The Rise of Endymion Part 31

-he Dalai Lama is only eight standard years old. I had known that-Aenea and A. Bettik and Theo and Rachel have all mentioned it more than once-but I am still surprised when I see the child sitting on his high, cushioned throne.

There must be three or four thousand people in the immense reception room. Several broad escalators disgorge guests simultaneously into an antechamber the size of a s.p.a.cecraft hangar-gold pillars rising to a frescoed ceiling twenty meters above us, blue-and-white tiles underfoot with elaborate, inset images from the Bardo Thodrol Bardo Thodrol, the Tibetan Book of the Dead Tibetan Book of the Dead, as well as ill.u.s.trations of the vast seedship migration of the Buddhist Old Earth emigres, huge gold arches under which we pa.s.s to enter the reception room-and the reception room is larger still, its ceiling one giant skylight through which the broiling clouds and flickering lightning and lantern-lit mountainside are quite visible. The three or four thousand guests are brilliant in their finery-flowing silk, sculpted linen, draped and dyed wool, profusions of red-black-and-white feathers, elaborate hairdos, subtle but beautifully formed bracelets, necklaces, anklets, earrings, tiaras, and belts of silver, amethyst, gold, jade, lapis lazuli; and a score of other precious metals. And scattered among all this elegance and finery are scores of monks and abbots in their simple robes of orange, gold, yellow, saffron, and red, their closely shaved heads gleaming in the light from a hundred flickering tripod braziers. Yet the room is so large that these few thousand people do not come close to filling it up-the parquet floors gleam in the firelight and there is a twenty-meter s.p.a.ce between the first fringes of the crowd and the golden throne.

Small horns blow as the lines of guests step from the escalator staircases to the anteroom tiles. The trumpets are of bra.s.s and bone and the line of monks blowing them runs from the stairs to the entrance arches-more than sixty meters of constant noise. The hundreds of horns hold one note for minutes on end and then shift to another low note without signal from trumpeter to trumpeter and as we enter the Main Reception Hall-the antechamber acting as a giant echo chamber behind us-these low notes are taken up and amplified by twenty four-meter-long horns on either side of our procession. The monks who blow these monstrous instruments stand in small alcoves in the walls, resting the giant horns on stands set on the parquet floors, the bell-horn ends curling up like meter-wide lotus blossoms. Added to this constant, low series of notes-rather like an ocean-going ship's foghorn wrapped within a glacier's rumble-are the reverberations of a huge gong, at least five meters across, being struck at precise intervals. The air smells of incense from the braziers and the slightest veil of fragrant smoke moves above the jeweled and coiffed heads of the guests and seems to shimmer and shift with the rise and fall of the notes from the trumpets and horns and gong.

All faces are turned toward the Dalai Lama, his immediate retinue, and his guests. I take Aenea's hand and we move to our right, staying far back from the throne and its surrounding dais. Constellations of important guests move nervously between us and the distant throne.

Suddenly the deep horn notes cease. The gong's final vibrations echo and fall away. All of the guests are present. The huge doors behind us are pushed shut by straining servants. Across the giant, echoing s.p.a.ce, I can hear the crackling of flames in the countless braziers. Rain suddenly beats at the crystal skylight far above us.

The Dalai Lama is smiling slightly as he sits cross-legged on multiple silk cushions atop a platform that brings him to eye level with his standing guests. The boy's head is bare and shaven and he wears a simple red lama's robe. To his right, and lower, on a throne of his own, sits the Regent who will rule-in consultation with other high priests-until His Holiness the Dalai Lama comes of age at eighteen standard years. Aenea has told me about this Regent, a man named Reting Tokra who is said to be the literal incarnation of cunning, but all I can see from my distant vantage point now is the usual red robe and a narrow, pinched, brown face with its slitted eyes and tiny mustache.

To the left of His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the Lord Chamberlain, abbot of abbots. This man is quite old and smiling broadly at the phalanxes of guests. To his left is the State Oracle, a thin young woman with severely cropped hair and a yellow linen shirt under her red robe. Aenea has explained that it is the State Oracle's job to predict the future while in a deep trance. To the left of the State Oracle, their faces largely blocked from my view by the gilded pillars of the Dalai Lama's throne, stand five emissaries from the Pax-I can make out a short man in cardinal's red, three forms in black ca.s.socks, and at least one military uniform.

