[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.Lucy shook her head. We need to get Teddy out more,make her stand in line for Hannah Montana posters, signher up for the Li l Miss Shoe Emporium contest. No more contests.I d rather sit through movies withpopcorn and a moral.Through the haze of rain I saw a familiar figure approaching.I grabbed Junie s slicker to keep her from leaving. Isn t that Nora?Junie sheltered her eyes with a cupped hand. She musthave just got back.We d come to say good-bye to Nora today, only to learnshe d gone off with Yank doing errands.I was glad wewould be able to see her after all.Nora spotted us when one of the workers pointed in ourdirection, and she started toward us.She had on a utilitarian poncho like mine, but her head was bare with no umbrella to protect her.Rain ran down her cheeks and herblonde hair clung to her scalp.She looked perfectly happy. Isn t the rain glorious? she asked. We re thrilled, but it doesn t make your job easier, Isaid.Nora hugged each of us.Then she stepped back. Wecan do this in any kind of weather.It s part of who we are. I can t believe you re leaving, Junie said. You ll bemissed.292 Emilie RichardsNora smiled. Not by everybody.But we gave all theprotesters buckets of kettle corn and circus posters yesterday.They seemed pleased. I was surprised to hear you were moving away andselling the farm. I wondered how to ask what was reallyon my mind. You were wondering why, I suppose, Nora said. Well, yeah.I mean, you came here to build a biosphere.You came because you were, ummm.told to,right?Lucy was glaring at me, but how many times in my lifewould I be able to question a self-proclaimed prophet? Particularly one I liked and admired? It seemed unlikely to methat I d ever meet another.Nora chewed her lip, then she moved a little closer. Ido believe God speaks to me.Do you believe He speaks toyou?This was one of those trick questions.I wasn t quitesure how to answer it. Probably in a different way thanyou do, I said after thinking about it. Maybe not quite soclearly.Definitely not so clearly. Well, we always interpret what we hear, don t we? Nomatter how straightforward it is.It just comes in, passesthrough our experiences, what we believe, what we knowfor certain, what we d like to believe.Right? I would agree with that. Well, I believe that quite clearly God told me it was mymission to end global warming. It s a very worthwhile mission, Junie said. AlthoughI d like to think the biosphere is going to have good ventilation with all those animals.There s not a lot of room insideit, and air-conditioning s going to cost a fortune.Maybe itought to be a last-ditch solution?Nora s smile was radiant. I d like to think it s last-ditch,too.But a biosphere does draw a lot of attention to theproblem, doesn t it? Look at all the publicity we ve gottenhere, all the people who have asked themselves if there sA Lie for a Lie 293any truth to what we re saying, if the only hope for theworld is a structure large and complex enough to preservelife as we know it. She lifted a brow. Do you supposewe have the technology and the finances to create something like that in a place like Emerald Springs? They ve tried it before in other places, I said. Therewas that one in Arizona that didn t work out, although theygot a lot of scientific data, didn t they? Yes.They built one and got data.We haven t built oursanywhere yet, but we ve gotten publicity.We ll get morepublicity wherever we go and whatever we do, no matterhow many times we move.More and more people will askthemselves if global warming is serious enough to warrantdrastic measures, then they ll ask themselves what they cando to prevent it.What sacrifices they re willing to make.What steps they can take.What leaders they can elect. Are you saying you never intended to build a biospherehere? That it was all a hoax? I remembered the immortalwords of P.T.Barnum, more or less a colleague of Nora s.There s a sucker born every minute. A hoax? Nora s eyes were twinkling through the raindrops. God certainly doesn t deal in hoaxes.We re allchosen for His work by what we do best.And what do youthink a circus and circus folks do best? We promote.Weentertain.We create spectacles people will remember theirentire lives. The Greatest Show on Earth? Well, that s a different circus entirely.But I can t helpthinking the greatest show on this earth would be all aboutstopping the climate change that s going to be fatal toGod s creatures.Maybe someday soon this planet of ourswill need a biosphere, and by the time we do, maybe we llhave the know-how to make it happen.In the meantime,we ll have a rip-roaring show.She winked. God likes entertainment
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]