“Their wish, when they died,” said Rumfoord, “was not for paradise for themselves, but that the brotherhood of mankind on Earth might be enduring.
“To that end, devoutly to be wished,” said Rumfoord, “I bring you word of a new religion that can be received enthusiastically in every corner of every Earthling heart.
“National borders,” said Rumfoord, “will disappear.
“The lust for war,” said Rumfoord, “will die.
“All envy, all fear, all hate will die,” said Rumfoord.
“The name of the new religion,” said Rumfoord, “is The Church of God the Utterly Indifferent.
“The flag of that church will be blue and gold,” said Rumfoord. “These words will be written on that flag in gold letters on a blue field: Take Care of the People, and God Almighty Will Take Care of Himself.
“The two chief teachings of this religion are these,” said Rumfoord: “Puny man can do nothing at all to help or please God Almighty, and Luck is not the hand of God.
“Why should you believe in this religion, rather than any other?” said Rumfoord. “You should believe in it because I, as head of this religion, can work miracles, and the head of no other religion can. What miracles can I work? I can work the miracle of predicting, with absolute accuracy, the things that the future will bring.”
Rumfoord thereupon predicted fifty future events in great detail.
These predictions were carefully recorded by those present.
Needless to say, they all came true eventually — came true in great detail.
“The teachings of this religion will seem subtle and confusing at first,” said Rumfoord. “But they will become beautiful and crystal clear as time goes by.
“As a presently confusing beginning,” said Rumfoord, “I shall tell you a parable:
“Once upon a time, luck arranged things so that a baby named Malachi Constant was born the richest child on Earth. On the same day, luck arranged things so that a blind grandmother stepped on a rollerskate at the head of a flight of cement stairs, a policeman’s horse stepped on an organ-grinder’s monkey, and a paroled bank robber found a postage stamp worth nine hundred dollars in the bottom of a trunk in his attic. I ask you — is luck the hand of God?”
Rumfoord held up an index finger that was as translucent as a Limoges teacup. “During my next visit with you, fellow-believers,” he said. “I shall tell you a parable about people who do things that they think God Almighty wants done. In the meanwhile, you would do well, for background on this parable, to read everything ‘that you can lay your hands on about the Spanish Inquisition.
“The next time I come to you,” said Rumfoord, “I shall bring you a Bible, revised so as to be meaning. ful in modern times. And I shall bring you a short history of Mars, a true history of the saints who died in order that the world might be united as the Brotherhood of Man. This history will break the heart of every human being who has a heart that can be broken.”
Rumfoord and his dog dematerialized abruptly.
On the space ship out of Mars and bound for Mercury, on the space ship carrying Unk and Boaz, the automatic pilot-navigator decreed that it be day in the cabin again.
It was the dawn following the night in which Unk had told Boaz that the thing in Boaz’s pocket couldn’t hurt. anybody any more.
Unk was asleep on his bunk in a sitting position. His Mauser rifle, loaded and cocked, lay across his knees.
Boaz was not asleep. He was lying on his bunk across the cabin from Unk. Boaz had not slept a wink. He could now, if he wanted to, disarm and kill Unk easily.
But Boaz had decided that he needed a buddy far more than he needed a means of making people do exactly what he wanted them to. During the night, he had become very unsure of what he wanted people to do, anyway.
Not to be lonely, not to be scared — Boaz had decided that those were the important things in life. A real buddy could help more than anything.