Chapter 22 22/23

twenty two Randall looked ahead at the building Plummer had just pointed to.The house looks as old and dreary as a post-classical cross. "When was this built?" He asked with great interest. "1631. Don't look at its ugly appearance. In fact, this house is the first church in Holland. I don't think you can find any other house in Amsterdam that is taller than it." "Where is Frumi's headquarters?" "Yes. Frumi has done an excellent job, and it is possible that the house where the royal wedding used to take place will be the first church of the new church."

Just as he was talking, the car had stopped in front of the house. Randall got out of the car and stood waiting for Plummer to lock the car, eyeing the house curiously. In the night, the house with the cross looks cold, solemn and solemn, but the buildings under the cross seem to be the same as ordinary Dutch houses, which dilutes the sense of depression brought about by religious overtones.As a result, the whole house seemed to Randall to be both friendly and forbidding.However, from the style of a person's housing, there always seems to be some clues to prove the temperament of its owner.

"This house is hundreds of years old." Plummer introduced while leading Randall forward. "May the color be bright red?" Randall looked at the dark brown spots on the surface of the house. Those brown spots looked like dried blood under the light, which was a little scary. "Yes." Plummer glanced back at him, seeming to marvel at his sharpness. Randall smiled, Frumi must be as old and daunting as this house. Thinking of Frumi, he recalled the purpose of his trip. "Plummer, are you sure Frumi must be waiting to see me?" "certainly." "Don't you know what Frumi wanted me for?"

"You'll know when you see him later. No matter how much you ask, I don't know." Plummer seemed to be showing off on purpose. "However, I can more or less guess something based on my own feelings." "You said, Frumi won't force me to provide information?" "Where did you think? Is Frumi so stupid? I wonder if you've watched too many horror movies, and you've been thinking all over your head." "Always take precautions." "Perhaps you have heard that there are many dead bodies buried under this house?" "Corpse?" Randall's heart tightened suddenly.

"Yes," Plummer smiled, "the people in the church used to die and were buried under the church, so it used to be very smelly here, and people who came to the church would get a bottle of perfume. But it's much better now, but the older People still come up here with perfume as a custom." "Sounds horrific." "Don't worry, Mr. Froome will never turn you into one of these dead bodies." Plummer suddenly smiled at Randall, showing his white teeth.Randall felt disgusted. He remembered the surprise attack last time, but he held back and didn't say it.

In the blink of an eye, they had already walked into this lifeless gate. "I don't know where Frumi is now." Plummer led him to a green bungalow, "I'll ask, you wait." After Randall walked in, he looked around. It seemed that the church in front had been locked, and it seemed to be the administrator's house.Inside came the voices of Plummer and a woman talking.After a while, Plummer came out from inside, gestured to Randall, pointed to the inner door and said, "Flumine is inside." Then he led Randall into the door. Here is the church.As soon as he entered, Randall felt that the inside was empty and the light was extremely dark. Only a steel chandelier was lit. The space was very large, and it could be seen that it used to be a large church.Only the chandelier is brighter, and the distance is pitch black, and nothing can be seen.

It took Randall a while for his eyes to get used to it. He saw that the aisle in the middle was covered with red carpets criss-crossing, forming a large cross in the center, which cast a thick chill atmosphere on the whole church. "Where's Reverend Froome?" he asked softly. Plummer's eyes searched. "There," he pointed suddenly.Following his hand, Randall saw an inconspicuous man in black sitting in the first row beyond the pulpit. The man was hunched over, his hands on his knees, his face deep in the air. Buried in the palm of the hand. "He's brooding," Plummer said softly but respectfully. "He's taking this required course every day."

As if hearing a noise, the black figure moved and glanced at them. "Mr. Froome already knows you're here. Let's go out and wait in his office. He'll be here in a minute or two after he finishes his homework." Plummer touched Randall lightly. , beckoning him to go out, as if afraid of disturbing him. Randall felt that Frumi didn't actually see them, the light inside was so dim. He followed Plummer out.Plummer walked him back to the caretaker's room, then up another flight of stairs.Randall saw a room on the left and right. "This is Frumi's reception room and office." Plummer introduced Randall into the office room on the left. "Generally, Frumi talks to his guests in the office."

There is a sign on the door, written in Dutch, and there is a lamp. "If Mr. Froome doesn't want others to disturb him, the light on the door will light up. It's red and very dazzling." Plummer explained enthusiastically, as if he was happy to let Randall know more. After walking in, the furnishings inside surprised Randall.He did not expect that the office of this internationally renowned figure would be so simple.In front of him, apart from a pair of couches, a coffee table, two easy chairs, a fireplace, a simple and ordinary wooden table, a reclining chair, and an assortment of bookshelves, there is a picture on the wall. A painting of the Last Supper, and nothing else.

