Chapter 26 30/31

30 Late Friday morning, the Alitalia jet from Amsterdam landed them at Leonardo da Vinci Airport, some distance from Rome.Randall was indescribably happy as they walked across the concrete field and the red uphill stairway to the customs guarded by carbines. Angela got up with him. The porter in the blue shirt carried the luggage, and they followed closely, Randall carrying the precious suitcase that no one else could take, and kept it to himself.They climbed over the glass walls of the airport terminal, which was noisy and full of travelers and visitors.They hailed a taxi, passed the giant statue of Leonardo da Vinci with a beard, passed the beautifully decorated signs saying "Rome" and various billboards, passed the green umbrella pine trees and various shopping malls—— After walking for half an hour, we arrived at the Jinhua Hotel - along the way, Randall's heart was filled with more and more excitement.He kept thinking that this ancient yet new place was where things started.Here, it will be remembered centuries later, as the birthplace of the "Second Resurrection" and the Second Birth of the renewed faith.

Randall left Angela and her suitcase on the sidewalk inside the Jinhua Hotel driveway, and hurried into the lobby to check in.As soon as he put his luggage in the room, he ran downstairs with his briefcase, and immediately accompanied Angela to Professor Monty's villa, where the reclusive Professor Monty was waiting for their arrival. From the hotel, Randall walked across the inside driveway toward Angela, who was standing there waving at him.Randall was hot all over, as if he had stepped into a steaming steamer. It was noon at this time, and the whole of Rome was scorched by the scorching summer, and everything lost its due vitality.

Angela rented a small car and the driver was a stocky Italian who looked like he would never grow old, and he introduced himself as Giuseppe with a grin.His car was a big, sleek Opal, thankfully air-conditioned and with all the windows shut tight. Angela got into the car, sat in the back seat, and watched Randall close the back door with a sullen face. "Ready?" she said. "Now we're going to meet my father." "Thank you again, Angela." She spoke a few quick words to the driver in Italian, then repeated their destination in English, "To Villa Bellavista."

With that said, they quickly left the crowded urban area and embarked on a journey to visit Professor Bellavistamonti.Randall breathed a sigh of relief, and his heart became more at ease. He leaned back in his seat and admired the scenery along the way through the car window. The car drove for 40 minutes, maybe 45 minutes, and arrived in the suburbs.From a distance, only scattered buildings and communities can be seen. Suddenly, the car made a sharp turn to the right, then slowed down, and finally stopped slowly. "Here we are," Angela said. "This is Villa Bellavista."

Randall looked out of the car window, and what caught his eyes was a row of green iron fences on the pink-yellow stone foundation. Inside was a flat green grassland and a pleasant garden, and there was a green tile red wall in the green pines and cypresses. two-storey villa. Angela said a few words to the driver, he shifted the gear, and the car drove slowly around the iron fence again. After a while, it came to a gate. The gray-haired gatekeeper opened the gate and waved to them. Ra also waved his arms at him.At this time, Giuseppe turned the front of the car and drove the car into the driveway. After driving for a while, he came to the steps in front of the building and stopped.

Giuseppe got out of the car, walked nimbly around the car, and helped Angela and Randall get the suitcases out.Randall was holding the briefcase, and his mood was extremely complicated—the joy of anticipation, but also worry and worry—that was the case, he had no time to think about it, and followed Angela up the stairs leading to the villa.Come to the door, the door is unlocked.Angela pushed open the door, turned to him and nodded, and he followed her in. Now comes the foyer, whose floor is made of glass bricks.To their left is a staircase, and to their right is a living room.The two walked in, and it was a very large room with a vaulted ceiling. There were two grand pianos in the hall, countless modular furniture, and various lamps and lanterns.

It was a big enough house, Randall thought, for a retired academic living alone. Angela led him to the nearest living room, which contained a green velvet couch, a coffee table, and cream chairs.He did not sit down on the sofa, but stood straight, staring intently at two strange sights in the room, which caught his attention and puzzled him at the same time.First, a front window was barred from top to bottom; second, two young, identically attired nurses entered from a side door, both wearing starched caps and white-collared navy suits. Blue jacket work skirt. Randall turned to look at Angela in confusion, and Angela looked at him and nodded slightly.

"Yes, my father lives here," she said. "It's a psychiatric hospital, not a villa." Fifteen minutes later, Steve Randall was pacing back and forth alone in the living room of Villa Bella Vista—actually, the reception room here, shocked by what Angela had just said. So much so that he hasn't recovered yet.Until today, he had always thought that Professor Monti was living in seclusion somewhere outside Rome for political reasons, so he had never doubted it.Even when they arrived, Villa Bellavista looked like any other private residence, leaving no doubt that it was the luxurious residence of an accomplished archaeologist who had made a major discovery. hermitage.In fact, this building used to be a villa of a rich man, and he later sold it to several Italian psychiatrists, who built it into a sanatorium for the mentally ill, and tried their best to maintain the decoration and atmosphere of a family home.They believe that doing so will have a beneficial effect on the patient.

According to Angela's words, this is another thing that is obvious at a glance.Professor Monty stayed here for more than a year. He is the most eye-catching person in this psychiatric hospital, but his identity is not disclosed to the public.After Angela told the truth, she seemed very excited, and then told all the situation in one go. "Now you should understand why I avoided you and lied to you." Angela said, "Before, my father was normal, his mind was sharp and wise. But more than a year ago, overnight he Completely broken down, he was withdrawn, disorientated and taciturn. He's been here in nursing care ever since. Steve, I didn't tell anyone about this - including you. If it gets out - misrepresented by my father's enemies or by enemies of the project - then there is a risk of stigmatizing his work, his discoveries, and the project itself, raising suspicions. I can't let that happen anyway , so I try my best to prevent those who want to see my father from seeing him. But last night I can no longer hide the truth from you. I told you, but I'm afraid you still think I'm lying, so I do as you say The will is done, to take you to Rome, to Bellavista, to see for yourself. Now, do you believe me, Steve?"

