believed that Christianity was a superstitious activity, but He wrote that followers of that kind seemed harmless, gathering only before dawn to sing 'hymns to God and Christ.' Still later, Tesistus mentions in his chronicle, around AD 110 Between 120 and 120, Emperor Nero blamed the burning of Rome on the Christians in order to absolve himself of burning Rome...Give me that article, Naomi."

Wheeler took the two typewritten pages from her and said to Randall, "I want you to hear at least part of Tesistus' account of that incident." Nero felt increasingly guilty. , tortured a group of people called Christians by the public, and Christ was tortured in that dynasty. Then there were 'devils' and superstitions not only in Jordan but also in Rome...'" Wheeler looked up. "Finally, we have Suetonius, an essayist history writer, who wrote a book, Life in the Roman Empire, between AD 98 and 138. Suetonius, speaking of King Claudius, wrote: 'He drove all the Jews out of Rome, because they, at the instigation of Christ, continued to disturb society.' It is important to see from this, Steve, that this is what Roman historians write, in Jesus Christ is mentioned between half a century and the first century after his death. So what we get from Jewish and Roman history is that maybe there are only three names of Christianity. If we want to know more, it is only by being very prejudiced Gospels. We just don’t have an objective biography written by a contemporary of Jesus Christ. We only have descriptions and understandings that have been distorted by our own beliefs.”

"However," said Randall, "we need not be skeptical that there is no real biography. Dr. Evans once told me that Jesus' ministry was short and his death was of little importance to the Romans. , so naturally there is no reason to record what he did." "Exactly," agreed Wheeler. "I think Miller Burrows, the expert on the Dead Sea Books, said it best. He pointed out that if Jesus had been an influential revolutionary with many followers, if he had been If he fought against the Roman authorities and wanted to establish his own kingdom, there must be written in the stone to report his revolution and defeat. Burrows said, but Jesus was just a wandering preacher. He did not write He did not build any buildings, nor did he organize any academic institutions. He did not touch the plants and trees of the Roman Empire. He only tried to build a kingdom of heaven on earth, hoping that some poor fishermen would put his will Dictated to mankind. In the words of Burrows, the Horod dynasty still left oaths on the collapsed pillars. But there is no architectural evidence of the beginning of Christianity, because Jesus left only the Christian Church, with blocks There are no inscriptions either."

"But now, almost overnight, the world will see a huge change," Randall mused. "The world will know that two people who knew Jesus wrote a biography of Jesus. George, that's incredible." "This miracle was purely accidental, so lucky," Wheeler said. "Jesus had a younger brother. This relationship was enough for him to know Jesus, respect him, and be moved by what they did to record his life. The result will be that, two months later, once James' record is released to the public, it will be like dropping a bomb on this unprepared world. But if James is not enough to explain the problem, there is still AD The 30 years of power struggle in Rome and the accounts of Jesus' last days in Jerusalem and his crucifixion tell us that Jesus Christ did exist. And this information we get from an unbiased pagan source .”

Randall lit his pipe. "You haven't told me that, George." "You'll get the whole story in the next few weeks. Now for a quick word on how the Petronas parchment might have come to be. As you know, when Jesus was preaching in the Roman colony of Palestine, the Roman emperor was Tiberius the Elder For various reasons, Tiberius preferred to live in Capri. He left the somewhat ambitious Lucius Eleus Signus, commander of the emperor's guard, in Rome as his carte blanche. Rep. King Tiberius ruled Rome through Sicanus, but in fact it was Sicanus who was controlling the Roman Empire, and he planned to get rid of Tiberius and take the throne himself. In the Roman colonies and provinces, Western Ganus chose to be the magistrate who was faithful to himself and at the same time set up a network of spies to report to him regularly on any act of infidelity or treason or uprising in the empire. It was Siganus who sent Pontius Pilate to Palestine to hold important posts. Apparently, Pilat's officers were ordered to report regularly, sometimes secretly, to Siganus through courtiers, on riots, trials, and hangings, great or small, in Palestine."

