“Well … all of those things inspire awe in me, too – some of the time – but Mystical Renaissance treats that response as an end in itself . And they want science to pull back from investigating anything which gives them a high in its pristine, unexplained state – in case they don’t get the same rush from it, once it’s better understood. Ultimately, they’re not interested in the universe at all – any more than people who romanticize the life of animals into a cartoon world where no blood is spilt … or people who deny the existence of ecological damage, because they don’t want to change the way they live. Followers of Mystical Renaissance only want the truth if it suits them, if it induces the right emotions . If they were honest, they’d just stick a hot wire in their brain at whatever location made them believe they were undergoing a constant mystical epiphany – because in the end, that’s all they’re after.”

This was priceless; no one of Mosala’s stature had ever really let fly against the cults like this. Not on the public record.

“Humble Science!?”

Mosala’s eyes flashed with anger. “They’re the worst, by far. The most patronizing, the most cynical. Janet Walsh is just a tactician and a figurehead; most of the real leaders are far better educated. And in their collective wisdom, they’ve decided that the fragile blossom of human culture just can’t survive any more revelations about what human beings really are, or how the universe actually functions.

“If they spoke out against the abuse of biotechnology, I’d back them all the way. If they spoke out against weapons research, I’d do the same. If they stood for some coherent system of values which made the most pitiless scientific truths less alienating to ordinary people … without denying those truths … I’d have no quarrel with them at all.

“But when they decide that all knowledge – beyond a border which is theirs to define – is anathema to civilization and sanity, and that it’s up to some self-appointed cultural elite to generate a set of hand-made ‘life-affirming’ myths to take its place … to imbue human existence with some suitably uplifting – and politically expedient – meaning … they become nothing but the worst kind of censors and social engineers.”

I suddenly noticed that Mosala’s slender arms, spread out on the table in front of her, were trembling; she was far angrier than I’d realized. I said, “It’s almost nine, but we could take this up again after Buzzo’s lecture, if you have time—?”

De Groot touched her elbow. They leaned toward each other, and conversed sotto voce , at length.

Mosala said, “We have an interview scheduled for Wednesday, don’t we? I’m sorry, but I can’t spare any time before then.”

“Of course, that’s fine.”

“And those comments I just made are all off the record. They’re not to be used.”