you like a tea or coffee?’
Conan stood and walked towards the back of the queue, followed by Lieutenant Rice, who struck Conan as the sort of bloke who’d be first man eaten in a horror film.
‘Who’s that leading the prayers?’ asked Conan.
‘That would be Major Lammas,’ said Lieutenant Rice, his adoration plain.
‘Major Lammas,’ repeated Conan. ‘He has a nice speaking voice.’
‘And an even nicer message,’ said Rice.
‘If you’re into that kind of thing.’
Rice cocked an eyebrow as they shuffled towards the urn.
‘Not a believer … Mister … erm … ’
‘Tooley. Conan Tooley … but you can call me Tools.’
Rice smiled and said, ‘You spoke with Captain Roberts this morning.’
‘That’s true … not for long.’
It was clear that Melodie had not reported her conversation with Conan to Rice, whose curiosity blazed.
‘Was there anything, perhaps, that I could help you with?’
‘What, like … how to hide from a T-Rex?’
Rice’s eyes widened, as Conan maintained his serious straight face.
‘I’m sorry?’
‘Never mind … what’s Major Lammas’s story?’
‘Ah … well, the Major is one of the Ord City War Councillors.’
‘Top brass?’
‘Exactly. General Jessup … Major Maddox, who runs the hospitals … and Major Lammas. They’re the senior officers for the region … although the General’s mainly in Perth.’
The queue had shuffled forward as they spoke and Rice reached for a mug.
‘I love urn coffee,’ he said. ‘I actually prefer it to barista.’
‘That’s fascinating,’ said Conan. ‘So, why is Lammas here tonight? How does he fit into the local picture?’
Rice gave a tight smile in response to Conan’s sarcasm, then said, ‘Our chapter house falls within the eastern division of Ord City … which is Major Lammas’s division.’
‘He’s your boss?’
‘Well, strictly speaking Captain Roberts is my boss … but what about …’
‘Aah yes, Captain Roberts,’ interrupted Conan. ‘What’s her story?’
Conan accepted a mug from Lieutenant Rice and grimaced as he sipped the tepid muck with its nasty tang.
‘Captain Roberts?’ mused Rice. ‘Erm … she’s from Melbourne … went to ANU. She studied Asian Languages and joined the Army of God when she was still in first year.’
‘She seems full of secrets,’ said Conan, watching Rice closely.
‘Secrets?’ echoed Rice, ‘… odd thing to say. Still, she is a captain and head of the chapter. She would learn a lot that doesn’t make it down to my security clearance level.’
‘You have that in the Army of God? Security clearance?’
‘I’m sure they have it in all professional organisations,’ said Rice.
‘But don’t you feel left out?’ pressed Conan, ‘… when they’re having their secrets?’
Most of the people around the table had drifted pack to the seats but the buzz of the hall suddenly stilled. Conan turned to see that Melodie and Major Lammas had resumed their seats at the front of the congregation.
‘Ooh … time to sit down,’ said Rice, grabbing the opportunity to change the suddenly uncomfortable subject. ‘Enjoy the Great Debate.’
‘What about Roberts and Lammas though?’ asked Conan, as Rice tried to scurry away.
‘What about them?’
‘Are they … ’
‘What?’
‘Bonking?’
Lieutenant Rice’s face went white, and then a deep red. He opened his mouth but then turned and strode back to his seat, leaving Conan grinning in his wake.
The first part of the Great Debate was fairly predictable, and not much of a debate. Major Lammas, who would have been late thirties and looked a bit like a young George Clooney, spoke in that hypnotic voice of his about certain moral themes which united all religions.
‘So you say every time,’ interjected a smallish, bearded man in a tee shirt and skull cap. ‘But despite the commonalities … you somehow conclude that Christianity is the one true path.’
‘Hello Razzaq,’ said Lammas, ‘nice to see you back again. Well … Christianity does have one major advantage over other religions. It was started by Jesus.’
‘It was not started by Jesus,’ said Razzaq. ‘Jesus was a Jew … he simply added his own spin to the Jewish faith, which was much, much older.’
‘I think the second covenant with God is a bit more than spin,’ smiled Lammas, his fingers indicating inverted commas. ‘Our relationship with God was enormously deepened by the words and deeds of Jesus.’
‘And further deepened by the words and deeds of the Prophet Mohammed,’ said Razzaq. ‘Now they are deepened yet again by the tenets of Habal Tong which …’
‘Which isn’t a religion,’ said Lammas, finishing Razzaq’s sentence for him.
‘No … it is not a religion,’ agreed Razzaq. ‘Not in the way that ‘religion’ is normally understood. Habal Tong allows us a better appreciation of our birth religions and at the same time fortifies us with the spirit of unity … of oneness. If Christians could just get over their terrible arrogance regarding Jesus, they might also find something truly profound in Habal Tong.’
‘I hardly think Christians are arrogant,’ said Melodie, speaking for the first time. ‘We are humble … extremely humble.’
‘So humble it makes you proud,’ sneered Razzaq, getting a laugh from all except the church officers.
‘How exactly do you think Christians arrogant?’ queried Major Lammas.
‘They are arrogant,’ said Razzaq, ‘because they are the only ones who believe their prophet to be the son of God. No other religion makes such an outlandish claim.’
‘Hardly outlandish,’ replied Lammas in his smooth baritone. ‘But we’re not here to argue about which
