Chapter 20 20

20 Once Randall's taxi Simca left the city and entered Roosevelt Drive, the driver began to pick up speed.He drove swiftly along open pastures and forested areas, slowing only slightly as the car approached the hospital in Burroughland.Randall told the car driver that if he could get to the hospital by 7:30, he would pay an extra 10 Dutch guilders, and the driver naturally wanted to win. At this time, from the window of the Simca, Randall could see the beautiful exterior of what seemed to be a newly built hospital building.They drove into the driveway vacated by flowerbed nurseries, and in the early morning, the only thing they could see was the color of the flowers.

After a while, the car stopped at the entrance of the hospital, and the driver proudly said to him: "7:30 is still 6 minutes away." Randall happily paid for the car and gave him a tip of 10 dong. Randall is puzzled by this "extraordinary thing".After getting off the car, he hurried up the stone steps of the hospital and walked through the revolving door.When he walked over there, the female clerk asked him first: "Mr. Randall?" After she saw him nodding, she said, "Please wait a moment, Mr. Wheeler just called and said he was coming down to answer." you."

Randall lit a cigarette irritably, then looked at the pictures on the wall, one depicting Eve emerging from Adam's ribs; another depicting Cath and Abel; Jesus is healing a child.Just when he became interested in these paintings, he heard someone calling him.He turned around, only to see Wheeler had appeared in front of him. Wheeler came over with a big smile on his face. He put his broad hand on Randall's shoulder and said happily, "Steve, it's great that you came back just in time for this event. From the beginning of this event I just feel like you need to know. You can't use this story right now though. We're keeping it a secret until we're absolutely sure. But as long as the doctors say yes, we want you to spread the word to everyone in the world all know."

"Wheeler, what the hell are you talking about?" "I thought I told you, maybe I didn't. Come on, I'll tell you as soon as we're up." Wheeler lowered his voice as he led Randall toward the stairs, but he couldn't suppress the excitement in his voice. "Well," he said, "I was away last night because Mr. Gaida was having dinner. Then I got a call from Naomi, who just gave a brief account of what had happened and suggested that we all Come to the hospital, I've been here all night, you can see the pouches under my eyes." "Wheeler," Randall said impatiently, "could you just tell me exactly what's going on?"

"I'm sorry, okay, sure." They were at the front of the elevator, but Randall pulled Wheeler aside, "I know very little about this so far, it's in your office." That girl, she knows a lot about archaeology, what's her name? You see, I forgot her name all of a sudden." Randall almost named Angela, but then realized that Wheeler didn't even know her, so he knew he was referring to a woman in his public relations department. "You mean Miss Taylor? An American—" Wheeler clapped his hands. "Yes, Miss Taylor. Last night, just before midnight, she received a call from Lori Cook, your secretary, the crippled girl who didn't understand. Said she saw a vision, and Miss Taylor asked her what she saw? She also said that before she saw the vision, she was praying for her to walk normally, and when the vision disappeared, she could actually walk like you and me walking normally."

"What?" Randall yelled in disbelief, "Are you serious?" "Didn't you hear me, Steve, she's walking normally, and she's been on the phone saying she's feeling dizzy and feverish, and she's in a daze, and she's gotta get someone over there right away. OK. So, as you can imagine, Miss Taylor put down the phone and ran to see her. Upon arriving at her apartment, Lori was paralyzed on the floor, but after she had listened to what Lori had told her After that, she didn't know what to do, so she called me, and I wasn't there, and Naomi got the call, and immediately called an ambulance and took Lori to the hospital. Then Naomi called again Tell me and I called Dr Fass from the 'Second Resurrection' and told him what I knew. I also called a few others and they all came in a hurry Yes. What's your take on this, Steve?"

In the process of narrating, Randall thought of the limping little girl he saw for the first time, and also remembered that she was always disappointed in pilgrims and pilgrimages, hoping for miracles, but did not resent But just showing helplessness. "Ask me what I think?" Randall repeated. "It's hard to say. I've got to get to the truth first. You know, Wheeler, I've never believed in miracles." "Forget it, don't you yourself still say that the International New Testament is a miracle?" Wheeler reminded him. "I never said that it was a real miracle, I was just exaggerating. Our "Bible" was born in the archaeological excavations of the scientific age, and it has only rational facts as its basis. However, if it is said that miraculous medical treatment—" He dragged his voice out, and suddenly thought of Lori's words that the new "Bible" was extremely important to her, and he couldn't help feeling suspicious.

