Title: The guest rites
Author: Silverberg, Robert
Language: English
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*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The guest rites" ***


                            THE GUEST RITES

                         By ROBERT SILVERBERG

                         Illustrated by GIUNTA

                    Carthule was not the Earthman's
                    god, but Carthule protected him
               while he was a guest in the temple--even
                     if he tore the temple down!

           [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
                       Infinity, February 1957.
         Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
         the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]


It was time for the after-meal meditation. Marik, First Priest of
Carthule, finished his frugal meal and went outside to sit in the
mid-day breeze and watch the sands blowing gently over the bare flat
plains. The problem of the Revelation occupied his reveries: why had
Carthule, in His infinite wisdom, waited so long to reveal to His
people that they were not alone in the universe?

Marik looked up at the glowing dot behind the gray wall of the sky.
That, he knew, was the Sun. And there were other planets, some
inhabited, some not. Carthule was not alone; He was one of nine. And
His people had never suspected the truth until the flaming ships of the
third planet--Earth, was it?--had broken through the skies, and the
small white people had told them of the other worlds.

The problem was one which the greatest theologians of the time--in
whose number Marik, without pride, deemed himself--had discussed at
great length, never coming to a solution. Marik and Polla San, of the
neighboring temple, had finally concluded that Carthule moved in ways
too complex for His mortal people to understand.

Marik lowered his gaze from the sky and looked out across the dry
expanse of desert. He could make out, dimly, Polla San's temple far
across the sands. Polla San was due to visit him shortly, he recalled.
Or was it the other way around? Marik frowned; he was getting old, and
soon would have to relinquish his duties to one of the younger acolytes
and spend his remaining decades sitting dreaming in the afternoon.

Calmly Marik settled into the semi-somnolence of the after-meal
meditation, fixing his gaze on the far-off temple of Polla San but
turning his vision inward. The sand blew in widening circles, until it
seemed to Marik that there was a small, dark figure wandering out in
the desert. Sleepily he watched the circlings of the small figure as it
pursued a crazy path through the desert.

Then perception broke through his meditation and he realized something
was in the desert that had no business there. Carefully he lifted the
transparent nictitating lid that protected his eyes from the sand and
focussed sharply on the figure in the desert.

It was an Earthman! Lost in the desert, apparently. Marik, somewhat
annoyed at this interruption of his meditation, rang for Kenra Sarg.

The young acolyte appeared immediately. Marik nodded. "Look out there,"
he said.

Kenra Sarg turned and stared. After a moment he turned back to Marik.

"That's an Earthman lost out there! We'd better bring him in here
before he gets buried by the sand. What do you say, Father?"

"Of course, Kenra Sarg, of course. Bring him here."

The younger priest bowed and trotted out to the desert. Marik watched
him as he ran. He was tall and powerful, and his skin was deep blue,
almost purple. His powerful thigh muscles clenched and unclenched
as he ran. _He reminds me of my younger self_, Marik thought, as he
watched Kenra Sarg pound effortlessly over the sand. _He will be a fine
successor when I am ready to go._

He sank back into reverie, hoping for some repose before Kenra Sarg
returned with the Earthman.

       *       *       *       *       *

He was small, even smaller than the other Earthmen Marik had seen, and
his mouth worked curiously and constantly. His face had been dried by
the desert. He shook sand from his hair, his eyes, his ears.

"I thought I was finished that time," he said, looking up into Marik's
eyes. The Earthman's eyes were bright and hard, and Marik found the
contact unpleasant.

"You are safe here," Marik said. "This is the Temple of Carthule."

"I've heard of you people," the Earthman said. "Understand you're a
sort of hotel and religion combined."

"Not exactly," Marik said. "But the strongest tenet of our faith is
that the Guest Rite is inviolable. Our greatest joy is giving sanctuary
to wanderers. You are welcome here so long as you care to stay."

The little Earthman nodded his head. "Sounds fine with me. But I won't
trouble you long. I was just passing through this region on my way back
to New Chicago--I mean Corolla--when I got lost in your desert. Dropped
my compass in the sand and couldn't find my way after that."

"Yes," Marik said. "It is very difficult."