"Honey, I will always trust you in the future." He hugged her, trembling and ashamed. "Angela, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry and I hope you can forgive me." She had forgiven him because she understood what he suspected.She added: "Also, there's another reason I'm bringing you to my father. He's often on edge, but sometimes, for a little while, he's lucid, but that's rare, rare. .I hope that talking to him when you show him the picture will bring back some memories of his past. If that is the case, it will clear up some of your doubts about the Gospel of James.”

"Thank you, Angela, doesn't your father never see you?" "It's very unlikely, but who knows? The human brain is always mysterious. Anyway, I'll go and meet him alone. You wait here. I won't stay in there for long, I After you come out, someone will take you to see him." After speaking, she left. Randall continued to pace, racking his brains to find out.How could a good professor like Monty turn into a madman overnight?Randall no longer expects anything from the professor. He has never dealt with mental patients before. He has no idea what to expect from patients or how to behave in front of patients, but he still has A glimmer of hope, that the professor could - with a certain word, with a certain sign - reassure him of all doubts he had about Papyrus No. 9.Randall knew he had to stick with the meeting. He realized that Angela Monty was back. She was not alone, there was another tall young nurse who accompanied her into the reception room.Angela walked towards Randall with a nervous expression, and the young nurse pulled the door behind her. "How is he?" Randall asked eagerly. "It's just the same—calm, silent, polite," she said, before adding: "He didn't recognize me." She fought back the tears, but they still came, and Randall put his arms around her shoulders, trying to comfort her.She took out a handkerchief from her small bag and gently wiped away the tears.Finally, she raised her head, looked at Randall, and forced a wry smile. "Also always. Never mind, I'll be fine. You can go in and see him now, Steve. Don't worry, he won't do you any harm. Calm down, I just tried talking to He told you why you came, I don't know if he understood. You go and try. Go with this nurse, her name is Signora Blanche, she will show you the way, I have something to do , I’m going to call home and tell the housekeeper Lyukresia—my sister is coming to see me from Boris with her child today. Ask the housekeeper to prepare the house.” Randall left her, introduced himself to Signora Blanche, and the two walked together into a strangely tidy hallway.In the middle, Signora Blanche took a bunch of keys from the pocket of her navy uniform. "This is Professor Monty's room," she said, and when she was about to open the door, she found it open and immediately became alarmed. "The door should be locked," she poked her head into the room, and turned to Randall again. The tension just now was obviously relieved. "It turned out that the waiter was cleaning the tableware inside." A few seconds later, the waiter was dressed Plates with leftovers came out. Signora Blanche asked the waiter a question softly in Italian, and the waiter answered in a low voice and walked away softly.Signora Branch glanced at Randall and said, "I asked him how he was. She said he was sitting by the window, just as usual, watching. We can go in. I just put the You introduce, and then you have a private meeting with him, how long do you need?" "I don't know," Randall said nervously. "Dr. Venturi expects visits to be no longer than 10 to 15 minutes." Signora Blanche opened the door a little wider and led Randall into the room. To Randall's surprise, the room looked nothing like a hospital ward. He thought Professor Monty's room It will be similar to the ward his father lived in when he was hospitalized in Dongcaicheng Hospital, but this house looks like a living room, library, and bedroom in a private apartment. The room immediately gave Randall the impression of being sunny, cozy, even cozy, and the air conditioner kept the temperature just right.On one side of the room was a bed, with a table and a lamp beside it.A large bath with a blue brick floor can be seen through a half-open door.On the opposite side of the room, under a modern oil painting, sits a decorative table and a leather chair, on which sits a photograph of an old lady (who was probably his late wife), There are also photographs of Angela and another woman (probably Angela's