"George, there's more to Lori than that. Did she say what might have caused her vision and alleged miracle?" Randall asked. "You're talking, I was going to tell you," Wheeler added, "You're right, there's a reason for it, and it's because of Rand, our public relations department. Er's leak. You should be directly responsible, but in view of what happened, we decided not to pursue it." "Are you saying I violated the confidentiality policy?" "Exactly. Think about it, when Dr. Deckhard lent you the new "Bible" for an evening, didn't he negotiate a condition for you to return it to him in person the next morning? You asked Lori to send it, right?"

"Yes, I remembered I said it. I was going to deliver it myself that morning, but it happened that Naomi asked me to discuss my schedule for the visit, so I asked Lori to deliver the materials, and I'm sure she wouldn't. Questionable. But anyway, maybe I should return it myself, but how could it be wrong to ask Lori to send it?" Wheeler grinned. "Last night, before the ambulance arrived at Lori's apartment, she told Miss Taylor that you told her to give the proofs to Dr. Deckhard and no one else, did she?" "That's right." "So that child took your word for granted. She went to deliver the proofs to Deckhard, who happened to be out of the office, and Lori refused to hand over the envelope to his secretary. She decided to wait for him to come back. But the book was so tempting to her that Lori admitted that she had been hiding in a storage room to peek in on purpose for a late lunch. In fact, if her story is to be believed, the Before Harder, I read it a total of 4 times."

"I believe she read it 4 times. She, what did she say happened?" "What occupied her mind throughout the week was what James had written. In her dreams she was thinking about the legacy of Jesus, his resurrection, the adventure to Rome, and James' confrontation in Jerusalem. At death she could still write the story on papyrus. Last night, alone in the room with that vision, she closed her eyes and put her hands on her chest in silent prayer to James for the cure of her disability. But When she finished her prayers and opened her eyes to see a bright circle of bright light passing in front of her and across the room as the bearded and robed James raised his hand in blessing, she said she was terrified out of her wits , so she knelt down on the ground, closed her eyes, and begged James to save her again. After a while, when she opened her eyes again, the image disappeared. She stood up and tried to walk a few steps, only to find that her leg disease had healed She was crying with joy and yelling, 'I'm all right! I'm all right!' Then she called Miss Taylor, and when Miss Taylor arrived, Lori was passed out on the floor. Oh, Shi You know the rest, Tiff. Now let's go upstairs."

