Seventeen
Galileo was now sequestered in the Dominican Convent of Santa Maria sopra Minerva in the Piazza Minerva, the site of the hearings. Here he was afforded far more comforts than any other prisoner in the long and brutal history of the Inquisition. Instead of serving time in a basement dungeon, he was considered a guest; a most special guest whose conviction without torture would benefit the Church more.
Chronic bad health still plagued him. Failing sight, persistent discomfort from arthritis and ongoing sciatic nerve pain continued to break his spirit. Still he hoped he could square his views of science with their theology through lithe rationalization.
Galileo had written about controversial things: the way of the world and the way he saw the solar system. Scientific fact to the learned and enlightened; sacrilegious postulates to many in the Church.
He had allies and enemies. The Collegio Romano had honored him for his astronomical discoveries. The Inquisition declared that his views violated Scripture.
Investigators dug back into twenty-year-old, self-incriminating correspondence the accused had written to University of Pisa colleagues and twisted his more recent publications into damning testimony.
Galileo Galilei’s observations of the earth, moon, planets, and the sun, his arguments about tidal motion, his Discourse on Comets which disputed Jesuit views, his position on sunspots printed in The Assayer and his Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems were beyond the pale for Pope Urban VIII and his cardinals.
Galileo now stood before his accusers as a heretic. They were clergymen, but he saw no mercy in their eyes.
“As you face us on this first day of your testimony, Galileo Galilei, be of sound mind that you have taken a formal oath,” stated Fr. Carlo Sinceri, the Proctor Fiscal of the Holy Office. “You are compelled to tell the truth before this court of Inquisition for now and for all time.”
The court was comprised of the sternest looking men he had ever faced. Chief among them, Father Vincenzo Maculano da Firenzuola, Commissioner General — the lead prosecutor.
Galileo nodded. “I do so agree.”
“Do you wish to offer an opening statement in your defense?” Sinceri said, bearing down on the old scientist.
“I do. I view this as an enlightened opportunity to discuss my writings and stated opinion of the sun’s stability and the earth’s motion. It was decreed by the Holy Congregation of the Index that this opinion is repugnant to Holy Scripture and is admitted to only as supposition. I wish to discuss that.”
“And since you so freely embrace the word opinion, has your opinion changed with time?” Sinceri demanded.
“Yes, Your Eminence. I have been thinking continuously and directly about the interrogations that have preceded this session. Accordingly, and with true forethought, I reread my Dialogue, which over the last three years I had not even looked at. I wanted to check very carefully whether, against my purest intention, through my oversight, there might have fallen from my pen not only something enabling readers or superiors to infer a defect of disobedience on my part, but also other details through which one might think of me as a transgressor of the orders of the Holy Church. Being at liberty, through the generous approval of superiors, I started to read it with the greatest concentration and to examine it in the most detailed manner. Not having seen it for so long, I found it almost a new book by another author.”
Galileo’s shut his eyes in an attempt to hide his inner thoughts.
“Now I freely confess that it appeared to me in several places to be written in such a way that a reader, not aware of my intention, would have had reason to form the opinion that the arguments for the false side, which I intended to confute, were so stated as to be capable of convincing because of their strength, rather than being easy to answer.”
With that statement, Galileo admitted his guilt before Papal authority, though in a qualified manner. For the sake of the Inquisition he was repentant and humiliated. To himself, he had lied before God. Eternal punishment would come, not for his beliefs, but his recantations.
Father Maculano nodded with utmost satisfaction and excused the Church scribe.
Galileo watched the secretary leave. Will they sentence me to death here and now?
Maculano leaned across the table, projecting his supreme authority. “A very good position to take. Skillful. I would expect nothing less from a mathematician who seeks to equal things. But now in camera, without notes taken for which we shall deny, let us discuss the past, the present and the future, of which there is likely little for you. The number of those days is yet to be decided. It is in God’s hands. But the past holds much interest for us. A most interesting past — truth be told.”
The priest stared cruelly.
Galileo recognized where this was going. He had attempted to cover his steps. Apparently he hadn’t succeeded.
Eighteen
It took a moment for everyone’s eyes to adjust through the smartphone camera flashes. As they popped, shadows appeared and disappeared. Quartz, mica schist and other crystalline metamorphic rocks sparkled and shimmered, then faded. Small creatures froze mid-flight, then scurried off.
Seconds later, they understood why Quinn McCauley had been so curious about the cave. It offered pure wonder and excitement. A long tunnel into nothingness lay ahead. What could be more inviting?
“Okay, enough gawking gang. We do this carefully. Last time I read your bios, none of you were seasoned spelunkers.”
“Nor you, doc,” Cohen countered.
“Damned straight. So it’s inch by inch, one step at a time. We lay lights out every ten feet and we never go beyond the last light we put up. If you’re not comfortable, you stop and leave…with a partner. Not alone. You never go off by yourself. Understood?”
He received unanimous consent.
“Mr. Tamburro, you’re principally a geologist, correct?” McCauley asked.
“That I am.”
“Anyone else with comparable credentials?”
“I ultimately plan on going for a second degree in geology,” Chohany stated.
“Okay, you partner up with Rich. Mr. Tamburro you are hereby appointed CEO and president of all things rocky. The stability of the walls. The strength of the ground. The safety of the passage. The two of you — rope together. We’ll be holding the slack, and there will be very little. Al and Tom, they don’t call it a lifeline for nothing. Gloves on and grab the line. You hold them. Dig your feet into the ground or brace yourself.”
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Dr. Alpert looked worried.
“We explore a little farther. If nothing looks good, we stop. If it feels dangerous, we leave. But let’s see. Okay?”
There was nervous affirmation.
“Just in case, anyone know Help! in Lakota?” Tamburro asked as he tied the rope around his waist.
For the record it was anáuŋjkičikšiŋpi.
The first minutes were slow going. They made certain that lifelines were attached correctly and that the electrical wiring and lights were out of tripping range. Every step was measured and documented.
Twenty feet in, Tamburro held them up. “Stop!” He put his arm out, preventing Chohany from taking another step.