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From: jimb@ISM780B.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: Theologic
Message-ID: <27800011@ISM780B.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 14-Sep-85 11:28:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: ISM780B.27800011
Posted: Sat Sep 14 11:28:00 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 17-Sep-85 06:19:43 EDT
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Nf-From: ISM780B!jimb    Sep 14 11:28:00 1985


>From: Miller.pasa@Xerox.ARPA

>...

>By the way, I seem to remember a story running around out there about a
>priest in a post-holocaust world who is sent (on a mechanical mule) to
>investigate rumours of a saintly (and potentially saintable) old father
>who has died but whose body has not decayed.   SPOILER WARNNG--  He
>finds the body only to discover that the old priest was in fact the
>greatest robot ever created.  A sentient survivor of the holocaust.  His
>mechanical beast (which has been tormenting him throughout the trip)
>attempts to get him to hush the fact up because 'the people need a
>miracle' but the priest says no, we must tell them, because the fact
>that the most powerful thinking machine ever created believed in God is
>a strong argument for faith.

>Great story.  Anybody remember it's title?


The story is THE QUEST OF SAINT ALQUIN, by Anthony Boucher.
One place to find it is in the anthology THE SCIENCE FICTION HALL OF FAME,
first volume, edited by Robert Silverberg.  (The first volume is not labeled
as such; subsequent volumes were labeled IIA, IIB, and III.  IIB or not
IIB...  Hmmm.)


This is a fairly decent story.  In my opinion, it's overall effect isn't as
powerful as Arthur Clarke's THE STAR, but it's definitely richer.

      -- from the bewildered musings of Jim Brunet

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