To the right of the Regent's throne stands the Chief Crier and Head of His Holiness's Security, the legendary Carl Linga William Eiheji, Zen archer, watercolorist, karate master, philosopher, former flyer, and flower arranger. Eiheji looks to be built of coiled steel wrapped about with pure muscle as he strides forward and fills the immense hall with his voice: "Honored guests, visitors from beyond our world, Dugpas, Drukpas, Drungpas-those from the highest ridges, the n.o.ble fissures, and the wooded valley slopes-Dzasas, honored officials, the Red Hats and the Yellow Hats, monks, abbots, getsel getsel novices, novices, Ko-sas Ko-sas of the Fourth Rank and higher, blessed ones who wear the of the Fourth Rank and higher, blessed ones who wear the su gi su gi, wives and husbands of those so honored, seekers of Enlightenment, it is my pleasure to welcome you here tonight on behalf of His Holiness, Getsw.a.n.g Ngw.a.n.g Lobsang Tengin Gyapso Sisunw.a.n.gyur Tshungpa Mapai Dhepal Sangpo-the Holy One, the Gentle Glory, Powerful in Speech, Pure in Mind, of Divine Wisdom, Holding the Faith, Ocean-Wide!"

The small bra.s.s and bone trumpets blow high, clear notes. The great horns bellow like dinosaurs. The gong sends vibrations through our bones and teeth.

Chief Crier Eiheji steps back. His Holiness the Dalai Lama speaks, his child's voice soft but clear and firm across the great s.p.a.ce.

"Thank you all for coming this night. We shall greet our new friends from the Pax in more intimate circ.u.mstances. Many of you have requested to see me...you shall receive my blessing in private audience tonight. I have requested to speak with some of you. You shall meet me in private audience tonight. Our friends from the Pax will speak with many of you this evening and in the days to come. In speaking to them, please remember that these are our brothers and sisters in the Dharma, in the quest for Enlightenment. Please remember that our breath is their breath, and that all of our breath is the breath of Buddha. Thank you. Please enjoy our celebration this night."

And with that the dais, throne and all, slides silently back through the opening wall, is hidden by a sliding curtain, then by another curtain, and then by the wall itself, and the thousands in the main reception hall let out a breath as one.

THE EVENING WAS, AS I REMEMBER, A NEARLY SURREAL combination of a gala ball swirling around a formal papal reception. I had never seen a papal reception, of course-the mystery Cardinal on the now-curtained dais was the highest official of the Church encountered in my experience-but the excitement of those being received by the Dalai Lama must have been similar to a Christian meeting the Pope, and the pomp and circ.u.mstance surrounding their presentation was impressive. Soldier-monks in red robes and red or yellow hats escorted the lucky few through the tented curtains and then through more curtains and finally through the door in the wall to the Dalai Lama's presence while the rest of us moved and mixed across the torchlit parquet floor, or browsed the long tables of excellent food, or even danced to the music of a small band-no bra.s.s and bone trumpets or four-meter horns there. I admit that I asked Aenea if she would like to dance, but she smiled, shook her head, and led our group to the nearest banquet table. Soon we were engaged in conversation with the Dorje Phamo and some of her female priests.

Knowing that I might be committing a faux pas, I nonetheless asked the beautiful old woman why she was called the Thunderbolt Sow. As we munched on fried b.a.l.l.s of tsampa and drank delicious tea, the Dorje Phamo laughed and told us the story.

On Old Earth,- the first such abbess of an all-male Tibetan Buddhist monastery had gained the reputation of being the reincarnation of the original Thunderbolt Sow, a demiG.o.ddess of frightening power. That first Dorje Phamo abbess was said to have transformed not only herself but all of the lamas in her monastery into pigs to frighten away enemy soldiers.

When I asked this last reincarnation of the Thunderbolt Sow if she had retained the power of transforming into a sow, the elegant old woman lifted her head and said firmly, "If that would frighten away these current invaders, I would do so in an instant."

In the three hours or so during which Aenea and I mixed and chatted and listened to music and watched the lightning through the grand skylight, this was the only negative thing we heard spoken-aloud-about the Pax emissaries, although under the silk finery and gala gaiety, there seemed to be an undercurrent of anxiety to the evening. This seemed natural since the world of T'ien Shan had been-except for the occasional free trader's dropship-isolated from the Pax and the rest of post-Hegemonic humanity for almost three centuries.

