Illustration
This was a long drawn-out tussle with the AI that eventually paid off. AI is notoriously bad at drawing faces, and has only the vaguest idea about nationality – I asked for an Indian judge, and got ones that were Native American – occasionally even with feather headdresses! Requests for brown skin were answered with pictures of men who were clearly of African heritage. Judicial robes often ended up looking like something from Harry Potter. And don't even ask about the court room setting ...

However, I kept stubbornly trying again and again, and after more than two hundred spins of the wheel, it came up with this, which was so close to what I had in mind that I cropped out all the crazy stuff it added to the picture, and collapsed in relief.

Quote
From Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics, where he speaks of the ideal judge who embodies justice. You would hope that in the Afterlife your judge will distribute perfect justice.

The Humanity of Forward
When Julian sees Chief Justice Dharmayama, he is immediately impressed by the sense of dignity, power, and wisdom he exudes. Although the judge is said to have a brilliant mind, Julian can also feel his deep compassion. He begins to have some feeling of hope at this point that the judge will assess him with a balance of justice and mercy.

It occurs to Julian that when people go Forward, they do not lose their humanity, or become alien. Instead, they become more completely human, more deeply human, more perfectly human. Everyone at the Waystation who has gone Forward is a human being with human kindness and understanding; they do not turn into angels.

"Everyone is Going Forward"
Chief Justice Dharmayama makes an immediate sensation in the Assessment Room when he announces that everyone being assessed that day will be going Forward. Of course he adds, "Eventually"! As has been drummed into the reader by now, everyone is on a path Forward, and nobody should have been surprised by the judge's statement. I think some readers were just about ready to kick him for trolling, though!

The Fates of the Minor Characters
Margaret Atkins – It took only five minutes for the judge to assess Margaret and send her Forward. Her life of virtue, her warm and kind personality, and her perfect attitude made it a foregone conclusion she would be going Forward. Her middle name is even Rose!

Noel is upset he isn't given a chance to say goodbye to Margaret, saying that having her at the hotel when he arrived was like having his nana with him. In real life, Noel was raised by his beloved grandmother until he was eight, but I doubt she was much like Margaret. She sounds like a rather formidable lady, and Noel said he loves strong women because he was raised by one.

Ronald Campbell – Despite Ronald's confidence, the judge has some reservations about sending him Forward. He took staying at The Rose and Star too much for granted, and a report from Sophia is taken seriously. We don't know what Sophia complained of, but he may have treated her like a servant, or been a bit too entitled.

Whatever he did, it is enough for him to be sent Sideways instead, with the implication it will only be for a short while. Ronald is a good person, but with enough failings to delay his journey Forward. He leaves cheerfully and has no problem with his assessment, showing that underneath he does have the right attitude.

I gave Ronald a common Scottish surname to match his first name. His full name is very similar to a local hero from my home town, who has a statue in his honour beside a lake.

Edith – She is sent Forward, even though she doesn't think she is nearly good enough. She may not be a perfect person, but she had a good attitude and faithfully followed all the advice of her Case Worker, Agnes. Edith promises that she will do her best and keep striving for improvement, showing she is worthy enough to go Forward.

Thomas – Always believed he would go Sideways, and perhaps wanted to be sent there. He is presumably satisfied when this is exactly what happens.

Bronwen Price – Bronwen seemed to be aware there was a strong chance she would be sent Back, and in fact this is what happens. Bronwen says that she was afraid of being assessed, but feels she was treated honestly and fairly. She no longer fears going back to Earth, knowing she is not ready for Forward yet, and has more living to do. She promises to lead the best life possible.

The judge is impressed with her good attitude, promising that it will bring her beneficial energy into her next life. I really wanted to make a point that going Back to Earth is not a punishment ... unless you choose it to be. Bronwen shows that even when being sent Back, the right attitude makes all the difference.