Randall was quite puzzled by this, "Does that mean that when Jesus was interrogated and sentenced to be crucified, even though it was a trivial matter, would a Roman officer routinely report to Siganus in Rome?" "That's pretty much it," said Wheeler, "either Pilat himself agreed and sent the trial of Jesus as a routine report to the governor of Damascus, who then passed it on to Sicanus in Rome, or Sending Pilat did not bother to hand in the report, but the captain of his private soldiers who supervised him took Jesus to the cross. After supervising the execution, he wrote a report in the name of Pilat and sent it to Siganus. The captain of Pilate's men was Petronas. But there is another interesting thing, that Siganus probably never saw the report."

"Never seen?" Randall said. "What do you mean?" "According to that report, Jesus was executed on April 7, the 17th year of the Tiberius dynasty—that is, AD 30. By the time this report was written and ready to be sent, word came from the colonies that Rumors, that there was trouble between Sicanus and the emperor. This report of the crucifixion of Jesus was shelved along with other reports until Sicanus' position was consolidated. Then, it must have been Rome or Damascus News came that Rome was settled and that Siganus was still in power. This report, along with many others, was sent to Rome again. When the messenger arrived in the Italian port of Ostia on a merchant ship, it would be a certain time. It was the next year, A.D. 31. As soon as he landed, the messengers learned from the officers and soldiers that Sicanus and all those connected with him were under suspicion. Sicanus himself had actually fled in a panic." "Did he really escape?" "Oh, of course," Wheeler said, "King Tiberius of the Roman Empire, sensing that Sicanus was attempting to overthrow his dynasty and usurp power, ordered Sicanus to be killed in October, A.D. 31. Put to death. The messenger realized the seriousness of the situation after hearing this, fearing that if these reports were given to Sicanus, it would arouse the king's wrath, and it would be too risky to do so. Perhaps the messenger, just to be on the safe side, included Christ's trial and The execution report and other reports were left to some ordinary soldiers and even some friends of the citizens, and they returned to Palestine by themselves to continue their unfulfilled duties.” "I'm starting to kind of understand what's going on," Randall said. "We can't be sure yet," Wheeler reminded him, "but we can make some logical guesses. Most likely, the person who received the report kept it until Siganus was killed. Soon the report on Christ The report was set aside as outdated and forgotten by them. After the man's death, it may have been discovered by a relative who happened to be a secret Christian, a turn that made it possible to match the report with the document James had written. They were preserved together. A simpler conjecture is that the man himself became a Christian, and his most valuable collections were, of course, the Petronas parchment and the biography of James. In either case, at the time Due to the oppression of Christians, these articles were sealed in the base of a statue, which was not found by the authorities. Decades and centuries passed, and the base was buried in ruins until Professor Monty found it 6 years ago They do not allow them to be brought to light. For the present, we have the privilege of having a sneak peek and are kept secret from the outside world, but soon they will be presented to the public in the International New Testament and will become the property of the world." "It's been great," Randall said.He moved his chair closer to the publisher. "But, George, you still haven't told me all the secrets. When we first talked, you told me just a little bit enough for me to push everything aside and go with you. Now I want to know the rest. .” Wheeler nodded in understanding. "Of course you will know and tell you." He raised his index finger. "Steve, but not now. We've got proofs for you in Amsterdam. Once you get there, you'll be able to read the full two parts, and I don't want to spoil your own enjoyment by telling you a few words .I hope you do not mind." "I mind, but I want to wait a few days and at least tell me what Jesus looked like?" "Neither like those described by Da Vinci, Tintolitu, Raphael, etc., nor like the people on the cross bought by thousands of families in the world. His brother James understands He, he's a man and not a cult martyr." Wheeler laughed. "Be patient, Steve." "There's one more thing that bothers me," Randall interrupted. "Did you tell me that Jesus wasn't crucified, and that it