The evening was growing late and I was becoming convinced that Labsang Samten's statement that the Dalai Lama and his Pax guests had wished to see us was erroneous, when suddenly several palace officiaries in great, curved red and yellow hats-looking rather like ill.u.s.trations I had seen of ancient Greek helmets-sought us out and asked that we accompany them to the Dalai Lama's presence.

I looked at my friend, ready to bolt with her and cover our retreat if she showed even a hint of fear or reticence, but Aenea simply nodded in compliance and took my arm. The sea of partygoers made way for us as we crossed the vast s.p.a.ce behind the officials, the two of us walking slowly, arm in arm, as if I were her father giving her away in a traditional Church wedding...or as if we had always been a couple ourselves. In my pocket was the flashlight laser and the diskey journal/com unit. The laser would be worth little if the Pax was determined to seize us, but I had decided to call the ship if the worst happened. Rather than allow Aenea to be captured, I would bring the ship down on blazing reaction thrusters, right through that lovely skylight.

We pa.s.sed through the outer curtain and entered a canopied s.p.a.ce where the sounds of the band and merrymaking were still quite audible. Here several red-hat officials asked us to extend our arms with our palms upward. When we did so, they set a white silk scarf in our hands, the ends hanging down. We were waved forward through the second curtain. Here the Lord Chamberlain greeted us with a bow-Aenea responding with a graceful curtsy, me with an awkward bow in return-and led us through the door into the small room where the Dalai Lama waited with his guests.

This private room was like an extension of the young Dalai Lama's throne-gold and gilt and silk brocade and wildly ornate tapestries with reversed swastikas embroidered everywhere amid images of opening flowers and curling dragons and spinning mandalas. The doors closed behind us and the sounds of the party would have been shut out completely except for the audio pickups of three video monitors set in the wall to our left. Real-time video of the party was being fed in from different locations around the Main Reception Hall and the boy on the throne and his guests were watching it raptly.

We paused until the Lord Chamberlain gestured us forward again. He whispered to us as we approached the throne and the Dalai Lama turned in our direction. "It is not necessary to bow until His Holiness raises his hand. Then please bow forward until after he releases his touch."

We paused three paces from the raised throne platform with its shimmering quilts and draped cushions. Carl Linga William Eiheji, the Chief Crier, said in soft but resonant tones, "Your Holiness, the architect in charge of construction at Hsuan-k'ung Ssu and her a.s.sistant."

Her a.s.sistant? I moved forward a step behind Aenea, confused, but grateful that the Crier had not announced our names. I could see the five Pax figures out of the corner of my eye, but protocol demanded that I keep my gaze directed toward the Dalai Lama but lowered. I moved forward a step behind Aenea, confused, but grateful that the Crier had not announced our names. I could see the five Pax figures out of the corner of my eye, but protocol demanded that I keep my gaze directed toward the Dalai Lama but lowered.

Aenea stopped at the edge of the high throne platform, her arms still held in front of her, the scarf taut between her hands. The Lord Chamberlain set several objects on the scarf and the boy reached forward and whisked them off quickly, setting them to his right on the platform. When the objects were gone, a servant stepped forward and took away the white scarf. Aenea put her hands together as if in prayer and bowed forward. The boy's smile was gentle as he leaned forward and touched my friend-my beloved-on the head, setting his fingers like a crown on her brown hair. I realized that it was a blessing. When he removed his fingers, he lifted a red scarf from a stack by his side and set it in Aenea's left hand. Then he took her right hand and shook it, his smile broadening. The Lord Chamberlain gestured for Aenea to stand in front of the Regent's lower throne as I stepped forward and went through the same quick ceremony with the Dalai Lama.

I just had time to notice that the objects set on the white scarf by the Lord Chamberlain and whisked away by the Dalai Lama included a small gold relief in the shape of three mountains, representing the world of T'ien Shan Aenea later explained, an image of a human body, a stylized book representing speech, and a chorten chorten, or temple, shape representing the mind. The appearing and disappearing act was over before I had time to pay more attention to it, and then the red scarf was in one hand while the boy's tiny hand was in my large one. His handshake was surprisingly firm. My gaze was lowered, but I could still make out his broad smile. I stepped back next to Aenea.

The same ceremony was quickly performed with the Regent-white scarf, symbolic objects placed and removed, red scarf. But the Regent did not shake hands with either of us. When we had received the Regent's blessing, the Lord Chamberlain gestured for us to raise our heads and gazes.

