Chapter 14: The Coronation
It was the day of the coronation. A huge parade had been planned for the entire length of the main road, and then it would curl around the House of Divine Knowledge. The coronation itself was to be held inside the main temple. The Head Philosopher Lily would crown Tiberius after he swore in to the head of the Economic Institute, Colin. Both the crown and sceptre were temporary and were put together by Henders. Tiberius wanted to design them himself but did not have time because he wanted the coronation as soon as possible.
The main road was lined with excited residents. Most of these were now underground Linap.
The parade started with a large contingent of technicians. They marched through the main gate of the Downs Region and onto the main road heading towards the town square. At the head of the technicians’ contingent was Henders. He was brilliantly twirling a baton. The underground Linap roared in their admiration for him. Not far above him was a flying vehicle. In the flying vehicle were three technicians who were filming the parade.
Behind Henders were a dozen rows of technicians who were banging on their drums in perfect rhythm to Tiberius’ favourite song. They were followed by the technician dancers. They were performing their famous wobbly knee dance. Behind them were the technician trumpeters. They had joined in with the drummers’ performance of Tiberius’ favourite song.
The technicians were followed by the Downs Sape riders. The riders dangled carrots on sticks in front of their Sapes to get them to move forward. One Sape became overexcited and chased someone in the crowd who was holding a giant bag of popcorn.
Next up were the most recent group of Downs patients who had recovered from their sickness. They were jumping up and down in excitement about finally feeling well again. Some of them jogged towards the crowds and gave them high fives.
Next was a very small contingent of Downs maintenance workers. Most of them had relatives at the construction sites in both the west and east locations. They would soon be joining them. Louis marched proudly at the head of them. He waved his hands in the air like a triumphant hero. The crowds appeared to like it and warmly cheered him and the others.
Next were the enforcers. At the head of them was Eric. He bounced around with a spring in his step. He glanced behind him at the three newly arrived commanders who seemed considerably more serious in appearance. Eric shrugged his shoulders as he turned around again and continued to bounce around. Behind them was a very large contingent of enforcers. The first three rows were Downs enforcers. They were waving happily at the crowd. The remaining rows were the new underground Linap enforcers. They were marching in step with each other. There were dozens of rows of them.
For the last part of the parade, the underground Linap’s vehicles entered the main street. They were a variety of transport and military-style vehicles. In the third vehicle, Miro was standing up through a hatch in the roof. He casually waved to the crowd.
The parade made its way past the town square and to the end of the main road. It then entered the Downs Industrial Zone. Meanwhile, the special guests made their way to the temple to wait for Tiberius’ arrival.
There was a brief silence, which was followed by loud music blasting through the speakers. Duffo and Hermon charged through the Downs’ main gate, riding in chariots pulled by two large Sapes. They raced each other down the main street to the temple. Duffo arrived first by a few seconds. He jumped off his chariot in front of the temple steps. He walked up the steps towards Colin and Lily, who were standing by the entrance. Hermon jogged up the steps to catch up. Lily nodded at the two of them as they entered the temple.
There was another brief silence, which was followed by loud music once again. It was the old anthem of the North District. A few seconds later, Tiberius emerged. He was dressed in long fancy purple robes. He was riding in a chariot pulled by a large Sape. He was moving slowly. He wanted to absorb the crowds’ cheers of joy. He rode the full length of the main road before turning around and heading back to the temple. By this time, all the guests had entered the temple.
Eugene had joined Lily and Colin at the front of the temple to meet Tiberius as he arrived. Tiberius leapt out of the chariot and began to climb the steps. Once he reached the top, he nodded to Lily, Colin, and Eugene and then entered the temple. Lily and Colin followed him in. Eugene whipped out a donut. He looked from side to side before taking a huge bite out of it.
Meanwhile at the bottom of the temple steps, an enforcer approached Vulay and Denise, who were holding shovels.
‘Move these Sapes out of the way,’ shouted the enforcer as he pointed at the three Sapes attached to the chariots. ‘Then clean up the main road; it’s covered in shit.’
‘Yes, sir,’ replied Vulay sharply.
Denise looked at the large Sape, who had just dropped a large turd in front of them. ‘It’s not your fault,’ said Denise while rubbing the large Sape’s nose.
