face. Not even Barbu’s pointer could shake his composure, but Father Johannes had unnerved him. He chewed his nails in silence. It was clear to
me that, privately, Fritz was determined to pay the priest back for his humiliation. He just didn’t know how yet.
“And why won’t Korolev ask after God himself?” I chimed in.
Baptiste patted my shoulder. “Put yourself in his place, boy. Try to think like he does! Korolev is a researcher—measuring, weighing, counting, testing—a materialist, a
self-declared atheist for whom only the scientific theory and its proof are valid. Nevertheless, he isn’t stupid. Of course he is aware that if God really does exist against all expectations,
his cosmonauts would never be able to see him. The Almighty is invisible, as the Jews already knew. He is invisible not only for the human eye, but for optical instruments of any kind whatsoever.
Ditto the Holy Ghost. The
spiritus sanctus
escapes every pupil for the obvious reason that he’s a spirit. With Jesus Christ, it’s a little more complicated. He lived, suffered,
and died as a man, and he rose from the dead as the Redeemer. As such he is obviously visible in the form of the consecrated bread and the gleam of the Eternal Flame in the sanctuary lamp that
attests day and night to the presence of divine omnipotence in our church. But what about Mary? Mary was a human being, and she remained a human being in death and after death. That’s what
Pope Pius (whom otherwise I don’t think much of) recognized so fittingly. In 1950, five years after the war, he issued the Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus. It says more or less,
‘We proclaim, declare, and define it as a dogma revealed by God that the immaculate, eternally virginal Mother of God Mary at the end of her earthly life was assumed body and soul into
heavenly glory.’ That means not only Mary’s spirit but also her flesh and blood are in heaven. Now just imagine what this Vatican dogma means for a materialist: it’s the supreme
challenge, pure and simple. If the dogma is true, then this Jewess from Nazareth beat Korolev to it. The first spaceflight in history, the first conquest of gravity. Without a rocket. That’s
why the Russians are firing cosmonauts in among the stars. They have to find the answer to the all-important question about God. If the visible Mother of God exists, then logically the invisible
Creator of All Things exists as well. And no one knows that better than Engineer Number One.”
“Oh holy shit!” howled Dimitru. “This doesn’t look good. Bad news for the Catholics. And worse news for Gypsies. Mary is our Mother, our queen, our advocate at the
heavenly throne,
Mater Regina
of the miserable! Without her, no deals with the Lord God. Uh-oh, I’m telling you, if Korolev finds the Madonna, then God have mercy on us. Didn’t
I give early warning that Sputnik would spell disaster? But nobody listens to a Black. Didn’t they laugh at me, slander me, mock me, spit on me? But I predict here and now that what began as
a beep will end in
desastrum.
”
“Hang on, hang on. Not so fast,” Grandfather jumped in. “There’s a way to stop Korolev.”
“I’m unable to see such a possibility,” Pater Johannes objected.
Dimitru took a swallow and agreed: “Where nothingness reigns, even the seer is blind.”
“It’s simple,” Grandfather continued undeterred. “The Americans have to get in ahead of the Russians. They can’t let this Sputnik beeping drive them crazy.
They’ve got to keep a cool head and build their own rockets. Better ones than the Russians. Rockets that fly higher and farther. After all, the United States of America has certain
obligations to the Virgin Mary, who protects the city of Noueeyorka from enemy attacks. So it’s high time for the Yanks to give Mary some protection of her own.”
Dimitru rose slowly to his feet, swaying slightly. He stumbled, caught himself, and fell into Ilja’s
me that, privately, Fritz was determined to pay the priest back for his humiliation. He just didn’t know how yet.
“And why won’t Korolev ask after God himself?” I chimed in.
Baptiste patted my shoulder. “Put yourself in his place, boy. Try to think like he does! Korolev is a researcher—measuring, weighing, counting, testing—a materialist, a
self-declared atheist for whom only the scientific theory and its proof are valid. Nevertheless, he isn’t stupid. Of course he is aware that if God really does exist against all expectations,
his cosmonauts would never be able to see him. The Almighty is invisible, as the Jews already knew. He is invisible not only for the human eye, but for optical instruments of any kind whatsoever.
Ditto the Holy Ghost. The
spiritus sanctus
escapes every pupil for the obvious reason that he’s a spirit. With Jesus Christ, it’s a little more complicated. He lived, suffered,
and died as a man, and he rose from the dead as the Redeemer. As such he is obviously visible in the form of the consecrated bread and the gleam of the Eternal Flame in the sanctuary lamp that
attests day and night to the presence of divine omnipotence in our church. But what about Mary? Mary was a human being, and she remained a human being in death and after death. That’s what
Pope Pius (whom otherwise I don’t think much of) recognized so fittingly. In 1950, five years after the war, he issued the Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus. It says more or less,
‘We proclaim, declare, and define it as a dogma revealed by God that the immaculate, eternally virginal Mother of God Mary at the end of her earthly life was assumed body and soul into
heavenly glory.’ That means not only Mary’s spirit but also her flesh and blood are in heaven. Now just imagine what this Vatican dogma means for a materialist: it’s the supreme
challenge, pure and simple. If the dogma is true, then this Jewess from Nazareth beat Korolev to it. The first spaceflight in history, the first conquest of gravity. Without a rocket. That’s
why the Russians are firing cosmonauts in among the stars. They have to find the answer to the all-important question about God. If the visible Mother of God exists, then logically the invisible
Creator of All Things exists as well. And no one knows that better than Engineer Number One.”
“Oh holy shit!” howled Dimitru. “This doesn’t look good. Bad news for the Catholics. And worse news for Gypsies. Mary is our Mother, our queen, our advocate at the
heavenly throne,
Mater Regina
of the miserable! Without her, no deals with the Lord God. Uh-oh, I’m telling you, if Korolev finds the Madonna, then God have mercy on us. Didn’t
I give early warning that Sputnik would spell disaster? But nobody listens to a Black. Didn’t they laugh at me, slander me, mock me, spit on me? But I predict here and now that what began as
a beep will end in
desastrum.
”
“Hang on, hang on. Not so fast,” Grandfather jumped in. “There’s a way to stop Korolev.”
“I’m unable to see such a possibility,” Pater Johannes objected.
Dimitru took a swallow and agreed: “Where nothingness reigns, even the seer is blind.”
“It’s simple,” Grandfather continued undeterred. “The Americans have to get in ahead of the Russians. They can’t let this Sputnik beeping drive them crazy.
They’ve got to keep a cool head and build their own rockets. Better ones than the Russians. Rockets that fly higher and farther. After all, the United States of America has certain
obligations to the Virgin Mary, who protects the city of Noueeyorka from enemy attacks. So it’s high time for the Yanks to give Mary some protection of her own.”
Dimitru rose slowly to his feet, swaying slightly. He stumbled, caught himself, and fell into Ilja’s
Similar Books