I almost made a grab for the flashlight laser and started firing wildly. Besides the Dalai Lama, his monk servants, the Lord Chamberlain, the Regent, the State Oracle, the Crier, the short Cardinal, the three men in black ca.s.socks, there was a woman in a black-and-red Pax Fleet uniform. She had just stepped around a tall priest so we could see her face for the first time. Her dark eyes were fixed on Aenea. The woman's hair was short and hung over her pale forehead in limp bangs. Her skin was sallow. Her gaze was reptilian-simultaneously remote and rapt.

It was the thing that had tried to kill Aenea, A. Bettik, and me on G.o.d's Grove some five of my years-more than ten of Aenea's-ago. It was the inhuman killing device that had defeated the Shrike and would have carried Aenea's head away in a bag had it not been for the intervention of Father Captain de Soya in his...o...b..ting s.p.a.cecraft; he had used the full fusion power of the ship to lance the monster downward into a cauldron of bubbling, molten rock.

And here it was again, its black, inhuman eyes fixed on Aenea's face. It had obviously sought her across the years and light-years, and now it had her. It had us.

My heart was pounding and my legs felt suddenly weak, but through the shock my mind was working like an AI. The flashlight laser was tucked in a pocket in the right side of my cape. The com unit was in my left trouser pocket. With my right hand I would flash the cutting beam into the woman-thing's eyes, then flick the selector to broad and blind the Pax priests. With my left hand I would trigger the squirt command to send the prerecorded message via tightbeam to the ship.

But even if the ship responded immediately and was not intercepted by a Pax warship on its flight, it would be several minutes before it could descend, through the palace skylight. We would be dead by then.

And I knew the speed of this thing-it simply had disappeared when it fought the Shrike, a chrome blur. I would never get the flashlight laser or com unit out of my pockets. We would be dead before my hand made it halfway to the weapon.

I froze, realizing that although Aenea must have recognized the woman at once, she had not reacted with the shock I felt. To outward appearances, she had not reacted at all. Her smile remained. Her gaze had pa.s.sed over the Pax visitors-including the monster-and then returned to the boy on the throne.

It was Regent Reting Tokra who spoke first. "Our guests asked for this audience. They heard from His Holiness of the reconstruction going on at the Temple Hanging in Air and wished to meet the young woman who had designed the construction."

The Regent's voice was as pinched and ungiving as his appearance.

The Dalai Lama spoke then and his boy's voice was soft but as generous as the Regent's had been guarded. "My friends," he said, gesturing toward Aenea and me, "may I introduce our distinguished visitors from the Pax. John Domenico Cardinal Mustafa of the Catholic Church's Holy Office, Archbishop Jean Daniel Breque of the Papal Diplomatic Corps, Father Martin Farrell, Father Gerard LeBlanc, and Commander Rhadamanth Nemes of the n.o.ble Guard."

We nodded. The Pax dignitaries-including the monster-nodded. If there was a breech of protocol by His Holiness the Dalai Lama doing the introductions, no one seemed to notice.

John Domenico Cardinal Mustafa said in a silken voice, "Thank you, Your Holiness. But you have introduced these exceptional people only as the architect and her a.s.sistant." The Cardinal smiled at us, showing small, sharp teeth. "You have names, perhaps?"

My pulse was racing. The fingers of my right hand twitched at the thought of the flashlight laser. Aenea was still smiling but showed no sign of answering the Cardinal. My mind galloped to come up with aliases. But why? Certainly they knew who we were. All this was a trap. The Nemes thing would never let us leave this throne room...or would be waiting for us when we did.

Surprisingly, it was the boy Dalai Lama who spoke again. "I would be pleased to complete my introductions, Your Eminence. Our esteemed architect is called Ananda and her a.s.sistant-one of many skilled a.s.sistants I am told-is called Subhadda."

I admit that I blinked at this. Had someone told the Dalai Lama these names? Aenea had told me that Ananda had been the Buddha's foremost disciple and a teacher in his own right; Subhadda had been a wandering ascetic who had become the Buddha's last direct disciple, becoming a follower after meeting him just hours before he died. She also told me that the Dalai Lama had come up with these names for our introduction, apparently appreciating the irony in them. I failed to see the humor.

