since?"
"I..." Jeshua shook his head. "I don't think you would believe."
"You came from the direction of the traveling city," the Catholic said, sitting on the soft loam. He motioned for the rest of the troop to rest and relax. "Meet anything interesting there?"
Jeshua nodded. "Why have you come this far?"
"For reasons of health. And to visit the western limb of Expolis Canaan, where my parents live now. My wife has a bad lung ailment -- I think an allergic reaction to the new strain of sorghum being planted in the ridge paddies above Bethel-Japhet. We will stay away until the harvest. Have you stayed in other villages near here?"
Jeshua shook his head. "Sam Daniel, I have always thought you a man of reason and honor. Will you listen with an open mind to my story?"
The Catholic considered, then nodded.
"I have been inside a city."
He raised his eyebrows. "The one on the plain?"
Jeshua told him most of the story. Then he stood. "I'd like you to follow me. Away from the rest. I have proof."
Sam Daniel followed Jeshua behind the rocks, and Jeshua shyly revealed his proof. Sam Daniel stared. "It's real?" he asked. Jeshua nodded.
"I've been restored. I can go back to Bethel-Japhet and become a regular member of the community."
"No one has ever been in a city before. Not for as long as any remember."
"There's at least one other, a girl. She's from the city chasers."
"But the city took itself apart and marched. We had to change our course to go around it or face the hooligans following. How could anyone live in a rebuilding city?"
"I survived its disassembly. There are ways." And he told about the architect and its extensions. "I've had to twist my thoughts to understand what I've experienced," he said. "But I've reached a conclusion. We don't belong in the cities, any more than they deserve to have us."
"Our shame lies in them."
"Then they must be destroyed."
Sam Daniel looked at him sharply. "That would be blasphemous. They serve to remind us of our sins."
"We were exiled not for our sins, but for what we are -- human beings! Would you kick a dog from your house because it dreams of hunting during Passover -- or Lent? Then why should a city kick its citizens out because of their inner thoughts? Or because of a minority's actions? They were built with morals too rigid to be practical. They are worse than the most callous priest or judge, like tiny children in their self-righteousness. They've caused us to suffer needlessly. And as long as they stand, they remind us of an inferiority and shame that is a lie! We should tear them down to their roots and sow the ground with salt."
Sam Daniel rubbed his nose thoughtfully between two fingers. "It goes against everything the expolises stand for," he said. "The cities are perfect. They are eternal, and if they are self-righteous, they deserve to be. You of all should know that."
"You haven't understood," Jeshua said, pacing. "They are not perfect, not eternal. They were made by men -- "
"Papa! Papa!" a child screamed. They ran back to the group. A black tractor-mounted giant with an angular bird-like head and five arms sat ticking quietly near the trees, Sam Daniel called his family back near the center of the copse and looked at Jeshua with fear and anger. "Has it come for you?"
He nodded.
"Then go with it."
Jeshua stepped forward. He didn't look at the Catholic as he said, "Tell them what I've told you. Tell them what I've done, and what I know we must do."
A boy moaned softly.
The giant picked Jeshua up delicately with a mandibled arm and set him on its back. It spun around with a spew of dirt and grass, then moved quietly back across the plain to Mandala.
When they arrived, the city had almost finished rebuilding. It looked no different from when he'd first seen it, but its order was ugly to him now. He preferred the human asymmetry of brick homes and stone walls. Its noises made him queasy. His reaction grew like steam pressure in a boiler, and his muscles
"I..." Jeshua shook his head. "I don't think you would believe."
"You came from the direction of the traveling city," the Catholic said, sitting on the soft loam. He motioned for the rest of the troop to rest and relax. "Meet anything interesting there?"
Jeshua nodded. "Why have you come this far?"
"For reasons of health. And to visit the western limb of Expolis Canaan, where my parents live now. My wife has a bad lung ailment -- I think an allergic reaction to the new strain of sorghum being planted in the ridge paddies above Bethel-Japhet. We will stay away until the harvest. Have you stayed in other villages near here?"
Jeshua shook his head. "Sam Daniel, I have always thought you a man of reason and honor. Will you listen with an open mind to my story?"
The Catholic considered, then nodded.
"I have been inside a city."
He raised his eyebrows. "The one on the plain?"
Jeshua told him most of the story. Then he stood. "I'd like you to follow me. Away from the rest. I have proof."
Sam Daniel followed Jeshua behind the rocks, and Jeshua shyly revealed his proof. Sam Daniel stared. "It's real?" he asked. Jeshua nodded.
"I've been restored. I can go back to Bethel-Japhet and become a regular member of the community."
"No one has ever been in a city before. Not for as long as any remember."
"There's at least one other, a girl. She's from the city chasers."
"But the city took itself apart and marched. We had to change our course to go around it or face the hooligans following. How could anyone live in a rebuilding city?"
"I survived its disassembly. There are ways." And he told about the architect and its extensions. "I've had to twist my thoughts to understand what I've experienced," he said. "But I've reached a conclusion. We don't belong in the cities, any more than they deserve to have us."
"Our shame lies in them."
"Then they must be destroyed."
Sam Daniel looked at him sharply. "That would be blasphemous. They serve to remind us of our sins."
"We were exiled not for our sins, but for what we are -- human beings! Would you kick a dog from your house because it dreams of hunting during Passover -- or Lent? Then why should a city kick its citizens out because of their inner thoughts? Or because of a minority's actions? They were built with morals too rigid to be practical. They are worse than the most callous priest or judge, like tiny children in their self-righteousness. They've caused us to suffer needlessly. And as long as they stand, they remind us of an inferiority and shame that is a lie! We should tear them down to their roots and sow the ground with salt."
Sam Daniel rubbed his nose thoughtfully between two fingers. "It goes against everything the expolises stand for," he said. "The cities are perfect. They are eternal, and if they are self-righteous, they deserve to be. You of all should know that."
"You haven't understood," Jeshua said, pacing. "They are not perfect, not eternal. They were made by men -- "
"Papa! Papa!" a child screamed. They ran back to the group. A black tractor-mounted giant with an angular bird-like head and five arms sat ticking quietly near the trees, Sam Daniel called his family back near the center of the copse and looked at Jeshua with fear and anger. "Has it come for you?"
He nodded.
"Then go with it."
Jeshua stepped forward. He didn't look at the Catholic as he said, "Tell them what I've told you. Tell them what I've done, and what I know we must do."
A boy moaned softly.
The giant picked Jeshua up delicately with a mandibled arm and set him on its back. It spun around with a spew of dirt and grass, then moved quietly back across the plain to Mandala.
When they arrived, the city had almost finished rebuilding. It looked no different from when he'd first seen it, but its order was ugly to him now. He preferred the human asymmetry of brick homes and stone walls. Its noises made him queasy. His reaction grew like steam pressure in a boiler, and his muscles
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