Free The Mechanical Messiah by Robert Rankin

expect nothing more. But as you have promised the ring to me, it is neither here nor there whatever you choose to believe.’
    ‘But you believe it to be genuine?’
    ‘With all my heart. Although I had doubts of my own regarding its existence. Might I enquire as to how you came by it?’
    ‘You may,’ said Cameron Bell. ‘But for now I would prefer not to answer you. I would ask you a question or two more, however. If this is a magical ring, what powers does it possess?’
    Aleister Crowley laughed and said, ‘Now that indeed would be telling.’
    ‘Touché. Then answer me this. You agreed that the Moses story was partly fiction. Yet you believe in the authenticity of this ring. Explain this seeming contradiction.’
    ‘Magic,’ said Aleister Crowley, ‘or magick, as I prefer it to be called, is by nature unworldly. It enters our world from another realm. It does not come willingly. It has to be persuaded. There are, however, other places where magic, it would appear, is treated as commonplace and used in an everyday manner.
    ‘Only in fairy tales,’ said Cameron Bell.
    ‘On the contrary,’ said the magician. ‘There is one specific place I know of One specific world.’
    ‘Go on.’
    ‘I speak, of course, of Venus. It is believed — and on most scientific grounds, I understand — that the denizens of that cloudy world employ magic to power their aether ships through space. Their spaceships are referred to as Holier-than-air craft — they move through the power of faith alone.’
    ‘I have read of this,’ said Cameron Bell. ‘Few men have walked upon Venus. The native population there discourages tourism. They are certainly a secretive race.’
    ‘And not without good cause. You see, upon our world there are few things capable of carrying magic. Magic is almost at times like electricity. It has to be conducted along the right channels. Things are different upon Venus.’
    ‘I see,’ said Cameron Bell.
    ‘Of course you do not see,’ said Aleister Crowley. ‘You do not see because you do not believe. Do you think that I would have told you all that I have told you if I had for one moment thought that you would actually believe it?’
    Cameron Bell shrugged his shoulders.
    ‘Because if you actually believed it, you would hardly be likely to part with a ring that you knew God had given to Moses, now would you?’
    ‘Probably not,’ said Cameron Bell.
    ‘So let us leave it at that.’
    ‘Not quite. I believe you are withholding something most pertinent. And as you do not believe that I will believe, so to speak, there can surely be no harm in you confiding in me.’
    ‘All right, fair enough,’ said Aleister Crowley. ‘But allow me to ask you a question or two. I would estimate that you have had that ring in your possession for at least eight hours.’
    Cameron Bell nodded at this.
    ‘And I would wager that you have examined it thoroughly.’
    Cameron Bell nodded once more.
    ‘And I would further wager that you tested it, when you noted just how heavy it was for its size.’
    ‘Bravo,’ said Cameron Bell and he nodded again. ‘And so you were greatly puzzled when you found that you could not identify the metal,’ said Crowley, with triumph in his voice.
    ‘Go on,’ said Cameron Bell.
    ‘The Great Truth I now reveal to you is this,’ said the mystic. ‘It is difficult for Man to engage in magic because Man is far away from God. There was a time when Man was close to God. When God regularly visited the Earth. But those days are gone and God is far from Man. How far?’ Crowley laughed. ‘I gave you the answer earlier, when I gave it to you in jest. Magic exists upon Venus, because Venus is nearer to God. The Sun really is a lens that focuses the brilliance of the Almighty upon the planets. And Venus is far closer to the “Sun” than is Earth. The Great Truth, however, is this.
    ‘Moses ascended the holy mountain and there met with God, who made him a gift of that ring. But Moses