They took the elevator up to the fourth floor and hurried across two six-bed wards.Later, some people were seen gathered in front of a ward where, of course, Lori Cook lived. Approaching the group, Randall was the first to recognize Miss Taylor, with her notebook in hand, and Edron, the red-haired photographer, still wearing his camera, of course.Others he knew were Mr. Al Qaeda, Mr. Ricardi, Dr. Trautman and Pastor Zakiri. After walking into this group of people, Randall saw that everyone was surrounding a doctor in a white coat, who was speaking to everyone at the moment.Standing next to the doctor is a rather attractive nurse.Wheeler told Randall in a low voice that he was the special doctor of the "Second Resurrection", named Fass. "Yes, we x-rayed Miss Cooke as soon as she came in," he said in response to a question from one person. "When she was brought in at night, we put her in a It will be more convenient for diagnosis and X-rays. Returning to your old question, we cannot say for sure about Miss Lori's condition before this incident. At present, we I want to get in touch with her parents as soon as possible, and hope to get her medical records when she was young. According to Miss Lori’s description, I judge that she suffered from osteomyelitis before.” Randall interrupted and asked, "Excuse me, doctor, can you explain the disease?" "In Miss Cook's case, her osteomyelitis occurred in the tibia, that is, between her right knee and ankle. She may have suffered acutely. It has caused bone destruction-our X The light photos may prove this point—this can be judged from her memory of swelling, pain, and persistent fever. Because of inappropriate treatment and no operation, she became crippled. " "Doctor Farth," said Wheeler, "how do you explain what happened last night? Anyway, she's cured, isn't she? Isn't she walking now?" "Yes, it is reasonable to say that she is functioning normally now," said Dr. Fass. "She is acting to the satisfaction of our physical therapists. Our neuropsychiatrists will also be speaking to her this afternoon. .At present, she is being examined and questioned by two doctors. As for what happened last night, I don't think I can say anything. But on the other hand, she may have suffered a spiritual shock in her childhood, rather than a physical one. Illness. So last night the shock was overcome by the self-suggestion produced by that phantasy. If so, we may say that she was the victim of a long period of nervous breakdown, and her recovery cannot be regarded as a miracle. But— —” Dr. Fass looked around at the small group of people around him, and his eyes flashed with brilliance. "It would be a different matter if her kicks proved to be a physical disease, and her recovery was not aided by science. On this point, I would like to quote a sixteenth-century physician's remark on a patient. The surgery report, that was: 'I bandaged him, but God healed him.'" Dr. Fars made an apologetic gesture. "Well, I'm sorry, I'm going to go into the ward now. Maybe in a day or two, you'll be allowed to ask her some questions. Of course, she'll be in the hospital for at least two weeks so we can watch her closely. .” As Dr. Farss and the nurses pushed open the door behind him and went in, Randall made his way through the crowd to the open doorway, and he glanced inside. Lori's thin and small figure was sitting on the edge of the hospital bed, with her right trousers rolled up high, a doctor bent down and touched her calf, and the other two watched with great interest and Lori seemed indifferent to the doctor's examination.She just stared up at the ceiling with a mysterious smile on her face. Then, the door of the ward was closed again.Randall turned around, and saw that the crowd that had surrounded him had gradually dispersed, but Wheeler was waving at him. Whitt was joined by Mr Al Qaeda and Mr Riccardi.After Randall joined them, the four of them walked together to sit in the adjacent guest lounge. "What do you think of that, Mr. Riccardi?" Wheeler asked. "You Catholics have a lot of experience with this sort of thing." Mr. Riccardi tugged at the front of his robe. "Mr. Wheeler, it's too early to tell. The Catholic Church is always wary of things like this. We don't always trust." "Still, it's clearly a miracle!" Wheeler exclaimed. "At first glance, Miss Cook's recovery is quite miraculous," Riccardi agreed. "However, we cannot judge lightly. Miracles do exist, and we can even say that miracles happen every day." But then again, what exactly is a real miracle? We think that it is an extremely extraordinary event that occurs, that is, something that cannot be done by human beings and must be done by divine intervention. Therefore, not all It seems that the cases that are cured because of faith are all miracles. According to the survey results, the ratio of real miracles to the miracles that most people think of is less than 1%.” "Because there is too much imagination," Mr. Gaida said as if he was quite expert. "Imagination, that is, the power of suggestion, can produce amazing results. For example, false conception. Queen Mary of England I once falsely conceived twice because I wanted to have a child, although everything seemed real. I remember that in the 1930s, a neurotherapist in Paris, France, did this experiment on a patient: he first took the patient's Blindfolded, then approached his arm with the flame and told the patient 'Your arm is burned.' So blisters appeared on his skin in no time. In fact the patient was deceived because the flame never touched He. That was just a hint. In addition, there are some people who have stigmata like the crucifixion of Jesus-Mr. Riccardi, how many examples of this, do you remember?" "Historically, a total of 322 people had stigmata like Jesus' crucifixion after bleeding on their hands. The first one was St. Francis in 1224 AD, and the last one is well-known The most famous character is Newman in 1926." Gaida shifted his gaze to Wheeler. "Look, Wheeler. That's the relationship of implication. They believe in the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus, and