Colin Kapp - Letter From An Unknown Genius

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LETTER FROM AN UNKNOWN GENIUS

There can be situations in which a genius might definitely prefer that his work of

genius not be associated with him. It would be a lot safer that way. . .

COLIN KAPP

ILLUSTRATED BY MICHAEL GILBERT

Dancing on a sea of silvery wavelets, the small boat came: under the radar towers, past the brief

defenses—the clamor of its tiny engine sounding loud across the bay. The men behind the guns spared it

not a second glance. It was an ordinary scene—the priest returning from the blessing of the fishing fleet

and the casting of bread upon the waters. This was part of the pattern by which the village lived, a way of

life almost unchanged as far as the yellowed records could remember.

Only a shrewd eye, and one equipped with good binoculars and a good memory, would have

noticed that this day was different. The boat returning from its mission carried one more occupant than it

had taken. Around the shadow of the headland the nuclear submarine, its assignment completed, had

already slipped silently across the shelf, making for deep water.

The monastery of San Cherno was old. Its walls, built continuously up from the bedrock of the cliffs,

in places dipped almost to the water. Here, past the sad harbor, the great, gray steps of the ecclesiastic

landing stage showed for just how many centuries the church of San Cherno had comforted and been

concerned with those who fought their living from the sea.

But it was not only the years which had left their mark on the gray and dedicated walls. Scars of the

ravages of cannon shell and rocket remained an ineradicable reminder of the impact of the century into

which they had survived. As though acknowledging its grudged awareness of the' times, the chapel wore

a copper crown whose newly acquired patina had not yet learned to live in harmony with the dull stone

walls.

The boat pulled in at the landing stage at the foot of the monastery steps. A priest and one other

disembarked before the novices turned the craft away to place it at anchorage safe against the tides. The

priest permitted the cowl of his cloak to fall back to his shoulders, revealing his curiously sharp, ascetic

face and the whitened wisps of a tonsured head—a vision of piety who might unchanged, have occupied

the selfsame role at any time in the monastery's history. His companion maintained the garb intact,

concealing beneath it the casual clothes of one more than usually aware of the progress of the Atomic

Age. Not until they had ascended the steps and entered the great, shaded halls of San Cherno did the

visitor disrobe.

The priest took the cloak from her with an air of deference.

"It is good of you to come here, Madam Karp—especially on so dangerous a journey."

"If the news that has reached us is true, the dangers involved in my coming are nothing compared to

the dangers had I not come."

"May God preserve us all!" said the priest quietly. "If you would be so good as to wait here, I will

inform the abbè of your arrival. He will wish to speak with you immediately."

Left alone, Marion Anderson Karp, greatly regretting that the occasion had caused her to abandon

her high heels, began to examine her surroundings. The buildings were classic examples of their age, and

the housekeeping was loving and meticulous. But time and war had caused many faults in the fabric, and

the process of reconstruction, due to the unfitting poverty of the area, was a labor to be measured in

lifetimes rather than years.

She approached the great portal, looking out appreciatively at the incredibly bright sunshine which

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Colin Kapp - Letter From An Unknown Genius

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