was imaginary?" "Absolutely not," Wheeler emphasized, "James saw that Jesus didn't die on the cross, didn't go to heaven—at least not in AD 30, but lived and continued his missionary work." James gave Specific witnesses who saw Jesus escape safely from Palestine." "Where did he go?" "Caesarea, Damascus, Antichus, Cyprus, and finally Rome." "I still think it's unbelievable. Jesus was in Rome, it's unbelievable." "Steve, you'll believe it. You won't have any doubts," Wheeler said confidently. "Once you've seen the authoritative evidence for yourself, you'll have no doubts." "What about after Rome?" Randall asked. "He was supposed to be 54 in Rome. Where did he go? When and where did he die?" Wheeler stood up suddenly from his chair. "You'll find out in Amsterdam, in Amsterdam's Second Resurrection," Wheeler promised him.The publisher waved to a man at the door. "That's Miss Nicholson over there. I think it's time for us to rest and have lunch. There's an announcement over there for dinner." That's how Randall remembered his second day on the ship, and now he was lying in bed, on his fifth and last day on the luxury liner. He heard Darina's voice from the living room next door, "Steve, are you up? Breakfast is here!" He sat up.There are also three daily activity schedules on the thigh. Daily Activities Sunday, June 9 It was the third day, and at the insistence of George L. Wheeler, they had a day off. At 11 o'clock Wheeler, Naomi and Darina attended the service in the ship's theater.Randall excused himself from going and watched "Your French Lesson" in the rec room instead.Then they had lunch at Champlain's.There are bridge sessions, wine tastings and cocktails in the afternoon, followed by dances and horse games after dinner. Daily Activities Monday, June 10 That was the fourth day, which was yesterday.He had hours of question-and-answer sessions with Wheeler and Naomi Dunn about how the previous New Bible was prepared, and they instilled in him how the International New Testament was prepared.Long conversations had worn him out, and he had drank too much wine and Scotch at the evening's banquet. Daily Activities Tuesday, June 11 Today he will get his first look at the organizational structure of the "Second Resurrection" operation in Amsterdam, they will briefly brief him on the experts who will meet tomorrow at the British Museum in London, the staff of Amsterdam and others in Paris who are free to visit for PR , Mainz, Frankfurt and Rome specialists. "Steve, your eggs are getting cold!" Darina yelled again. He tossed aside his last day's schedule and rolled out of bed. "Here it is, dear!" he cried. The last day at sea begins. In the afternoon, the three of them moved outdoors and continued to chat.He had just seen Darina playing ping-pong with a lustful Hungarian.Now, Randall was reclining on the cushion, Wheeler was sitting in the chair next to him, and Naomi was in the third chair, shivering under a red blanket. They were already in the North Atlantic Ocean, getting closer and closer to Britain, and the sea was calm except for a few small waves occasionally.Above them the sun was hidden by a few dark clouds, and the wind had cooled.Randall stared at the horizon, dozed off by the white trail trailing from the ship's stern.He stared blankly at the flagpole, wondering why there was no French tricolor flag, and then immediately remembered that the flag had to be hoisted when the ship was in port.Later, Randall struggled to concentrate and listen to the publisher. "So you now have at least a general idea of ​​our general situation in Amsterdam," Wheeler continued. "At this stage, our biggest concern and the issue I want to emphasize is safety. Think about our surroundings , in the most prosperous square in Amsterdam, there is a luxurious hotel, Krasnapolski, facing the Royal Palace. The "Second Resurrection" operation occupied and controlled two floors out of the five floors of Krasnapolski. We renovated We moved in after the two floors. Five of us directed the initiative - five publishers - Dr. Emil Deckhard from Germany as our team leader, Trevor Young from Great Britain Sir, Mr. Charles Fontaine of France, Mr. Luigi Gueda of Italy, and George L. Wheeler of the United States before you—we still have to seal those two floors completely. But apart from our two floors, It's still a public hotel after all. Believe me, Steve, once we're ready and we start printing the revised New Testament, we're going to spend a lot of time on security issues. How to plug holes, how to improve weaknesses, and how to Anticipating all the potential crises is hard work." "How sure are you?" Randall asked, "Is the Krasnapolsky Hotel absolutely