The Quest for Saint Aquin
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| "The Quest for Saint Aquin" | |
| Author | Anthony Boucher |
|---|---|
| Country |  USA |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction short story |
| Media type | Print (Magazine) |
| Publication date | 1951 |
The Quest for Saint Aquin is a science fiction short story by Anthony Boucher originally published in 1951.
[edit] Plot summary
In a technocratic future Earth, religion has been banned and the Catholic church has gone underground, relying on secret cells and symbols as in the days of the early church. The narrator is a crypto-priest named Thomas, who is charged by the secret Pope with finding the resting place of a semi-legendary figure called Aquin. Aquin had been an evangelist of great power who converted all those who listened to him preach, and his body supposedly never rotted after his death. The Pope believes that this miracle, if true, will be a powerful tool in winning new converts.
Thomas is provided with an intelligent multi-terrain transportation device called a "robass," to assist him in reaching the area where Aquin's body supposedly rests. To his surprise, the vehicle is theologically literate and tries to persuade him to abandon his quest, arguing for example that he had never been asked to actually find Aquin, only to report that he had so that the pope could begin the process of canonization. Thomas resists these arguments, though he does succumb to the temptation to drink and carouse with a pretty half-Martian barmaid in a small town, encouraged by the robass. The people in the town discover he is a priest, beat and rob him. Various episodes from the New Testament are echoed as his quest continues.
Ultimately, Thomas finds the body of Aquin, discovering that he had been a robot, and that he could not have rotted because he never had flesh to start with. The robass had known this all along. The creature continues to try to pervert Thomas's intent, but is rejected. The priest realizes that if a robot, with its perfect logic, believed in God, others can be convinced of God's existence by simply using perfect reason.
The Quest for Saint Aquin was among the stories selected in 1970 by the Science Fiction Writers of America as one the best science fiction short stories of all time. As such, it was published in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume One, 1929-1964.
