[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
scientist like yourself before the world went mad and he ran for sanctuary. He
founded this Order to save what could be saved of the rec-
ords of the last civilization. 'Saved' from what, and for what? Look where
he's standing--see the kindling? the books? That's how little the world wanted
your science then, and for centuries afterward. So he died for our sake. When
they drenched him with fuel oil, legend says he asked them for a cup of it.
They thought he mistook it for water, so they laughed and gave him a cup. He
blessed it and--some say the oil changed to wine when he blessed it--and then:
"Hic est enim calix Sanguinis Mei," and he drank it before they hung him and
set him on fire. Shall I read you a list of our mar-
tyrs? Shall I name all the battles we have fought to keep these records
intact? All the monks blinded in the copyroom? for your sake? Yet you say we
did nothing with it, withheld it by silence."
"Not intentionally," the scholar said, "but in effect you did-- and for the
very motives you imply should be mine. If you try to save wisdom until the
world is wise, Father, the world will never have it."
"I can see the misunderstanding is basic!" the abbot said gruffly.
"To serve God first, or to serve Hannegan first--that's your choice."
"I have little choice, then," answered the thon. "Would you have me work for
the Church?" The scorn in his voice was unmistakable.
22
It was Thursday within the Octave of All Saints. In preparation for departure,
the thon and his party sorted their notes and records in the basement. He had
attracted a small monastic audience, and a spirit of
Now unless this hypothesis is meaningless, he was saying, it must be
possible to confirm it in some way by observation. I set up the hypothesis
with the help of some new--or rather, some very old--
mathematical forms suggested by our study of your Memorabilia. The hy-
pothesis seems to offer a simpler explanation of optical phenomena, but
Page 86
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
frankly, I could think of no way to test it at first. That's where your
Brother
Kornhoer proved a help." He nodded toward the inventor with a smile and
displayed a sketch of a proposed testing device.
"What is it?" someone asked after a brief interval of mystificalion.
"Well--this is a pile of glass plates. A beam of sunlight striking the pile at
this angle will be partially reflected and partially transmitted. The
reflected part will be polarized. Now we adjust the pile to reflect the beam
through this thing, which is Brother Kornhoer's idea, and let the light fall
on this second pile of glass plates. The second pile is set at just the right
angle to reflect almost all of the polarized beam, and transmit nearly none of
it.
Looking through the glass, we'd scarcely see the light. All this has been
tried. But now if my hypothesis is correct, closing this switch on Brother
Kornhoer's field coil here should cause a sudden brightening of the trans-
mitted light. If it doesn't--" he shrugged "--then we throw out the hypothe-
sis."
"You might throw out the coil instead," Brother Kornhoer suggested modestly.
"I'm not sure it'll produce a strong enough field."
"I am. You have an instinct for these things. I find it much easier to develop
an abstract theory than to construct a practical way to test it. But you have
a remarkable gift for seeing everything in terms of screws, wires, and lenses,
while I'm still thinking abstract symbols."
"But the abstractions would never occur to me in the first place, Thon
Taddeo."
"We would make a good team, Brother. I wish you would join us at the
collegium, at least for a while. Do you think your abbot would grant you
leave?"
"I would not presume to guess," the inventor murmured, suddenly uncomfortable.
the collegium for you, Brother. I was talking to your abbot, and--
"Yes?" asked the young priest.
"Well, while we disagree on a few things, I can understand his point of view.
I was thinking that an exchange of scholarships might improve relations. There
would be a stipend, of course, and I'm sure your abbot could put that to good
use."
Brother Kornhoer inclined his head but said nothing.
"Come now!" The scholar laughed. "You don't seem pleased by the invitation,
Brother."
"I am flattered, of course. But such matters are not for me to de-
cide."
"Well, I understand that, of course. But I wouldn't dream of asking your abbot
if the idea displeased you."
Brother Kornhoer hesitated. "My vocation is to Religion," he said at last,
"that is--to a life of prayer. We think of our work as a kind of prayer too.
But that--" he gestured toward his dynamo "--for me seems more like play.