safe?" Wheeler shrugged. "I suppose so, I hope so." Naomi moved up the chair. "Steve, you will find that Mr. Wheeler is always too cautious and pessimistic in dealing with these kinds of issues. I can tell you that I witnessed the entire process of Krasnapolski's conversion. It was absolutely seamless, like a fortress In fact, the whole process took place in that hotel for 20 months, and no one outside knew about the gigantic work going on inside...Mr. Wheeler, you should have told Steve about your security record—no Not a single word from the press, not sold to any television or radio station, not even a word to some of the dissident clergymen of our time." "That's right," Wheeler agreed, scratching his neck. "However, I am still concerned during these critical final two months as we draw to a close. Secrecy is more important than ever. Although I have assembled the most experienced private security team, all soldiers and plainclothes Well the FBI, and people who have worked in the security services of other countries, the team is captained by Inspector Helderling, a Dutchman who was an Interpol officer, I'm still concerned. I mean, we've been slandered by rumors , there is tremendous pressure on us, the press and the dissenting clergy are trying to find out what we have to do." Randall heard a word mentioned twice—"dissenting clergy."Randall said: "I also think that all the clergy without exception will want to work with you and keep quiet about this news until the last moment. When your news comes out, the clergy will benefit as much as the public Well." Wheeler looked out to sea and thought for a moment. "Have you ever heard of Bishop Melting di Frumi, Bishop Westerkok, Amsterdam Cathedral?" "I've read some material about him," Randall said, recalling a conversation with Tom Corot in Oak Ridge. "A friend from my hometown is also a pastor. He worships Dee Froomi very much." "But I don't worship him, I'm the exact opposite of him, those young Turkish clergy who want to overthrow the traditional church and turn it into a community for social work and a devil in the guise of faithful Christianity, they He is a supporter of Di Vroomy. He is powerful in the Dutch reformed church. Our domineering Di Vroomi - Dominatrix is ​​his nickname - has minions everywhere and he tries to influence The Catholic direction of the entire Western world. He is our greatest threat." Randall was confused. "Why would he be a threat to you—to a bunch of publishers who are going to put out a reprint of the New Testament?" "Why? Because di Vroomi was a form-criticist, influenced by the German theorist Rudolf Bultmann. Di Vroomi was skeptical of what the gospel writers described. He believed The New Testament is fabricated out of thin air, with deliberate mysteries—water as wine, popular taste, resurrection, ascension—that make no sense to the modern scientist. He dismissed the existence of Jesus, and even suggested that Jesus might have been invented by Christianity to spread new revelations, and only the revelation itself is meaningful to modern people.” "Are you saying that Dee Froomi believes in only the teachings of Christianity?" Randall said. "What can he do with those teachings?" "In Di Frumi's own words, he wanted a church that was both social and political, one that was primarily interested in our own lives, that opposed the idea of ​​heaven, that refused to see Christ as is the savior, and excludes blind allegiance. And he says a lot more, and you'll hear it shortly. From that alone you can see what Dee Frumi would think of the Gospels written by James and the parchments of Petronas, and our entire International New Testament, which reveals the one true Christ. Di Frumi would have seen at once that our new revelation would strengthen the Church's internal institutions and traditional The believers abandon religious radical policies and return to the old churches. This may prevent Di Frumi from fulfilling his ambitions and force him to stop the revolution of the Christian Church." "Did Frumi know about the 'Second Resurrection' operation?" Randall asked. "We have every reason to believe that he suspects what we are doing at the Krasnapolsky Hotel. He has many spies, more than our security team. We can only be sure that so far he has no knowledge of what we have found. details. If he knew, we would have heard about it months ago. He would have attacked us before we released the whole story and evidence to the public. But now, it is getting more dangerous every day. Because " After the New Testament is printed, there will be excess, and some of it may fall into the hands of Di Frumi before our official publication date. If that happens, he may do