"M. Ananda," said Cardinal Mustafa, bowing slightly. "M. Subhadda." He looked us over. "You will pardon my bluntness and ignorance, M. Ananda, but you seem of a different racial stock than most of the people we have met in the Potala or the surrounding areas of T'ien Shan."

Aenea nodded. "One must be careful in making generalizations, Your Eminence. There are areas of this world settled by seedship colonists from many of Old Earth's regions."

"Of course," purred Cardinal Mustafa. "And I must say that your Web English is very unaccented. May I inquire as to which region of T'ien Shan you and your a.s.sistant call home?"

"Of course," responded Aenea in as smooth a voice as the Cardinal's. "I came into the world in a region of ridges beyond Mt. Moriah and Mt. Zion, north and west of Muztagh Alta."

The Cardinal nodded judiciously. I noticed then that his collar-what Aenea later said was called his rabat rabat or or rabbi rabbi in Church terminology-was of a scarlet watered silk the same color as his red ca.s.sock and skullcap. in Church terminology-was of a scarlet watered silk the same color as his red ca.s.sock and skullcap.

"Are you perchance," he continued smoothly, "of the Hebrew or Muslim faiths which our hosts have told us prevail in those regions?"

"I am of no faith," said Aenea. "If one defines faith as belief in the supernatural."

The Cardinal's eyebrows lifted slightly. The man called Father Farrell glanced at his boss. Rhadamanth Nemes's terrible gaze never wavered.

"Yet you labor to build a temple to Buddhist beliefs," said Cardinal Mustafa pleasantly enough.

"I was hired to reconstruct a beautiful complex," said Aenea. "I am proud to have been chosen to this task."

"Despite your lack of...ah...belief in the supernatural?" said Mustafa. I could hear the Inquisition in his voice. Even on the rural moors of Hyperion, we had heard of the Holy Office.

"Perhaps because of it, Your Eminence," said Aenea. "And because of the trust in my own human abilities and those of my coworkers."

"So the task is its own justification?" pressed the Cardinal. "Even if it has no deeper significance?"

"Perhaps a task well done is is the deeper significance," said Aenea. the deeper significance," said Aenea.

Cardinal Mustafa chuckled. It was not an altogether pleasant sound. "Well said, young lady. Well said."

Father Farrell cleared his throat. "The region beyond Mt. Zion," he said musingly. "We noticed during our orbital survey that there was a single farcaster portal set onto a ridgeline in that area. We had thought that T'ien Shan had never been a part of the Web, but our records showed that the portal was completed very shortly before the Fall."

"But never used!" exclaimed the young Dalai Lama, lifting one slim finger. "No one ever traveled to or from the Mountains of Heaven via the Hegemony farcaster."

"Indeed," said Cardinal Mustafa softly. "Well, we a.s.sumed as much, but I must tender our apologies, Your Holiness. In our ship's zeal to probe the structure of the old farcaster portal from orbit, it accidentally melted the surrounding rocks onto it. The doorway is sealed forever under rock, I am afraid."

I glanced at Rhadamanth Nemes when this was said. She did not blink. I had not seen her blink. Her gaze was riveted to Aenea.

The Dalai Lama swept his hand in a dismissive gesture. "It does not matter, Your Eminence. We have no use for a farcaster portal which was never used...unless your Pax has found a way to reactivate the farcasters?" He laughed at the idea. It was a pleasant boyish laugh, but sharp with intelligence.

"No, Your Holiness," said Cardinal Mustafa, smiling. "Even the Church has not found a way to reactivate the Web. And it is almost certainly best that we never do."

My tension was quickly turning to a sort of nausea. This ugly little man in cardinal red was telling Aenea that he knew how she had arrived on T'ien Shan and that she could not escape that way. I glanced at my friend, but she seemed placid and only mildly interested in the conversation. Could there be a second farcaster portal of which the Pax knew nothing? At least this explained why we were still alive: the Pax had sealed Aenea's mousehole and had a cat, or several cats-in the form of their diplomatic ship in orbit and undoubtedly more warships hidden elsewhere in-system-waiting for her. If I had arrived a few months later, they would have seized or destroyed our ship and still had Aenea where they wanted her.

But why wait? And why this game?

"...we would be very interested in seeing your-what is it called?-Temple Hanging in Air? It sounds fascinating," Archbishop Breque was saying.

