Thursday, March 18, 2021

The Virus: Part 3

 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.

Later that night, as Prithvi watched and re-watched the tapes of those meetings, his mind exploded with revelations. Lizzies were not what they looked like. 

JUMP TO

Part 2: The First Contact                                                    Part 4: Failed Gambit

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