Randall suddenly felt restless and fidgeted.He went over to the window by the desk, distracted.He didn't know what would happen to his intrusion, and he didn't know how Frumi would deal with him.If Dr. Deckhard and the others knew about it, they would absolutely not allow his reckless actions.Before coming here, Randall had no idea how much Frumi knew about the "Second Resurrection" project.Of course, Frumi had already gotten some important information from his spies.But did he know the contents of the International New Testament?What if I was a little careless and leaked some information unknowingly?Dr. Deckhard wondered if he would let himself go?The more Randall thought about it, the more annoying he became, and suddenly regretted his rash move. "I have to be careful not to let Frumi trap the truth." He told himself secretly.

At this moment, the door of the office opened with a bang.Randall hurriedly looked towards the door. Unexpectedly, Frumi was a tall and thin man, standing at the door like a huge door god.Randall looked it over carefully—he was about six foot three, at least that tall, and he was fairly young, about forty-five or six.Originally, Randall thought that according to his status, he should be at least 60 years old, but now it seems that he is quite young.He was still wearing the black monastic uniform, and his hair was long and thick, slightly chestnut-yellow, which set off his pale and yellow face, giving him the image of an ascetic.His forehead is high, but there are many strips of wrinkles, his eyes are light gray blue, his cheeks are sunken, his chin is pointed, and his lips are frighteningly thin, as if he hasn't eaten enough.Randall thought that his body, hidden in the long suit, must also be amazingly thin. "Let me introduce you," Plummer hurried over respectfully, "Pastor Froome, this is Mr. Randall. Randall, this is the famous Pastor Froome." He stuttered up. "Welcome, welcome!" Frumi took two steps, and quickly stretched out his hand to hold Randall, "I have also admired Mr. Randall for a long time, and I invite you to talk about it today, it won't take up a lot of your time. " He gestured for Randall to sit on the couch. "This is the most comfortable place. Maybe you can relax and lower your guard by sitting there," said Frumi calmly. Such a calm, gentle, and difficult character, Randall immediately established such a concept.It seems that his opponent is difficult to deal with. "What am I on guard against?" Frumi smiled, and he gestured to Plummer, who was standing anxiously by the side, to sit down (Plummer sat down by the bookshelf as if by grace), and then he swept slowly towards the table. After one glance, he sat down with a satisfied and inviolable look. "Don't you? I think they must have talked about me to you. I don't know how they judged me, but I think you must have turned against me in your heart and regarded me as a heinous villain .With their one-sided remarks and your natural loyalty, can you not be wary of me?" He said confidently. Randall smiled appreciatively, "To each other, to each other. Pastor, I believe you are the same to me." "No, you misunderstood." "I have my position, you have your purpose. You want to keep a secret, and I want to obtain this secret, it is obvious. Randall, you listen to me. If I want to achieve my There are purposes and methods. I don't need to use you, understand? I really want to get that secret, but not now." "I hope so." "Now you are my guest. I always hope that my guests will be in a happy mood. I hope you will not make yourself uneasy because of this matter." "Thank you so much," Randall relaxed a lot at once, and he asked anxiously, "So, what do you want me to do for you?" "Just keep your ears open. First of all, let me remind you, do you know what I and your bosses represent? I hope you can figure it out. Maybe you think you know it, but you don't. " "Don't worry, I will try to be more open-minded." "This is a self-deceiving word. In fact, I didn't expect you to listen to all of my words, as long as you can listen to a little bit. The reason why I say this is that I hope that when you listen to me, you will have a preconceived Impressions will interfere with your normal thinking. No one in the world can be truly open-minded. Prejudice, taboos, deceit and selfishness are full of people's hearts." He waved his long and thin fingers, as if trying to drive them