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- Дэн Браун
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- Ангелы и демоны
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- Стр. 175/583
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So
where
the
devil
is
he
?
Mortati
wondered
.
Mortati
was
particularly
unnerved
by
the
missing
cardinals
because
the
task
of
supervising
this
conclave
had
fallen
to
him
.
A
week
ago
,
the
College
of
Cardinals
had
unanimously
chosen
Mortati
for
the
office
known
as
The
Great
Elector
—
the
conclave
’
s
internal
master
of
ceremonies
.
Even
though
the
camerlegno
was
the
church
’
s
ranking
official
,
the
camerlegno
was
only
a
priest
and
had
little
familiarity
with
the
complex
election
process
,
so
one
cardinal
was
selected
to
oversee
the
ceremony
from
within
the
Sistine
Chapel
.
Cardinals
often
joked
that
being
appointed
The
Great
Elector
was
the
cruelest
honor
in
Christendom
.
The
appointment
made
one
ineligible
as
a
candidate
during
the
election
,
and
it
also
required
one
spend
many
days
prior
to
conclave
poring
over
the
pages
of
the
Universi
Dominici
Gregis
reviewing
the
subtleties
of
conclave
’
s
arcane
rituals
to
ensure
the
election
was
properly
administered
.
Mortati
held
no
grudge
,
though
.
He
knew
he
was
the
logical
choice
.
Not
only
was
he
the
senior
cardinal
,
but
he
had
also
been
a
confidant
of
the
late
Pope
,
a
fact
that
elevated
his
esteem
.
Although
Mortati
was
technically
still
within
the
legal
age
window
for
election
,
he
was
getting
a
bit
old
to
be
a
serious
candidate
.
At
seventy
-
nine
years
old
he
had
crossed
the
unspoken
threshold
beyond
which
the
college
no
longer
trusted
one
’
s
health
to
withstand
the
rigorous
schedule
of
the
papacy
.
A
Pope
usually
worked
fourteen
-
hour
days
,
seven
days
a
week
,
and
died
of
exhaustion
in
an
average
of
6
.
3
years
.
The
inside
joke
was
that
accepting
the
papacy
was
a
cardinal
’
s
"
fastest
route
to
heaven
.
"
Mortati
,
many
believed
,
could
have
been
Pope
in
his
younger
days
had
he
not
been
so
broad
-
minded
.
When
it
came
to
pursuing
the
papacy
,
there
was
a
Holy
Trinity
—
Conservative
.
Conservative
.
Conservative
.
Mortati
had
always
found
it
pleasantly
ironic
that
the
late
Pope
,
God
rest
his
soul
,
had
revealed
himself
as
surprisingly
liberal
once
he
had
taken
office
.
Perhaps
sensing
the
modern
world
progressing
away
from
the
church
,
the
Pope
had
made
overtures
,
softening
the
church
’
s
position
on
the
sciences
,
even
donating
money
to
selective
scientific
causes
.
Sadly
,
it
had
been
political
suicide
.
Conservative
Catholics
declared
the
Pope
"
senile
,
"
while
scientific
purists
accused
him
of
trying
to
spread
the
church
’
s
influence
where
it
did
not
belong
.
"
So
where
are
they
?
"
Mortati
turned
.
One
of
the
cardinals
was
tapping
him
nervously
on
the
shoulder
.
"
You
know
where
they
are
,
don
’
t
you
?
"