The Head Shaman Dennis blesses Bronwen as a gift for her departure back to Earth. I struggled with what that blessing should be, but in the end Dennis sends her a long, happy life filled with love and adventure, so that when Death comes for her, she will greet him as a friend and be ready to go Home with him. Forward is almost guaranteed for her next time.

My head canon is that this is the exact opposite to the life Bronwen had before on Earth. We already know her life was cut short by cancer, and I imagined that her life was essentially rather sad, lonely, and empty, because she was afraid to really embrace it with all her heart.

Note that Bronwen is not promised any of the things we often think of as signs of worldly success. She is not blessed with wealth, power, fame, beauty, charisma, intelligence, talent, or a spouse and children - just a long, happy, interesting life where she is loved by others (by lovers, friends, family, pets, or even strangers is not specified – it's entirely open-ended).

I gave Bronwen a common Welsh surname, and the name Price suggests she has found, or will find, her own value.

https://youtu.be/O-sVpVIovKk

Lift Music
When they go down to the canteen for lunch, playing in the lift this time is a Muzak version of Bob Dylan's 1973 song, "Knockin' on Heaven's Door", written for the film Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. Everyone being assessed is, in their various ways, knocking on Heaven's door, and asking to go Forward.

Alcohol
Everyone is drinking cider with lunch, and although Julian is reluctant to drink any because of Mary's advice, he is assured that in the Afterlife, alcoholic drinks won't make you drunk, or sick. Instead, they provide specific pleasant mental states – cider gives optimism and cheerfulness.

Maybe this is a bit puritanical of me, but I really didn't like the idea of getting drunk in the Afterlife (although drinking in Heaven is in the Bible, and many other religions' version of the Afterlife). I figured most people don't really drink to get drunk; they wish to feel happy, relaxed, and sociable. So in this story, alcohol gives only the nice parts of drinking, and none of the horrible ones.

I later found out this is exactly what the Koran promises for the Afterlife – wine that will not cause drunkenness or sickness, and brings only joy and pleasure. Even though other religions don't seem to specify this, surely this is what most of them had in mind?

The cider doesn't have a strong effect on Julian, so even this must be quite mild. Perhaps that's why Mary said most people drink a lot, or this is yet another aspect of the Waystation which works differently for Julian.

I probably chose cider as the drink because it felt wholesome. In Celtic mythology, apples are associated with immortality, and the Islands of the Blessed, such as the Isle of Avalon (the isle of apples) in Arthurian legend.

Julian and Jeannie
Jeannie apologises to Julian for being unable to send him Sideways after his last, eighteenth, life. She says that she felt especially upset when she was told that Julian arrived in the Afterlife after drowning himself, fearing he was sent back to a miserable existence.

Julian is able to reassure her that he had a loving family, supportive parents, good friends, and amazing opportunities. He realises at last that he actually had a wonderful life – just as George Bailey, who considered drowning himself in despair, did in the film It's a Wonderful Life (earlier referenced).

Jeannie also tells Julian that his judge last time was Pauline, who is now his housekeeper at The Wayfarers Arms. Julian is stunned, because Pauline is so nice, it seems unbelievable she would send anyone Back. However, Pauline talked about being a judge, and said it was very hard, because a judge must keep cosmic order and uphold the law, not simply do whatever they want.

Jeannie speculates that Pauline may have had access to information about Julian's nineteenth life that meant she didn't want him to miss out on it for some season. The implication is that she knows Julian was due to meet Noel, and have the life he does.

I wonder whether Pauline may have become a housekeeper so she would be able to guide and take care of Julian when he next arrived at the Waystation?

Medicine
When Julian goes to take his last dose of the medicine Mary gave him, he is dismayed to find there is only a drop left. After putting the dropper under his tongue, he runs his tongue around the rim of the bottle in a desperate attempt to get the last skerrick of medicine.

This is a homage to the first low fantasy novel I can remember reading, Black and Blue Magic by Zilpha Keatley Snyder, about a boy who receives a magic potion which gives him wings. The bottle only lasts a month, and on the final day, he finds he doesn't have even one dose left, so he takes everything he can and then licks the bottle to get every drop possible (it doesn't quite work).

