A Dance of Two Worlds

Epilogue: The Twin Conspirators

Chapter Fifty-Three

Epilogue

The Twin Conspirators

Every beginning has an end, but every end is just another beginning.

Elisium

6L 1/15/1/1

"There it comes. Bring it to the shore."

Commander Mark said looking at the transparent glass cubicle that popped out of the water. It was the first morning of the Crossing, and Commander Mark was posted at the Demon's entrance, officially known as The Solomon Arcade. "This one looks much better than the pods we received during the last crossing. They have upgraded the design," he added.

Commander Arnold, Elisium's Ambassador to Aden, was the first person to walk out of the cubicle. "Hello, Mark. I must say that King James has a nasty sense of humor. The last thing the tourists arriving from Aden want to see is Marcus's duplicate welcoming them at the entrance. Many of them might want to jump straight back into the whirlpool."

"It is not my fault that God made me like this. Trust me, the moment we develop the technology that can change a person's face, I would be the first one to go for it. I'm tired of people giving me vicious stares and anxious looks."

"They sent you back in a much better pod than the one they sent me in last time around." Smith came forward to greet Arnold.

Arnold hugged his old friend. "This is such a great invention. I didn't even get a wrinkle on my suit. This is so much better than directly jumping into that swirling mass of water."

"So how many visas did you issue there?" Smith asked.

"More than ten thousand tourist visas and some four thousand business visas. A team comprising of two thousand individuals made up of engineers, technicians, doctors, scientists and other professionals who are supposed to stay here till the next Crossing will arrive on the fourth day of adversity."

"Two thousand professionals! King Shaun is taking the cooperation treaty quite seriously."

"Yes. He will not relax till he has fulfilled his promise and turned Elisium into Aden. Markl, you are going to have extremely busy seven days verifying all these documents."

"That is quite less compared to what officers at their end will have to endure. Joseph, their Ambassador in Elisium, has issued about twenty thousand tourist visas and five thousand business visas. He has introduced a new student visa policy, where our students can go to Aden for further studies and stay there for the full mini-cycle. There was a mad dash for these visas amongst the youngsters and Joseph closed it on three thousand visas for this Crossing. I had to use all my sources to secure one such visa for my son."

Smith furrowed his brow. "Will they be able to transport all these people back and forth in time? The last thing we want is the portal to close with hordes of tourists stranded in the wrong world for seven years."

"I just hope nothing like this happens?" Arnold said and then he turned to Mark. "I must inform you before I forget that tomorrow morning you are to receive the most high-profile delegation. HighMinister of Aden, John Paul Andrews, is arriving tomorrow to pay a visit to King James. Irrespective of his post and the fact that he is our king's otherworld-twin, he is a very close friend of King James. Just make sure that he gets a grand reception."

***

John entered Queen Jennifer the Reborn memorial, one of the most opulent buildings of the Capital. He was escorted to a magnificently decorated chamber in a corner of the building which housed the tomb of Jennifer.