The Earth Gods Are Coming by Kenneth Bulmer Read Free Book Online

atheist, of course—the humanists, the man for Man do-gooders; all these weighed the scales of modern society down so that those who, whilst professing the universal religion and who were not relifans, were able to believe sincerely, every year shrank in numbers and influence.
    Rattigan said, gently, "I respect your views, Mrs. Inglis. But in this matter of capsule dropping, every instinct of a man or woman of Earth—of the Solar Commonwealth of Stars—must, it seems to me, march in harmony. Earth is a small planet, old Sol a minor sun. We have ventured into the great deeps of the Galaxy, spreading out in a thin trickle of ships and men—"
    "You don't have to tell me that we are explorers. I know."
    "—but how can a single planet, a single solar system, a single small grouping of stellar systems, hope to explore, and possibly colonize the thousands upon thousands of planets put there?"
    Laura made a small impatient movement with her slender hand. "I do not quarrel with the basic idea or assumptions of the CDB," she said brusquely. The topic obscurely embarrassed her. "I merely believe that the methods adopted are hysterical, hypocritical and blasphemous.
    "And, my dear, you are very probably right. Hysterical —there was a relifan parade scheduled for today—"
    "I saw it."
    "—which debases my conception of man as a rational being, however much psychologists tell us we must have outlets. Hypocritical—I'm not sure on that one. If by that you mean that those engaged on CDB activity don't believe in what they are doing, I would suggest no person is going to spend up to ten years flitting about space doing something he doesn't believe in. People return from the CDB missions fuller human beings, with better outlooks, balanced against the needs of all of us. They mature out there."
    Laura ignored that. Her own admission of failure on the CDB mission had bothered her for years; she had shut it down among other unwelcome memories. "And the blasphemy?"
    "Do you believe in God, Mrs. Inglis?"
    "Of course. Do you?"
    Gus Rattigan smiled. He should have anticipated the riposte. "Yes, Mrs. Inglis, I do. And that is why I believe that we are not impious when we send down an android and call it the Prophet of Earth. That is only a tag, a name, a label that is convenient. We could have called it a mechanical android, human appearance idealized, powered for extended life, programed to preach, equipped with a built-in martyr complex for use if required, added a whole lot of figures and numbers describing its functions and working parts, and then finished by dubbing it a Mark Four Star, or something similar. Instead, it was called a Prophet of Man, or Prophet of Earth, and the name has stuck. There's no blasphemy in that. Rather, a great humility."
    "That may be. But you're arguing over a name."
    "To a man who has no profound beliefs, the Galaxy is a mere collection of particles and radiation, spinning along and heading nowhere, from nowhere. A cold philosophy. Really, a hopeless one. But even those people call the CDB androids, Prophets of Earth. How much more powerful must the concept be for those who believe, who feel that to spread the Word of Man is a fine thing?" Rattigan knew he'd gone off the rails somewhere in this argument. He glanced at his watch. "However, Mrs. Inglis. You came to enquire for news of your husband."
    "Yes. The sort of discussion we've had flares up very easily these days. Heavy taxes sort of spark off arguments." She folded her hands in her lap. "What can you tell me?"
    "He went on a mission, the details of which I cannot divulge. However, as soon as we hear—"
    "Save me that, please, Admiral." Laura made up her mind to unlimber her heavy weapons. "You mentioned that your aides made difficulties for people wishing to see you? Well, I was able to bulldoze them into putting my appointment at the head of the queue. You mentioned that you haven't checked on me. If you had done so, you would have realized that my