they feel His pain. In the same way, our Miss Lori, because of our new Bible, Influenced by a suggestion of boundless hope, and an indomitable confidence in her return to health, she was cured of her chronic illness." Wheeler spread his hands. "However, it's a miracle, a 100 percent miracle." Mr. Riccardi stood up and nodded to Wheeler. "Perhaps it is. We shall watch this matter closely, and it may be only the beginning. Once our James has preached this gospel to all nations, more people will believe in the suffering of Jesus, and their faith and conviction will be stronger. , and the Lord will respond to their prayers, and then more miracles will appear all over the world. Let us pray sincerely." Wheeler left Randall behind while Riccardi and Gaida walked out. "Steve, we'll wait a little longer," he said cheerfully. "I know, I know exactly what's going on, and those theologians know it's a miracle, and that's due to the International New Testament. .Even if Christianity does not take miracles as seriously as Catholicism does, evidence like this cannot be ignored by others. They must be influenced by our new Bible. And you can imagine how much the Catholic Church wants to get us The distribution rights of this "Bible". Once we are ready to release this "Bible", Steve, you must bring a fortune to this matter. Besides, can you imagine other more Is it a good proof? Steve, you don’t have to go head-to-head to promote it, you just have to come up with a better idea.” "The best price we can do is 10 yuan a book." Randall thought so in his heart, but didn't say it. Because he was also deeply surprised. He knew that a miracle had happened to a girl he knew who had been limping and was now cured. He was noncommittal about the matter.Obviously, science can't explain this either, so why not call it a miracle? Five hours later, at an outdoor restaurant table, Randall told Angela what had happened to him in the hospital. They agreed to have lunch together.This restaurant is on the way from the Krasnapolski Hotel to the Victoria Hotel. After hearing this, Angela did not express surprise at Lori's miraculous recovery, "It's not because I'm a devout Catholic." She explained, "It's because the world is so big, there are so many things. It is not something that can be understood by reason. Among all things in the universe, we humans are only slightly better than ants.” Afterwards, holding his hand on the table, she asked him how every minute had passed since he left the hospital.Just as he was about to tell her, a waiter came up and asked what they wanted. Randall picked up the menu with colorful pictures of the four special lunches. "You've been to this restaurant before," Randall said, "and you know me. I think it's up to you to decide what we're going to eat." Angela looked very happy. "For those who are busy with work, it is suggested that we eat less. In fact, the portions of each dish on these menus are very small." She pointed to a picture on the menu and said to the waiter, "We want Two plates of this." Once the waiter had left, Angela turned to Randall and said, "Steve, tell me now how your morning went." "Let me think about it. Before I left the hospital, I called you, didn't I? I told you that everything about your father's digging and discoveries was not recorded in your diary or in your Everything in my father's files, typed out, will be of great use and will lead to further questions for us." "I've already written part of it, and I can read it later." "Excellent. Well, I'll be in the office when I leave the hospital. Cunningham and Helen DeBoer--they're both on my public relations staff, and you're going to meet them--wait to tell Good news for me. The Dutch government has agreed to us using the Royal Palace to hold a press conference to announce the great discovery and to publish the book on July 12th. No problem. Then we drafted a confidential memorandum for the 5 publishers, that is, there are still some relevant personnel who need to send a book to them, and suggest that they hold a meeting before tomorrow to make a final decision. Decided...Angela, when I called you the second time in the office, didn't I already tell you most of these things?" "You have told me some of these things." "I hate repeating what happened, and it's just too tiresome to talk about." "I want you to talk! I love hearing your voice. Steve, what happened next?" "Oh, I had a staff business meeting in the conference room, it's a beautiful conference room, I think we could use that house as your temporary home!" Angela squeezed his hand. "Do you still have time to think about that when you're working now? I'm so happy. But you're so busy that you don't have time to stay at home?" "I hope it's not that busy," Randall said. "We're under a tight schedule. Anyway, we had a meeting in the morning and it went well." "What did you discuss at the meeting?" "I told them everything - of course Miss Taylor knew very well - about what happened to Lori after she peeked at the Gospel of James, and she was now able to walk normally, and everyone was very moved I assigned Miss Taylor to write two features - one in the first person about Lori's account of her lifelong illness and running around seeking miracles; .I have also assigned Naomi to prepare a press release on the matter. Of course, these must be approved by the doctors and theologians before being released to the world after the press conference." Angela shook her head in surprise. "I never knew what propaganda was. I thought newspaper and radio reporters had to go digging for news, like my father did archaeological digs." Randall laughed out loud. "It's not the same, it's not the same. Oh, the press does dig its own news. But editors rely on propagandists a lot. If you want stories about wars, politics, inventions, religion, education—whatever you It’s all the same—it’s not just entertainment, sports, or business products that need to be promoted, but almost everyone. Even Jesus is no exception. Come to think of it, didn’t He rely on disciples and believers to spread the gospel