Flames and billowing smoke rose into the air, filling the TV. "Ah!" said Pat devoutly. "Best finale ever."
"That's pretty good," said Becky, with an air of impartiality. "Even the professor himself never dreamed of anything better."
Van Tromp's voice was very soft, as if he were talking to himself: "Stylish, smart and stylish—the kid is beautifully finished."
Jubal looked around at his brothers.Doesn't anyone else feel anything but him?Jill and Dawn sat together, each with an arm around the other.But that was always the case when they were together; neither Jill nor Dawn had any emotion.Even Dorcas was calm, without a single tear.
Hell on TV switched to Happy Holidays smiling faces, "Now, guys, it's time for our friends in Paradise, thanks to them giving up on themselves just now—" Pat turned off the TV.
"Annie and Duke are going up, almost to the lounge," she said. "I'll let them in, and then we'll have lunch." She turned to go out.
Jubal stopped her, "Pat? Did you know Mike was going to do that?"
She seemed taken aback. "What? Of course not. The wait has to be over. None of us will know until then." She turned and left the room.
"Jubbal—" Jill looked at him, "Jubbal our beloved father . He can't leave us who have realized him. You are God."
"'You are God,'" Jubal repeated gloomily.
"That's much better. Come on, sit in the middle of the table with me and Dawn."
"No. No, leave me alone." He groped his way back to his room, put the latch on the door after entering, propped his hands on the edge of the bed, and leaned heavily on it.My son, oh my son!If only I could die in your place!He had so many reasons to live...and an old idiot he respected too much was there talking and advising him to die needlessly and senselessly.It would have been nice if Mike had brought something flattering, like 3D TV, like spirits—but he gave them the truth.Or rather — partial truth.Who would be interested in the truth?He sobbed and laughed out loud.
After a while, the heartbroken sobs and bitter laughter both died down.He opened the travel bag and turned it upside down.Everything he wanted was in the bag.Joe Douglas's stroke reminded him that flesh is like grass and easily withered.He's been packing it with his toiletries ever since.
Now he's had a stroke himself, and he can't stand this.He prescribed three pills for himself, just to make sure everything was safe and it would be over soon.He sent the pills with water, and hurried back to bed to lie down.Soon, the pain disappeared.
From far, far away came a voice: "Jubal—"
"—Rest. Leave me alone."
"Jubbal! Please, Father!"
"Um... it's me, Mike? What's the matter?"
"Wake up! Fullness has not yet come. Come, let me help you."
Jubal sighed, "Okay, Mike." He let him help, led himself into the bathroom, held his head to make him throw up, and took another glass of water to rinse his mouth.
"Ok?"
"Okay, boy. Thanks."
"Then I'm going, I have work to do. I love you, Father. You are God."
"I love you, Mike. You are God." Jubal lingered in the room for a while, washed and changed, took another sip of brandy to get rid of the bitter taste in his mouth, and then went out to find others.
The box was closed, and Pat was alone in the living room.She looked up. "Is this lunch, Jubal?"
"Okay thank you."
She walked up to him, "Fine. I'm afraid most people have eaten and run away. But everyone left you a kiss. Here, it's all packed together." The love she delivered, and her own.Pat managed to send the love unbroken to Jubal.Jubal felt himself strengthen.After sharing her calm tolerance, the previous bitterness disappeared without a trace.
"Come on, go to the kitchen," she said, "Tony's gone, so the rest of us are basically there—not that his whining really drives anyone away." She paused, trying to turn her head to look Qing the back of his neck, "The last scene seems to have changed all of a sudden? Suddenly blurred, right?"
Jubal said solemnly that he thought so too.He didn't see any change...but he wasn't going to argue with Pat's stubbornness.She nodded, "I guess so. I can see everything around me - except myself. Until now, I still need a mirror to see my back. It doesn't matter, Mike said, my sky eye It’s going to get there pretty soon.”
There were probably a dozen people in the kitchen sitting at tables or loitering elsewhere; Duke was stirring a little sauce on the stove. "Hey boss. I ordered a twenty-seater bus, and we can't fit a bigger one in our small tarmac... plus Pat's pets and the little guy's diapers and all, I'm afraid we'll have to get another one this size .OK?"
"Of course. Are they all coming home?" If there weren't enough bedrooms, the girls could make beds in the living room or wherever there was room, and besides most of them were going to sleep with someone anyway.Speaking of which, he himself was afraid that he would not be able to enjoy a bed to himself anymore... He was determined to give up resistance altogether.There's a sense of intimacy with a warm body on the other side of the bed, even if you're not thinking of anything else.God, he had forgotten how intimate that feeling was!growing closer—
"Not all of it. Tim's driving, and he'll be back to return the bus and go to Texas for a while. We'll stop in New Jersey first, where the captain, Beatrix, and Swain are going to get off."