However, if Dom Paulo were to send me--"
"You'd reluctantly go," the scholar finished sourly. "I'm sure I could get the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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scientist like yourself before the world went mad and he ran for sanctuary. He
founded this Order to save what could be saved of the rec-
ords of the last civilization. 'Saved' from what, and for what? Look where
he's standing--see the kindling? the books? That's how little the world wanted
your science then, and for centuries afterward. So he died for our sake. When
they drenched him with fuel oil, legend says he asked them for a cup of it.
They thought he mistook it for water, so they laughed and gave him a cup. He
blessed it and--some say the oil changed to wine when he blessed it--and then:
"Hic est enim calix Sanguinis Mei," and he drank it before they hung him and
set him on fire. Shall I read you a list of our mar-
tyrs? Shall I name all the battles we have fought to keep these records
intact? All the monks blinded in the copyroom? for your sake? Yet you say we
did nothing with it, withheld it by silence."
"Not intentionally," the scholar said, "but in effect you did-- and for the
very motives you imply should be mine. If you try to save wisdom until the
world is wise, Father, the world will never have it."
"I can see the misunderstanding is basic!" the abbot said gruffly.
"To serve God first, or to serve Hannegan first--that's your choice."
"I have little choice, then," answered the thon. "Would you have me work for
the Church?" The scorn in his voice was unmistakable.
22
It was Thursday within the Octave of All Saints. In preparation for departure,
the thon and his party sorted their notes and records in the basement. He had
attracted a small monastic audience, and a spirit of
Now unless this hypothesis is meaningless, he was saying, it must be
possible to confirm it in some way by observation. I set up the hypothesis
with the help of some new--or rather, some very old--
mathematical forms suggested by our study of your Memorabilia. The hy-
pothesis seems to offer a simpler explanation of optical phenomena, but
Page 86
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
frankly, I could think of no way to test it at first. That's where your
Brother
Kornhoer proved a help." He nodded toward the inventor with a smile and
displayed a sketch of a proposed testing device.
"What is it?" someone asked after a brief interval of mystificalion.
"Well--this is a pile of glass plates. A beam of sunlight striking the pile at
this angle will be partially reflected and partially transmitted. The
reflected part will be polarized. Now we adjust the pile to reflect the beam
through this thing, which is Brother Kornhoer's idea, and let the light fall
on this second pile of glass plates. The second pile is set at just the right
angle to reflect almost all of the polarized beam, and transmit nearly none of
it.
Looking through the glass, we'd scarcely see the light. All this has been
tried. But now if my hypothesis is correct, closing this switch on Brother
Kornhoer's field coil here should cause a sudden brightening of the trans-
mitted light. If it doesn't--" he shrugged "--then we throw out the hypothe-
sis."
"You might throw out the coil instead," Brother Kornhoer suggested modestly.
"I'm not sure it'll produce a strong enough field."
"I am. You have an instinct for these things. I find it much easier to develop
an abstract theory than to construct a practical way to test it. But you have
a remarkable gift for seeing everything in terms of screws, wires, and lenses,
while I'm still thinking abstract symbols."
"But the abstractions would never occur to me in the first place, Thon
Taddeo."
"We would make a good team, Brother. I wish you would join us at the
collegium, at least for a while. Do you think your abbot would grant you
leave?"
"I would not presume to guess," the inventor murmured, suddenly uncomfortable.
the collegium for you, Brother. I was talking to your abbot, and--
"Yes?" asked the young priest.
"Well, while we disagree on a few things, I can understand his point of view.
I was thinking that an exchange of scholarships might improve relations. There
would be a stipend, of course, and I'm sure your abbot could put that to good
use."
Brother Kornhoer inclined his head but said nothing.
"Come now!" The scholar laughed. "You don't seem pleased by the invitation,
Brother."
"I am flattered, of course. But such matters are not for me to de-
cide."
"Well, I understand that, of course. But I wouldn't dream of asking your abbot
if the idea displeased you."
Brother Kornhoer hesitated. "My vocation is to Religion," he said at last,
"that is--to a life of prayer. We think of our work as a kind of prayer too.
But that--" he gestured toward his dynamo "--for me seems more like play.
However, if Dom Paulo were to send me--"
"You'd reluctantly go," the scholar finished sourly. "I'm sure I could get the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]