«Of course, Patty. Uh… it's yours.»
«I know, dear. But it is good to ask. I'll lie on it and feel the grass against me and be filled with Happiness to be in my brother's “little nest”.»
«You're most welcome, Patty.» He hoped she would leave her snakes behind! «When will you be there?»
«I don't know. When waiting is filled. Maybe Michael knows.»
«Well, warn me if possible, so I'll be in town. If not, Jill always knows my door code. Patty, doesn't anybody keep track of this money?»
«What for, Ben?»
«Uh, people usually do.»
«We don't. Just help yourself — then put back any you have left when you come home, if you remember. Michael told me to keep the grouch bag filled. If it runs low I get more from him.»
Ben dropped the matter, stonkered by its simplicity. He had some idea of the moneyless communism of Martian culture; he could see that Mike had set up an enclave of it here — these bowls marked transition from Martian to Terran economy. He wondered if Patty knew that it was fake … propped up by Mike's wealth.
«Patty, how many are there in the Nest?» He felt a mild worry, then shoved back the thought — why would they sponge on him? — hedidn't have pots of gold inside his door.
«Let me see … almost twenty, counting novitiate brothers who don't think in Martian yet and aren't ordained.»
«Are you ordained, Patty?»
«Oh, yes. Mostly I teach. Beginners' classes in Martian, and I help novitiates and such. And Dawn and I — Dawn and Jill are High Priestesses — Dawn and I are pretty well-known Fosterites, so we work together to show other Fosterites that the Church of All World's doesn't conflict with the Faith, any more than being a Baptist keeps a man from joining the Masons.» She showed Ben Foster's kiss, explained it, and showed him its miraculous companion placed by Mike.
«They know what Foster's kiss means and how hard it is to win it … and they've seen some of Mike's miracles and are about ripe to buckle down and climb into a higher circle.»
«It's an effort?»
«Of course, Ben — for them. In your case and mine, and Jill's, and a few others Michael called us straight into brotherhood. But to others Michael first teaches a discipline — not a faith but a way to realize faith in works. That means they've got to learn Martian. That's not easy; I'm not perfect in it. But it is Happiness to work and learn. You asked about the Nest — let me see, Duke and Jill and Michael… two Fosterites, Dawn and myself … one circumcised Jew and his wife and four chil dren — »
«Kids in the Nest?»
«Oh, lots of them. In the nestlings' nest just off of here; nobody could meditate with kids hollering and raising Ned. Want to see it?»
«Uh, later.»
«One Catholic couple with a little boy — excommunicated I'm sorry to say; their priest found out. Michael had to give them special help; it was a nasty shock — and utterly unnecessary. They were getting up early every Sunday to go to mass as usual — but kids will talk. One Mormon family of the new schism — that's three more, and their kids. The rest are Protestants and one atheist … that is, he thought he was until Michael opened his eyes. He came here to scoff; he stayed to learn … he'll be a priest soon. Uh, nineteen grown-ups, but we're hardly ever all in the Nest at once, except for our own services in the Innermost Temple. The Nest is built to hold eighty-one — “three-filled”, — but Michael groks much waiting before we need a bigger nest and by then we will build other nests. Ben? Would you like to see an outer service, see how Michael makes the pitch? Michael is preaching now.»
«Why, yes, if it's not too much trouble.»
«Good. Just a sec, dearie, while I get decent.»
«Jubal, she came back in a robe like Anne's Witness robe but with angel-wing sleeves and a high neck and the trademark Mike uses — nine concentric circles and a conventionalized Sun — over her heart. This getup was vestments; Jill and the other priestesses wear the same, except that Patty's was high-necked to cover her cartoons. She had put on socks and was carrying sandals.
«Changed the hell out of her, Jubal. It gave her great dignity. I could see she was older than I had guessed although not within years of what she claims. She has an exquisite complexion — a shame ever to tattoo such skin.
«I had dressed again. She asked me to carry my shoes and led me back through the Nest and out into the corridor; we stopped to put on shoes and took a ramp that wound down a couple of floors. We reached a gallery overlooking the main auditorium. Mike was on the platform. No pulpit, just a lecture hall, with a big All-Worlds symbol on the back wall. A priestess was with him and, at that distance, I thought it was Jill — but it was the other high priestess, Dawn — Dawn Ardent.»
«What was that name?»
«Dawn Ardent — nee Higgins, if you want to be fussy.»
«I've met her.»
«I know you have, you allegedly-retired goat. She's got a crush on you.»
Jubal shook his head. «The “Dawn Ardent” I mean I just barely met, two years ago. She wouldn't remember me.»
«She remembers you. She gets every one of your pieces of commercial crud, on tape, under every pseudonym she can track down. She goes to sleep by them; they give her beautiful dreams. She says. But they all know you, Jubal; that living room has exactly one ornament — a life-sized color-solly of your head. Looks as if you had been decapitated, with your face in a hideous grin. A shot Duke sneaked of you.»
«Why that brat!»
«Jill asked him to.»
«Double brat!»
«Mike put her up to it. Brace yourself, Jubat — you are the patron saint of the Church of All Worlds.»
Jubal looked horrified. «They can't do that!»
«They already have. Mike gives you credit for having started the whole show by explaining things so well that he was able to figure out how to put over Martian theology to humans.»
Jubal groaned. Ben went on, «In addition, Dawn thinks you're beautiful. Aside from that quirk, she is intelligent … and utterly charming. But I digress. Mike spotted us and called out, “Hi, Ben! Later” — and went on with his spiel.
«Jubal, you'll have to hear it. He didn't sound preachy and didn't wear robes — just a smart, well-tailored white suit. He sounded like a damned good car salesman. He cracked jokes and told parables. The gist was a sort of pantheism … one parable was the oldy about the earthworm burrowing through the soil who encounters another earthworm and says, “Oh, you're beautiful! Will you marry me?” and is answered: “Don't be silly! I'm your other end.” You've heard it?'
«“Heard it”? I wrote it!»
«Hadn't realized it was that old. Mike made good use of it. His idea is that whenever you encounter any other grokking thing — man, woman, or stray cat … you are meeting your “other end”. The universe is a thing we whipped up among us and agreed to forget the gag.»
Jubal looked sour. «Solipsism and pantheism. Together they explain anything. Cancel out any inconvenient fact, reconcile all theories, include any facts or delusions you like. But it's cotton candy, all taste and no substance — as unsatisfactory as solving a story by saying: “ — then the little boy fell out of bed and woke up.”»
«Don't crab at me; take it up with Mike. Believe me, he made it convincing. Once he stopped and said, “You must be tired of so much talk — ” and they yelled back, “No!” He really had them. He protested that his voice was tired and, anyhow it was time for miracles. Then he did amazing sleight-of-hand — did you know he had been a magician in a carnival?»
«I knew he had been with it. He never told me the nature of his shame.»
«He's a crackerjack; he did stunts that had me fooled. But it would have been okay if he had used just kid tricks; it was his patter that had them spellbound. Finally he stopped and said, “The Man from Mars is expected to do wonderful things … so I pass some miracles each meeting. I can't help being the Man from Mars; it's just something that happened. Miracles can happen for you, if you want them. However, for anything more than these narrow-gauge miracles, you must enter the Circle. Those who want to learn I will see later. Cards are being passed around.”»