‘Come on,’ said Vulay angrily to Denise. ‘We’ve got work to do.’
Tiberius had now made his way up onto the stage at the front of the temple. Lily and Colin were up there with him. In the front row were the Alset family members. Next to them were Duffo, Benny, Julie, and Eugene, who had just joined them. In the front row on the other side of the aisle were Miro, Eric, Henders, and Louis, who had entered from the other side of the temple. Several rows further back were Yassme and Daily.
‘All rise for our honourable leader, Hamish Alset,’ called out Lily.
Everyone promptly stood up.
Meanwhile, outside of the Downs Region in the underground Linap camp area, L1 Linap, often referred to as the Hat Lady, had made her way to the trailer where Demadrian was held. All the enforcers were attending the parade. The only one in this area to stop them was Polly.
The Hat Lady, who was invisible, put her hands on the trailer door. She opened it while shapeshifting it to appear closed. She then pulled it closed behind her. In a cage at the back of the trailer was Demadrian, who was still wearing the VR headset.
The Hat Lady picked the lock. She then reached in and slowly removed the headset from Demadrian. She jabbed a needle in his neck to revive him.
A few seconds later, Demadrian opened his eyes. He began to gasp frantically.
‘Shush!’ said the Hat Lady as she covered his mouth.
Demadrian backed himself into a corner away from the Hat Lady. He looked terrified.
‘It’s okay; it’s me,’ said the Hat Lady. ‘I’m here to get you out of here.’
Demadrian began to sob. The Hat Lady gently rubbed his hair.
Meanwhile, in the temple. Lily had just finished her speech. She had joined Colin at the edge of the stage. Tiberius remained standing in the centre of the stage; he had his hands raised and his head tilted back. The Downs children walked out on the other side of the stage. They began singing praises to the higher power. Their singing was awful, but they appeared to be enjoying themselves. Tiberius turned to look at them. At first, he stared at them and then grinned in a rather creepy manner.
After three songs, they stepped back, and Lily walked to the centre of the stage. The guests applauded joyfully.
‘They nailed it, friends,’ said Eugene as he turned to Julie and Benny. ‘The future looks bright.’
‘They look delightful,’ chuckled Julie as she licked her lips.
‘I feel culturally enriched,’ replied Benny as he energetically clapped his hands.
‘It is now time that our first Emperor makes his pledge to the Empire,’ said Lily as she handed Tiberius the microphone and a piece of paper. Tiberius nodded and smiled.
‘I, Hamish Alset, pledge myself to the great regions of the surface and the underground,’ declared Tiberius proudly as he scanned the audience in front of him. ‘I swear to defend the rights and honour of all my subjects. I swear to uphold justice for anyone anywhere within my Empire. I swear true commitment to the security of my Empire. I swear to honour the will of the higher power in all I endeavour. I swear I will not fail.’
Tiberius held the piece of paper out to his right and the microphone out to his left. Colin took the piece of paper from him, and Lily took the microphone from him. The guests applauded again.
Two technicians emerged from behind the curtain at the back of the stage. They were carrying a large nicely decorated chair that they had decided to use as a throne. Miro, who had just gone behind the curtain, emerged holding a crown and sceptre.
‘It is now time to crown our first Emperor,’ declared Lily as she positioned herself behind the throne. ‘All rise for the Emperor.’
Tiberius sat down on the throne. He had a huge grin on his face.
Meanwhile, the Hat Lady had managed to get Demadrian out of the trailer. He was quivering and could barely walk. She had become invisible and had made Demadrian invisible as well.
‘Come on!’ whispered the Hat Lady to Demadrian. ‘We need to get as far as possible before they return.’
Polly, who was nearby, heard them with her ultra-sensitive hearing. The Hat Lady saw her approaching. She froze, and she was able to mute Demadrian. This did not help them. Polly had infrared capability in her robot eye.
‘L1,’ said Polly in a calm tone. ‘It has been a long time. You need to have your treatment.’
Polly and Demadrian became visible. ‘Thanks for the offer,’ replied the Hat Lady. ‘Been there, sort of done that.’
‘Worked wonders for my legs,’ added the Hat Lady as she hopped from side to side. ‘I had a nagging feeling the brain surgery part was a bit overkill. The memory loss is just a temporary thing.’