anything to hurt us—maybe destroy We're going to be ruined by the press or Dee Vroomi. The reason I'm telling you this, Steve, is because once Dee Vrumi knows you're with us, you're going to be his one of the main objectives of the "He's got nothing from me," Randall said. "No one gets anything from me." "I just want to remind you that you have to be on high alert every minute of every day." Wheeler fell into deep thought again. "Let me think about whether I missed something and didn't tell you, and whether I told you everything you should know about the 'second resurrection'." As a result, Wheeler spoke for another hour about something he forgot to say. The publisher also spoke about those directly involved in the work of the International New Testament.There is an Italian archaeologist, Professor Augusto Monti, who found those meaningful materials.Professor Monti is associated with the University of Rome and lives in a villa in Rome with his second daughter, Angela, Monti.Another Frenchman, Professor Henri Aubert, a scientist of unrivaled learning, authoritatively authenticated our discovery at his home in Paris.He and his well-bred wife Gabrieli are a perfect couple. There is also Herr Karl Henning, a famous German painter who owns several printing houses in Mainz and a business office in Frankfurt.Henning, who did not have a family, was a benefactor of the Printing Museum.The last was Dr. Bernard Jeffries, a qualified theologian, fluent in Aramaic, and now Dean of the Divinity School, Oxford, whose young assistant, Dr. Florian Knight, had been Research for Dr Jeffreys in the British Museum.Dr. Jeffries was the mentor of this international team and translated the Gospel of James. Wheeler then struggled to get up from his chair on the deck. "I'm exhausted. I'd like to sleep before dinner. It's the last night on board anyway, and you don't need to wear formal clothes for dinner. By the way, Steve, Dr. Jeffries and Dr. Knight are you in London tomorrow. Two members of our team to meet. I thought Naomi could give you a brief introduction about them." He turned around slightly. "Naomi, I hand over to you my excellent socialite Yes, treat me well." Randall watched the publisher go away, and then looked back, just in time to meet Naomi's gaze. Suddenly, Naomi lifted the blanket and threw it aside.She sat up straight. "Stay here one minute longer and I'm going to be an icicle," she said. "If you know how much I want water, you can buy me a glass." Randall stood up. "My treat. Where are we going? Do you like going to Riviera Longhi?" She shook her head. "It's too big, there are too many people, and the music is too harsh." Her normally stiff body softened a lot. "Atlanta is kinder." She took off her wide-rimmed glasses. "Don't you like things that are kinder?" They found an empty table in the Atlanta Hotel and sat down. A French pianist was playing a beautiful tune by the dance floor not far away. The two of them had almost finished two glasses of whiskey, and Randall began to feel a lot more relaxed. They talked from time to time, and Randall thought it was a nice place.This became his best leisure place in France.Their seats are between two counters, the bar cabinet is directly in front, three or four passengers are sitting casually on the high stools, and the handsome waiter is introducing a customer to the flag adorning the wall of the bar.Behind Randall is a horseshoe-shaped food department, which opens at midnight and sells delicious French-style soups, hot dogs and all kinds of delicacies. "Steve, we'll be in Southampton at six o'clock in the morning," he heard Naomi say. "After passport control, we'll disembark at about eight o'clock in the morning and go to customs. I don't know if Mr. Wheeler send a car to take us to london, if not there will be a regular train to take us to victoria station. we will arrange for you to stay in dorchester as soon as we arrive in london. mr wheeler and i just wait to take you to the british museum and meet jeff Dr. Rhys and Dr. Knight get to work, and after we've made sure you've got everything in order, we're leaving. We have to go to Amsterdam right away. You can stay with the two doctors and ask all the questions you want, take note Their answers, spend one night thinking about what else you need to know the next day, and then come join us in Amsterdam. I promise you will find it interesting to hang out with these two gentlemen.” "Hopefully," Randall said.He felt warm after two glasses of wine, and he didn't want this feeling to go away.He gestured to the waiter again and asked Naomi, "How about another glass?" She nodded happily. "I'll stay with you as long as you want me to stay." After