I nodded. Even in Egypt I had heard of massacres and persecutions. I could still recall the morning when I opened the Cairo paper and saw a large photograph of St Peter’s Cathedral smoldering in its ruins, a fitting tomb for the last Pope and martyr who had perished there when a mob of Cavites had fired the Vatican. The Cairo paper took an obvious delight in these barbarities and I had not the heart to read of the wanton destruction of Michelangelo’s and Bernini’s works, the looting of the art galleries, the bonfire which was made in the Papal gardens of the entire Vatican library. Later, word came of a certain assistant-Resident of Topeka who, with a group of demolition experts and Cavite enthusiasts, ranged across France and Italy destroying the cathedrals with the approval of the local governments, and to the cheers of Cavite crowds who gathered in great numbers to watch, delightedly, the crumbling of these last monuments to superstition. Fortunately, the tourist bureaus were able to save a few of the lesser churches. “The edict of Washington which outlawed idolatrous schools did the trick. The Atlantic government has always believed in toleration: even to this day it is possible for a man to be a Christian, though unlikely since the truth is so well known.” “But he has no churches left and no clergy.” “True, and if that discourages him he’s not likely to remain too long in error. As I’ve told you, though, we have our ways of making people see the truth.” “The calculable percentage.” “Exactly.” I looked at Osiris in the green shade. His diorite face smiled secretly back at me. “Did you have much trouble in the Latin countries?” “Less than you might think. The ignorant were the big problem because, since they didn’t know English, we weren’t able to use the telecasts. Fortunately, we had some able Residents and after a little showmanship, a few miracles (or what they took to be miracles) they came around, especially when many of their ex-priests told them about Cavesword. Nearly all of the older Residents in the Mediterranean countries were once Catholic priests.” “Renegades?” “They saw the truth; not without some indoctrination, I suspect. We’ve had to adapt a good many of our procedural methods to fit local customs. The old Christmas has become Cavesday and what was Easter is now Irisday.” “Iris Mortimer?” “Of course; who else? And then certain festivals which....” “I suppose she’s dead now.” “Why, yes. She died six years ago. She was the last of the original five.” “Ah, yes, the five: Paul Himmell, Iris Mortimer, Ivan Stokharin, Clarissa Lessing and....” “And Edward Hastings. We still use his introduction even though it’s been largely obsoleted by later tests. His dialogues will of course be the basis for that final book of Cave which our best scholars have been at work on for over twenty years.”