The Magus - John Fowles [104]
had also been pressing me to drink more of the heavy _ros�from Antikythera. "To make me talk?" "To make you receptive." "I read your pamphlet." "And thought it was nonsense." "No. Difficult to verify." "Verification is the only scientific criterion of reality. That does not mean that there may not be realities that are unverifiable." "Did you get any response from your pamphlet?" "A great deal. From the wrong people. From the miserable vultures who prey on the human longing for the solution of final mysteries. The spiritualists, the clairvoyants, the cosmopaths, the summerlanders, the blue-islanders, the apportists--all that _gal�_." He looked grim. "They responded." "But not other scientists?" "No." I sipped the _raki_; it was like fire. Almost pure alcohol. "But you spoke about having proof." "I had proof. But it was not easily communicable. And I later decided that it was better that it was not communicable, except to a few." "Who you elect." "Whom I elect. This is because mystery has energy. It pours energy into whoever seeks the answer to it. If you disclose the solution to the mystery you are simply depriving the other seekers..." he emphasised the special meaning the word now had for me... "of an important source of energy." "No scientific progress?" "Of course scientific progress. The solution of the physical problems that face man--that is a matter of technology. But I am talking about the general psychological health of the species, man. He needs the existence of mysteries. Not their solution." I finished the _raki_. "This is fantastic stuff." He smiled, as if my adjective might be more accurate than I meant; raised the bottle. I nodded. "One more glass. Then no more. _La dive bouteille_ is also a poison." "And the experiment begins?" "The experience begins. Now I should like you to lie in one of the lounging chairs. Just here." He pointed behind him. I went and pulled the chair there. "Lie down. There is no hurry. I want you to look at a certain star. Do you know Cygnus? The Swan? That crossshaped constellation directly above?" I realised that he was not going to take the other chaise longue; and suddenly guessed. "Is this... hypnosis?" "Yes, Nicholas. There is no need to be alarmed." Lily's warning: _Tonight you will understand_. I hesitated, then lay back. "I'm not. But I don't think I'm very amenable. Someone tried it at Oxford." "We shall see. It is a harmony of wills. Not a contest. Just do as I suggest." "All right." At least I did not have to stare into those naturally mesmeric eyes. I could not back down; but forewarned is forearmed. "You see the Swan?" "Yes." "And to the left a very bright star, one of a very obtuse triangle." "Yes." I drained down the last of the _raki_ in a gulp; almost choked, then felt it flush through my stomach. "That is a star known as _alpha_ Lyrae. In a minute I shall ask you to watch it closely." The blue-white star glittered down out of the wind-cleared sky. I looked at Conchis, who was still sitting at the table, but had turned with his back to the sea to face me. I grinned in the darkness. "I feel I'm on the couch." "Good. Now lie back. Contract, then relax your muscles a little. That is why I have given you the _raki_. It will help. Lily will not appear tonight. So clear your mind of her. Clear your mind of the other girl. Clear your mind of all your perplexities, all your longings. All your worries. I bring you no harm. Nothing but good." "Worries. That's not so easy." He was silent. "I'll try." "It will help if you look at that star. Do not shift your eyes from it. Lie back." I began to stare at the star; moved a little to make myself more comfortable. I felt the cloth of my coat with my hand. The digging had made me tired, I began to guess its real purpose, and it was good to lie back and stare up and wait. There was a long silence, several minutes. I shut my eyes for a while, then opened them. The star seemed to float in its own small sea of space, a minute white sun. I could feel the alcohol, but I was perfectly conscious of everything around me, far too conscious to