An Affair Of Sorcerers

accomplishments. I'm giving you Daniel's real name because I realize you must do everything you can to save this child's life. But I have to ask you not to tell Daniel how you found out about him.'

'I understand, and I won't. Do you think he's dangerous?'

'I've never met him personally. I know that he's respected-and feared-by those who do know him personally. That's something for you to bear in mind, my friend. My concern is that he could cut me off from my occult contacts.'

'And they're important to you, aren't they?'

'You know they are,' Mad said, then dropped her gaze.

I stared at the top of the scientist's head for a moment, then turned and walked toward the door. I was very conscious of the fact that every minute could count, and I was anxious to get to my car and begin the drive to Philadelphia. Yet something made me hesitate with my hand on the knob and turn back; perhaps it was the realization that I was entering a world I didn't understand at all, and was anxious about it. Madeline's seriousness had had an impact on me.

'Mad,' I said softly, 'what's this all about?'

She looked up at me and frowned, obviously lost in her own thoughts. 'Excuse me?'

I smiled. 'How is it you've never told me before about any of these hidden talents of yours? God knows we've sat through enough boring faculty parties together.'

After a few seconds Madeline smiled thinly and seemed to relax. 'What would your reaction have been if I had told you?'

'I'd have choked on my Scotch, of course.'

'That's what I thought,' Mad said wryly. She paused, tapped her desk once, then continued in a low voice. 'It started as a hobby. I was curious about things like the statistical rise in the crime rate when there's a full moon. Astronomy evolved from astrology, you know, and astrology is ages old. I believe that anyone who rejects out of hand the tools that other men have found useful for thousands of years is a fool. The Occult is the Mother of Science, my friend.'

'It seems to me that science is what replaced ignorance and superstition,' I said evenly.

'That's true,' Madeline replied easily. 'Most of what you read about the occult in the popular press is nonsense.' She paused, looked at me intently. 'But not all of it is nonsense, I assure you. It's like digging for diamonds; you may have to wade through twenty tons of coal before you find even a small gem. I've been willing to get dirty.'

'What if there aren't any diamonds? Maybe science has taken all there is to take from that particular mine.'

'Oh, there are still diamonds there, Mongo. As far as I'm concerned, astrology-done properly-is really nothing more than the application of statistics. The question is simply stated: Can you correlate the position and movement of certain celestial objects with people's behavior? Insurance companies do almost exactly the same thing all the time; they charge rates based on a person's neighborhood, occupation, race and so on. You don't see many insurance companies going out of business, do you?' She raised her eyebrows, shrugged. 'Either the trends of a person's life correlate with the predictions of his horoscope, or they don't. You'd be surprised at how often they do correlate. Statistics.'

She paused, tilted her head to one side and looked at me inquiringly. When I said nothing, Mad opened her desk drawer and took out a series of charts and graphs. She rose, laid the papers out in front of her and motioned for me to come over. I did so, increasingly impatient to be on my way but anxious to hear everything Madeline had to say. She seemed excited now, totally absorbed in whatever it was she wanted to share with me. The charts were complex computer readouts of letters and numbers that made no sense to me whatsoever.

'This is a statistical analysis I'm working up,' Madeline continued. 'It will include all the horoscopes I've ever cast, as well as charts from other well-known astrologers. The subjects are letter-coded to ensure anonymity. I won't bother you with the details, but the idea is to codify specific astrological predictions in a research model that can be scientifically evaluated. If my hypothesis is correct, I'll end up with statistical proof that astrological techniques can be used to predict behavior.'

For some reason I thought of Janet Monroe and her work with Esteban Morales. 'Interesting,' I said. 'Where do you get your funding?'

She laughed sharply, without humor, as she replaced the charts in her desk drawer, locked it. 'No one else even knows about what I'm doing here. This is my own private project.'

'How do you justify your computer time?'

'I steal time from my other, 'respectable' projects. It's the only way I can do it.'

'Mad, I can get into what you're saying about astrology as statistics-at least, in theory. But what about things like witchcraft?'

She thought about it for a few moments, then raised her hand and slowly drew a circle in the air with her index finger. Her blue eyes were moist, gleaming. 'We live in a circle of light that we call 'Science,' ' she said thoughtfully.

'Obviously, I believe in science. Science is the most efficient means Man has ever found for discovering certain truths-and for getting things done. That doesn't mean that science is the only way. To say that science is efficient can never take away the wonder of what some men are able to do through self-discipline. Maybe these powers are vestigial. Perhaps there are men who still pursue-and find-secrets that our ancient ancestors knew instinctively. Let's suppose there are still unbelievably powerful forces out there in the darkness which some men have learned to tap. The term 'occult,' after all, means nothing more than secret knowledge. Understand: I'm just trying to give you a different point of view.'

'Thank you, Mad,' I said, assuming she was finished. 'You've put me in the proper frame of mind-and I mean that sincerely.'

She didn't seem to have heard me. Madeline Jones was deep in thought, and it suddenly struck me just how deeply obsessed this astronomer was with the occult. Only then did I realize that, up until a few minutes before, I had persisted in looking upon her involvement as some kind of off-the-wall professorial joke. It wasn't: Madeline Jones was deadly serious.

'Are you religious, Mongo?' she asked distantly. 'I don't want to offend you.'

'Say what's on your mind, Mad. You won't offend me.'

'I know for a fact that most of the very scientists who would ridicule me are stalwart members of churches or synagogues. They're intellectual schizophrenics; they just won't accept the fact that orthodox religious beliefs are every bit as 'occult' as witchcraft.'

She looked through me, laughed shortly. 'In Westminster Abbey, there's a mausoleum for the Black Knight,' she continued in the same distant, ironic tone. 'Beside the tomb is a small, typed sign advising all to pray on that spot for their relatives and loved ones in the armed services.' She paused, shook her head. 'That, my friend, is a pure example of 'sympathetic magic'-a straight steal from the occultists.'

I smiled. 'You'd better not let your neighborhood clergy hear you talking like that; they might want to stage a public burning.'

Madeline smiled back, and I had the feeling some of the tension in her had passed. 'I do get carried away, don't I? But ignorance bothers me, especially when the ignorant are so damn self-righteous.' She hesitated, studied my face intently for a few moments, then continued: 'Did you know that the Magi mentioned in the Gospels were probably astrologers?'

'I thing I've read it somewhere.'

'Our word 'magician' comes from 'magi.' The 'star' they saw in the east, if it wasn't a supernova, was probably an astrological configuration they knew how to interpret. And it led them to Jesus.' She took a deep, shuddering breath. Once again her eyes were wide and bright. 'Most people consider only two possibilities when they think about Jesus of Nazareth. Either he was the Son of God, and could thus perform miracles-or he wasn't, and therefore the accounts of the miracles must be false. What excites me is a third possibility: Jesus may have been the greatest ceremonial magician who ever lived.'