all away. "I guess I'm not preconceived," interjected Randall, a little confused as to what this had to do with Frumi. "You should believe me and my congregation have always wanted to do something that is good for society, good for modern society," Frumi said. "So, I and some people who feel like me want to try to build a new church. , Of course, this church must have a new "Bible" as a guide. This "Bible", its content should be in line with the teachings and meaningful to modern society. Do you understand? Only by using scientific knowledge and scientific minds to study it, The Bible makes sense." "What's the difference?" "Dr. Bultmann in Germany once made a call," continued Frumi, nonchalantly, "and he was a great man who called for nonviolent reform. For a long time Christians have wasted their time in Seeking Jesus is meaningless to our modern society. For us, faith in the new era should have different content, the most important thing is to seek the essence of religion and the meaning of teaching. In this way, the old testament There is no need for the birth of the Virgin Mary, miracles, resurrection, etc. about the promise of heaven and the threat of hell. These myths and untruths are no longer necessary. Modern man must become one with religion. For religion to survive and be alive , you must have a new understanding of the new Bible." "What exactly do you mean?" "Listen to me," Froomi said solemnly, "After Galileo, Newton, and Darwin made important discoveries, as their descendants, it is difficult for us to accept what Watts said as 'inheriting the original sin from Adam. , Mary was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Jesus was born of a virgin, Jesus was crucified on the cross as atonement for the world, his body was resurrected from the dead, ascended to heaven, our body will also be resurrected on the morning of the final judgment, this resurrection The notion that 'either bring our bodies to bliss or eternal pain'. In order to preserve the appeal of religion, we must act. There is no need to deify Jesus, we can use him as a teacher, and his words can be seen as It is a warning to guide our lives. In other words, our beliefs should not be too mythologized. I think I should have made it clearer?" "I totally understand." "I think it's time for us to act. We have to make the Gospel useful to modern people and save their souls as soon as possible. So we have come to revise the content of the Bible. For modern religion, whether Jesus It really did exist, it doesn’t matter at all. Our top priority is to conduct a serious and in-depth study of early Christianity with a scientific attitude and a new depth. As for whether those words were spoken by Jesus, and who made the records, that’s all. It doesn't make much sense. What matters is what kind of meaning it has for modern life. Especially what is left after removing the romantic myths. That's all we have to do." Frumi suddenly smiled, "And the ones you represent Conservatives trying to keep Jesus and those ridiculous myths..." "How can you say with such certainty that they're conservative?" Randall interrupted him. "I think I know them better than you do. I know each of them." "Perhaps, they will also take drastic reform measures." "What kind of people are these five publishers of yours, what do they represent, and their mercenaryism, I have experienced them all. It seems to me that they don't understand religion at all, and they don't know what the Bible is. All they do is just to survive. Without the support of Trautman, Zaric, Riccardi, old fashioned religionists and associations, they can hardly move forward. Because of the existence of these self righteous people , the church has not improved at all for years. I hate these people who pretend to be faithful members of the church and God!" "You may have misunderstood them too deeply." "No, of course, I can't make you believe me. I'm sorry." "I'm sorry too." "For them, profit comes first. Therefore, they spread those horrors and give the believers vague hopes. They are far away from real problems, stuck in the pile of old papers, and are full of rubbish. The meaning of existence is Theology in the true sense does not discuss the true meaning of life. There is no need for such a theology to exist. If you don’t pay attention to this, and only want to maintain the status quo, be stubborn and conservative, and use some