Except that the person he met with was not the Caliph at all, but his old adversary, Ghaffar Wahabi, who had been prime minister of Pakistan.

“I thought to see the Caliph,” said Chapekar, “but I’m glad to see you first, my old friend.”

Wahabi smiled and nodded, but he did not rise and when Chapekar made as if to approach him, hands restrained him. Still, they did not stop him from sitting in an armless chair, which was good, because Chapekar tired easily these days.

“I am glad to see that the Chinese have come to their senses and set their prisoners free. This new emperor they have is weak, a mere boy, but a weak China is better for all of us, don’t you think?”

Chapekar shook his head. “The Chinese people love him.”

“Islam has ground the face of China into the dust,” said Wahabi.

“Has Islam ground the face of India into the dust as well?” asked Chapekar.

“There were excesses, under the previous military leadership. But Caliph Alai, may God preserve him, put a stop to that some time ago. Now the leader of the Indian rebels sits outside our gate, and we are untroubled, and she and her followers are unmolested.”

“So now Muslim rule is benign,” said Chapekar. “And yet when the Indian Prime Minister returns, there is not a word on television, not an interview. No car waiting for him. No office.”

Wahabi shook his head. “My old friend,” he said. “Don’t you remember? As the Chinese surrounded and swallowed up your armies, as they swept across India, you made a great public pronouncement. You said, if I remember rightly, that there would be no government in exile. That the ruler of India from then on would be…and I say this with all modesty…me.”

“I meant, of course, only until I returned.”

“No you were very clear,” said Wahabi. “I’m sure we can get someone to play you the vid. I can send for someone if you—”

“You are going to hold India without a government because—”

“India has a government. From the mouth of the Indus to the mouth of the Ganges, from the Himalayas to the waves that lap the shores of Sri Lanka, the flag of Pakistan flies over a united India. Under the divinely inspired leadership of Caliph Alai, may Allah be thanked for him.”

“Now I understand why you suppress news of my coming,” said Chapekar, rising to his feet. “You are afraid of losing what you have.”

“What I have?” Wahabi laughed. “We are the government, but Virlomi rules India. You think we blacked out the news about you? Virlomi asked the Indian people not to look at television as long as the Muslim invaders retained their unwelcome presence in Mother India.”

“And they obey her?”

“The drop in national power consumption is noticeable. No one interviewed you, old friend, because there are no reporters. And even if there were, why would they care about you? You don’t rule India, and I don’t rule India, and if you want to have anything to do with India, you’ll take off your shoes and get in that line in front of the hut outside the gate.”