Man Facing Southeast Page #3

your other weapons.

Not this one. It baffles us.

- What weapon, Rantes?

- Stupidity. Human stupidity.

Why do you say ''us''?

I'm not the only inhabitant

of my planet

nor am I the only one here.

For God's sake, Rantes, don't tell me

there are others. You're plenty.

This same scene is happening

all over the world.

Other Rantes facing other doctors

like you in other nuthouses,

having the same discussion

at this very moment.

And we're all saying exactly

the same thing.

Check it out. Call them.

Dr. de la Fuente, Madrid.

Dr. Lamarque, Lima.

You speak English? French?

If one of you would call, you could

change history, but we know you won't.

It is beyond the limits

of what you can accept.

We are beyond those limits.

O.K., if I accept all those doctors

are talking to all the Rantes,

what do these clippings mean?

The daily crimes.

If God is within you,

you assassinate God every day.

How does this concern you?

We are preparing the rescue.

Do you see why a nuthouse is

the safest place?

I can tell you this confidential

information

because nobody will believe it.

- What rescue?

- The rescue of the victims,

those who cannot survive

amidst the terror.

Those broken by the horror,

those who are without hope...

here.

It will not be robbery.

All you've left out are the words

''Blessed are the Meek''.

You made a mistake in assuming

your role.

You say you are from another planet.

You should have said

you were Christ.

My story might've been different

but not your reaction.

Rantes, did you have children?

Why do you keep this?

They also cannot live with horror...

and they die like ants.

International Operator,

one moment, please.

International Operator,

one moment, please.

An invasion of Christs

was an amusing idea.

God forgive me. The absurdity

of it amused me.

The old, official version of one Christ

always seemed absurd,

but it never amused me.

I didn't know why, but it was impossible

to get the thought out of my mind.

I wondered, if this were true,

why was that Christ a social being,

one with a political approach while

this one isolated himself completely?

Things had not gone well that time.

Perhaps this time they decided

to change their tactics.

My God! Rantes was probably right

in saying that psychiatrists lean back

to avoid being infected.

In his case, I had committed

the indiscretion of not doing it.

Sometimes a perfumed breeze

comes through a window.

Does it call up some old memories?

I don't have memories that can be

activated that way...

but if I had them, certain smells,

certain perfumes would harm me.

We have lost many agents that way.

- How's that?

- Agents... like me.

They feel things they are not

programmed for

and separate themselves

from the beam.

They have deserted, why?

For things that you

would consider stupid.

Perfume coming through a window,

for example,

a woman's fragrance,

a catchy saxophone melody.

- A saxophone? Did you know I play

the saxophone? - No.

But, please, Doctor, don't take me

literally.

Don't show up with a saxophone

to try to destroy me.

I don't understand something.

You talk about sensations...

sensations that seriously upset

the people of your planet.

Combinations are produced which make

our computerized memory

begins to malfunction.

We still do not know why.

That's why I asked to work in Pathology.

To investigate.

Why don't you stop bullshitting?

I will help you, I really will.

I know that you're afraid to see

yourself as merely a man,

as a sick man, but don't worry,

I will not abandon you.

But you have to help me.

You're a great guy, Rantes.

It's a pity.

You're a great guy, too,

but you're not happy.

You know it, and it doesn't bother you.

Human beings resign themselves

to so many destructive things.

They do nothing to change things.

Is it stupidity or are you paying

for your sins?

Home again.

Rantes, it's still early.

How about some coffee?

Why should I be cured?

Can you give me a serious reason

we can discuss here?

Rantes, if you're not a lunatic,

I would concede that

you are an extraterrestrial.

That would mean that I'm a lunatic.

Nature allows only for

very slow change

accepting a change of species

before a change of conscience.

I'm more rational than you.

I respond rationally to stimulus.

If someone suffers, I console him.

If someone needs my help, I give it.

Why do you think I'm crazy?

If someone looks at me, I respond.

If someone talks, I listen.

You have slowly gone crazy

by ignoring those stimuli,

simply for having ignored them.

Someone dies. You let him die.

Someone asks for help.

You look the other way.

Someone is hungry. You squander

what you have.

Someone is dying of sorrow.

You lock him up so as

not to see him.

One who systematically

adopts this conduct,

who walks among the victims,

ignoring them,

may dress well, may pay taxes,

go to Mass,

but you cannot deny he is sick.

Your reality is terrifying, Doctor.

Why don't you look at the real

madness for once?

Stop persecuting the sad ones,

the meek,

those who don't want to buy, or cannot

buy that sh*t you would gladly sell me.

That is, if you could.

Rantes had just made a move that

surprised me.

It seemed unprogrammed.

Unexpectedly, a rage

had surfaced in him.

He claimed to be a ''Cybernetic Christ'',

but his rage made him resemble

the other Christ, the old Christ.

At this stage, my thoughts were

confused somewhat by shame,

somewhat by anger.

Since Rantes was becoming more

Christ-like, his end would be the same.

I wouldn't admit it, but I wanted Rantes

to disappear completely.

Even though history would see me,

if this were true,

as the Pilate of the galaxies.

Even so, I would prefer,

as had many Romans,

to risk a resurrection rather than have

him here saying what he was saying.

Hey, Rantes has a visitor.

- Beatriz...

- Dick.

Rantes had been here for a while

and he's made no progress.

We don't know his identity.

In the register, he's listed as N.N.

So your presence may be very useful.

That's why I intercepted you.

Now I'd like to ask you

some questions.

They may seem indiscreet,

but I think you'll understand.

- Are you related?

- No.

A friend?

We met a while ago.

I'm an evangelist.

I work in a church.

We do relief work in a village.

- That's where we met.

- In a church?

- Why was Rantes at the church?

- He showed up offering to help out.

At first, we didn't realize

his importance.

Importance?

He knows everything.

He teaches the kids music.

He's delivered several babies

very professionally.

He's assembling a machine using parts

of radios and calculators.

He says it will be a computer.

From the beginning we found him

a little strange, but a good man.

He told me his story.

- It was very moving.

- He explained why he's here?

He described his problems with alcohol.

Problems with alcohol?

What problems with alcohol?

He didn't tell me why.

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