Regent Tokra was frowning. "It may be difficult to arrange, Your Excellency," he said. "The monsoons are approaching, the cableways will be very dangerous, and even the High Way is hazardous during the winter storms."

"Nonsense!" cried the Dalai Lama, ignoring the scowl the thin-faced Regent had turned in his direction. "We will be happy to help arrange such an expedition," continued the boy. "You must, by all means, see Hsuan-k'ung Ssu. And all of the Middle Kingdom...even to the T'ai Shan, the Great Peak, where the twenty-seven-thousand-step stairway rises to the Temple to the Jade Emperor and the Princess of the Azure Clouds."

"Your Holiness," murmured the Lord Chamberlain, his head bowed but only after exchanging a parental glance with the Regent, "I should remind you that the Great Peak of the Middle Kingdom can be reached by cableway only in the spring months because of the high tide of the poisonous clouds. For the next seven months, T'ai Shan is inaccessible to the rest of the Middle Kingdom and the world."

The Dalai Lama's boyish smile disappeared...not, I thought, out of petulance, but from displeasure at being patronized. When he spoke next, his voice had the sharp edge of command to it. I did not know many children, but I had known more than a few military officers, and if my experience was any guide, this boy would become a formidable man and commander.

"Lord Chamberlain," said the Dalai Lama, "I of course know of the closure of the cableway. Everyone Everyone knows of the closure of the cableway. But I also know that every winter season, a few intrepid flyers make the flight from Sung Shan to the Great Peak. How else would we share our formal edicts with our friends among the faithful on T'ai Shan? And some of the parawings can accommodate more than one flyer...pa.s.sengers even, yes?" knows of the closure of the cableway. But I also know that every winter season, a few intrepid flyers make the flight from Sung Shan to the Great Peak. How else would we share our formal edicts with our friends among the faithful on T'ai Shan? And some of the parawings can accommodate more than one flyer...pa.s.sengers even, yes?"

The Lord Chamberlain was bowing so low that I was afraid that his forehead was going to sc.r.a.pe the formal tiles. His voice quavered. "Yes, yes, of course, Your Holiness, of course. I knew that you knew this, My Lord, Your Holiness. I only meant...I only meant to say..."

Regent Tokra said sharply, "I am sure that what the Lord Chamberlain meant to say, Your Holiness, is that although a few flyers make the voyage each year, many more die in the attempt. We would not want to put our honored guests in any danger."

The Dalai Lama's smile returned, but it was something older and more cunning-almost mocking-than the boy's smile of a few minutes earlier. He spoke to Cardinal Mustafa. "You are not afraid of dying, are you, Your Eminence? That is the entire purpose of your visit here, is it not? To show us the wonders of your Christian resurrection?"

"Not the sole purpose, Your Holiness," murmured the Cardinal. "We come primarily to share the joyous news of Christ with those who wish to hear it and also to discuss possible trade relations with your beautiful world." The Cardinal returned the boy's smile. "And although the cross and the Sacrament of Resurrection are direct gifts from G.o.d, Your Holiness, it is a sad requirement that some portion of the body or the cruciform must be recovered for that sacrament to be given. I understand that no one returns from your sea of clouds?"

"No one," agreed the boy with his smile widening.

Cardinal Mustafa made a gesture with his hands. "Then perhaps we will limit our visit to the Temple Hanging in Air and other accessible destinations," he said.

There was a silence and I looked at Aenea again, thinking that we were about to be dismissed, wondering what the signal would be, thinking that the Lord Chamberlain would lead us out, feeling my arms go to gooseb.u.mps at the intensity of the Nemes-thing's hungry gaze aimed at Aenea, when suddenly Archbishop Jean Daniel Breque broke the silence. "I have been discussing with His Highness, Regent Tokra," he said to us as if we might settle some argument between them, "how amazingly similar our miracle of resurrection is to the age-old Buddhist belief in reincarnation."

"Ahhh," said the boy on the golden throne, his face brightening as if someone had brought up a subject of interest to him, "but not all Buddhists believe in reincarnation. Even before the migration to T'ien Shan and the great changes in philosophy which have evolved here, not all Buddhist sects accepted the concept of rebirth. We know for a fact that the Buddha refused to speculate with his disciples on whether there was such a thing as life after death. 'Such questions,' he said, 'are not relevant to the practice of the Path and cannot be answered while bound by the restraints of human existence.' Most of Buddhism, you see, gentlemen, can be explored, appreciated, and utilized as a tool toward enlightenment without descending into the supernatural."

