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.’‘We have some time before the ceremony,’ Brother Reinert said.‘Would you two like a quick tour of the castle?’ He glanced over to De Sande, who nodded his head in endorsement.‘That sounds wonderful,’ the Doctor said.‘Thank you.’Reinert looked up at the painting, placed the candle he was holding in front of it, then bowed his head in prayer before marching towards a door at the side of the auditorium.‘Come along then,’ he called back.‘We haven’t got all night.’The door had led to a small library, and at the end of that Ben had expected to find a chapel, or a museum, or something else consistent with what they had seen so far.Instead they came to a vast cavern carved out of rock.Stalactites pointed precariously at them and the sound of distant rainwater echoed around the cave.The door from the library led on to a dangerous flight of stone steps that appeared to have been carved out of the rock.An unsafe-looking metal handrail was all that prevented anyone who slipped on the steps from meeting an early grave at the bottom of the cavern.‘After you,’ the Doctor said politely to Reinert, gesturing for the old man to step forward.Reinert did so, then reached for one of the fire torches on the wall of the cavern.‘That’s a bit OTT isn’t it?’ Ben said.‘I’m sure De Sande will have a proper flashlight in there if you ask him nicely.’Reinert put his index finger on his lip to quieten him.‘I take fire down here because everyone who has ever been down here has taken fire.It may give us light, but it also keeps us safe and keeps us warm.A flashlight would only give light.’ Fair enough, thought Ben.Reinert slowly began to make his way down the stairs and the Doctor and Ben followed cautiously behind him.Although it hadn’t been visible from the top of the steps, as the party descended deeper into the cavern it became clear that the cave contained another chamber in its walls.‘In here,’ Reinert said, leading them into the chamber.It had been carved out of the rock and exotic rugs were scattered across the floor to cover the cold stone underneath.The room was lined with more fantastic paintings and statues.De Sande’s Private collection, Ben assumed.They must have been a nightmare to move down here.‘All fakes,’ the Doctor whispered, a conspiratorial smile on his face.‘Through here are the screening rooms,’ Reinert said.‘They actually connect to a storage hut in the car park, and most of the people who visit access them through that rather than the more precarious route we just took.I prefer to go this way round, though, as we are not only shielded from the elements but also get the chance to gaze at the magnificent beauty of the inside of the hill this castle has been built on.’‘I hadn’t heard of any castles in California,’ sighed Ben.Brother Reinert had a twinkle in his eye.‘We try not to publicise this place’s existence too much.FOCAL values its privacy, and we have to respect Mr De Sande’s wishes.If he hadn’t stepped in a couple of years ago when we were going through some rather serious financial trouble I doubt we’d still be here today, so the very least we can do is respect his wishes.Mr De Sande and the other chosen leaders want FOCAL to step into the public limelight soon, to convert as many people as possible to the Way of Light.’‘Ah yes,’ the Doctor said.‘The Way of Light.I must say I’m rather keen to learn more about that.’‘It’s the path we try to encourage all our members to follow.We don’t give our organisation a formal religious name beyond“the Friends”, but we have given a name to our doctrine.Learn about the horror in the world, learn what causes it, then turn your back on those causes and light will fill your soul.That, Doctor, is the Way of Light.You really should try to follow it, you know.You can’t imagine how it can enrich a life.’‘So it seems,’ the Doctor said.‘You certainly have a lot of supporters.’Brother Reinert walked over to a small wooden door, then took a large iron key from his robes and slid it into the keyhole.A lock clicked and the door creaked open.Reinert stepped through, the Doctor and Ben following.The familiar juddering sound of a film projector filled the dark room.It was a tiny cinema with five rows of seats facing a small screen.In the seats sat a group of children, and enough light from the projector reflected off the screen on to their faces for Ben to see that most of them were watching the film with their mouths wide open, enchanted by the spectacle before them.‘What are they watching?’ whispered the Doctor.Brother Reinert pointed to the screen.A woman was running along a beach, images, apparently in her mind, flashing on to the screen.A recap of her life, passing before her eyes.An image of her stroking a pet Labrador, an image of her being beaten by a man with tears streaming down his face, an image of her swimming in bank notes.The final image appeared and it was of her standing helplessly as her belongings were repossessed.A newspaper headline, DEPRESSION HITS, was superimposed over the woman lying on her porch in tears, a knife hovering above her wrists.The film then cut back to her standing alone on the beach.She smiled, walked off into a sunset, then the credits rolled.The lights in the room went up and a monk who had been chaperoning the children began telling them to behave as they stood up.‘What was that all about?’ Ben asked, as the monk led the children out of the screening room.‘I believe it’s about education,’ the Doctor said.Reinert looked impressed.‘Go on,’ he said.‘Your beliefs are based around light, and around hope springing from sadness, are they not?’Reinert nodded.‘Indeed.We believe that for every period of sadness the human soul endures it will eventually experience an equal amount of happiness.However, if a person brings that happiness on themselves, they will experience twice as much sadness.We believe death, destruction and pain are good things, for through them comes repentance, an understanding of oneself and a closeness to the Way of Light – a purity of soul that will let any person be freed from worry.’‘And this is what you’re indoctrinating those kids with?’asked Ben.‘No,’ said Reinert.‘We take the most gifted and mature children from local schools and screen films they might not otherwise have the opportunity to see [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]