sister) and some children, all in glass frames, forming a unique view of the room.In the middle of the room stood an armchair, a table with a green plant on it, and two sturdy straight chairs.Only the thin iron bars on the windows spoil the serenity of the landscape, and together with the whitewashed walls they evoke the infirmary of a psychiatric hospital. Beside the window, a rocking chair was mechanically swinging back and forth. A small old man was almost buried in the chair. His face was still plump, with a few strands of white hair on his head, gray eyelashes, and a pair of dull eyes. Staring blankly at the flowers outside the window.Compared with the image Randall saw from the photos last night, he is not as burly as before, and he has aged a lot. Those photos were taken 6 years ago.In just 6 years, he turned out to be a different person. Signora Blanche walked to the rocking chair, touched the old man's sleeve, and said softly: "Professor Monty, an American guest is here to visit you." She spoke as if waking up a sleeping man. The old man, for fear of disturbing him. While calling out to Professor Monty, she pulled a heavy straight-backed chair from behind, placed it in front of the rocking chair, then gestured to Randall with her finger, and said, "Professor, this is Mr. Randall." , he is very interested in your work." The professor watched the nurse's moving lips with some interest, but he had no reaction to Randall's presence, neither expression nor words. Signora Blanche turned and said to Randall, "I'm leaving, you two talk to each other. If you need me, he has a bell button by his bed. Also, I'll have 15 minutes I'll call you back later." Randall nodded, waiting for her to leave the room.He didn't sit down in the vertical-backed chair opposite Professor Monty's rocking chair until he heard the door was locked. The professor finally became aware of his visitor, and now he watched him silently, showing no trace of curiosity. "My name is Steve Randall," Randall said, introducing himself again. "I'm from New York. I'm a friend of your daughter Angela. You just met Angela. I think She's already told you something about me." "Angela," said the professor.He repeated Angela's name without accent or punctuation, in a tone that was neither affirmative nor questioning.He just repeated, like a child playing with a novel toy. "I think she must have mentioned to you my relationship with the 'Second Resurrection' and the work I did to publicize your discovery." Randall continued, feeling at a loss. He felt as if he was speaking to the rocking chair Monty was sitting in and the white wall behind him.He really wanted to ring the bell for Signora Blanche and leave the room as soon as possible, but he restrained himself and forced himself to continue talking.Then he patiently told the professor how George L. Wheeler hired him and brought him to Amsterdam.He also told the professor that Announcement Day was approaching day by day. He and other members of the project were very excited because on the announcement day, the professor's discovery would be announced to thousands of people all over the world. As Randall's conversation continued, the professor became more and more focused.Although he still seemed so withdrawn, unable or unwilling to speak, it seemed to Randall that he was internally responding to what Randall was saying.He looked the same as other decrepit seniors do when they listen to a stranger talk to him in a solitary dementia—extremely alert, serious. Randall's spirits lifted, and this may have been that hard-earned moment of sanity, probably because Randall kept talking about issues that the old professor was very familiar with.Today is really a lucky, auspicious and smooth day. "Let me tell you again why I came to see you, Professor," Randall said. "OK." "Your discovery has been confirmed. The revised New Testament has been translated into four languages, called the International New Testament, and it's ready for publication, just..." He hesitated, then went straight to the point Going on, "I found a problem, and I very much hope you can fix it." "OK." Randall watched the professor's face.There was genuine curiosity and interest on his face, or at least it seemed to be.Randall was greatly encouraged, and his confidence doubled. Just as he was about to continue speaking, he remembered something again, bent down and reached into the suitcase, turned on the tape recorder, and took out the important photo. "Several of us found a puzzling place in the