3. Gods (?)
‘The world
changed more in the last two days than it had in the past two thousand years,’
Prithvi said, overlooking the three aliens who were now making their way
towards the Presidential dinner.
‘You might
be right for once, champ,’ said Estella in Prithvi’s comms.
‘You can
just say that you were wrong for once,’ replied Prithvi.
Estella
didn’t react to that remark. ‘The whole humanity has gone apeshit euphoric.
Just three of them managed to do this to 10-billion people in two days.’
Prithvi saw
all of that firsthand. In those two days, the three Lizzies participated in
number of public events. It became quite clear that all three of them were not
only Godlike in their magnificent appearance but depth of intellect too. The
effect was hypnotic and not just on laypeople. They were as deft at talking
about quantum nature of the universe as they were about music and arts. They were
always careful to keep within the purview of human capabilities, ‘rationed
their knowledge’ as someone put it mildly.
Perhaps it
was too embarrassing to tell a tired stone-rubbing-caveman about the matchbox.
Eris seemed
to be the leader of the group, she always spoke first in media interviews, while
Ares seemed more proficient in matters related to arts. In one live interview,
she got her own cult by live-painting the exact copies of Monalisa, The Starry
Night and The Last Supper, all in 30-minutes flat. Adonis was most reserved of
them all and seldom spoke. He liked talking about interstellar politics but
often deferred to Eris if the interviewers prodded.
Presently,
Prithvi stood guard at the bottom of the stairway in the grand ballroom of the
Presidential Residence.
‘You must
be tired by now.’ Estella enquired.
He pressed
on his earpiece. ‘Last couple of days were hectic, too many high exposure
public events. But I will not lie, I loved every second of it.’ Prithvi said
looking around at the grand ballroom. President had pulled all the stops at
show and pomp. The select crowd -- Hollywood celebrities, rock-stars,
billionaires, Nobel laureates, business magnates -- had completed the
atmosphere. Expensive Tuxedos and Evening dresses filled the room. ‘Gosh, this
place smells like a Chanel factory.’
‘Do I hear you
complaining?’
‘Hell no. There
is not a single soul on any of the planets that won’t give their right hand to
exchange places with me.’
‘I thought
as much. Anyway, you will have easier days from now on, there will be only
closed-door discussions with the leadership --
heads up.’
The three
Lizzies appeared at the first-floor balcony of the ballroom, looking majestic
as always. The esteemed crowd gathered below the carpeted imperial staircase.
On cue, lights were dimmed, and a spotlight focused the three aliens as they
walked down on the red carpet, waving and smiling all around. Eris and Ares
donned shimmering gowns while Adonis wore a suit. The colors of their seemed to
gradually change every few minutes.
As three of
them came down the stairway, holding hands, Adonis stumbled on a wrinkle in the
red carpet. A collective ‘ooh’ echoed in the hall, but Adonis quickly recovered
with some help from Ares, while Eris continued to smile and wave. Soon, the
minor gaffe was forgotten, as the three Lizzies mingled with the people in
their separate clusters of attention.
Prithvi
watched the incident with interest. ‘Did you see that Estella?’
‘See what?
The stumble?’
‘Yes. Noticed
anything peculiar?’
‘No. Is
there something I should know?’
‘It is
probably nothing, but I have a hypothesis that I need to confirm. Arrange for
my replacement.’
Prithvi
moved around the grand-hall, away from the Lizzies who were now surrounded by
three layers of celebrities. In one
corner, Prithvi spotted a familiar face sitting at the bar counter, sipping his
drink. Prithvi took the next spot and grabbed a beer for himself.
‘Mr.
Anthony Jenkins,’ said Prithvi loudly. ‘Congratulations on your recent Oscar,
fourth one I presume.’
‘Fifth.’
Anthony downed a glass without paying any attention to Prithvi. ‘No autographs
please, I am not in the mood.’ Anthony said throwing a glance in the direction
of the Lizzies.
‘I
understand, Mr. Jenkins. These are just crazy times, right?’
‘Bonkers.
Look at that crowd.’
‘Are you
not going to meet them? Lizzies, I mean.’
Anthony’s face
contoured as if in physical pain. ‘Not like these pedestrians. I am the
Anthony Jenkins, I deserve a more exclusive access.’
‘You are
right, Mr. Jenkins. Art is as important as politics… but these politicians
don’t get that.’
Anthony
nodded in a agreement, loosened his bow and motioned the bartender for another
drink. Prithvi moved his stool closer to Anthony.
‘I think we
both can help each other,’ Prithvi said. ‘I can get you up close with all three
of them… with dedicated time. Imagine how would a photo of you look on H-Town’s
cover page, with Eris and Ares.’
For the
first time, Anthony looked properly at Prithvi. ‘Can you do that?’
‘I can. But
you’ll have to do something in return.’
‘How about
a million credits right now?’
‘Not money,
Anthony, something else. Come here.’ Prithvi leaned in and whispered in his
ear. ‘You will have to do as I say. You will have act like a different person
to for each one of them.’
‘Who are
you?’
‘I am a
part of Lizzies security. Consider this as a small prank I want to play on
them.’
Anthony
thought for a second.
‘Just
imagine how much your PR team can do with pictures of you meeting with the
Lizzies.’
‘Alright
what the heck. I am not sure what is the point of all this but if you guarantee
those photos then I am in. How about if I use my movie characters?’
‘That
sounds good Mr. Anthony. This will be bigger than your four Oscars, I promise.’
‘Five.’
Prithvi had
to pull some strings, but shortly after, Anthony was being escorted by the
security and meeting with the Lizzies. Prithvi stationed himself in the
monitoring room and watched as Anthony pulled off his magnificent performances
of a Russian politician for Eris, a European business mogul for Adonis and an
American innovator for Ares, all in the same evening.
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