Page 29 (1/2)

"Everyone says so," said Brutha He lowered his voice to a whisper

"What sort of place is Ankh?"

"A city of a million souls," said the voice of O bodies And a thousand religions There's even a teods! Sounds like a place where people don't have trouble believing things Not a bad place for a fresh start, I think With my brains and yourwith ain"

"You don't want to go back to Omnia?"

"No point," said the voice of Ood People get fed up, they want a change But you can't overthrow yourself, can you?"

"Who're you talking to, priest?" said Si"

"Hah! To Oht as well pray to that tortoise"

"Yes"

"I am ashamed for Omnia," said Simony "Look at us Stuck in the past Held back by repressive ood has our God been to us? Gods? Hah!"

"Steady on, steady on," said Didactylos "We're on seawater and that's highly conductive ar about other gods," said Sieyman for the Quisition! If he exists, let him strike me down here and now!"

Sith

Om sat peacefully on Brutha's lap "I like this boy," he said "He's alood as a believer It's like love and hate, knohat I ain

"Thus I refute Om," he said

"Yes, but what's the alternative?"

"Philosophy! Practical philosophy! Like Urn's engine there It could drag O into the Century of the Fruitbat!"

"Kicking and screa," said Brutha

"By any means necessary," said Simony

He beamed at them

"Don't worry about him," said Om "We'll be far away Just as well, too I don't think Oht's work gets about"

"But it was Vorbis's fault!" said Brutha out loud "He started the whole thing! He sent poor Brother Murduck, and then he had him killed so he could blame it on the Ephebians! He never intended any peace treaty! He just wanted to get into the palace!"

"Beats ot through the labyrinth without a guide How did he do it?"

Didactylos's blind eyes sought out Brutha

"Can't i his head

"He really did all that?" said Simony

"Yes"

"You idiot! You total sandhead!" screamed Om

"And you'd tell this to other people?" said Simony, insistently

"I suppose so"

"You'd speak out against the Quisition?"

Brutha stared ht Behind thee spark

"All I can say is what I remember," he said

"We're dead," said Om "Throw me over the side, why don't you? This bonehead ant to take us back to Ohtfully

"Vorbis has many enemies," he said, "in certain circumstances Better he should be killed, but some would call that murder Or even martyrdom But a trialif there was evidenceif they even thought there could be evidence"

"I can see his !" Om screamed "We'd all be safe if you'd shut up!"

"Vorbis on trial," Siht It was the kind of thought that was alht that s that happened to other people

He remembered Brother Murduck And the soldiers who had been lost in the desert And all the things that had been done to people, even to Brutha

"Tell him you can't remember!" Om yelled "Tell him you can't recall!"

"And if he was on trial," said Si else"

Thoughts always s They arrived slowly and left slowly and when they were there they occupied a lot of space, ht: the worst thing about Vorbis isn't that he's evil, but that he s like himself You can't help it You catch it off hiainst the Unnaine

"We'd be caught if we returned to Omnia," said Brutha slowly

"We can land away froerly

"Ankh-Morpork!" shouted Om

"First we should take Mr Didactylos to Ankh-Morpork," said Brutha "Then-I'll come back to Omnia"

"You can damn well leave me there too!" said Om

"I'll soon find some believers in Ankh-Morpork, don't you worry, they believe anything there!"

"Never seen Ankh-Morpork," said Didactylos "Still, we live and learn That's what I always say" He turned to face the soldier "Kicking and screa"

"There's some exiles in Ankh," said Simony "Don't worry You'll be safe there"

"A, I didn't even knoas in danger"

He sat back in the boat

"Life in this world," he said, "is, as it were, a sojourn in a cave What can we know of reality? For all we see of the true nature of existence is, shall we say, noshadows cast upon the inner wall of the cave by the unseen blinding light of absolute truth, frolilodyte seekers of wisdom can only lift our voices to the unseen and say, humbly, `Go on, do Deformed Rabbitit's my favorite' "