translation, at least I thought it was a mistake - and were puzzled by it. Now, I will tell you the problem that bothers me." Randall looked at the photo carefully again, "I have here a photo of Papyrus No. 9, which is one of the manuscripts you found. The photo of Papyrus No. 9 is different, and I am concerned that Papyrus No. 9 has been replaced by someone, or that Papyrus No. 9 has been replaced by another manuscript.” The professor leaned forward: "Really?" Randall was more confident, and he continued. "It is currently impossible to ascertain whether this photograph is the original papyrus manuscript you found, or merely represents another manuscript that was replaced. It is a great pity that the negative of the original photograph was destroyed in a fire. However , Professor, Angela said that you are very familiar with papyrus manuscripts, and you know them well, even every character, every stroke, and every punctuation mark on it is clearly written down. Angela thinks you can recognize them immediately Is this photo of the manuscript you unearthed, or just a replacement. Professor, it is vital that we know the truth of the matter. Can you tell me if this is yours in Oss A photograph of the papyrus found by Tia Antica?" He handed the photo to the professor, who took it carefully with trembling hands.In the next few seconds, he completely ignored the existence of the photo, he still stared at Randall intently, and continued to shake the rocking chair silently, and the room was silent. Finally, the professor seemed to suddenly remember what was in his hands, and turned his gaze to the photo.He slowly lifted the photo and adjusted the angle of the photo so that the light coming in through the window sills just hit the photo. A smile slowly formed on the professor's round face. Randall looked at it, and his heart welled up. A glimmer of hope. After a few seconds of silence, Professor Monty put the photo on his lap, his eyes still fixed.His lips began to move, and Randall listened intently to what he said, but it was indistinct and barely audible. "Really, really," said Professor Monty, "that's what I found." He looked up and met Randall's eyes. "I am James. I have witnessed these events with my own eyes." His lips moved again, and his voice became louder. "I am James of Jerusalem, I am the brother of Jesus, and I am the heir of Jesus; I am the survivor of Christ." The eldest of my brothers; I am the son of Joseph. I shall soon be sentenced to death for sedition, for being the leader of the followers of Jesus in our society." Randall deflated in his chair. My God, the old man said to himself, he believed he was James of Jerusalem, the brother of Jesus. Professor Monty looked up at the ceiling.He continued, his hoarse voice growing more enthusiastic. "Joseph's other sons, besides Christ and me, include Simon, Joss, and Judas, and I will continue to tell the story of the son who was born first and was the most beloved." The professor recited in his native English the first part of the papyri written in Aramaic.This manuscript is included in the Gospel of James in the New Testament of the Kingdom.But part of what he recited, Randall immediately realized, was not in the translations he had read before, and that was the names of Joseph's other sons. The notes in the International New Testament say that part no longer exists after nearly 20 centuries on the papyrus.But Professor Monty recited the missing part.Whether it was because he intensively read the knowledge of the Bible, saw the names of the Christian brothers from other materials, and then added them to the recitation just now, except for this possibility, it cannot be explained. "I, the righteous James, brother of my Lord Jesus—" Monty recited it over and over again in a delirious state, with uncontrollable excitement. Randall was overwhelmed by grief, grief for the hopeless old man, grief for Angela.He sat there, listening to the old man's voice, very sad. Professor Monty's words gradually became unclear, and he fell silent for a while. He turned his head and stared blankly at the garden outside the window, just like Randall saw it when he first came in. Randall gently picked up the photo from the old man's lap, put it back in the suitcase, then turned off the tape recorder and looked at his watch. Signora Blanche would be back soon. He stood up with his suitcase and said, "Thank you, Professor Monty, for your cooperation." To Randall's surprise, Professor Monty politely rose from the rocker, looking smaller