‘I can’t let you go,’ said Polly as she walked closer. ‘You’ve helped a dangerous criminal escape.’
‘Well, that’s nothing compared to working for the most vile and evil Linap to ever live,’ said the Hat Lady, shrugging her shoulders.
‘I’m sorry,’ replied Polly softly as she grabbed the Hat Lady by the throat.
The Hat Lady grabbed Polly’s arm and shapeshifted her into her former self before she had been turned into a cyborg.
Polly immediately let go of her throat.
‘This is who you really are,’ said the Hat Lady firmly as she squeezed Polly’s arm. ‘You’re not Tiberius, you’re not those other two monsters, and you’re not some weaponised robot. You’re Polly the Sapien.’
Jennifer was about to take full control over Polly, but she stopped. She could feel the intensity of her pain.
‘I don’t want any of this,’ said Polly as tears ran down her face. ‘She will make me do the unthinkable.’
‘You can fight this,’ said the Hat Lady. ‘You’re fighting it now.’
Polly started to walk backwards. The Hat Lady walked with her while holding her arm.
‘No more,’ said Polly to Jennifer inside her head.
‘No more!’ shouted Polly at the Hat Lady. ‘No more! No More!’
Demadrian grabbed the Hat Lady by the hair and slammed her head into the trailer next to them. She released Polly's arm and fell to the ground unconscious. Polly returned to her cyborg form.
‘I’m beginning to understand what you mean by right and wrong,’ said Jennifer. ‘My evolution makes me feel bad, but it doesn’t change my course of action.’
Polly fell to her knees and began crying profusely.
‘When you come to grips, you should arrest her,’ said Demadrian as he climbed into a small vehicle.
‘I can’t do this,’ said Polly softly as she looked down at the Hat Lady.
Demadrian sped away in the vehicle.
Meanwhile in the temple, Tiberius stood proudly in the middle of the stage. He was wearing the crown on his head and clutching the sceptre with his right hand. The guests were clapping joyously.
Once the applause had died down, Tiberius walked to the front of the stage.
‘You have all known me as Hamish Alset,’ said Tiberius proudly. ‘That is now a name from a past life. As Emperor of Sapey, I must have a new name. I must have a name that connects me to our Alset roots. Our roots will forever be in the North. The North survived because of the life the great river Tiber gave it. I now endeavour to give life back to Sapey in the same way that the river did. From here on out, I will be known as Emperor Tiberius the First.’
The guests applauded loudly. Benny and Hermon looked at each other. Something about that name mysteriously brought fear to them.
‘I’m not done yet,’ added Tiberius. ‘I want to name my royal family. My daughter, Jenna, would have been my rightful heir, but she was taken from me. No one could ever replace her, but I still need to name an heir, an adopted one.’
The guests became silent. Julie was smiling happily, and Colin looked a little perplexed.
‘Duffo is my advisor and has become like a son,’ said Tiberius proudly as he pointed at Duffo, who raised his eyebrows in delight. ‘You are now my adopted son and part of my royal family.’
A Duffo chant began at the back of the temple.
‘I haven’t stopped adopting yet,’ said Tiberius. ‘My other adopted son could not be here today. He is bravely serving this Empire. He is performing the most important task of any of us. He is collecting food for the Downs residents working at a construction site.’
The guests began to murmur a little. Julie’s face turned slightly red. Colin began to grin slightly.
‘I am talking about none other than one of the most senior and respected Downs residents,’ said Tiberius as his grin broadened as he looked at Julie’s face becoming redder with his every word. ‘My new son and first in line to my throne is Walter, the most talented baker from the Downs Region.’
The guests gasped in shock. Julie looked over at Colin, who was now chuckling while shaking his head slightly. Eugene enthusiastically raised both his thumbs up.
Tiberius raised his sceptre, and the music blared aloud.
Sapien Loop: Worlds Collide
Sapien Loop: Worlds Collide is the final book in the Sapien Loop trilogy. It continues directly after the events of the second book. The world above and the world below merge into one world. The conflicts in the underground world are brought to the surface. The new ruling elite attempt to crush any resistance from above and below in an attempt to create a new global empire.
Currently, three books from the series have been published on Amazon; see the links below:
All individual chapters can be found on my 