"james_alan_gardner_-_three_hearings_on_the_existence_of_snakes_in_the_human_bloodstream" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gardner James Alan)

microscope. Only the upper classes at first, but soon enough it spread to
the lower levels of society too. Since the church allowed anyone to look
into a microscope without cost, I suppose it was a free source of amusement
for the peasantry."
"An opiate for the masses," Anne offered. She rather liked the phrase
-- Mr. Marx had used it when he had his little visit to the Star Chamber.
"I suppose that must be it," Darwin agreed. "At any rate, the
phenomenon far outstripped anything Septus could have foreseen; and even
worse for the Patriarchy, it soon divided the church into two camps -- those
who claimed to see snakes in their blood and those who did not."
"Mr. Darwin, we are well aware of the fundamental difference between
Papists and the Redeemed."
"Begging your pardon, ma'am, but I believe the usual historical
interpretation is... flawed. It confuses cause and effect."
"How can there be confusion?" Anne asked. "Papists have serpents in
their blood; that is apparent to any child looking into a microscope. We
Redeemed have no such contaminants; again, that is simple observational
fact. The obvious conclusion, Mr. Darwin, is that Christ Herself marked the
Papists with Her curse, to show one and all the error of their ways."
"According to the Papists," Darwin reminded her, "the snakes are a sign
of God's blessing: a sleeping snake means sin laid to rest."
"Is that what you think, Mr. Darwin?"
"I think it more practical to examine the facts before making any
judgment."
"That is why we are here today," Anne said with a pointed glance.
"Facts... and judgment. If you could direct yourself to the heart of the
matter, Mr. Darwin?"
"The heart of the matter," he repeated. "Of course. I agree that today
any microscope will show that Papists have snakes in their bloodstream... or
as scientists prefer to call them, serpentine analogues, since it is highly
unlikely the observed phenomena are actual reptiles--"
"Let us not bandy nomenclature," Anne interrupted. "We accept that the
entities in Papist blood are unrelated to cobras and puff adders; but they
have been called snakes for centuries, and the name is adequate. Proceed to
your point, Mr. Darwin."
"You have just made my point for me, ma'am. Five centuries have passed
since the original controversy arose. What we see now may not be what people
saw then." He took a deep breath. "If you read the literature of that
long-ago time, you find there was great doubt about the snakes, even among
the Papists. Serpentine analogues were extremely rare and difficult to
discern... unlike the very obvious entities seen today."
"Surely that can be blamed on the equipment," Anne said. "Microscopes
of that day were crude contrivances compared to our fine modern
instruments."
"That is the usual argument," Darwin nodded, "but I believe there is a
different explanation."
"Yes?"
"My argument, ma'am, is based on my observations of pigeons."
Anne blinked. "Pigeons, Mr. Darwin?" She blinked again. "The birds?"
She bit her lip. "The filthy things that perch on statues?"