"You're telling me! It would not be so bad if you had stars here on
Venus--Carthule, I mean--but you don't, and so there's no way to get
your direction. I could have died out there before I found my way back
to Corolla. I'm shipping back to Earth," he said. "I can't wait to get
back. No disrespect meant, of course," he added cautiously.

Marik looked down at the Earthman. _I'll never get used to their pale
skins_, he thought. _And they talk so much._ "Yes," he said. "I know
many of your people find our planet a difficult one to live on. We are
better adapted for such life than you."

"Sure," the Earthman said. "Say, could I get some rest now? I'm pretty
well shot after that tour of your desert."

"Certainly," said Marik. "Kenra Sarg, will you show our guest to one of
our rooms? Feel free to stay as long as you care to," he said to the
Earthman. "Carthule's generosity is unbounded."

"Oh, don't worry about that," the Earthman said. "I'm not going to stay
for long. Just a day or so to recover my bearings, so to speak, and
once I'm in traveling shape again I'm heading straight for Corolla."
Kenra Sarg led him away, and he followed, still talking.

Marik looked briefly up at the sky, but Carthule made no answer. For
some reason Marik felt suspicious of this Earthman, and as he moved
toward the room of prayer to perform the service customary upon the
arrival of one seeking sanctuary, he uttered a small, silent plea to
Carthule to keep his mind free of groundless hatreds.

       *       *       *       *       *

When Marik finished his devotion before the great purple figure of
Carthule, he kissed the blazing eye of the statue as was his private
custom, humbled himself before the altar, and turned to leave.

"I waited till you were through, Marik," said a tall figure in priestly
robes who had been standing at the door. "I didn't want to interrupt
your service."

"Polla San! Why have you come here now? I expected you next month!"

Marik looked anxiously at his fellow priest. He knew well that the old
priest of the neighboring temple left his books and his meditations
infrequently, and never came to visit Marik without first sending
notice.

"Serious business," said Polla San. Marik noticed for the first time
that the other was wearing the gold band. It was a sign of deep sorrow.

"Tell me outside," Marik said. "This is not the room for it."

"This is of His realm," Polla San said. "Listen: not long ago one
of the Earthmen arrived at my temple. He said he was on his way to
Corolla, and was looking for shelter and a place to sleep before
crossing the desert. Of course, we welcomed him and, since we had no
more beds, I gave him my room and slept on the floor in the mealroom.
Last night he left, hurriedly, without telling anyone. When I found my
room empty, I concluded he had gone, and I went to the room of prayer
to offer my wish that Carthule protect him on his journey. I bowed
before the statue, even as you did now--and when I looked up I saw that
the eye had been stolen!"

"No!" Marik said. He turned and looked at his own statue of Carthule.
In the center of the forehead burned the irreplaceable stone that had
been set there century upon century before--a great red stone with
secret fires burning in its heart. He tried to picture the eye not
there, and could not. The eye was the heart of the Temple.

"Our Earthman had stolen the eye," Polla San said. "But he is still in
our power. He left so hurriedly that he forgot this." He reached into
his robe and took out a small metallic object.

"His compass," Polla San said. "Without this, he cannot cross the
desert. He is still out there somewhere. Come: let your acolytes and
mine search the desert for him, regain the eye, and give him the death
he deserves."

Marik sank to his knees before the statue. "No," he said.

"No?" Polla San put his hand on the other's shoulder. "We are within
our rights. The Earthmen will agree with us; he has committed a
sacrilege and we must punish him for it. Why be afraid?"

"It's not that," Marik said. "He richly deserves death. But he is not
in the desert. He is here."

"Here?"

"I saw him wandering out there and sent Kenra Sarg to bring him in.
He is asleep in one of our guest rooms now. I was just performing the
Guest Rite for him when you came."

Polla San sank to his knees alongside Marik. "This is serious, Marik.
If he is a guest of yours, he is inviolate. He will sleep here in the
home of Carthule after having committed the greatest of desecrations,
and we must serve him and feed him and shelter him. It's not right,
Marik!"

Marik turned in amazement. "You're not questioning the Word, are you?
The Guest Rite is inviolable. As long as he is our guest, we cannot
harm him. To punish him for his act would be a greater violation than
the act itself."

