Ship of Fools by Richard Russo Page A

but not to be tried. No convictions, no finite sentences. You are being imprisoned ‘at thepleasure of the court.’ That’s the phrase Bishop Soldano used.”
    “Which means?”
    “As long as they wish. Until they decide you have learned whatever lesson it is they wish you to learn. They were not specific.”
    It didn’t matter. They were angry, and they would keep us locked up until that anger was gone. That could be years, or decades, I thought.
    “I was not a leader,” I said.
    Father Veronica gave me a tired smile. “Technically, no. But you were integral to their plans, and you joined the enterprise willingly, without coercion.”
    With your influence, I wanted to say. But I didn’t.
    “What you provided for them,” she went on, “—they couldn’t have done it without you.”
    “They didn’t do it with me,” I reminded her.
    She nodded.
    “Indefinite sentences,” I said. “I could be here for the rest of my life.”
    “I know—it’s incredibly unfair, and unjust. I’ve expressed my concerns to Bishop Soldano, but that was futile. He is as displeased as anyone about what has happened.”
    “Why?”
    She looked around my cell. Wondering, I am sure, if our visit was being recorded in some way. I wanted to tell her that of course it was, but her expression suggested she already knew that. She shrugged, as if to say that it really didn’t matter.
    “I won’t pretend that I am unaware of the political maneuverings of the bishop, and the captain, and others from the sidelines. I know that Bishop Soldano has for a long time wanted someone else as captain. . . .”
    “He wants Bishop Soldano as captain,” I broke in.
    “Perhaps. It hardly matters now. Captain Costa is now the ship’s hero. He learned of a mutiny, and put an end to it with relatively little bloodshed. His position has been greatly strengthened, while conversely the bishop’s has been weakened. More than that, the captain has managed toapportion a certain amount of indirect responsibility for the mutiny to the bishop.”
    The first hint, perhaps, of what the captain had been plotting all that time. “Really? How did he manage that?”
    “Do you remember the sermon Bishop Soldano delivered on Holy Thursday? When he announced our approach to the star system and the transmission we were receiving? I believe you were there.”
    “Yes, I was there. I had difficulty staying awake, as always, but I remember his sermon. Naming of Antioch. Bringing the word of God to all worlds, all people regardless of station or history. His usual colonization speech.”
    “Yes. Your captain has a transcript of the sermon. And he has pointed to one particular passage, the one you were referring to, in which the bishop said that we need to spread the word of God to as many places as possible, that we need to colonize as many worlds as we can, putting permanent settlements in place so that when others come, be they human or alien, there is someone there to present to them God’s word. The captain doesn’t claim the bishop was helping to plan the mutiny, or even that he knew of it, although he suggests that those are certainly possibilities—after all, recolonizing that world is what the downsiders were trying to do. However, Captain Costa says, the bishop’s sermon certainly can be seen as condoning such actions if they were to occur, or, if nothing else, fostering a climate that would encourage them. Very clever, your captain.”
    “Why do you keep calling him ‘my’ captain?” I asked her angrily. “He’s imprisoned me, and apparently has no intention of releasing me soon.”
    She didn’t reply. What could she say? I waved my hand, and said, “Never mind. Who else has ‘my captain’ imprisoned?” I wanted to know what had happened to Pär, but didn’t want to mention him by name. It was just possible, I thought, that no one knew of his role. He had, after all, managed to get away before I did.
    “Sari Mandapat,” she said.