Sam looked up from the table. "Me and Ruth are going back to the kids. Saul is coming with us."
"Can't you go home and stay for a day or two?"
"Well, maybe. I'll talk it over with Ruth."
"Boss," Duke interjected, "when is the pool going to be filled?"
"What, we never used to swim before April. But with the new heater, I guess it doesn't matter when I turn on the water." Jubal added, "But the weather is still bad. Yesterday the ground It's still snowing."
"Boss, let me give you a message. These guys can ride tall giraffes through ass-deep snow and don't care. Swimming is just as good. Besides, to prevent freezing, we have better Cheaper way to get gasoline heaters."
"Jubbal!"
"What, Ruth?"
"We'll be home for a day, maybe longer. The kids don't miss me. Besides, I'm not in a hurry to go back to being a mom without Pat to help me discipline them. Jubal, you never saw me with fair hair The way I look in the water, so you don't really see me - I look so slutty, you'll have to enjoy it."
"Then it's settled. I say, there are people who've never been to that house—they're never going to have the time."
"I'll tell them, boss."
"Pat, can your snake live in a clean, warm basement? Until something better is found? I'm not talking about sugarbread, she's human. But cobra, I think it's better not to let They're good at home."
"Of course, Jubal."
"Mmm—" Jubal looked around, "Dawn, can you take shorthand?"
"She doesn't need to know that," put in Anne, "and neither do I."
"I should have thought of that. Can you use a typewriter?"
"I can learn, if, if need be."
"Assuming you have a job—until there's a high priesthood vacant somewhere. Jill, is anyone missing?"
"No, boss. Except for the ones who've left, and they can come and set up camp at your place anytime. And they will."
"I've already thought about that. Nest number two, keep it open whenever you need it." He walked to the stove and glanced at Duke's stirring pan.There's a little broth in it, "This is... Mike?"
"That's right." Duke took a spoon and dipped it into his mouth, "We need to add some salt."
"Yeah." Jubal took the spoon and tasted it himself.Duke is right, the taste is a little sweeter, it needs some salt, "But let's get him as he is. Who else didn't share?"
"Only you are left. Tony's instructions are very detailed, keep stirring, add some water when needed, don't get burnt, must wait until you come."
"Then take two cups. Let's share and enlighten together."
"Come on, boss." The two cups flew down and stopped next to the pan, "Mike is making a joke this time. He always swears and swears that he will outlive me and take me as Thanksgiving dinner. But maybe he was kidding me—for we had a bet, and I didn't get the prize."
"You were there, so you won. Average."
Duke poured the broth equally between the two cups.Jubal raised his glass, "Share!"
"Grow close."
They drank the broth slowly, savoring it bit by bit, admiring, cherishing, and enlightening their benefactor.Jubal was amazed to find that, despite the emotion in his heart, it was just a quiet joy that did not bring a single tear.What a queer, clumsy little thing his son had been when first met...so eager to please, so naively making countless little mistakes--what a proud force he had become, without the slightest Lost his angelic innocence.I have finally realized you, child.I will never change a single line of what you have written!
Pat had lunch ready for him; Jubal sat down to wolf it down, feeling as hungry as if days had passed since breakfast.Sam said: "I was telling Saul just now, I realized that there is no need to change the plan. We will continue to act as usual. As long as you have the right products, the business will grow and grow, even if the founder dies."
"I'm not saying you're wrong," Saul retorted. "You and Ruth will build another temple, and we'll build others. But you have to spend time accumulating funds first. This isn't a religious revival on a street corner, and it's not going to be empty." It takes planning and equipment. That's money. Not to mention paying the drunkard and Miriam to go to Mars for a year or two...that's just as important."
"Okay! Who's to say it's not? Let's wait for the fulfillment...and move on."
Jubal interrupted abruptly: "Money is not an issue."
"How about it, Jubal?"
"As a lawyer, I shouldn't reveal it... But as Brother Shui, I do what I understand. Wait a minute, I'll explain it right away——Anne."
"Yes, boss."
"Buy that. Where they smashed Mike. Better get a hundred-foot radius."
"Boss, that place is public land. Spreading out a hundred feet will cut off a road and take up the hotel site."
"Don't argue with me."
"I'm not arguing. I'm telling you the truth."
