Time Travelers Never Die - Jack McDevitt [85]
“Why not?” asked Shel.
“Resources. We have no money to speak of. Our major advantage is the weakness of British leadership. They don’t know what they’re doing, but, in the long run, it might not matter.”
“By the way.” Shel went into his casual mode as he fished several photographs of his father from his pocket. “You might be interested in these.”
Paine looked at the pictures. Handed them to Melissa and Joe. “What are these?”
“Photographs. It’s a new science. Still at an experimental stage.”
“Brilliant,” Paine said. “I’ve never seen anything like them.”
“Do you by any chance recognize the man?”
He shook his head. “No. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him before. Why? Should I know him?”
“He’s one of the researchers. He said he met you once in London. But it’s of no concern.”
The conversation wandered back to Franklin. Shel pretended to be acquainted with him, “slightly.” He held up his hands in a self-deprecating manner. “I don’t really see him often.”
“No,” said Paine. “I rather think he’s busy these days.”
“By the way,” Shel said, “I enjoyed the most recent of the Crisis essays.”
Paine tried to look modest. “Well,” he said, “it’s encouraging to think it might be having an effect.”
“I especially liked your comment to General Howe at the end.” He looked at Kirkbride. “I assume you’ve read it, sir.”
“Of course.”
“Pointing out that Howe is nothing more than a tool of a—how did you put it?—a miserable tyrant, and that he has an obligation to stand up for the truth. And, for that matter, for his troops, who are being killed off daily because the king’s an idiot. Brilliant, sir.”
“I didn’t say that last part, Shel.”
“You implied it, Tom. You don’t mind if I call you Tom.”
“No, of course not.”
“It’s all there. People in power need to speak up when authority gets abused. Unfortunately, even in democracies, sometimes they sit back and let the idiots run things.”
Paine was enjoying one of Mrs. Kirkbride’s biscuits. “I’m sure it would get abused. If there were any democracies.”
“We have one here, sir.”
“Not yet.”
Dave couldn’t resist jumping in: “Dr. Franklin was wondering whether you’ve been making any progress with your history of the Revolution?”
“At the moment, I’m preoccupied, sir. But I’m keeping a journal. It’ll happen eventually.”
“Good.”
Dave knew, of course, that it would not. Paine would be preoccupied for a lifetime.
“I’m also thinking about writing a treatise on religion.”
“Really? That would be interesting.”
“I hope not to offend either of you gentlemen, but unbridled faith creates enormous problems. And generates stupidities that leave me breathless.” He shook his head. “It’s on my mind because we had two incidents here during the past few weeks.”
“Really? And what might they have been?”
“Two demons allegedly showed up at a wedding.”
“You’re not serious, Tom.”
By now, even Kirkbride was loosening up. “There were a dozen people,” he said, “who swore they simply popped in out of nowhere, then vanished again. Before everyone’s eyes. Frightful-looking creatures, they said.”
“A week or so before that,” Paine added, “the son of one of our local farmers claimed to have seen something similar. A devil who floated down out of the sky.”
Shel laughed. “It just amazes me what people will believe.”
Paine finished his third muffin and expressed his compliments to Mrs. Kirkbride. Then to Shel and Dave: “We get indoctrinated when we’re young. Some of our people are as bad as those New England idiots. They hear about witches and devils, and they start seeing them.”
“What did they look like?” asked Dave.
“The ones at the wedding had horns,” said Kirkbride. “Eyes on fire, claws, the usual. I don’t recall hearing anything about tails. Did these creatures have tails, Melissa? Do you know?”
“Not that I heard, but I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“The world,” said Dave, “needs a book about common sense.”
“I’ve already done that.”
“I mean, common sense about other things. Not just politics.”
Melissa took offense at that. “Tom