than before.He went to the table, sat down, and for a moment seemed to forget what he was going to do.After a while, he opened the drawer and found a piece of white paper and a yellow pencil that was worn out. He drew a few strokes on the paper, looked at it, and added another stroke, only to be somewhat satisfied.He picked up the paper and handed it to Randall. "This is for you," he said. Randall took it, guessing what Professor Monty drew on the paper. "A gift," murmured Professor Monty. "It can save you. This is James' gift to you." Randall looked down at the paper in his hand, which was a rough pattern. Randall looked at the pattern carefully, but couldn't figure it out.To him it was just a child's quick sketch of a fish pierced through the middle by a spear. It was a gift from James, a talisman that would save Randall's life, as promised by the professor.But in Randall's view, it meant nothing at all.He wondered so much what the painting represented in the professor's confused, sane mind, Randall sighed and thought: I'll never figure it out, it doesn't matter what he thinks up. Randall heard the door open. He quickly folded the painting and stuffed it into his coat pocket, thanked the professor again for the souvenir and thanked him for taking the time to receive him, then left Angela's father alone at the table, and walked toward the Signora Blanche went. In the hallway, Randall paused, watching the nurse lock the door.After a while, the nurse came up to him and said, "I'll take you to Angela Monty right now." But Randall didn't want to leave yet, and he had a new idea. "Miss Signora Blanche, I'm wondering--is there any doctor here who treats the professor's illness? I mean is there any doctor who has more contact with this patient?" "Of course there are. We have a total of seven physicians. The medical director is Dr. Venturi. Since Professor Monty came to Villa Bella Vista, he has been treating the old professor. He has an office upstairs. " "Can I see him? Just for a while." "You wait here, I'll go and see if he's free now." Dr. Venturi is available. The medical director was a slender Italian, half-bald, with clear, deep-set eyes, an arched nose, and constantly busy hands.He didn't look like a doctor at all, for he was wearing a brisk plaid suit instead of a doctor's uniform. When Randall asked Dr. Venturi why he didn't wear a white doctor's suit, he explained kindly and gently: "Usually medical clothes always increase the sense of distance between doctors and patients. We think it's not good. We hope that we Mentally deranged patients have a sense of equality with the doctor. It is important to us that each patient - Professor Monty included - not feel any different from us. We want our patients to trust We, were able to tell about them as we would a friend." Dr. Venturi's office, like his own, does not seem to have any medical atmosphere.Sitting on a patterned chair in Dr. Venturi's office, Randall looked around and saw that the room was furnished with plush sofas, lush plants and some abstract paintings. Randall makes one last desperate effort to solve the mystery of Papyrus No. 9.He tells Dr. Venturi about his meeting with Professor Monty and Monty's vision of himself as Jesus' brother James. "Was Professor Monty like this before?" Randall asked. "Often," said Dr. Venturi, taking the envelope-knife, putting it down, taking the pencil, and putting it down again. "It was a mystery to us as well. His behavior was different from the usual symptoms. You know, a person who sees himself as the savior -- or Jesus' brother is usually a person with pride. Professor Monty is different from delusional patients. His memory loss is a catatonic disorder based on guilt. It is understandable from a medical point of view that he suffers from hallucinations, but generally speaking, people like him The patient in the situation does not think of himself as a noble person like Jesus or James, but should be ashamed of himself before Jesus or James. I don’t understand how he thinks he is Jesus Christ in front of you today. Of course, we have no respect for Monty Little is known of the professor's inner history and the depths of his mind, and it seems unlikely that we will ever learn more about him." Randall moved in his chair and asked, "You mean you don't know anything about Professor Monty's professional background or his archaeological discoveries?" "Oh, Mr. Randall, so you already know what he found in Ostia Antica? I can't speak of it unless—" "I'm part of the