everywhere? " "It sounds almost ironic," Angela said. "Sometimes yes, but usually not. Just imagine how many things happen in the world every day? The news media can't know everything. They need help, and we give them news according to our own interests." "What else did you discuss in the meeting, Steve?" "I also added to them the additional information you told me about your father in Milan, and I also mentioned that you came to Amsterdam to help. I promised them that I would visit Oberth and Henning Transcribe a recording of their conversation for them to listen to. Oh, yes, Nat was there too. I mentioned him to you at dinner yesterday, don't you remember?" "Is that the cynical young man from the British Museum?" "That's right. But he came at last as his girlfriend had promised me, and he still looked annoyed, but he was still able to work. Dr. Jeffries was right, the young man had a good command of Aramaic and the Bible He is very knowledgeable. It is a pity that although he uses a hearing aid, he still has problems when talking to him. However, there is one point where his opinion is very good, that is exactly what we need, so everyone puts it Make a note of it." "Smart. Was that what your Dr. Knight told you?" "He's interesting enough. Anyway, King James approved forty-seven people to do the translation of the Bible, and they were all kinds of people. The oldest one was 73 years old, and the youngest was only 27 years old. Among them were priests, professors, linguists and scholars. One of them knew 15 languages, including Aramaic, Persian and Arabic; another was a Greek teacher for Queen Elizabeth; He could read the Hebrew Bible at the age of 6; another was a refugee from Belgium; one was an alcoholic; Died before the work was finished, leaving 11 children who were starving. These people were divided into 6 groups to work, two groups in Oxford, two groups in Cambridge, and two groups in Westminster. One in Oxford A team of eight translated half of the New Testament, and a team at Westminster translated the other half." "But, Steve, how did they get together to translate?" "Because each chapter assigns a part of the Bible to be translated, and everyone shares another one or two. People in the same group can study each other, exchange ideas, and correct mistakes. When the work of one group is completed, it is sent to another. group to rewrite. It took them 2 years and 9 months to get it all done. Then there was a review of 12 people who would revise or polish it, and finally, a son of a butcher who graduated at 19 Dr Smith at Oxford, with a bishop overseeing him. The result? The 1,500-page King James Version of the Bible was published in 161, five years before Shakespeare died." "And is our International New Testament also prepared in this way?" Randall nodded. "Dr. Jeffries formed 3 translation committees, each of which has 5 experts and scholars. They also adopted a division of labor and cooperation to complete the work...Our lunch has been delivered. Let's start eating." As they ate, the blue awning of the day was rolled up.There was no sun in the sky, so it looked gloomy.Randall and Angela turned their attention to the bustling pedestrians on the street. Randall had just finished eating when he saw a young man walking between each table, distributing printed materials that looked like advertisements.He glanced at it first, then picked it up and asked Angela: "Angela, what is this?" Angela took it over and took a look. "Oh, here's an ad for a pub. They serve an old Dutch ale. The pub isn't far from here. Would you like to try it?" Randall took the ad and threw it away. "No, thank you. Seriously, I've got to get back to the office and get to work." "I'll have to go back and write more, too, unless—" "Unless what?" "Unless you need my help with your secretarial duties. If Lori is in the hospital for two weeks, and those two weeks are your busiest, who will be your secretary?" "You," he said, "you can still get on with your job. Do you really want to be a secretary?" "If you want me." "I want you." "I'm very glad. I'll go back to the Victoria Hotel now and get my notes." "I'll go with you and help you with some extra 'homework'." The weather was humid and muggy.By the time they got to the hotel, stepped out of the elevator, and walked toward room 105, Randall was drenched in sweat and his shirt was sticking to him.Angela's room was much cooler.It was a comfortable double room, with creamy white walls, a quiet green carpet, a wide and attractive bed, a light green wardrobe, a few chairs, and Angela's handbag on a brown wooden desk. Typewriter and stationery. "Angela," he said, "may I take a shower in your bathroom while you pack up your things for the office? My clothes are soaked in sweat." "There's no normal showerhead shower in this bathroom, just a hand-to-rinse type," she said, "but that's pretty handy." "Same thing." He dropped his shoes, sweatshirt and the rest of his clothes, until only his underwear remained. "What are you looking at?" he said. "See what you look like in broad daylight." "do you have anything else?" "Don't be naughty, go take a shower." He went into the bathroom next to the bedroom.The tiles on the ground floor were a bit cool, so he hurriedly spread the thick and soft bathroom mat on the towel rack on the floor outside the bathtub, put aside the underwear he had taken off, took the hand-held shower head off the rack, and then Turn on the tap to adjust the temperature of the water. Stepping into the tub, Randall drew the pink curtains so they wouldn't spray the floor.When he started showering all over his body, he felt immediately comfortable.Humming to a tune while rinsing like this, it took a few minutes before he soaped himself all over his body. When he put the soap back on the shelf, there was a sound of metal rubbing, and he turned quickly, only to see that the curtain had been pulled aside, and Angela was standing there naked.Her pretty face, plump body, trembling breasts and pink nipples, as well as the desolate grass and looming creek on her lower body - he was stunned.