The Archbishop looked nonplussed, but Cardinal Mustafa said quickly, "Yet did not your Buddha say-and I believe that one of your scriptures holds these as his words, Your Holiness, but correct me immediately if I am wrong-'There is an unborn, an unoriginated, an unmade, an uncompounded; were there not, there would be no escape from the world of the born, the originated, the made, and the compounded.'"

The boy's smile did not waver. "Indeed, he did, Your Eminence. Very good. But are there not elements-as yet not completely understood-within our physical universe, bound by the laws of our physical universe, which might be described as unborn, unoriginated, unmade, and uncompounded?"

"None that I know of, Your Holiness," said Cardinal Mustafa, affably enough. "But then I am not a scientist. Only a poor priest."

Despite this diplomatic finesse, the boy on the throne seemed intent on pursuing the subject. "As we have previously discussed, Cardinal Mustafa, our form of Buddhism has evolved since we landed on this mountain world. Now it is very much filled with the spirit of Zen. And one of the great Zen masters of Old Earth, the poet William Blake, once said-'Eternity is in love with the productions of time.'"

Cardinal Mustafa's fixed smile showed his lack of understanding.

The Dalai Lama was no longer smiling. The boy's expression was pleasant but serious. "Do you think perhaps that M. Blake meant that time without ending is worthless time, Cardinal Mustafa? That any being freed from mortality-even G.o.d-might envy the children of slow time?"

The Cardinal nodded but showed no agreement. "Your Holiness, I cannot see how G.o.d could envy poor mortal humankind. Certainly G.o.d is not capable of envy."

The boy's nearly invisible eyebrows shot up. "Yet, is not your Christian G.o.d, by definition, omnipotent? Certainly he, she, it must be capable of envy."

"Ah, a paradox meant for children, Your Holiness. I confess I am trained in neither logical apologetics nor metaphysics. But as a prince of Christ's Church, I know from my catechism and in my soul that G.o.d is not capable of envy...especially not envy of his flawed creations."

"Flawed?" said the boy.

Cardinal Mustafa smiled condescendingly, his tone that of a learned priest speaking to a child. "Humanity is flawed because of its propensity for sin," he said softly. "Our Lord could not be envious of a being capable of sin."

The Dalai Lama nodded slowly. "One of our Zen masters, a man named Ikkyu, once wrote a poem to that effect- "All the sins committed In the Three Worlds Will fade and disappear Together with myself."

Cardinal Mustafa waited a moment, but when no more poem was forthcoming, he said, "Which three worlds was he speaking of, Your Holiness?"

"This was before s.p.a.ceflight," said the boy, shifting slightly on his cushioned throne. "The Three Worlds are the past, present, and future."

"Very nice," said the Cardinal from the Holy Office. Behind him, his aide, Father Farrell, was staring at the boy with something like cold distaste. "But we Christians do not believe that sin-or the effects of sin-or the accountability for sin, for that matter-end with one's life, Your Holiness."

"Precisely." The boy smiled. "It is for this reason that I am curious why you extend life so artificially through your cruciform creature," he said. "We feel that the slate is washed clean with death. You feel that it brings judgment. Why defer this judgment?"

"We view the cruciform as a sacrament given to us by Our Lord Jesus Christ," Cardinal Mustafa said softly. "This judgment was first deferred by Our Savior's sacrifice on the cross, G.o.d Himself accepting the punishment for our sins, allowing us the option of everlasting life in heaven if we so choose it. The cruciform is another gift from Our Savior, perhaps allowing us time to set our houses in order before that final judgment."

"Ahh, yes," sighed the boy. "But perhaps Ikkyu meant that there are no sinners. That there is no sin. That 'our' lives do not belong to us..."

"Precisely, Your Holiness," interrupted Cardinal Mustafa, as if praising a slow learner. I saw the Regent, the Lord Chamberlain, and others around the throne wince at this interruption. "Our lives do not belong to us, but to Our Lord and Savior...and to serve Him, to our Holy Mother Church."

"...do not belong to us, but belong to the universe," continued the boy. "And that our deeds-good and bad-also are property of the universe."

Cardinal Mustafa frowned. "A pretty phrase, Your Holiness, but perhaps too abstract. Without G.o.d, the universe can only be a machine...unthinking, uncaring, unfeeling."