"But can we let this Earthman remain a guest of Carthule, Marik? Let
him sleep down there with the eye in his pocket, and not do a thing
about it! He could flaunt the jewel under our noses and we'd have to
nod our heads and offer him more food."

"The way of Carthule is the right way," Marik said. "The Guest Rite
is inviolable. We will continue to treat this Earthman as we would
Carthule Himself."

"But what can I do, Marik? My temple is no longer a temple without the
eye!"

"Carthule will show us the way, Polla San. Suppose we pray."

       *       *       *       *       *

The following morning the Earthman, after a hearty meal, stretched
himself luxuriously and looked out across the desert.

"I guess I'll be moving along," he said to Marik. "I'm in fine shape
now, thanks."

"I am glad you found your stay restful," Marik said, concealing his
feelings for the desecrator. "Carthule is ever-providing."

The Earthman began to move idly up and down the mealroom, examining the
ancient furnishings. "That reminds me," he said. "You wouldn't have a
compass to lend me, would you?"

"A compass?" Marik let a puzzled frown cross his forehead. "What may a
compass be?" he asked in just the right tone of ignorance.

The Earthman glanced at him impatiently. "You know," he said, gesturing
with his hands. "It's a sort of a little metal box with a magnetic
pointer. You must have seen them."

"No," Marik said. "Out here we rarely have guests from your world. I
have not seen any compasses."

"Don't you use them yourselves--or something equivalent, I mean? A
compass is for traveling. It tells you what direction you're going in."

Marik smiled. "We of Carthule have no need of such things, friend. We
need no external guides here."

The Earthman worried a tangled wisp of hair. "Nothing at all? How do
you find your way around in the desert?"

"We know how to travel," said Polla San quietly, emerging from his
reverie.

"But--how can I get back to Corolla without a compass? I'll just get
lost again!" The Earthman looked anxiously from one impassive blue face
to another.

"Carthule will help you, friend," Marik said. "Carthule helps all who
love Him."

It seemed to Marik that the Earthman paled a little.

"Maybe you could lend me a guide," he said. "I can pay well. Maybe you
could let me have that big fellow who brought me in from the desert?
He could just show me the way to Corolla and then come right back."

"Our acolytes have no time for such journeys," Marik said. "We are busy
here all the day long."

"But all you do is pray--I mean--" he broke off, realizing he had
insulted his hosts. He turned and stared out at the shifting sands.

"You will have to set out alone," Polla San said.

"Can't you let me have anyone? Just a kitchen boy?" His hard little
eyes flicked from one priest to the other. "Anyone at all? Otherwise
I'm stuck here for good!"

"Carthule will guide you," Marik said.

The Earthman stared angrily at the tall priests. "I'm beginning
to think you want me to get lost again," he said. "You talk about
Carthule, and charity, but because I'm an Earthman you won't help me.
But I'll show you. I'll get back to Corolla. And you'll pay for this
when I do!"

He ran out. Marik and Polla, sitting quietly, exchanged glances.

"We are moving in the right direction," Polla San said. "But I think
you would be wise to guard your room of prayer lest he seek to add to
his collection."

"No fear of that," Marik said. "We'll see him again."

       *       *       *       *       *

The Earthman disappeared later that morning. Kenra Sarg reported that
he had set out, alone, in the general direction of Corolla, after
fruitlessly attempting to bribe one of the kitchen boys to accompany
him. He had offered them fabulous sums, but they had laughed at him.

The Eye of Marik's Carthule was still in place, but one of the younger
acolytes, who had been praying all morning, told Marik that the
Earthman had furtively entered the room of prayer and had backed out
upon seeing the priest at his devotions.

With the Earthman gone, Marik returned to the calm of his daily
routine. The after-meal meditation was a pleasant one; he and Polla
San sat facing the desert, contemplating the grandeur of Carthule and
pondering the meaning of His ways, until they sank into a transcendent
peace. As the night winds began to cool the desert, they fell into a
discussion of the problem of evil.

