"Bud Webster - Christus Destitutus" - читать интересную книгу автора (Webster Bud)

"Here, Pete. Lemme help ya.― The supervisor, alarmed by the old man's coughing, had hurried over.
He cranked the head of the bed to a sitting position and held the cup so the old man could drink.
“You ok now? You want me to call Father Nicholas?"

"Nah, Vic. I'm as ok as I can be, I guess. Thanks."

"Hey, ‘s awright. You'd do th’ same.― Patting the old man's hand, he returned the cup to the
little table and walked back to his desk.

"That, Uriel. That's compassion. That's humanity.― He shook his head against the pillow. “I pity
you, all of you, because you'll never know."

The Messenger said nothing.

"They've had many names for you. Cherubim, Seraphim, Principalities, all those
dancing-on-the-head-of-a-pin names. You know what name fits you the best? ‘Aliens'. Strangers.
You don't touch humanity at any given point, did you know that? You don't love, don't hate, eat, fart, or
fuck. You've been given dominion over humanity since the very beginning, and you haven't had the
slightest idea in all that time what you were dealing with.― The old man chuckled. “No wonder the
human race is so screwed up."

"It is our lot. There is no justification, no explanation. It just is."

"'Why, daddy?'― the old man replied in a high, quavery voice. Then, much lower, “'Because, that's
why.’ What a crock."

The Messenger blinked. “You blaspheme."

"Then take your goddam flaming sword and run my ass out of the goddam garden, Uriel. Who has better
reason to blaspheme?"

"It is not permitted."

"Yeah, right, I don't have a fucking permit. So sue me."

Both were silent for a few moments. Finally, the old man spoke.

"You really want to know why, Messenger?"

The angel shrugged. “Perhaps."

"You were there at Golgotha."

"I was there."

"Then you saw what happened. Didn't it ever occur to you to ask why? Shit, He destroyed Sodom. He
let Joshua bring down Jericho by blowing rams’ horns. He gave it to Moses to part the Red Sea. Did
you ever stop to wonder why He didn't just bring me down off that goddam cross once He'd made His
point?― The sound the old man made might have been a laugh.