by Kanakaberaka » February 8th, 2010, 8:15 pm
Synopsis of part 3 : Mark is rewarded for his obsequiousness with admission to the inner circle of the N.I.C.E. Wither, Lord Feverstone, Fairly Hardcastle, Filostrato, Straik are all there as well as a Professor Frost. They meet late at night in the library where Mark was given the cold shoulder earlier. During his first meeting Mark is shocked to discover that the disturbances in Edgestow have been engineered by the N.I.C.E. And to make matters worse, they intend to unleash a full scale riot to bring about emergency measures. And yet Mark becomes a willing accomplice when he agrees to write editorials explaining this turmoil before it occurs.
The new arrival at Belbury appears to be the voyeur Jane saw in her latest dream. For now Professor Frost remains silent among the inner circle.
Mark can't understand why the former Reverend Straik would belong to such a jolly bunch of conspirators. He takes everything seriously, in comparison to the others. I have the feeling that Mark mistakes Straik's preaching for genuine religious thought. That's something that Mark has no desire to consider. If he would only take the time to listen to what Straik has to say about the Resurrection being "Neither a historical fact nor a fable ... but a prophecy", Mark would have realized that Straik worships scientific progress rather than God.
so it goes...