“All that came from people who’ve actually heard him but there’s a lot coming in now from religious fanatics. They are very extreme. And of course the churches, one by one, are starting to take notice.”
“I saw Bishop Winston in Paul’s office today.”
“He’s been trying to see John all week. He finally settled for Paul, I gather. In any case, after the next telecast there will really be a storm.”
“The next? What’s going to happen then?”
“John will tell them that there’s no need for the churches, that their power derives from superstition and bloody deeds.”
I was startled. “When did this hit him? I thought he intended to go on as he was, without ever coming out openly against them.”
“I was surprised too. He told me yesterday; he’d been brooding all day and, suddenly, he started to attack them. It’s going to be murderous.”
“I hope not for him.”
“Oh, he’ll convince, I’m sure of that: but their revenge....” She gave a troubled sigh. “Anyway, Gene, you do see why we can’t, for our own safety, dispense with Paul and his financiers and press agents and all the squalid but necessary crew.”
“It may be too late,” I agreed. “But I fear the end.”