Marik maintained that Carthule had created the Earthmen out of His
infinite wisdom, better to show the virtue of His people by contrast;
while Polla San, wandering on the very edge of orthodox theology,
suggested that the god whom the Earthman worshipped was actually
independent of Carthule, representing the embodiment of evil as
Carthule was the personification of good.

Marik refused to accept this, arguing that Carthule had created both
His people and the Earthmen, or perhaps--as a concession to Polla
San--that he had created the god of the Earthmen who, in turn, had
created the Earthmen. The discussion went on through the night, while
the night winds swirled the sand up around the temple, and they felt no
need of sleep.

"Your theory denies the omnipotence of Carthule," Marik said, as the
night winds began to lower in intensity. "If you postulate an evil
force of as great power as the good, you deny the factors on which our
morality--" Marik broke off, seeing that Polla San had slipped off into
the near-sleep of a reverie.

He stood up, his long legs cramped after the afternoon and night of
sitting, and walked up and down. The desert was settling into its
morning calm after the tempestuous night. He stared out across it,
thinking of the Earthman who had set out for Corolla with the priceless
eye of Carthule in a pouch by his side.

There was a figure in the distance, walking slowly and with great
difficulty in widening circles, following a wild path to the temple.
Marik lifted his nictitating lid to make sure his eyes were not playing
him false.

Then, rather than awakening Kenra Sarg or Polla San, he did up his robe
and went out in the desert to fetch the Earthman back himself.

       *       *       *       *       *

He had been wandering all night, tossed by the night winds, eyes and
ears and mouth choked with sand. He was still master enough of himself
to throw an angry glare at Marik when the priest approached, but he
suffered himself to be lifted like a child and carried back to the
temple. The pouch was still hanging by his side, Marik noted.

"I see our friend has returned," Polla San said.

"Yes," Marik said. "Yesterday morning he departed without taking
leave and lost his way again on the way to Corolla. After a night in
the desert he found his way back to us and is once again looking for
sanctuary. This is true, isn't it?" Marik said, looking down at the
Earthman cradled in his arms.

The Earthman angrily spat out some sand.

"Carthule in His mercy has brought our wanderer back," Polla San said.

"I'll take him below," Marik said. "His night in the desert has left
him weak and sore, and he needs rest. But he will always find sanctuary
here with Carthule. Carthule shows His generosity to the lowest of
creatures."

Kenra Sarg appeared at the door. "I see our guest has returned," he
said.

"Yes. He has come back to us." Marik handed the Earthman over to Kenra
Sarg, despite an impotent look of rage from the huddled, battered
little thief.

"Take him to the room he had, and let him rest. He has traveled, and he
is weary. I will go to the room of prayer, and offer up the Guest Rite
for him, for he is our guest again. For as long as he cares to stay."

Kenra Sarg nodded and carried the Earthman inside.

Marik turned to Polla San. "Carthule has treated us well. I always feel
happy when we have a guest."

Polla San smiled. "He still has the eye, I hope."

"He still does. I don't think he got too far last night. I've never
seen anyone quite so angry."

"He will never find his way to Corolla alone," Polla San said. "Not
without this." He thoughtfully fondled the compass in his hand.

"If my acolytes were not all so busy, I would allow one to guide him,"
Marik said, smiling. "But I can spare none, and I enjoy offering our
hospitality. He is our guest, and we must do all in our power to make
his stay enjoyable. Perhaps he will never want to leave."

"No," Polla San said, standing up and flexing his legs. "He will leave
often, and silently. Perhaps he will take your statue's eye as well, to
put in the pouch by his side. But he will return, as he did yesterday."

"He will return," Marik said. "Again and again. He will never find his
way across the desert to Corolla, and eventually he will stay here as
our permanent guest. And one day he shall die, if not sooner then
later--these Earthmen are a short-lived breed--and we will recover the
eyes, which will still be in the pouch by his side."

"It is wonderful to have a guest," Polla San said.

"It is," Marik said. "He shall live here with the eyes by his side, and
one day he will die and we can recover our treasures from him. He can
never get far with them. We can wait. He has but a few decades left,
while Carthule has all eternity. Come," he said.

Together they went to the room of prayer to offer the service of the
Guest Rites.



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