project, Dr. Venturi." "I didn't know this just now. The professor's daughter made me swear that I would never tell a stranger about it, and I kept my word." "How much do you know about the professor's past?" Randall asked. "As a matter of fact, I know very little. When I started to take care of this patient, I had heard the name of Professor Monti. He was very famous in Italy. I learned from his daughter that he was in Ostia an Something has been excavated near Tica that will play an important role in the field of biblical history and theological history. I am told that this is the cornerstone that will form the new Bible." "So you don't know what his discovery is about?" "I don't know. You mean if I knew, I'd understand why he thought of himself as Jesus' brother James?" "It might provide a clue, Dr. Venturi. You don't know that Professor Monty's discovery will lead to a new Bible." "I've heard a little of that. I recently read a three-part series in a Roman newspaper by an English journalist—I forget his name." "You mean Plummer wrote it?" "Yes, it was by Plummer. It was a long article, with few facts cited, and gave a vague account of the secret preparations being made in Amsterdam for the publication of a new Bible, which was published in The original "Bible" has been modified on the basis of new discoveries. It has the support of church conservatives to maintain its status. This report is very attractive, but it is obviously colored by hearsay and subjective speculation. It is difficult to make people Take it seriously." "You might as well believe it," Randall said. "Ah, so this Bible is my patient's responsibility?" Dr. Venturi absently turned a page of the desk calendar, and then turned it back. "It's a pity that Professor Monty couldn't enjoy the fruits of his labour. As for his hallucinations, I don't know if this Bible will have an effect on him. There were other things that happened when you met the professor downstairs ?" ------------------ 31 "There's nothing left," Randall said.Then he remembered something again, and put his hand into his coat pocket, "Except for this thing." He opened a piece of paper and showed it to the doctor. "Ah, it's fish again." Venturi said knowingly earlier. He didn't take the picture from Randall. On the contrary, he found something in the folder on the desk. After a while, he took out a folder and opened it. He took out a few sheets of paper from it and gave them to Randall one by one. As you can see, there are 6 in total.Each is a variation of the "spear through a fish" sketch in Randall's hand—more or less the same. "Mr. Randall, you see I have an art collection of Professor Monty myself," he said. Only one subject - 'fish'. He was fascinated by fish. Since we nursed him, no one has ever seen him draw anything else, just fish." "There must be something to it," Randall mused. "Have you guessed what he meant?" "Of course I tried, but I couldn't imagine what it was, except that it seemed plausible that the fish must have something to do with his fantasy of living in the first century. As you must know, the first followers of Jesus , that is, the early Christians always used the symbol of fish as a cipher to communicate. The origin of this visual cipher is very interesting. The early followers of Jesus also called him 'Jesus Christ (Jesus), Son of God (God Son of), Savior (Savior)', translated into Greek, they are Le sous Christos, Theou, Vios, Soter. Greek is the language used by the Roman invaders. The initial letters of these five Greek words used to be Spelled: I—CH—TH—U—S, we now spell it ICI-HYS - which is Greek for 'fish'. Even today we call the study of fish ichthyology .So you see, the initials of Jesus' name and title are spelled 'fish' - which is what Christians who were under attack at the time used to identify each other." "That's amazing," Randall agreed, taking another look at Professor Monty's pattern, "but the spear, that's not part of the symbol, is it?" "You're right," said Dr. Venturi, putting his own drawing back into the folder, "this part looks like it was added entirely by Professor Monty himself. The spear—or A javelin or a harpoon—whatever it is—looks like a symbol with a negative connotation. But who's to guess what's going on in his head? Thinking of himself as James—Jesus' Did he show his hostility towards his brother by killing Jesus, the fish? Or did he feel that the spear that pierced his brother's symbol was also a weapon that penetrated his body? We Not sure. I'm afraid the symbol will be