During the voyage from Assurdo to Quirk, I spent many pleasant hours with T’Fees, usually playing sheez or bactak. I remember well the occasion, toward the end of one day shift, when T’Fees asked by what right Vess and Chiddy had disrupted teros life and the life of others on Assurdo.
I asked if te had ever seen the Fresco. Te replied that te had not. Te had never been on Pistach-home. The ceremonial buildings on ter homeworld did not, of course, contain a copy of the Fresco. Te had, however, seen the Glumshalak Compendium with the sketches drawn shortly after the Fresco was finished. The ship carrying the Compendium had stopped on Assurdo for refueling, and for some inexplicable reason had, while there, allowed the local populace to file past the revered book.
“You ask what gives us the right,” I said. “Panel fifteen of the Fresco,The Blessing of Cantborel, s hows us Mengantowhai, foreseeing the martyrdom that would give him divine authority, passing this authority to Canthorel. When Canthorel came to Pistach-home, it was passed to aisos successors through the holy Fresco. Mengan-towhai’s holy authority has descended to the athyci of Pistach down the centuries, each receiving it from those who have received it before in an unbroken line.”
“And who gave it to Mengantowhai?” te asked.
“Universal Purpose,” I replied. “This Purpose was made manifest when Mengantowhai first came into contact with the Jaupati. Panel one of the Fresco,The Meeting, s hows us they were a primitive race. They warred among themselves. It is even said the Jaupati were per-sonophagic, though the truth of that assertion is unproven. In panel two of the Fresco,The Steadfast Docents, w e are shown teachers, appointed by Mengantowhai, asking the Jaupati if they desire peace and freedom from want and pain, and they are crying as with one voice that they do. The Jaupati put themselves in his hands, and he worked with them for many years.”
“What did he do to them?”
“He did nothing to them. He did a great deal withthem. He taught them how to differentiate their young toward ultimate contentment. He taught them how to structure an economy so there would be work for all. He taught them how to breed one offspring at a time instead of litters, like pflggi, for it is absolutely true that no nootch, or parent, can civilize a litter! He taught them how to educate their young in order to avoid being glutted by whole families of glusi. And they were grateful. In panel six, The Offerings, we see the Jaupati bringing gifts to Mengantowhai.”
“Yet I have heard Mengantowhai died a martyr’s death at their hands.”
“That assertion is heretical. Mengantowhai was not killed by the Jaupati but by the Pokoti. In panel nine,Evangelism, w e see the Jaupati leader, Kasiwees, raising a force to defend Mengantowhai against the Pokoti. In panel ten,The Envious Pokoti, w e see the Pokoti plotting against the Jaupati. In panel eleven,The Attack, w e see the abduction of Mengantowhai by the Pokoti. The Pokoti tried to force him to tell them the secrets of selection, the skills of economic design, the way to have one offspring at a time. These are not things one can tell, like a recipe for flosti-gut pate! They are not things one should communicate except by example. Mengantowhai was badly wounded during his abduction. In panel twelve,The Rescue, w e see Canthorel arriving to save him. Mengantowhai did not die for some time following, for panels thirteen, fourteen and fifteen show him still alive.”
“And what are those panels called?” T’fees asked.
“Thirteen isMengantoivbai’s Sermon, h is teaching to his people. Then,The Fearful Faithless, the departure of the Pistach who feared another attack by the Pokoti, and finally,The Blessing of Canthorel, w hich I have already mentioned. This is followed by panel sixteen,Departure of Canthorel.”
“And what happened to the Jaupati?”
“Maddened by Mengantowhai’s passing, they locked themselves in a death-struggle with the Pokoti. Canthorel was unable to bring peace, as there was too much hatred on both sides, and ai departed from the world. Panel seventeen, the final panel of the Fresco, the one that lies between the left-hand doors, shows the last Jaupati, Kasiwees, kneeling in prayer before the shrine of Mengantowhai while the last Pokoti sneaks from behind him with a blade. We know from the associated Pistach symbols of renewal, flying flosti, bulbs, worm jars, that Kasiwees is praying for Mengantowhai’s return. Kasiwees is our exemplar. When we enter the ranks of the athyci, we swear to respond to the Plea of Kasiwees. This Kasiwean Oath commits us to meeting the needs of others by bringing Mengantowhai’s help, as set out in the Fresco of Canthorel.”