Chapter Four

A Dance of Two Sisters

The dance of the cosmos is doom for the mortals

Aden.

The Fifth Loop, Year 370, 29th December (5L/370/12/29)

"The fragrance of knowledge."

Andrews the Explorer muttered to himself as he took a deep breath and entered the huge auditorium of the Hamish Scientific University for his monthly interaction with the students. An astronomer, chemist, physicist, and geologist, Andrews was also the first man to map the far ends of Aden and hence King Samuel had awarded him the title of the Golden Explorer.

The auditorium was jampacked, like all his previous visits. Andrews was the most celebrated scientist in the history of Aden and an icon for students. He scanned the keen faces of his audience, he firmly believed that the never-ending enthusiasm of young minds was the trigger for all major innovations.

"My dear students, today let us talk about telephones and how they can change the dynamics of our world."

Once Andrews had finished his lecture, a tall guy repeated one of his absurd predictions in an exaggerated tone. "A phone held in a palm, in which we can see the person we are talking with. Seriously? Are you a fan of Arif's sci-fi novels?"

Andrews chuckled. "I heard his novels are selling like hotcakes. Honestly, I like his books, he is a good author, but his science sometimes doesn't add up. However, mark my words, young man, we will surely see such compact moving phones in the future."

A chubby girl with freckled skin and wearing thick glasses raised her hand. "Sir, what happens at the turn of the Loop? We all have heard many stories about it."

Here it starts. The topic he dreaded.

"I didn't know that telephones were the reason behind the catastrophic events at the turn of the Loop." People in the auditorium just looked at each other. Andrews' jibe had bounced over their heads. "My dear, what is the connection between telephones and the Loop?"

"Sir, the Crossing is just a couple of days away and you have published so many books on this topic. Quite naturally, we want to hear about it from the person who knows the most," the girl replied.

"The turn of the Loop is more than a century away, one hundred and thirty years and two days to be precise, and unless you are a bowhead whale in a human form I don't expect you to make it that far." The girl's face turned red as everyone in the hall burst out laughing. Andrews had compared a chubby girl to a whale in another lame attempt at humor.

"Although curiosity is always a good trait, we shouldn't worry about things we are never going to see. You look like a girl who loves her stories. What is your name?" He tried to salvage the situation.

"Mysha."

"Mysha, why don't you tell us what you have heard about the turn of the Loop?"

Mysha audibly cleared her throat to gain some confidence back. "I have heard that every new Loop begins with catastrophic events—a Month of Darkness instead of ten days. A never-ending eclipse engulfs our whole world, the sun never shines, the thunderstorms don't stop, the rivers flood the lands, the volcanoes erupt simultaneously, and the ground keeps shaking. Even the Great Sea changes its position."

Andrews put his hand over his mouth. "Wow! What a horrifying description of events. You just reminded me of my granny, she was quite terrific in describing the terrible." Andrews immediately bit his lips. As if calling Mysha a whale wasn't enough now he had compared her to his grandmother, although she looked as old as her. "Pretty lady, that all is very true but what causes such mayhem?"

"I have no idea," Mysha mumbled, sinking into her chair.

"Okay, first tell me what you know about Tenebra?"

Mysha remained glued to her seat. She looked in no mood to endure more jibes on her looks. Her friend finally stood up to answer. "Our solar system has an identical sister next door, with the same number of planets revolving around its star. Tenebra in that system is the farthest from its sun, just like Aden in our system, but looks like the only habitable planet so Astronomers call her Aden's twin."

Andrews clapped his hands. "Very precisely explained. At least some people are making good use of the largest library on this planet. Now, these two sisters, Aden and Tenebra, meet each other only once in ten long years. They celebrate it by shaking a leg but unfortunately, their little excitement triggers storms, earthquakes, and brings some horrible weather."

Mysha raised her hand again. She was a fan of astronomy and her curiosity overruled her frustration on Andrews's annoying one-liners. She might not get another chance to talk with this genius. "But why does their dance turn so violent at the turn of the Loop?"

"What happens if at a New Year party, fourteen family members, who know nothing about dance, join the two dancers on the dancefloor?"

"It will no longer be a dance it will be shambles. Total pandemonium."

"Exactly. Once every five hundred years, all the planets of both systems align in a single straight line to join this dance. Because of their gravitational pull, it becomes a planetary tug of war, with Aden and Tenebra at its center. It is a doomsday of sorts."

"Is that why our scholar, and even the priests, chose this event to mark the beginning of a new era, a new Loop?"

"You are right, my dear. My great-great-grandfather Hamish—I hope you know who he is?" Andrews asked raising an eyebrow.

"Obviously. The pioneer of the scientific revolution in Aden. This university and half of its facilities are named after him."