as much an enigma as anything else connected with Professor Monty." Dr. Venturi produced an aged meerschaum pipe and a tobacco pouch and asked, "You don't mind?" Randall shook his straight pipe made of heather roots. After the two exchanged tobacco, they lit the cigarette, and then he returned to the topic of the professor.At this time, Randall decided to ask about the past. "Doctor," he said, "when did Professor Monty come into this sanitarium? And, if you think it's okay, can you tell me what happened to him when he was brought here?" "The situation?" Dr. Venturi puffed evenly. "Of course, medical history is confidential, but when Angela told me she was bringing you, she also asked us medical staff to be frank and open with you." Tell me about his father." "She's in the reception room now," Randall said eagerly, "if you want to talk it over with her..." "No," said Dr Venturi, puffing on his pipe thoughtfully, before putting it into a china ashtray, "I started treating him - let me recall - about a year and two月以前。我的一位同事通知我——他恰巧是蒙蒂家庭医生——说非常迫切地需要我去治疗他的一位病人，这位病人住在罗马大学的一所医院里。这就是奥古斯图?蒙蒂教授，他突然精神崩溃。我马上拜访了他，给他的病情做了诊断。” “是什么原因把他送进医院的？” 文图里博士心不在焉地拿起烟斗，又放下，又拿起一支铅笔，在一叠纸上乱写乱画。“你是想知道他进医院前的情况吧？我后来得知，蒙蒂教授精神崩溃的前两天，还在罗马大学按部就班地工作着。他仍然上着课，与系里其他人员商讨工作事宜，还在申请一笔补助金以使他能够从事一项新的挖掘工作。还有，那一天，跟他大多数忙碌的日子一样，接待客人。” “什么样的客人？” “一位杰出的考古学家通常接待的客人。有时可能是同事和来自其它国家的同仁或者政府官员；有时也可能是挖掘设备的推销员、研究生或者考古杂志的编辑。我不知道那天他的具体活动，他女儿也许能告诉你一些情况。我只知道上午的大部分时间他都在学校里，因为有约出去过一两次，然后又回到学校里做了一些工作。到晚上，他没有回家吃饭，他女儿安杰拉给学校一位值班人员打电话，要他提醒她父亲回家。值班人员上楼来到考古系系主任的办公室，敲了敲门，没人答应，他感觉不寻常，因为屋内仍亮着灯。他推门进去，发现蒙蒂教授在办公桌旁——办公桌上乱成一片，台灯也翻了——语无伦次地说着令人摸不着头脑的话，就跟你刚才听到的那些话一样。他完全精神错乱，不省人事。值班人员给吓坏了，赶紧给安杰拉打了个电话，并立即叫来一辆救护车。” 听到这里，想象到安杰拉当时的反应，兰德尔都有些颤抖。“打那儿以后，教授是否说过有条理的话？” “这一年多以来一直也没有。”文图里博士吸了一口气，说道，“他大脑完全坍塌。用句行话说，他失去了心智。自那起，他完全与现实脱离了联系。” “有希望把他治好吗？” “谁能下断言，兰德尔先生？谁知道将来科学、医学、精神分析学方面会出现什么情况？或者将来人类能在精神失常的生物化学方面有什么进展呢？就目前而言，无能为力。我们使尽了一切方法，仍一筹莫展。几天以后，我把蒙蒂教授转到贝拉维斯塔别墅来。我们对他进行了各种各样的医疗——心理疗法、药物疗法、麻醉并施以电击，但都没有效果。现在我们尽力使他保持舒服、平静，能够睡觉，我们也鼓励他多做事，我们鼓励他定时来我们工作间，参加一种手编活动，或者定时游泳，但他对这些都不感兴趣。大多时候，他都坐在窗旁，盯着窗外或者听听音乐或者看看电视，尽管我不认为他能理解所看的内容。” “安杰拉——也就是蒙蒂小姐——认为他偶尔有头脑清醒的时候。” 文图里博士耸耸肩，“她是他的女儿，如果那样说能使她感着好受，我们就不便说别的什么了。” “我明白了，”兰德尔略有所悟地说，“有没有来访者？除了他的两位女儿之外，蒙蒂教授还有其他的访问者吗？” “他的女儿、孙辈的孩子们在假日时会来看他。另外，他的管家在他过生日时来过。” “没有外人吗？” “不许外人探视，”文图里博士说，“曾有几位要求见见他，但都被拒绝了。教授的女儿要求他在这里住院的消息以及他现在的状况都要尽量保密。只有蒙蒂教授的直系亲属或者陪行人员可以来探望他。” “可是外人呢？”兰德尔坚持问，“你刚提到过几个要求看望教授的人，你能记起他们是谁吗？” 文图里博士晃了晃烟斗，说道：“我记不住他们的名字，有些是教授大学里的一些老朋友和同事。那都是在他刚住进来一两个月里。” “还有没有其他人，”兰德尔问，“最近几个月有没有人要见他？” “噢，你这么一提——的确有一位，我能记起来是因为这事是最近发生的，而且他很有名气。” “是谁？”兰德尔急于想知道。 “一位著名的牧师，弗鲁米牧师。他打过书面申请，要求见一见蒙蒂教授。这件事给我留下很深刻的印象，我以前以为他和蒙蒂是好朋友。后来有人告诉我他们不是朋友。我曾希望弗鲁米的来访能刺激病人，加速他的康复，所以我把他请求探望教授的信转交给教授的女儿，她们拒绝了他，而且态度非常坚决。因此，我告知弗鲁米牧师，说来访者一律谢绝。事实上，自从教授来这里以来，你还是第一位被允许探望他的外人呢。”他看了一眼桌上的钟，问道：“兰德尔先生，你还有其他问题吗？” “没有了，”兰德尔说着，站起身来，“再没有什么问题要请教的——或者要了解的了。” 坐在朱赛皮的空调汽车里回罗马的路上，气氛相当沉闷。 在后座上，安杰拉靠着他，极不情愿的兰德尔被迪重述他和她父亲会见时以及后来和文图里博士会谈时发生的事情。 安杰拉带着无尽的忧伤理智地说：“真遗憾，我父亲永远都不会知道他的发现所产生的奇迹。” “他现在知道了，”兰德尔安慰她说，“自从他发现的那一刻起他就知道。他知道并且享受了他给予世界的东西所带来的全部快乐。” “你的嘴真甜，”她吻了吻他的面颊，“好一张甜嘴。” 她邀请他到她家和她姐姐以及她姐姐的孩子们一起吃晚饭。他动了心，又思考了一下，最后还是决定不去了。 “不，我想还是最好让你和你家人单独呆在一起，”他说道，“以后我们还有许多时间可呆在一起。再说，我应该返回阿姆斯特丹。我的工作很紧，而且奈特博士会为我今天不在办公室而勃然大怒的。” “你今晚要坐飞机返回吗？” “也许今晚晚些时候。趁我在这里的时候，我得赶写些私人信件。我一回到阿姆斯特丹就没有机会写了。我已推迟了给父母和女儿写信的时间。另外，还有一些业务信件，像麦克洛克林，'万象曝光社'的那位，你知道他。我的律师还没找到他，所以我想给麦克洛克林写封私人信件，可能会转给他，全是这类事情。是的，我很有可能乘最末一班飞机返回。” “让朱赛皮先把你送到锦花大酒店，”安杰拉说，“然后，他再送我回家。” 兰德尔向司机交代了一下，又转向安杰拉问道：“明早你能返回阿姆斯特丹吗？” 她笑着开玩笑说：“我明晚回去，如果我的老板不解雇我的话。我希望和我姐姐去购物，带我外甥女去逛逛公园，也许再去见见一些朋友。你的秘书明晚回去，行吗？” “不行，要早点回去，我等你。” 她认真地看着他，脸上的微笑消失了，“史蒂夫，我想问你一件事——” "What's up?" “我们一旦返回，下一步再做什么？” “下一步？当然是工作。拼命地工作把项目搞完。”看着她那凝重的脸，他明白了她的意思，“噢，你是说——我会不会继续追查纸草纸文稿碎片的更多情况——照片？不会的，安杰拉。你父亲这儿是最后一站。即便我想查下去，也无处去了。我要回去继续做我的宣传促销。我将把我的全部精力投入到销售新《圣经》的工作中。” “即使你有疑虑？” “安杰拉，我现在到了罗马而结果便是如此。对于神秘的东西我总会有怀疑的，因为我的信仰总是一定程度的信仰。你记得李南的祈祷吗？'啊，上帝啊，如果有上帝的话，拯救我的灵魂吧，如果我有灵魂的话。'我今天也是这副样子。” 安杰拉笑着说：“你这样下去行吗？” “我别无选择。”他紧握着她的手，“别担心，我会走下去的……我们到了锦花大酒店……好吧，亲爱的，再吻一次吧。明天见。” 兰德尔拎着公文夹下了车，看着车开走之后，他走进锦花大酒店凉爽的大厅里。他在服务台稍停了一下，取了钥匙，而后穿过大厅向电梯处走去。 有一架电梯刚好降到一层，乘客纷纷涌出，他站在一侧，等人走空后，进了电梯，刚要转身按下五层的按钮，这时他意识到他身后有个人紧跟着他迈进了电梯，并在他的肩膀上方伸过手按下了四层楼的按钮，他肩膀上方的这只胳膊披着牧师服。 电梯开始起开，里面只有他们两个人，兰德尔转过身想看一眼他的同伴。 他倒吸了一口冷气。 原来此人正是身躯高大，穿着黑色袈裟，嘴上挂着神秘微笑的弗鲁米。“这么说，我们又见面了，兰德尔先生。”弗鲁米说，“我相信你今天下午对蒙蒂教授的访问应该是满意的。” 兰德尔一时仓皇失措，脱口而出道：“你怎么知道我去拜访过他？” “你来罗马是为了来见他，就像我前些日子所做的一样，很简单。我已经把监视你的行踪视为我的神圣义务，兰德尔先生。自从我们上次偶尔相遇，我就对你越来越感兴趣，对你怀有更深的敬意。跟我一开始就猜测的一样，你是个寻求真理的人，这样的人不多，你是一位，我是另外一位。我非常高兴地得知我们俩人有着相同的追求，而且现在我们殊途同归。或许我们可以在这个大酒店进行一次促膝交谈？” 兰德尔浑身有些不自然，“谈什么？” “关于那本伪造的《圣经》。” “什么——什么鬼使你这样确信它们是伪造的呢？” “因为我刚刚见到了伪造者本人，而且我已获知了这场骗局的所有细节……好了，我住的地方到了，我相信你也会从这里下电梯的，对吧，兰德尔先生。” 在弗鲁米那宽阔豪华的起居室里，兰德尔呆呆地坐着。 他完全被牧师那不容置疑的宣布惊呆了。