Tiny budding writer me was very impressed by this realistic detail, and after that I started writing fantasy stories myself, so this is a little tribute to Mrs Snyder.

Julian was due to take another dose at 5 pm, but whatever he managed to get after lunch is his last dose. His assessment and its aftermath will be conducted without the help of Mary's medicine.

Characters
Nasati Dharmayama
The judge who has been assigned to assess Julian, Noel, and seemingly everyone they know. Which seems slightly suspicious, but to me it makes sense that they would put people who are going to be assessed together in the same accommodation. Dharma is Sanskrit for "cosmic law", while Yama is the Hindu god of justice who judges the souls of the dead. Dharmayama can be translated as "the course of law, holding firm to the law". There is a famous Buddhist temple called Dharmayama in Bali.

Chief Justice Dharmayama is vaguely analogous to the Ape of Death in the "Bollo" episode of The Mighty Boosh TV show, played by Rich Fulcher. Although the Ape of Death oversees Monkey Hell, and is the equivalent of the Devil, he does judge the souls of apes and monkeys. In the story, he sentences Howard/Julian to Monkey Hell because he's wearing a gorilla suit, but Vince/Noel is able to save him. There's almost no resemblance between the two characters, but as Vince/Noel is able to save the day by giving the Ape of Death some miracle hair wax to sort out his split ends, I did give Dharmayama lovely long glossy hair!

Dennis Kay
The Head Shaman of the Waystation, and the Head of the Council of Waystation Residents. Noel mentioned him before as a figure of some importance who has been charged with a major task for Forward – he will be going to Earth to help people so that they will be more likely to go Sideways or Forward in the future. Dennis Kay is inspired by Dennis, the head of the Shamen Council in The Mighty Boosh TV series, played by Julian Barratt. Julian's appearance was changed for the role so that he looked bald, and wore contacts which gave him pale eyes.

I sometimes find surnames for characters in Wiktionary – kay means "being, essence" in Quechuan, and skay means "giant" in Armenian. The English surname Kay can be derived from the Roman name Gaius, possibly meaning "rejoice". Finally, it is a reference to Josef K, the protagonist of Franz Kafka's The Trial, centred on an absurd legal trial. Make of that what you will!!!!!

Sheriff Lucien
The Sheriff of the Assessment Room, whose job it is to keep order and call people up to be assessed. He is named after the character of Lucien in the episode "The Legend of Old Gregg" of The Mighty Boosh TV show, played by Julian Barratt. The name meaning "light" seemed suitable.

Eleanor Garcia
Marcus' assistant – the work she is doing is preparing her to be a Case Worker in the future, like an apprenticeship. This is what Marcus would have done as part of his training. She has information for Marcus about Julian's case – in the previous chapter, Marcus sent her a message in regard to the problems Julian has been having. Eleanor still has a very noticeable American accent, and probably only went Forward 15-20 years ago.

Eleanor is loosely based on the character of Eleanor from the "Eels" episode of The Mighty Boosh TV show, played by Rich Fulcher. In the episode, she develops a sexual obsession with Howard/Julian, but in the story, she only finds him fascinating from a legal perspective! Eleanor has an American accent, like Rich, and because her character is dark haired, olive complexioned, and ends up going to Mexico, I gave her a Spanish surname. Garcia is the most common Spanish surname in the US and is thought to mean "bear" - in the episode, Eleanor threatens to shoot someone as if they were a bear.

Mary Gideon
Mary's back! She replaces Pedro in the Council of Waystation Residents, as Pedro has been urgently called away. (He hands out picnic baskets – how urgent can that be????). You just know this has to be for a particular purpose. As soulmates, Marcus and Mary can communicate telepathically, but being very professional, they try not to do so. Apparently turning this off is a skill that can be learnt, but it needs a fair bit of concentration.