“Well Mohinder, all I can say is this is quite extraordinary. I hope you understand I need a little time to digest this.”

“Hunter, I know this all must come as a shock to you. And no doubt you will need a great deal of convincing on many aspects of it. This is my culture but even I find much about the concept of renunciation very… challenging. I gave you Shard’s number in case you have a problem with any of this. I thought you may be interested in how he sees it all unfolding from here. I thought it may save a lot of time.”

“Thanks for that – I look forward to speaking with him.”

“By telling you all this I’m not saying that I’m convinced it’s a great idea, even now. And I’ve known about this for years. It still looks like too great a risk. I’ve tried to warn the sadhus from the outset that the idea of inviting God to Earth is full of uncertainty.”

“Now that’s an understatement!”

“It would need to be handled with… great touch.”

There was a lengthy silence as the President mulled over the implied suggestion.

“This film – you’ve seen it?”

“I have.”

“And…?”

“Hunter, it’s very personal… how you respond to this sort of thing. You’ll need to see it for yourself.”

“Tell me, what do they hope to do with it?”

“You’ll need to ask Shard.”