"Yes, his aura just kept growing with time till his name was everywhere, even on my toothpaste although he never used a toothpaste."

Everyone in the auditorium guffawed in unison.

"I mean he preferred natural sticks and herbs to brush his teeth, like many other people in those days. Anyway, coming back to the point, Hamish emphasized that every Loop was a turning point in history as it ushered in a whole new era. That is why while writing dates he first mentioned the Loop with the letter "L" and then the year, month, and day."

"Hamish devised this format for writing dates?" Mysha asked curling her lips.

"Yes, amongst many other things. He also named this unending cycle of Loops, The Dance of Two Sisters. He famously quoted that the dance of the cosmos is doom for the mortals."

"Why doom?"

"He believed that when this dance reaches its crescendo, it flips the two sisters on their heads. It has a much larger impact on the fortunes of the two worlds, not just the geological effects."

Mysha had a never-ending list of questions ready for Andrews. "If the two solar systems are identical, so Tenbra must have living beings like us."

"I am sure there is another Andrews in Tenebra and I am dying to meet him," Andrews said with an enigmatic smile. "I hope someday we will see that world, but for now, we only have some legends and vague theories. Have you heard about the theory of Transition? It can't be true without human presence in both worlds."

"Yes, but that baffling theory is more fantasy than facts," Mysha replied. "However, there is one thing, right in front of our eyes that no one cares to explain. The Eye of Tenebra. Why does that whirlpool magically appear during the Days of Darkness?"

How can this topic end without this question? It was time for Andrews to repeat his well-rehearsed answer for the millionth time. "Why that whirlpool appears at that exact time and at that precise location doesn't have any scientific explanations."

Mysha grinned. "Don't tell me you haven't done any experiments with the whirlpool?"

"I tried. During the last Crossing, I dropped many instruments in the whirlpool but nothing came back. Anything sucked by the whirlpool is never found again, neither at the bottom of the river nor on the banks. Whoosh, it just vanishes.

"I can't believe that Mister-I-Know-Everything doesn't have an answer for something." Mysha was thoroughly enjoying giving it back to Andrews.

"Dear, I know you are absolutely thrilled that you floored the genius, now stop rubbing the salt," Andrews said with the frown of a defeated wrestler. "Some artistries of nature are beyond the realms of Science. But if someone is willing to jump into the whirlpool to check out what lies beneath please register with me, I am looking for volunteers."

The bell rang and Andrews breathed a sigh of relief. The Eye of Tenebra had always been a sore spot for Andrews, a blemish on his spotless record. But now he had another chance, after a decade of waiting.

On the first day of the Crossing, Andrews picked up his instruments and climbed a cliff that towered above the Eye of Tenebra. There was something majestic about this whirlpool. It was an enigma. It had an air of magnificence and a shadow of obscurity around it. Andrews was mesmerized by the giant swirl. He felt drawn towards it. He leaned from the cliff to get a better view.

Fate was just waiting for that moment to strike. A strong gush of wind blew Andrews off his feet. He had enough time to curse himself while falling from the cliff. His best friend once told him that someday his curiosity would get him killed, that jibe had turned into a prophecy.

He hit the water with a splash and the whirlpool gulped him like a hungry beast. But to his utter surprise, the swirling stopped in a few seconds. He rose to the surface and swam towards the bank in the calm currents of a gently flowing river. The whirlpool was gone.

"This is the worst time to go swimming young man." Andrews turned around to see a middle-aged peasant walking towards him. "Can't you see Inferna is above us? The Days of Adversity have begun. If you had been upstream, you would have drowned in the Abyss of Unknown."

Inferna? Abyss of Unknown? Nothing made sense to Andrews. He frantically looked around. The landscapes looked familiar, but there was something odd about this place. Everything felt dull and gloomy as if covered in a shadow. The grass, the trees, the rocks, the soil, and even the river looked dark and dreary.

Is this what he was thinking? That can't be true. He had to ask this man and try not to look stupid. "I may sound weird, but can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Where am I?"

"In a deserted area of the Inverness forest. The closest village is a few miles downstream."

"No I mean what is the name of this world? This planet?" Andrews was generally bad with words but that sounded ridiculous.

The farmer furrowed his brows and gave him a long look. "I guess you were drinking and accidentally fell into the river. You still look drunk."

Andrews felt an urge to shout but a little politeness here would serve him better. "Will you please answer my question?"

"Elisium is the name of our world."

Andrews wanted to pull out his hair. He had said that he wanted to see the other world, but actually traveling here was not on his wish list.

However, Andrews didn't know that his inadvertent fall had opened a door that was never meant to be opened. This small accident was about to change his life—and also transform the fortunes of millions of people in the two worlds.