Randall ordered another drink, he focused on Naomi again. "The Brits I'll be working with - do I need to know about their background and their exact role in 'The Second Resurrection'?" "Yeah, I'd better tell you quickly, or I'll be so drunk I'll slide off my chair." "You don't look like..." "No one ever notices when I've been drinking," Naomi said. "Never, but I'm starting to get a little dizzy. Where are we? By the way, Dr. Bernard Jeffries. He is the leading theologian in the world and an expert on the languages ​​of Palestine in the first century. You know, Greek, spoken by the Roman invaders. Hebrew, the language spoken by the Jewish leaders in Palestine. Almay Ke is a kind of Hebrew language used by ordinary people and Jesus. Jeffreys looks like a fierce grizzly bear in North America, with a small head, small body, wearing pince-nez, and a Malacca walking stick when he was almost 70 years old. He is a close friend of his. He is a senior member of the Oriental College of Oxford University, and is also the dean of the seminary. In a word, in his field of study, he is the best." "Is his field the study of languages?" "It's much more than that, Steve. He's not just a language expert, he's an expert on papyri, but he's also an expert on the Bible and comparative religion. He led an international commission to translate the manuscripts of Petronas and James, He'll tell you about it. But, though he's a senior member, he's not as important to your life as his assistant, Dr. Florian Knight." Their third glass of wine came again, and Randall lifted the tall glass to touch Naomi's, and they both drank some. "Now," Naomi went on, "it's time to talk about Dr. Knight. Known at Oxford as University Tutor, that is to say, he has been doing most of the lectures and teaching for Dr. Jeffries at the Oriental College. He was chosen as his successor by Dr. Jeffries. Dr. Jeffries must retire at the age of seventy--he will be professor emeritus--and then, we think, Dr. Knight will be appointed to succeed him. In any case, Knight and Jeffries are as different as night and day." "how so?" "The look, the temperament, everything. Dr. Knight was a precocious and eccentric British genius. He was very young but he got where he is today. He was only about 34 years old, and he looked like Ubre Bill. Seeley, have you ever seen a picture of Billesley? With the Buster Brown hair, deep-set eyes, hooked nose, protruding lower lip, big ears, long, thin hands, that's Dr. Florian Knight. He has a high-pitched voice and a bit of a nervous edge, but he's definitely accomplished something in the language and scholarship of the New Testament. Then it happened: Two years ago, Dr. Jeffries Needing someone to do research for him - that is, for the translation committee - was at the British Museum, where there were valuable early New Testament manuscripts. He arranged for Dr. Knight to take a leave of absence from Oxford so he could move to London , working in it as a reader.” "Reader? What is a reader?" "The British call researchers readers. You'll meet Dr. Knight tomorrow anyway, and he'll come with you to Amsterdam as one of your consultant experts. You'll find him useful as you prepare your PR campaign." Priceless, I'm sure you'll get on well with him. Oh yes, just one small problem, Dr. Knight's ears are bad, it's terrible for someone so young, he uses a hearing aid, it makes him very inferior, Extremely sensitive and vulnerable. But you can do it, and you'll conquer him. I think you're good at it." She raised the empty glass and gave him a demanding look. "Well," Randall said, "I can have another drink, too." He gestured to the bar, and the waiter saw it and understood that they had more to drink.He brought his attention back to Naomi Dunne, who still looked serious with her brown hair pulled back, her dark complexion, her high nose, and her thin lips.After three glasses of wine, her gray eyes softened, and the religious trifles were finished.他对她越来越感到好奇，同在一条船上呆了近5天，可她对自己的事只字未提，他想她是不是不肯或不愿说。 “我们说的正事已经够多了，内奥米，”他说，“我们聊聊别的事好吗？” “如果你愿意。你想谈什么？” “首先，说说你，还有你怎么看我的。还有你刚才说的最后一句话，你说你认为我一定能征服弗洛里安?奈特，你说你觉得我擅长这些。你说的这些话是什么意思呢？是讽刺？还是赞扬？” 她还没来得及回答，服务员来到他们桌边给他们换上了两杯新酒。服务员走后，内奥米沉思地握着杯子，然后抬起头。“我初次见到你时，并不太喜欢你，”她说，“因为我是带着偏见看你的。我讨厌公关人员，他们来自一个不真实的世界，他们对公众花言巧语，他们代表不真实与不诚实。” “大多数是这样的。” “那天你来了，看上去高不可攀，极傲慢，对人间的事似乎毫无兴趣可言。我就讨厌你那样，你好像比我们都高出一等，而我们不过是一群搞宗教的傻冒。” 兰德尔忍不住笑了起来。“真逗，”他说，“我第一次见到你，我觉察出你不喜欢我，因为——因为我太平常，不信教，又不是满腹经伦。”他顿了顿说，“那你现在还这么看我吗？” “如果那样的话，我就不会跟你说这些了，”她坦白地说，“跟你呆了这么几天，我对你有了新的认识。有一点，我觉得你对你的职业感到耻辱。” “其种程度来说，你说得不错。” “而且我发现你比我当初想象得要脆弱，敏感。至于我说的你能征服奈特，你对此很擅长，我是想赞扬你。你很有魅力。” “谢谢。我要为此干一杯。” 他们慢慢地喝着。 “内奥米，你在惠勒的布道团出版社有多久了？” “5年了。” “在此之前你作过什么？” 她陷入沉思，然后直视着他。“我是修女，作了两年圣若济会修女。我那时被称作修女里吉娜，你奇怪吗？”