Carl%20Sagan%20-%20The%20Demon%20Haunted%20World

THE DEMON-HAUNTED WORLD
and even prolong lives a little. In assessing the religion called
Christian Science, Mark Twain - its severest critic of the time -
nevertheless allowed that the bodies and lives it had 'made
whole' by the power of suggestion more than compensated for
those it had killed by withholding medical treatment in favour
of prayer.
After his death, assorted Americans reported contact with the
ghost of President John F. Kennedy. Before home shrines bearing
his picture, miraculous cures began to be reported. 'He gave his
life for his people,' one adherent of this stillborn religion
explained. According to the Encyclopedia of American Religions,
'To believers, Kennedy is thought of as a god.' Something similar
can be seen in the Elvis Presley phenomenon, and the heartfelt
cry: 'The King lives.' If such belief systems could arise spontaneously,
think how much more could be done by a well-organized,
and especially an unscrupulous, campaign.
In response to their inquiry, Randi suggested to Australia's Sixty
Minutes that they generate a hoax from scratch, using someone
with no training in magic or public speaking, and no experience in
the pulpit. As he was thinking the scam through, his eye fell upon
Jose Luis Alvarez, a young performance sculptor who was Randi's
tenant. 'Why not?' answered Alvarez, who when I met him
seemed bright, good-humoured and thoughtful. He went through
intensive training, including mock TV appearances and press
conferences. He didn't have to think up the answers, though,
because he had a nearly invisible radio receiver in his ear, through
which Randi prompted. Emissaries from Sixty Minutes checked
Alvarez's performance. The Carlos personality was Alvarez'
invention.
When Alvarez and his 'manager' - likewise recruited for the job
with no previous experience - arrived in Sydney, there was James
Randi, slouching and inconspicuous, whispering into his transmitter,
at the periphery of the action. The substantiating documentation
had all been faked. The curse, the water-throwing and all the
rest were rehearsed to attract media attention. They did. Many of
the people who showed up at the Opera House had done so
because of the television and press attention. One Australian
224