Mazzare bowed slightly. “Logically, if a person asserts that Grantville was constructed by Satan, they must also believe that the Devil either has the power to create life-meaning, the power to create its up-time inhabitants-or he has the power to shape us from either demons or the souls of the damned. In the latter case, Satan must also have the power to replace each soul’s genuine memories with false ones. This violates all canonical theology, which holds that Satan does not possess such sweeping powers.
“But of course, if either of these circumstances proves to be true, it not only demolishes some foundations of canonical theology, but obligates you to kill all of Grantville’s original inhabitants. Logically, that same campaign of demon-extermination must be extended to include all the offspring of the hundreds of unions that have now taken place between them and down-timers. Your reflex toward mercy might prompt you to spare such unwitting half-demons, but scripture leaves no room for debate: ‘ye shall not suffer them to live among ye.’”
Sharon exchanged wide-eyed looks with Ruy. Larry was certainly gambling big with that point, because if he lost…
Mazzare was already moving on. “Let us turn to the material aspects of Grantville, and in particular, its library. You are all familiar with its detailed information on advanced mathematics, science, and engineering.
“However, for every tome of information and insight, there are a thousand utterly banal records buried in every filing cabinet in the town. Now, the Devil may be renowned for being as wise as the serpent, able to wait long years for the final corruption of his prey, but constructing this edifice of flawlessly consistent paperwork would require the patience and demeanor of a slow-witted stockroom clerk. So I ask, according to your own representations of Satan’s nature, how and when did he acquire the virtues of humility and patience necessary to construct a conceit so intricately seamless, and yet so numbingly dull? That is almost as great a mystery as the one cited more often: how could data from Grantville be of infernal origin, since it has already promoted both edification and peace in these dark times, and promises to be of greater assistance with each passing year? Would a Prince of Darkness include such beneficences in his construct?”
“Most assuredly, he would.” Wadding interjected.
Vitelleschi’s left eyebrow raised. “Why, Cardinal Wadding?”
“For the same reason he would give the fabricated persons of Grantville belief in their memories: to make the underlying conceit all the more convincing. The arch-fiend would indeed foresee that many of us presume that there can be no goodness or grace in his creations. Consequently, he would, on the contrary, embed small elements of just such goodness and grace in order to create the perfect illusion that the town was not a creation of his.”
“And how do you respond to this, Cardinal Mazzare?” asked Vitelleschi.
“I think that Cardinal Wadding must propose this alternative in order to preserve the narrow thread of deduction by which his original argument hangs. For Grantville to be a creation of the Devil, any virtues associated with it must be a stalking horse to conceal deeper layers of perfidy. Of course, one must then wonder why Satan created a town where the young women are clad so scandalously, to down-time eyes. I can hear the apologia already: this perplexing mixture of virtue and vice creates an optimally convincing reality by adding an authentic touch of confounding inconsistency.
“However, a cursory study of the library’s record of the social and historical trends of up-time America will provide you with simple, culturally consistent explanations. And while you are there, you should also look up the term ‘conspiracy theorists.’ Their presumptions of a world controlled by sub rosa star-chambers resonate with the satanic plots being proposed here today. Both ignore the common-sense limit of every conspiracy: the more ponderous its originating casuistries and implausibilities, the more likely it is to collapse under its own weight. May I resume my own presentation, Father-General?”
Vitelleschi nodded.
“Cardinal Wadding’s argument also necessarily presumes that God not only permits Satan an uncanonical measure of power, but that he is permitted equally unprecedented knowledge of both natural phenomena and the future. After all, in our library, down-timers have found precise forewarnings of floods and epidemics, have learned methods to test the fossil record of earlier days, have schooled themselves in novel chemical reactions and natural properties, have found lost cities, discovered unknown islands, reclaimed lost languages, located unsuspected resources. All these revelations must, according to Cardinal Wadding and others, be prophecies and sorcery pouring forth from the bowels of Hell itself.
“Allow me to unsheathe Occam’s razor. How do we reconcile these presumptions with the Church’s doctrine that, just as Satan is unable to create genuine life ex nihilo, that there are also limits upon both his knowledge and how much of it he may share? For if he is not so limited, then why has he not used a ‘ruse’ like Grantville before?
“The only one logical answer-that until now, such a ‘ruse’ was not a winning strategy-only leads to an even more thorny question: what has changed? Why is the ‘ruse’ of Grantville a winning strategy now? Indeed, how can it be, since discussions about Grantville almost always stimulate speculation upon Satan’s literal presence in this world. This benefits the Church; for a century, priests have worried that the increase in secularism will cause the laity to forget the reality of the Devil. That trend has dramatically reversed-thanks to the Devil himself, if we are to believe Cardinal Wadding.
“In conclusion, to accept Grantville as a diabolical creation, one must be willing to overturn all the Church’s canonical and traditional understandings of the powers and prerogatives of both God and the Devil.”
Ruy blew out an appreciative breath. “Cardinal Mazzare is quite a formidable philosopher. To say nothing of subtle. Are you sure he is not a Jesuit?”
Larry had evidently overhead Ruy’s more-than- sotto voce aside to his wife; Mazzare smiled as he said to Vitelleschi, “Father-General, I have one personal observation.” He turned in a circle, making eye-contact with his various listeners. “I see before me a pope who paid one up-timer the supreme compliment of officiating at his wedding. I see a seasoned Spanish veteran who has married an up-timer himself. I see a father-general who kindly encouraged an up-timer-me-to address the papal court convened on the matter of Galileo. I see a young cardinal who generously invited an up-time ambassador into his Roman palace, and who has since been happy to find that hospitality repaid in this desperate hour. And I see one last cardinal”-he turned and smiled at Wadding-“who began today’s proceedings with an apology for calling into question the humanity-the presumed humanity-of his host, that same ambassador.”
“And your point is?” muttered Vitelleschi gruffly, evidently discomfited by Larry’s reference to his well-concealed kindness.
Mazzare indicated the entirety of his audience. “My point is that none of the down-timers in this room-religious or otherwise-would have behaved as they did if they deeply, truly believed that the beings they were blessing, hosting, marrying, entreating, or thanking were demons or the damned in disguise. I know the moral fiber of the persons in this room as well as I know anything, and none of them would be so remiss in their duty to God, nor so hypocritical, that they would willingly consort with agents of Hell. In short, whatever you may say, suspect, or argue here, your actions have already rendered the verdict of your instincts: that we up-timers are frail, flawed humans no different from you except that we are now orphans in time.”
The room was quiet for a long moment, then Wadding coughed politely. “Presuming all this to be true, it still does not preclude the possibility that Grantville may have merely been brought to this time and place by the power of Satan.”