rules and regulations to restrict the development of religion, then, What's the point of belief? If things go on like this, disintegration is inevitable, and it will happen sooner or later. If you don't take measures and don't work hard to reform, religion will disappear on the earth. Without faith, without the courage to live that comes from faith, you think Think, how terrible it will be! I am definitely not scaremongering!" Frumi was a little excited. "If you succeed in sorting out the Bible, can you guarantee that the church itself will not be divided?" Randall raised his own doubts. "You mean that the reform must be effective?" "yes." "How should I put it?" Frumi thought for a while, "I have been working hard, hoping to achieve something. If all the old and new church organizations in the world are unified, there will only be one church in the world. It can be beneficial to society and modern people. Unlike previous churches, this church will not preach the teachings that make believers live a life of asceticism, but will continue to benefit the people. It does not absorb the rich, and all funds come from It is for the people and used for the people; it works in groups to fully enjoy spiritual pleasure; it respects others and recognizes the equal status of women; it will give full support to family planning, abortion, artificial insemination, spiritual treatment and sex education. support and understanding; of course, there will be no appeasement for governments that oppress and exploit people and countries that practice racial discrimination. In short, this organization and its staff will be consistent from words to deeds to become a truly an institution of social compassion." "I don't think the purpose of our people is in conflict with your purpose." Froomi smiled innocently. "Really? You are too naive. You watch and observe, and you will find that your publishers will never give up their traditions, nor will they give up their power. They will not sacrifice their interests for the people. Otherwise, why are they so strong?" Against me? Because there is no true love, they always compromise and fanatic. If they can give in, change the church's religion to free speech, figure out a solution to racial conflicts, wealth inequality, and spread the church's wealth... ...Perhaps this kind of compromise can solve our problems. But will they accept it? Of course not! And our goal is to create a paradise for the human beings on earth today, not after the souls return to heaven.” Said Here, Frumi paused, "I just don't know what to say about that new Bible. I don't know what that book is about, but no matter how good it is, it still shouldn't be there. Something that wasn't born of true love, just published for a few publishers' shabby money purposes, shouldn't be used for non-blasphemy. Of course, those few theologians want to use it for the purpose of revitalizing the church, trying to break me. They Motives that can be described as criminal and repulsive." "I don't think so, Mr. Frumi. With all due respect, what you said is really too much." Randall couldn't help himself, "I think I have some right to speak on this issue. These people have some contact at work, they are not as focused on making money as you say. Maybe they are indeed a little conservative about religion, but that is just a matter of attitude, you can express your opinion on this, although the tone is a bit extreme If you doubt and blame their motives, thinking that they are not for the cause they have dedicated themselves to, you are wrong. In my opinion, their piety, loyalty and professionalism are no less than yours. Take Oxford University For Frith, he was a man who worked for what he believed to be divine revelation." Upon hearing this, Frumi stretched out his right hand and made a stop gesture. "Excellent, Randall, you mentioned Jeffreys, and I'll give you my opinion of him, perhaps the opposite of yours. He was indeed a scholar, and perhaps accomplished something, and of religion, he There may also be beliefs, and we will ignore these situations. But one thing I can be sure of, his motivation for participating in this resurrection operation is by no means academic or religious...it has political goals." "Political purpose?" Randall was puzzled, "I don't believe it at all." "I can convince you of that. Do you know the World Church of Christ?" Randall said hesitantly: "This, as far as I can recall, this is an international organization. I can't say for sure." "Let me tell you. After listening to it, I'm afraid you will reconsider your impression of Jeffries." Frumi's voice suddenly trembled violently, and his face seemed to be covered with frost, "Dozens of The 239 Christians in the country form the World Council of Churches, which is headquartered in Geneva and also includes the Orthodox Church and the Church of England. It will have an immeasurable effect on Christianity. However, this effect is far inferior to that of the Vatican. Although a general meeting is held every five or six years, it is not very effective. All normal affairs are handled by the Central Committee and the Vatican. The Standing Committee is responsible. In many meetings, the General Assembly declared itself to be a governing council of various churches, but it was not responsible for the unified church. It also said that it was only responsible for the fellowship among the churches, believing in the Lord and God. What does this mean? ?This organization is basically a mess, and it is to maintain the consistency and purity of Christianity in the world, and to prevent Christianity from being divided in the world. Do you understand? In the general assembly, the most powerful are the chairman and the chairman. The chairman He receives a monthly salary and is responsible for daily affairs, but the chairman is only a fake honorary position. Although the chairman is busy with official duties, there are more than 200 full-time staff to assist him in handling various matters, and he has great power within the general assembly.” "Is he really powerful?" "As it is, because he has no judicial power, his influence is limited to a certain extent despite his influence and potential to wield it. Having said that, I have to tell you that what you consider to be a very professional The Jeffries of the United States, he has always been ambitious, and wants to become the chairman of the next World Church of Christ through various channels. After he is elected, he will definitely make it a real Vatican - he can rule by law In this way, if they want the believers to maintain the kind of fanatical belief in the religion, it is obviously easy to manipulate all this through government orders. In order to achieve this goal and gain the trust of the believers, the 'Second Resurrection' plan The role of that new "Bible" is immeasurable. Do you know? In order to stifle the freedom of believers, the publication of this book is imperative, so they are actively agitating and promoting these things." As Randall listened, he searched hard in his mind.He seemed to have such an impression in his memory that Jeffries had some kind of relationship with the World Church of Christ, but he couldn't remember exactly what happened.Suddenly he remembered that Miss Hughes, Dr. Knight's girlfriend, had mentioned it to him in London.At that time, Jeffries was the candidate for the chairman of the conference. At that time, when Randall heard about it, he was not surprised at all, and thought it was very natural and reasonable.But now, isn't Jeffries an extremely selfish and despicable fellow, as Frumi puts it?How ugly should his high-sounding words be? In order to confirm these words, Randall continued to ask: "Maybe Jeffries doesn't know about this plan?" "How is it possible?" Frumi smiled slightly. "I have a lot of information about him and his subordinates. If you are interested, I can show you some letters about how to actively plot to get that position." You may be interested in the news. After reading it, you will not doubt everything I say." "You mean that Jeffries himself was the mastermind of this conspiracy?" "yes." "Do you think he will succeed?" "No, he won't succeed." Froome smiled contemptuously. "Why do you say that?" "Because of me," said Frumi, "my presence will be the greatest obstacle to their actions. I will do whatever it takes to prevent them. I can tell you that before your new Bible is announced and published , I will destroy it first, and I will do it. Then Jeffreys's dream of getting that position with the new Bible will be defeated. That position - I am very interested in it myself." "What? You?" Randall was puzzled. "Didn't you just say that you hate the power of the church? Why..." "Yes, I am opposed to the church's rule by power, but this is why I want to be the chairman. I just want to use my power to prevent this from happening! If those who fight for power get this position, they will definitely The whole church was turned into a mess and a miasma." Randall was a little confused, he didn't know whether he should believe Frumi's words, this Frumi was a bit unpredictable.Either he is a gentleman with an open heart; or he is an out-and-out hypocrite, with the same ambition and ulterior political goals as those he criticizes.What kind of person does he belong to?But whatever he was, destroying the new Bible seemed unnecessary and incomprehensible. "It seems to me," Randall began slowly, "that it doesn't really matter who is president of the World Council of Churches. But about that new Bible, don't you feel insisting on destroying it?" Does it make no sense, especially if you don't understand it?" "I know everything about this book. I know everything about the book's discovery, research, publication and publicity. I have all these materials in my hand." "What the hell do you mean?" Randall couldn't listen anymore. "Your tone was full of sarcasm, as if you didn't believe anyone but you. I told you that I was with those people on the Internet." I have had a lot of contact in the work, and I am confident that I know them better than you. They are all honest men, not as despicable as you said! I dare say that your understanding of them is one-sided and extreme." "Well then," Frumi looked at him in amazement, "we can try and see who knows their details better." He stood up, went to the table, and took out his monk's uniform. holding the key. Randall was irritated by Frumi's arrogance, but he resisted the attack. He wanted to see what tricks Frumi wanted to play. Frumi took out the key, opened the drawer, and pulled out a volume. He sat down, opened the volume of original documents, flipped through them, and held up the documents for Randall to see, "Look, I have a lot of information about the people who engaged in the 'Second Resurrection' operation, you can read it all Not finished." "How can I believe that what you say must be true?" "You just have to investigate everyone and the truth will come out." "Go on," Randall said bitterly. "I've exposed Jeffries' selfishness. Now, let's look at a few other characters. Let's start with Wheeler. How much do you know about him? This wealthy publisher, he hired you personally. Right? You know Buhler Worldwide? Wheeler himself orchestrated the sale of his religious book publishing house to the chairman of Buhler Worldwide when he was broke and nearly bankrupt. Absolutely true Yes. The deal has not yet been negotiated. Wheeler is anxious to improve his financial situation with the publication and profits of the new Bible. So for him, this operation can only win and lose. Otherwise, he's completely bankrupt and has no social status anymore. Now you know where he stands? As for Buhler, he's aiming exactly like Wheeler. Because this operation also has his own reputation at stake, if If he succeeds, he will become famous, not only make a lot of money, but also consolidate his social status. So Wheeler has to hire you both to save himself and to please Buhler. Only your efforts can It can make the book popular after publication." ------------------ twenty three "I already knew about these situations, so you don't need to worry about it." Randall said coldly, "I know the inside story better than you." In fact, Randall didn't understand that Wheeler's positivity and urgency came from bankruptcy, but in order to combat Frumi's madness, he deliberately took a light and already clear attitude, and he didn't want to admit that he didn't know. "Do you really know?" Frumi was obviously stunned for a moment, "It seems that I also need to reorganize my records. Then, let's talk about your current secretary, shall we? Miss Lorry, who is not beautiful. You must have seen her this morning in the Liberty University Hospital. It is incredible to say, it can be called a miracle. This Miss Lorry is not only bad-looking, but also Lame since childhood, but God showed her yesterday, so when you see her today, she can walk normally. Oh, friend, do you really believe this bullshit? Tell you the truth, I am so sorry for you. In fact, Lori's legs have never been broken. I have here some evidence of her physical activity during her high school in the United States, which can prove her health. I got this information from a priest in his hometown. Of course, Miss Lori also has her reasons for doing this. She is not beautiful, which has become her biggest psychological obstacle. She has never received attention and love from others, so she simply played a part in your action. In this way, she can at least get some sympathy and affection, which can soothe her heart. After all, she is a poor person with a mental disorder. She didn't intend to destroy your plan, nor did she intend to deceive you. This Poor girl! Now the time has come, she has done it, and she has achieved the intended purpose, recovered from her illness, attracted the attention of the society again, and soon she will be famous by the grace of God. I tell you this, I don't want you to use this to hurt that kid. And I advise you not to do something you shouldn't do to promote your book. I don't want you to have to believe me—" "I don't believe it." Although Randall said so in his mouth, he believed it all in his heart. "You'd better take some of my advice, or you'll regret it sooner or later. Although Lori's incident can really advertise your Bible, you'd better not be too confident and think twice before doing anything." Randall didn't speak. "Silence says it all," said Frumi. "I'll just talk about Henning you met in Mainz, Germany. You must have regarded him as a warm and straightforward friend. In Mainz you and He spent a day together and he told you he was an admirer and a lover of good books didn't he? It was much more than that. If you knew that he took part in the Nazi student parade on the night of May 10, 1933, you It will be even more surprising. What is even more amazing is that with the approval of the Nazi leader Goebbels, he and his Nazi party members frantically set fire to two There are more than 10,000 books. Most of these works are written by famous scholars such as Einstein, Zweig, Mike, Freud, Zola, Jack London, Eliot, Sinclair, etc. If you want to further confirm, Plummer will please you, I think," Flumine beckoned to Plummer behind him, "Come here, Plummer." Randall was a little confused. He had long forgotten that there was another person sitting in the room. Seeing Plummer smile happily, he quickly confirmed: "I can swear that everything Pastor Froome said is true. If you don't believe me, I can put the Henning book in my hand on the fire." Print out the negatives thrown in here and show you." Randall suddenly understood.Yesterday in Frankfurt and Mainz, he had been wondering.That's what happened!Obviously, at the beginning, Henning did not agree with Plummer, but Plummer told him the purpose of the trip, so Henning had to rush to Frankfurt.Because Plummer used the negatives as a threat to force Henning to submit, maybe he has already made a big deal. Randall yelled at Plummer, "What good are you doing?" "Of course I have my reasons," Plummer smiled. "Don't you think it's not cheap enough for Henning to get his negatives back at the price of a new Bible?" Frumi agreed on the sidelines, "That's right, all our goals are in that new "Bible", and other things can be ignored." Randall couldn't say a word, and he sat down on the sofa. "Please wait patiently for a moment, we will talk about the other two people, and it will be over in a while." Frumi did not care about Randall's feelings at all, and continued to finish his own topic, "Didn't you visit Paris once? A Professor Aubert? He is a scientist, and people think he is great, and he is right in everything. From what you understand, he must have said something like that? He said it was the book that restored his faith. The bible evokes faith in life, doesn't it? Humanism and parenthood make him want a baby, even though he used to advocate birth control. He must have told you his wife was pregnant too? What a lie Talk! In fact, he is lying, he has long been infertile - as early as many years ago, driven by the concept of birth control, he had contraceptive surgery. How can such a man make his wife pregnant? It's funny !" “他能使！我亲眼看见他妻子了，事实上她已经怀孕了，我绝不会看错！”兰德尔大声抗辩道。 弗鲁米继续放肆地说下去，“兰德尔先生，你先别急。我说过他妻子没有怀孕吗？我只是说奥伯特先生对生育无能为力而已，”弗鲁米嘲讽地一笑，“至于他太太肚子里的孩子，那是你们尊敬的方丹先生的杰作。他够高风亮节的吧？当然，奥伯特不是傻瓜，他心里清楚得很，但他也很理智，不愿在这种时候抖出这桩丑闻。他既不想要孩子，尤其是当孩子根本不是他的时候，他也不害怕失去妻子。真正的原因是在荣誉和自尊面前，他选择了前者。他和他的一位朋友有一个重要科学发现，已被提名诺贝尔化学奖。这个时候，难道他情愿往自己脸上抹黑吗？我当然不会像你一样去相信这样一个人的所作所为。” 兰德尔现在已懒得开口讲话了。 然而，弗鲁米接下来讲的话却令他大吃一惊。 “兰德尔，我现在不得不提到最后一个人了。希望你能耐心地听我讲完。