‘I think I’d rather have a red carnation,’ Roderick said, and at once everyone turned to look at him. The worker who was offering a dandelion smiled.
‘You ain’t progressed to red carnations, buster. Take it.’
He took it, and studied a little booklet,
Luke squatted beside him. ‘Rickwood, what are you doing here?’
‘Oum.’ It seemed a good answer.
‘Yeah? Oh yeah, oum. But I mean, where did you get the kind of bread it takes to get in here?’
‘From friends. And you?’
‘Well, Mission Control provides, you know. Like they got me out of a bad scrape last night at the concert. They told me just what to do so I didn’t get arrested.’
‘What did you do?’
‘I turned to the woman next to me and said, “Pretend you know me,” and I kissed her. Funny thing was, I did know her; it was Ida! Oh, Mission Control knows what it’s doing, all right. I just wish I knew who it was that sold us out like that; them security cops was waiting for us. And some of the guys got beat up bad. I wonder who the Judas Iscariot was, with his thirty pieces of silver.’
Roderick started talking at once about the mysterious fire at the Roxy theatre.
‘Nothing mysterious about it, Rickwood. I read all about it in this morning’s paper. The city sent around a couple of maintenance men to do pest control or something; they poured a lot of kerosene all over the carpets and it caught fire. That’s all, just a dumb mistake. Lucky thing everybody got out unhurt.’
‘Yes, but the thing is—’
A pair of double doors rolled open, and four of the statuesque rainbow women came dancing in, strewing rose petals. A moment later, an old woman in grey came in leading by the hand a child of about six, dressed in white. The child was fat and sexless. Its free hand was at its face, the thumb being sucked energetically.
More rainbow-dressed women came behind, carrying a flower-covered throne. The child sat on it, with the old woman at its feet.
‘The Dodo will speak,’ she said. ‘Ask.’
A young man with acne scars waved his dandelion. ‘Can I—?’
‘Ask!’
‘I — well I just wanted to know I mean what’s the point of it all? All this hate in the world and, and violence and war, people working pointless jobs bored out of their skulls just trying to get enough bread together to maybe get a second car and add to the pollution or maim somebody or even run down a dog, though I know people feed their dogs on whale meat so whales are dying out, we’ll be lucky though if we don’t beat them to it with nuking each other, and what’s the point? I mean what is the point?’
The child giggled. Its employees and a few of the suppliants seemed to take this as the answer; they nodded and smiled agreement.
A girl whose glasses were mended with tape was next. ‘When Christ said, “A little child shall lead them,” did he mean you, Dodo? Are you our leader?’
The child giggled, slipped down in the throne and giggled. It seemed to be uncomfortable among the flowers, and squirmed to get away from the old woman. She held the Dodo in place.
Luke asked, ‘Does meditation help? Should we meditate more often?’
‘Teeheehee.’ The child squirmed more. ‘Want ice cream,’ it said finally. The grey woman looked at Luke with approval.
‘You have been answered.’
‘Okay, but I’m not sure I understand the answer. Does it mean the desire for meditation is a vain desire like asking for ice cream? Are we talking here about the cold, pure vanilla flavour of life? The thirty-two flavours of experience? The fact that all ambitions melt down the same? Or what?’
‘All that, and much more,’ she said, now using both hands to restrain the Dodo, who was kicking orchids off the throne. ‘Much more.’
‘I see. Maybe it means meditation is too spiritual, we should get in touch with our bodies more. Or it is a Zen answer, meaning the question is irrelevant?’ Luke went on.
‘Yes, yes, and much more.’
Others asked if Dodo had seen God, if Dodo was God, if ice cream was God. Dodo kicked and screamed at every question, and the grey lady interpreted. Finally Roderick thought of a question:
‘Does the Dodo have to go to the toilet?’
‘Yeesss!’ screamed the child, and breaking free of the old woman’s grasp, bolted from the room.
‘The audience is over,’ she announced. ‘Those who wish further study must come another day. You have so far reached the dandelion level of consciousness. Like the fuzzy little dandelion, you have much to learn. Those who double their gifts of sincerity next time can be raised to the level of violets.’ She started to leave, then added, ‘Oh yes, and if you want a mantra, it costs extra.’
Most of the suppliants sat around for a few minutes, discussing the glow they now felt, the definite glow. Luke, however, looked worried.
‘Rickwood,’ he whispered. ‘I got a bad feeling about this place. I think maybe these people are out to get me.’
‘Out to get all of us,’ Roderick agreed. ‘I think there’s never been such a blatant fraud.’
‘No, I mean to get
‘Why don’t you listen yourself?’
‘Rickwood, don’t be naive. When
On his way out, Roderick put his ear to the door Luke had pointed out.
‘Another nail gone, Christmas! Would you believe it? I got a good notion to tell Mr high and mighty Vitanuova to go dig up his own darned dandelions. I mean, they never told me in Vegas I’d have to dig up weeds.’
‘Yeah, well, they never tell you anything, do they? Jeez, one day I was a Keno runner at the Desert Rat, the next day here I am putting rubber sheets on that brat’s bed, what kinda life is that?’
‘The money ain’t bad.’
‘No, the money ain’t bad.’
‘But I sure miss Vegas.’
Out on the street, Roderick caught up with Luke, who was standing on one leg.
‘Any joy, Rickwood?’
‘No joy. They’re just people.’
Luke shook his head. ‘Then either they got you bamboozled too, or else you’re in with ’em. Sometimes I think there must be so many people plotting against me that I oughta just relax and let ’em all cut me up.’
Roderick decided to tell Luke what was bothering him. ‘I feel the same, Luke. Listen, today I heard a computer talking about me like I was a messiah or something. Now I wouldn’t mind being one, but messiahs always get nailed.’
‘Always. Nailed, riveted and especially screwed.’
‘But listen, that Roxy theatre fire was deliberate, and you know, I saw the men who set it, they were trying to padlock all the doors of the place. They were pasting paper over the glass doors so people inside couldn’t see the chains and padlocks.’
‘And you figure they were after you?’
Roderick hesitated. ‘Seems impossible. But I could swear I’d seen one of these two guys before. At Mercy Hospital, he got mugged out front and I helped him inside. What if — I don’t know, I guess I’m getting paranoid.’
‘Nothing wrong with paranoia, Rickwood. At least the paranoid knows who he is.’ Luke stopped standing on one leg and began taking giant steps. Roderick followed, avoiding the cracks in the sidewalk.
