Chapter 22 Chapter Twenty

Record - Poole Hi Frank...so you finally met Ted.Yes, you could call him a freak—if your definition of a freak is a humorless fanatic.But geeks are usually like that because they know a great truth - hear my quotes?And no one listens to them... I'm glad you listened to him - and I suggest you take him seriously. You said you were surprised to find a prominent portrait of the Pope hanging in Ted's apartment.That should be his idol, "Bi Yue 20th" - I must have mentioned him to you before.Go look up his profile - he's usually called apostate!That's a really touching story, and it's almost identical to something that happened before you were born.You must know Gorbachev, the leader of the Soviet Union, at the end of the 20th century, because he exposed the crimes and atrocities of the empire, the empire collapsed.Bi Yue 20th did not intend to achieve that level - he originally hoped to reform the religious world, but it was already impossible at that time.We'll never know if he had the same idea, and he shocked the world by releasing the secret files of the Inquisition.Shortly after that, he was assassinated by a deranged bishop...

Decades before that, the religious world was still shocked by the discovery of TMA0—presumably that incident had a great impact on Bi Yue 20th, and of course it also affected his actions... But you haven't told me why Ted, a pseudo-polytheist, thinks you're helping him in his research on God.I'm sure he must still be mad at God for hiding so well.You better not tell him I said that. But, on second thought, why not? Love you - Indira store send Miss Prinkle Record Hi - Indira - Dr. Ted taught me another lesson, but I still haven't told him why you think he's mad at God!

But I've had some really interesting debates -- no, conversations -- with him, though he's doing most of the talking.I never thought that after so many years in engineering, I would step into the field of philosophy again.Maybe I have to understand philosophy first to understand Ted's thinking.I don't know how he will judge me as a student? Yesterday I tried to discuss it from this angle, hoping to see his reaction.Maybe this is an original approach, but I doubt it.I thought you'd be interested to hear it - and I'd like to know your take on it too.Our discussion is as follows -

Miss Prinkle - copy the voice file No. 94 "Of course, Ted, you can't deny that most of the greatest works of human art were inspired by religious devotion. Don't those prove anything?" "That's right, but not in a way that would comfort all good men and women. Humans entertain themselves by listing the biggest, greatest, and best things in the world. I'm sure that in your time, that It's a fairly common form of entertainment." "indeed so." "In art, there have been several famous attempts of this kind. Of course, such a list cannot establish absolute and permanent value, but it is interesting because it shows how tastes change over time.

"A list I saw recently, from the 'Earth Art Network' a few years ago. Divided into architecture, music, visual arts...I can remember a few examples...Parthenon, Taj Mahal... …Bach's Tentacle and Fugue are first in music; Verdi's 'Requiem' is next. In art, of course, there's the Mona Lisa. Then—I'm not sure about the order, A group of Buddhist statues somewhere in Sri Lanka, and the gold mask of King Tutangkamen, who died young. "If I remember others (and I certainly can't), that doesn't matter, what matters is the cultural and religious background. On the whole, there is no single religion in every field of art - with the exception of music. That Possibly a purely technological accident: for the organ, and other non-electrical instruments, were perfected in the Christian West. But... if the Greeks and Chinese, for example, were serious about craftsmanship, that might not be the case at all!

"But what is really controversial, as far as I am concerned, is the recognition of one of the greatest works of human art. The one that comes up again and again on almost every list - is Angkor Wat. However, the religion that inspired that art Extinct for centuries, no one really knows what religion it is, except that it had hundreds of gods, not just one!" "I wish I could throw this question to Archmage Bernstein, I believe he must have a good answer." "There's no question about that. I wish I had met him; but I'm glad he didn't live to see what happened to Israel."

end of audio file You heard that, Indira.Wish there was Angkor Wat on the service list of the three major restaurants - I've never been there, but it's always impossible for one to have everything... Next, the question you really want me to answer...why am I here to make Dr. Ted so happy? As you know, he was convinced that the key to many of the puzzles stood on Europa, and that no one had been able to land there for 1,000 years. He thought I might be an exception, he believed I had friends out there.That's right, David Bowman, whatever he's become now... We know he was pulled into the Big Brother Slate, but didn't die - and somehow, he visited Earth afterward.But there are other things that I didn't know at first, only a few people know, because Wei San and the others are ashamed to speak about this matter...

After years of gathering evidence, Ted Khan is now pretty sure of the facts—even if he can't explain them.At least half a dozen times, roughly every century, credible eyewitnesses in Wolfsburg report seeing a—ghost, like Heywood Floyd saw on the Discovery.Although none of these witnesses knew about the accident, they all recognized David when they saw his hologram. There was another sighting 600 years ago, from a survey ship very close to Europa... Taken separately, no one would take these cases seriously, but together they are clear.Ted was pretty sure that David Bowman survived in some form, and it must have something to do with the slabs we call The Great Wall.And he was still interested in human affairs.

Although he didn't try to communicate, Ted wanted me to try to reach him.Ted believes I'm the only one who can... I can't make up my mind, I'll talk to Captain Chandler tomorrow.Will let you know of our decision.Love you, Frank. store Teleport - Indira