他很驯服地跟着牧师走出了电梯，穿过大厅过道，最后来到了套问。 兰德尔原想这肯定是弗鲁米设下的圈套，是一种诡计。他虽然对自己所从事的工作有许多疑虑之处，但现在他面对的是这次计划最主要的敌人，他不得不有所戒备。可是弗鲁米在电梯里谈话的口气似乎他已掌握了确凿的证据。 他深坐在棕色丝绒手扶椅上，依然一言不发，眼睛仍然盯着弗鲁米。牧师问他是否想吃点服务人员送上来的东西，兰德尔摇摇头谢绝了。 “那么一定想喝点什么？”弗鲁米说，“你肯定要喝点什么的。” 牧师默默地穿过波斯地毯来到放在大理石壁炉和老式红木桌子之间的一个木面冰箱前，他仔细地看了看这个低矮的冰箱上面的盘子里放的瓶子。 他仍背对着兰德尔，问道：“兰德尔先生，你想喝什么？我给自己倒一杯加冰的法国白兰地。” “请给我来杯苏格兰威士忌。” "very good." 弗鲁米一边准备饮料，一边继续说道：“参加《国际新约》制作的大多数人员——啊，兰德尔先生，我现在知道书名了——他们都是正派体面的人，对宗教有较深的研究，正如你所指出的那样，他们和我一样相信《圣经》的实质。但是他们把重新恢复信仰的责任交给了那些蓄意篡改的人，并迫切地盼望着这种信仰的复兴。他们被那些宗教商人和对宗教权力垂涎欲滴的人所蒙骗。这些人为了生存下去不惜采用任何手段。”他停了一下，继续说道，“哪怕是伪造。” 弗鲁米缓慢离开那冰箱，每只手各端着一杯酒。 “兰德尔先生，追根究底，一定要查个水落石出，你算是走对路了。确实有一个伪造的人。我们听他谈过话，而且也亲眼目睹过他本人。” 他走到那张小小的黑色木茶几前，把兰德尔的一杯威士忌酒放到兰德尔面前的茶几上，自己则坐在离兰德尔最近的一张棕色沙发上。 他举起他的法国白兰地，提议干杯，脸上露出一丝苦笑。 “为真理干杯。”他说。 他呷了一口白兰地，注意到兰德尔滴酒未沾，他很谅解地点了点头。 他把他的白兰地放下，把黑色袈裟绕两腿缠了几下，然后正视着兰德尔。 “事实就这样。”他说，“我们怎样找到伪造者的呢？我们本来没有办法找到他，尽管我们确信有一位伪造者或曾经有过。没想到普卢默的文章无意间成了诱饵，把鱼给钓了出来，是他来找我们的。这些文章写到了我在宗教方面所做的努力，写到了宗教统治集团根据在意大利所做的未公开宣布的发现，试图出版一本做修订的《新约》来保持其宗教统治集团的地位。普卢默的文章，你知道，在国际上引起关注，其中有一家大报——《罗马日报》转载了文章的译文，这份报纸在罗马的发行量很大，发行面广。” 到现在为止，他说的话听起来都像真的，兰德尔心想。还不到一个小时以前，文图里博士还提到过在《罗马日报》读过普卢默的文章。 “正如你所想象的那样，”弗鲁米继续说道，“普卢默先生收到大量读者来信。其中有一封是亲笔写给《罗马日报》，请《罗马日报》转交给普卢默的。他在信中说他对普卢默的报道很感兴趣。他说他是一位流浪在意大利的法国人，但他在信中没有透露他在法国的真实姓名，只自称为'空空公爵'。”弗鲁米喝了一口酒后又接着说道，“他在信中说奥斯蒂亚?安蒂卡发现的彼得罗纳斯的报告和詹姆斯福音是一个骗局，是经过多年伪造而成的，因为他本人就是那个伪造者。他还自吹自擂了一番他那天衣无缝的伪造技巧。” 弗鲁米说到这儿，瞥了一眼兰德尔，以观察他的反应。但兰德尔什么反应也没有。 “他在信的结尾，”弗鲁米接着说，“表示他要在《国际新约》出版之时，公开这个大骗局。他在信中对普卢默说，如果普卢默想知道伪造事件的细节，以及他想提供证据而索要价格的话，他已做好准备与普卢默见面，并进行谈判。第一次预备性的会面定在巴黎，前提条件是提供给他罗马与巴黎之间往返的机票以及少量的饭费和一夜住宿费用。兰德尔先生，就这样，普卢默把那封信拿来见我。” 兰德尔端起威士忌，他最终感到有点渴了。“你相信信中的内容吗？”兰德尔问。 “起初不信，当然不相信。地球上满是骗子，通常我是不会理会这样一封信的。但是，我越研究这封信，越觉得写信人说实话的可能性很大。写信人提起蒙蒂教授在奥斯蒂亚?安蒂卡附近的发现。在此之前，蒙蒂的身份已为我们所知，但是他的发现的具体地点'第二次复活'行动小组一直严加保密。我们所有局外人只知道这项发现发生在意大利，与新《圣经》有关系，我们谁也不知道发现的具体位置。这一点给人印象很深，并且这一点是可以证实的。我有一次就通过我在罗马的一些关系证实了这点。我一说出这次挖掘的真实名称——奥斯蒂业?安蒂卡附近的一次挖掘——我的朋友便能肯定奥斯蒂亚?安蒂卡附近的确是蒙蒂做了一次重要的——如果当时仍然保密的话——发掘的地方，还有资料的名称，我已证实了这名称是准确无误的。不管怎么说，信中包含着当时只有项目圈的人才知道的一些信息。也许其他的局外人有可能知道这些，可是一个不引人注意的法国流浪者怎么知道呢？就凭这一点我也应该和他见见面。即使这位不是伪造者，即使他是从别人手中获得的情报，他也应该了解很多情况，值得我们认真对待。如果他不是这些情报的未源，那他一定是与情报未源有联系。他的确值得一见，特别是考虑到所求甚少，我让普卢默想办法写信给他，表示想听一听这位自称为伪造者的人的故事，商定了会面的日期和地点并送给他往返机票和一些费用。普卢默照办了，并在商定的日期飞抵巴黎去与那人见面。” “你的意思是——普卢默确实见到这个人了？” “见到了。” 兰德尔喝了一大口苏格兰威士忌，问：“什么时候？” “一周前的今天。” "Where?" “在巴黎的佩雷?拉谢斯公墓。” “那是什么地方？” “拉谢斯公墓——你没听说过？”弗鲁米不无吃惊地说，“这是巴黎著名的公墓，过去许多伟大人物，如赫罗赛和阿伯拉德、肖邦、巴尔扎克、萨拉、伯恩哈特都埋在这里。我们的伪造者在信中说他将在下午两点钟准时在王尔德墓那儿等候普卢默。有明显的戏剧味道，但并不是没有原因的。对于坏蛋来说，这个地方偏僻安全，而且会面可以秘密进行。我曾去过拉谢斯公墓，这个地方面积广、安静、与外界隔离，还有小山丘、幽僻的小径、杨树和槐树林，对一个像普卢默这样的爱制造耸人听闻的新闻记者来说，这地方真也是富有吸引力的。” “普卢默和伪造者在那儿见面了？”兰德尔急促地问。 “他们在那儿见面了。”弗鲁米说，“但不是在预先约好的王尔德墓前。当普卢默来到公墓时，护墓人询问他的姓名，然后交给他一个封好的信封。信封里装有一张那位流浪汉胡乱涂写的便条。他已更换了见面地点，他建议普卢默继续向前走到巴尔扎克的墓前，说王尔德墓前行人车辆太多。普卢默觉得这种做法极有诗意。巴尔扎克曾把无数的流氓无赖吸引到他的笔下，而现在他又吸引了这位可能是历史上最大的伪造者。普卢默买了一张公墓的导游图，没费多少力就找到巴尔扎克墓了，在那里他见到了伪造者。” 弗鲁米停下来，喝干了杯中的白兰地，看了看他和兰德尔的空酒杯。 “兰德尔先生，再来一杯？” “除了你的故事以外，什么都不要了。后来怎么样？” “和以往一样，普卢默在会面以后做了大量笔记，这些笔记我都读过了。这位自称为伪造者的人叫罗伯特?莱布朗。普卢默发现他是一位老人——82岁高龄——但并无一点老态龙钟的样子，而是很机警，头脑清晰。头发染成棕色，长着灰色眼睛，一只眼有白内障，戴一副金属架眼镜。尖鼻子，长下巴，一口假牙，脸上皱纹纵横。中等个，腰有些弯，走起路来有些跛。因为他被截过肢，左腿装着假腿，他很不高兴谈论装假腿的事，他那背景让人听起来还真煞有介事呢。” “他是哪里人？” “巴黎。在蒙帕尔纳斯出生并在那里长大。他没对普卢默讲太多关于他的身世。他说年轻时，他曾做过雕刻学徒，拿不到工资但又想为自己、为他母亲和兄弟姐妹赚点钱，所以他尝试以伪造赚钱，他发现他有伪造的天赋。他开始时伪造护照，慢慢地伪造小面额货币，逐渐地伪造起历史信件、稀有文稿，这是由于受到小写体书写的中世纪《圣经》碎片的启发。后来他因伪造一份政府文件而真相败露，新帐旧帐一起算，所以将他送到了法国的圭亚那的监狱里去改造。但监狱里从没对他认真改造过，只是体罚。有一段时间，他几乎绝望，曾想自杀过。后来有一位法国天主教的传教士在监狱传教时发现他是个人才，并且想把他引到宗教的路上来。但这位传教士得答应帮助他出狱，条件是他必须帮这位传教士一个忙，后来他发现自已被传教士骗了。普卢默无法获知这个过程的细节，但不管细节如何，莱布朗后来更加愤世嫉俗，反社会，尤其仇视宗教。” 兰德尔被搞糊涂了。“我还没有听懂你说的话。”他说。 “原谅我没有讲清楚关键的一点。实际上，我知道的也很少。莱布朗所透露的全部内容是他所信赖的那位传教士从法国政府那里给他带来一些建议。如果莱布朗愿意自愿做某种危险性的冒险或实验，并能幸存下来，他就会被赦免，被释放。莱布朗不愿意，但在传教士的怂恿下还是做了。他经历了冒险，活了下来，却失去了一条腿。为获得自由即使付出这么大的代价也值得。但自由并未降临到他的头上，那位传教士代表法国政府向莱布朗所许诺的自由并没有给他。莱布朗又被扔回热带魔窟。自从他被骗的那天起，莱布朗发誓要复仇。是反政府吗？不是，而是反传教的人，向整个宗教复仇——因为他是在宗教的手中被骗的——他发誓要报仇雪恨。就这样，在他那愤怒的头脑和心里，他酝酿着他的计划，他要给每个教派的教士以及整个宗教施以致命的打击。” “伪造一本新的福音书？”兰德尔喃喃自语。 “伪造，并给异教徒在耶稣受审这个问题上提供资料，因为他憎恶基督。他要把余生全部用在准备这场骗局，获公众的相信，最后大曝光，从而来证明宗教信仰的虚假以及愚蠢的信徒是多么容易上当受骗。1918年他被投入圭亚那岛的监狱，1953年法国废除了这个臭名昭著的监禁地。在这段时间内，罗伯特?莱布朗几乎都在为复仇做准备。他研究了《圣经》和一些与《圣经》有关的知识，还研究了一世纪的基督教的历史。最后，38年后，他的监狱生涯随着法国政府取消圭亚那监禁地而结束。莱布朗回到了法国，成了一个自由人，但是这个昔日的罪犯充满了对宗教的仇恨。” “然后他就着手进行他的伪造？” “没有马上进行，”弗鲁米说，“其一，他需要钱，因而他又重操旧业搞伪造。他成立了一个地下工厂。他还继续进行他对基督教《圣经》、对耶稣、对基督教早期历史以及对阿拉米语的研究。很显然，他是一位自学成才的非常出色的学者。最后他攒够了购买他所需要的古代资料的钱。带着这些资料、他的知识和仇恨，他离开法国定居在罗马，秘密地制造纸草纸文稿和羊皮纸文稿，他希望这些能成为历史上最为成功的伪品，12年前，他非常满意地完成了伪造。” 兰德尔完全着迷了，这故事大吸引人了。他不再有任何怀疑，“蒙蒂呢？”兰德尔问道，“蒙蒂教授是从什么时候开始与这件事发生联系的？这位莱布朗认识罗马的蒙蒂吗？” “不，最初，莱布朗本人并不认识蒙蒂教授。但是，当然了，在对《圣经》考古学进行研究的过程中，莱布朗知道了蒙蒂这个名字。然后有一天，在他完成伪造之后，在哪里及如何埋掉并挖掘伪造的问题上费尽心思之时，他读到了蒙蒂给一家考古杂志写的一篇激进的论文。” 兰德尔点了点头。“是的，蒙蒂教授写过一篇有争议的论文，他在其中阐述了遗失的文件在意大利而不是在巴勒斯坦或埃及找到的可能性。”