his best remaining chance, but before he laid in a course for Natal, he saw that there was a similar religion to the Kikuyu, from a tribe that had gone to war with the Kikuyu many times and never lost. They were the Maasai, and their God, named En-Kai, lived atop the greatest mountain on the continent, a mountain known as Kilimanjaro.
He studied further, but his mind was racing ahead of the computer. Ngai and En-kai. Kirinyaga and Kilimanjaro. The more he thought about it, the more he thought that, at least in terms of religion, the Kikuyu were a pale imitation of the Maasai. He asked the computer to give him a breakdown of the Kikuyu’s religious beliefs. Twenty-one percent believed in the traditional religion; seventy-nine percent had converted to some form of Christianity. He asked for the same breakdown of the Maasai. Ninety-three percent believe in En-kai, seven percent were Christians.
Now he knew why he had received no response atop Kirinyaga. Just as the Maasai had conquered the Kikuyu, En-kai had conquered the false god Ngai, who had even tried to steal His name. He would go to Kilimanjaro, and after a lifetime of searching, he would finally find God and get his answers.
He landed his ship on one of the lower slopes and activated the cloaking mechanism, then began climbing. An elephant charged him as he crossed a clearing, and he was barely able to clamber up a tree before it reached the spot he had been. It stood beneath the tree for four hours, but eventually it lost interest and wandered away, and he climbed down and began ascending the mountain again.
He saw a leopard depositing its kill in the fork of a tree, but it paid him no attention, and he continued walking. His energy was ebbing, he was in constant pain, and he no longer cared whether he was seen or not. He would climb night and day, stopping only when he was so exhausted or in such pain that he could not continue without resting, and as soon as he was able he would begin again.
He reached the tree line in three days and, taking one last look down the mountain, he strode onto the glacier.
At one point he could go no farther without resting, and he sat down, hunched over, and looked down the mountain, then out across the savanna. This must be God’s home , he thought. Who else could create such an awesome mountain, or such a magnificent vista? And all of His creatures share Kilimanjaro with men. I have finally reached the place I was searching for all these years.
He decided it was time to continue his climb, and he prepared to get up-and found that he couldn’t. He tried again, and his legs simply wouldn’t work.
I am dying, he thought. It seems fitting, somehow, that I should die on God’s mountain, now that I have finally found it.
And as his vision became blurry, he thought he saw an incredible brightness approaching him.
I have been waiting for you, said the brightness silently, the words echoing inside his head. Now we shall finally have our talk.
He still couldn’t rise, but he reached out a hand toward En-kai.
2038 A.D.
Jim Donahue had finished taking his pictures, and put his camera back in its case. Not so Bonnie Herrington. She and Ray Glover were going around to each member of the party, interviewing them, asking not only for their reactions to what we’d found but their speculations as to what it might be.
I could tell that Charles Njobo was torn about what to say. He wanted to claim that it was an extraterrestrial visitor, but he was painfully aware that, as he kept reminding us, he represented the Tanzanian government, and he didn’t want to make a statement that could embarrass the government if it turned out to be wrong.
While they were doing their interviews, I walked over to the body again, and tried to figure out what the hell it was doing above the tree line on the tallest mountain
He studied further, but his mind was racing ahead of the computer. Ngai and En-kai. Kirinyaga and Kilimanjaro. The more he thought about it, the more he thought that, at least in terms of religion, the Kikuyu were a pale imitation of the Maasai. He asked the computer to give him a breakdown of the Kikuyu’s religious beliefs. Twenty-one percent believed in the traditional religion; seventy-nine percent had converted to some form of Christianity. He asked for the same breakdown of the Maasai. Ninety-three percent believe in En-kai, seven percent were Christians.
Now he knew why he had received no response atop Kirinyaga. Just as the Maasai had conquered the Kikuyu, En-kai had conquered the false god Ngai, who had even tried to steal His name. He would go to Kilimanjaro, and after a lifetime of searching, he would finally find God and get his answers.
He landed his ship on one of the lower slopes and activated the cloaking mechanism, then began climbing. An elephant charged him as he crossed a clearing, and he was barely able to clamber up a tree before it reached the spot he had been. It stood beneath the tree for four hours, but eventually it lost interest and wandered away, and he climbed down and began ascending the mountain again.
He saw a leopard depositing its kill in the fork of a tree, but it paid him no attention, and he continued walking. His energy was ebbing, he was in constant pain, and he no longer cared whether he was seen or not. He would climb night and day, stopping only when he was so exhausted or in such pain that he could not continue without resting, and as soon as he was able he would begin again.
He reached the tree line in three days and, taking one last look down the mountain, he strode onto the glacier.
At one point he could go no farther without resting, and he sat down, hunched over, and looked down the mountain, then out across the savanna. This must be God’s home , he thought. Who else could create such an awesome mountain, or such a magnificent vista? And all of His creatures share Kilimanjaro with men. I have finally reached the place I was searching for all these years.
He decided it was time to continue his climb, and he prepared to get up-and found that he couldn’t. He tried again, and his legs simply wouldn’t work.
I am dying, he thought. It seems fitting, somehow, that I should die on God’s mountain, now that I have finally found it.
And as his vision became blurry, he thought he saw an incredible brightness approaching him.
I have been waiting for you, said the brightness silently, the words echoing inside his head. Now we shall finally have our talk.
He still couldn’t rise, but he reached out a hand toward En-kai.
2038 A.D.
Jim Donahue had finished taking his pictures, and put his camera back in its case. Not so Bonnie Herrington. She and Ray Glover were going around to each member of the party, interviewing them, asking not only for their reactions to what we’d found but their speculations as to what it might be.
I could tell that Charles Njobo was torn about what to say. He wanted to claim that it was an extraterrestrial visitor, but he was painfully aware that, as he kept reminding us, he represented the Tanzanian government, and he didn’t want to make a statement that could embarrass the government if it turned out to be wrong.
While they were doing their interviews, I walked over to the body again, and tried to figure out what the hell it was doing above the tree line on the tallest mountain
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