这个人和你的关系很密切。当然，听起来也很有意义，也许我和你的心情都有些沉痛，但请你不要发火。我要谈的是你的新情人——安杰拉?蒙蒂小姐。” 兰德尔简直要推门而出了，但理智告诉他应该听下去。 “你手里头关于宣传那部《圣经》的资料是安杰拉小姐的父亲蒙蒂给的吧？你最近见过他吗？”弗鲁米一边观察着他的脸色，不等他回答，又说下去，“可能你还没见过他吧？真是有意思，最近好多人都没有看到他，你也不例外。安杰拉与你的关系那么密切，她一定告诉你蒙蒂教授因公事出国去了吧？最近她对每一个人都这么说。蒙蒂教授被派到中东或者其他偏远的地方进行考古挖掘的消息似乎已经传遍了。没想到，安杰拉连你也骗了。那么他在哪儿呢？他现在在罗马，他隐居在罗马郊外的房子里，因为他被意大利政府革了职。为什么呢？原因就在那次考古挖掘上。他对那块土地的穷苦主人实行了诈骗，为了能够获取挖掘物的50％，他没有租那块土地。结果，他挖掘并发现了东西之后，那个主人向政府揭发了。因为这种不端行为，他被迫引咎自行辞职，羞愧地躲在了罗马郊外。” 兰德尔站起来，气得发抖：“纯粹一派谎言，我一个字也不信。” 弗鲁米耸耸肩说：“我不是你应该与之发火的人，应该对着发火的是安杰拉?蒙蒂小姐。安杰拉小姐没有对你讲实话，她想利用你。你只要动动脑子就会明白。在不明真相的情况下，如果你替她的父亲宣传成功了，不仅可以保全他的脸面，而且他可以复出，不用担心意大利政府抖出那件丑事了，也用不着担心任何惩罚。安杰拉欺骗了你，她只是想利用你使她父亲成为举世闻名的人物。很遗憾，不过这是事实。” “我仍然不会相信你的话。” “随你的便。不过你可以亲自问问安杰拉。” “我会这样做的。”兰德尔说。 “大可不必直接问她，问她也会再撒谎。你可让她带你去见她爸爸。” “用不着你教我怎么做。”兰德尔顶了他一句。 “那你会永远不了解事实真相。”弗鲁米说。 “天下的真理多得是。观点不一样，角度渠道不一样，得出的真理也不一样。” 弗鲁米摇了摇头：“我刚才向你提到了每一个人，但只有一条是真理，掌握真理的人就站在面前，就像教徒彼得罗纳斯问冥冥之主'什么是真理？'一样。我很乐意告诉你，我就是真理。因为我任何事都要搞得一清二楚，都要经过仔细调查之后才谈出自己的看法。所以我有把握对自己所讲的负责。明白了吗？只有经过调查才有发言权。如果你和我一样，对这些事情都有个清晰的了解的话，你就会明白今晚我找你来的目的。” “我正在领教，”兰德尔说，“为什么你今晚邀我来？” “邀你来是让你相信我，可是看来你对我的成见又加深了。你要清楚，我们这边的人从事的事业崇高而伟大，而执行'第二次复活'计划的那些人呢？他们的动机渺小而龌龊。我本人真诚地希望你能明白这个事实，不要再被他们继续利用了。加入我们的行列中来一起工作好吗？我是很诚心地邀请你。不然也用不着讲这么多话来让你重见光明了。” “可是我不明白，你想从我这里捞到什么？” “你的出类拔萃的才华。你一向擅长于做宣传工作，如果你加入我们这边，我相信你的工作一定能有效地抵制'第二次复活'计划的宣传。这样做，对你有百利而无一害。你放心，你一旦加入我们，所有的待遇绝不会低于那边给你的。你不仅可以心情愉快，在没有被欺骗的情形下工作，而且前途光明。只要你的工作能够促进群众对宗教和信仰的加强，我可以预言，你一定会受到重用的，而且什么也不会丢掉。” 兰德尔站了起来，“不过据我看来，我什么也得不到，却什么也失去了。我再重申一遍，我对'第二次复活'计划以及为它工作的人们深怀信心，我愿意以自己的服务为它作贡献。但是对你所代表的这一方，我看你并不是大公无私的人，你的言论透露出狂妄和野心，而且语气中隐现敲诈。我不想过多地评论下去——”说到这儿，他偷眼打量了一下弗鲁米。弗鲁米不动占色地坐在那里，看不出有什么表情。他犹豫了一下，继续说下去，“我想，你的目标能不能实现，还难说得很。但是'第二次复活'计划已开展了具体的活动，我不会放弃的。至于你所批评的那些人，我认为，你所具有的自私和野心不会比他们逊色多少，也许还更强烈一些。你有疯狂的自恋症，认为自己样样都行，不会出错，但恕我直言，像我这种目光短浅的小人不配跟你这样完美无缺的人一起工作。我有自己的信念，这种信念绝不会使我成为一个可耻的叛徒。别痴心妄想了，我再傻也不会傻到帮助你去摧毁我自己有志于追求的目标。那部新《圣经》你毫不了解，你却一心要毁掉它，我实在看不出你有什么道理。好了，咱们的谈话应该结束了，再谈下去也没什么意义了。我想，咱们的较量才刚刚开始，在我们公开宣布之前，你绝对不会拿到那本书的，咱们走着瞧好了。再见吧，我不会祝你好运的，晚安！” 他上气不接下气地说完，期待着弗鲁米的发作。没想到，出乎他意料之外，弗鲁米的反应是仅仅点了一下头。兰德尔颇有些不自在，也许自己刚才太激动了，才发表了那种长篇大论，言辞是不是过激了呢？但一想到弗鲁米对他的那帮朋友杰弗里斯、洛丽、亨宁、惠勒、奥伯特、安杰拉和她父亲这些人的恶毒诽谤，他又觉得自己做得心安理得。 “你讲得非常公平，”弗鲁米说，“我想，多说无益，我已经讲完了我所要讲的，信不信由你。至于我自己和我的目标，今后也许你会了解得多一些，那时，你可能会了解你今天犯了一个多大的错误。我不想在你心情如此激动的时候再火上加油。不管你信不信我所说的，但一定要记住我的话，然后你再去仔细观察。说不定过一段时间后，你会自己来找我——我是说，等你一切都明白过来的时候。只要你们的新《圣经》没有公布，你随时可以来找我，我们需要你。” “谢谢你。”兰德尔说。 他转过身来正准备走开，弗鲁米又叫住了他。 “兰德尔先生，我还有最后一点建议。”弗鲁米拿着手里头的几张纸，已经站了起来，而普卢默则忠诚地站在他身后。 “我希望你们不要再浪费时间做些无聊的把戏了。这是你们今天下午发出的备忘录吧？简直是愚不可及的孩子玩意儿。想用这份所谓的机密文件来诱我上当，你们太高估自己了。” 兰德尔一看到他手里的蓝色打字，倒吸了一口凉气。他等着弗鲁米说下去。 “你的计划很周密，想引出那位隐藏在你们身边的我的工作人员，所以假装这是你们宣传计划中的一部分。可惜啊，明眼人一眼就可以看出其中的荒谬。兰德尔，尽管你很聪明，可是你对神学毕竟是个门外汉，而且，你对基督教的知识也太缺乏了，不然，你不会犯这个大错误。这份备忘录的内容简直可笑之极。这样一来，你们企图开除的那个不忠心的人仍然可以继续为我服务了。如果你以后还要继续这样做下去的话，我劝你凡事先想好了再行动，不要太鲁莽了。还有，千万不要派外行的人去做内行的事。” 兰德尔感到血液升到头顶，弗鲁米并没有探出真正的陷阱，还有机会。 “你究竟是什么意思？我简直不知道你在说些什么。” “你不知道，那我具体告诉你，”弗鲁米向下看了一眼手中的纸。“我们一起听听这份文件里头到底写着什么： '机密：本计划旨在补充说明关于荷兰皇宫宣布发行《国际新约》的有关事宜——宣布的当天决定献与主耶稣基督的复活——其后连续12天，每天献给新约全书中提到的一个门徒。 '然后就提到了12门徒的名字，包括犹大在内。 ”弗鲁米摇了摇头。兰德尔则紧张地等他念下去，直到最后一句话才能知道是谁出卖了他们。然而弗鲁米却再也不往下念了，他把拿着那张纸的手放下来，摇了摇头，“糊涂之极。 " 兰德尔异常窘迫：“我简直不懂你在……” “难道还不够看出你们的愚蠢所在？你们在备忘录里头连出卖耶稣的犹大都要拿出一天来拜祭，还不够荒谬吗？任何一个教徒，只要他的头脑清醒，就会明白这意味着什么。只有傻瓜才会相信这份文件是真的。” 兰德尔心里有些服输了。可不是太糊涂了吗？在起草文件时，他并没有和那几位发行人商量每一位耶稣门徒的名字。按照《圣经》上所记述的，他理所当然地写下了12位门徒的名字，但没有想到会出现如此大的纸漏。而且事后他也没功夫让专家再检查检查，出现了列入叛徒的错误。 “你们的第二个错误，”弗鲁米继续说，“这份备忘录上说12个门徒的名字都是新约中的，可你知道吗？新约中提到的门徒一共是13位。虽然犹大出卖了耶稣，不应算在门徒之列，但是耶稣以马提亚的名字取代了犹太，所以算起来仍是13位。这一点任何一位神学家都很清楚。真可惜，假若你平时细心一些，也许会骗过我，可你太疏忽了。”说到这儿，弗鲁米拍了拍那张纸，“这种小孩子的把戏让你们什么好处也得不到，你估量一下，就会尊重我们，最后和我们一起工作。” 兰德尔眼巴巴地想看清那张打字纸，看看上面最后一句话是什么，那句话将会告诉他究竟谁是叛徒。他的目光盯在纸上，直盯得两眼发酸。他相信自己的心跳声每个人都会听见。what to do?到底用什么办法才能让弗鲁米给他看看那份文件，或是把最后一句话透露出来？ “牧师，”兰德尔尽力控制自己的声音，“我想，你大概也犯了一点小错误，那篇东西并不是我写的。” “是吗？我想你不至于糊涂到不认得自己所签的名？”弗鲁米不耐烦地说，“想不到你这个人还在玩把戏。” “我当然认得自己写的字。” “那么你睁大眼自己看看好了。” 弗鲁米说着把手中的东西扔到了桌子上。 兰德尔巴不得他这样。他赶紧抓起那片纸，这时他才感到自己的手在发抖，眼睛也涩得厉害。他一眼就看到上面的最后一句话！ “这12天中的第一天将献给门徒马太。” 马太！ 他吁了一口气，为了掩饰自己的失态。他故意不好意思地说：“弗鲁米牧师，我想是你赢了，是我签的字，不过我不记得今天下午就把备忘录分发出去了。” 弗鲁米闻言满意地点了点头。他把那份文件拿回去，慢条斯理地说：“兰德尔，忘性不能太大哟。你要记住，我们的人在你们把那部新《圣经》推给世人之前，一定会想法拿到那本书的。凡是你们的行动，我们都了如指掌。我相信我们的群众会对你们的行动加以抵制的。现在，普卢默先生可以送你回饭店了。当然，如果你愿意与我们合作，我表示最诚挚的欢迎。” “多谢了。不过我想现在我很愿意呼吸点新鲜空气。” “那好，就这样吧！” 弗鲁米带兰德尔走向门口，然后做手势让他出去。 兰德尔片刻之后就走在大街上了。现在他根本无心回家，他朝离他最近的一处街灯走去。他急于弄清心中的疑惑。 一个名字，只有这个字，撞击着他的耳膜，在他的脑海中反复鸣响。 他等不得去坐出租车，他急于弄清事实，他要找出对应马太暗号的人，便从12个人中找出了叛徒。 在那收到备忘录的12个人中，谁与马太相对应呢？ 兰德尔站在昏暗的街灯下，手指颤抖地摸出了那张藏在他上衣口袋里的人名代号对照表。 他拿着人名表，打开它，眼睛从上到下看下去。 门徒安德烈——杰弗里斯博士 门徒汤玛斯——扎里奇牧师 门徒西门——特劳特曼博士 门徒约翰——里卡迪先生 门徒菲利普——海伦德博尔 门徒巴多罗买——格罗特先生 门徒犹大——克雷默 门徒马太—— 门徒马太。 和马太相对应的名字是安杰拉?蒙蒂。