"Sorry. They'll sell it. Hell, if it's a good event, they'll even donate that space—I guess, just let Joe Douglas do the event. Also, Mike's still partially in the morgue Here, when those bloody coroners are done, make Douglas bring us the rest from the morgue, where we're going to bury him. Like a year from now... and make the whole city mourn him All those policemen who refused to protect him today have to line up and stand at attention." What should I put on it? "The girl crawling under the rock"?No, Mike has lifted the rock with enough strength.The Little Mermaid is better - but other people won't understand.Maybe put a statue of Mike himself when he says, "Look at me, I'm the Son of Man."If Duke didn't take pictures, New World has them.Perhaps they will find a brother, or perhaps a future brother, who has a sliver of Rodin's inspiration and can trace it literally and without exaggeration.
"We're going to bury him there," he went on, "without any protection, and let the maggots and the drizzle enlighten him. I'm enlightened Mike would love it. Annie, I'm going to talk to Joe Douglas Stone when we get home. Telephone.
"Okay, boss. We will enlighten you with you."
"Now for the money thing." He told them about Mike's will, "So, you see, everybody's at least a millionaire now—I haven't been figuring out how much more lately . . . but even if After paying taxes, it is far more than a million. There is no limit...but I understand that you will spend the money where you need it, to build temples and the like. Of course, if anyone wants to use this money to buy a yacht, it’s okay People stopped. Oh, yes! For those who are ready to put their money on the rise as usual, Joe Douglas will continue to manage, and the compensation will be the same as in the past... But I understand that Joe can't last long, when the time comes Transferred to Ben Caxton. Ben?"
Caxton shrugged. "In my name, no problem. But I've realized I'm going to hire a real businessman named Saul."
"That's settled. Might have to wait a while, but it's not going to be taken seriously that anyone would dare challenge that will; Mike's a tight fit. You'll see. When do we go? Is the bill settled?"
"Jubbal," said Ben gently, "this place is ours."
It didn't take long for them to be in the car and take off, and the police didn't bother at all—the city had calmed down as suddenly as it had erupted.Jubal and the drunk, Mahmad sat in the front row, relaxed.He found himself neither tired nor sad, nor even anxious to return to his sanctuary.They discussed Mahmed's plans to go to Mars to learn the Martian language...Jubal was pleased to learn that they would not be able to travel until the recordings were finished, and Mahmed estimated that the speech alone would require his own inspection. It will take a year.
Jubal said darkly, "I guess I'll just have to learn that shit, or else I'm not going to figure out what people around me are talking about."
"Do as you see fit, brother."
"Well, damn it, I can't stand being given homework and regular classes every day! I can study as much as I want, I've always done it."
Mahmed was silent for a while, "Jubbal, classes are divided into classes and a schedule is set in the worship hall. This is for a group of people to study together. But for some of them, we will give special care."
"That's all I need."
"For example, Anne, although she doesn't speak, she is actually very good. With her memory, she only needs to establish contact with Mike, and then she can immediately learn Martian language."
"Well, I don't have that kind of memory--I can't count on Mike anyway."
"Yeah, but Annie's here. Dawn can put you in touch with Annie, even if you're a bigot - as long as you let her do it. By the time you get to the second lesson, Annie can handle it all by herself, You don't need Dawn any more. You'll be thinking in Martian soon, maybe in a few days, a few days on the calendar—the subjective time will be much longer than that, but who cares?" Mahame De gave him a sideways glance, "There are warm-up exercises before class, you will like it."
Jubal raged: "You nasty, wicked, lecherous Arab - and stole one of my best secretaries."
"For this, I owe you forever. But you haven't lost her completely, and she will definitely teach you lessons. No one can stop it."
"Find another seat and go. I'll have to think."
After a while, Jubal shouted: "Shorthand!"
Dorcas came forward and sat down beside him, the shorthand equipment was ready.
Before he started, he glanced at her. "You look happier than usual, kid. You look radiant."
Dorcas said dreamily, "I decided to call him 'Dennis'."
Jubal nodded. "It's a good fit. It's a good fit." Even if she got confused about the father, he thought, the meaning of the name would be just as good. "Want to work?"
"Oh yes! I feel great."
"Start. Three-dimensional drama. First draft. Tentative title: 'A Martian named Smith'. Opening: The camera advances towards Mars, using the footage from the expansion, and then zooms in, showing the details of the landing of the 'Envoy'. Spaceship at mid-distance. Animated Martians, the most typical kind, in expansion footage. Close-up: Inside the ship. Female patient lying in—”
Notes:
Notes: