Washington D.C

"They get you that report, John?"

The young man simply said "Yes sir, from what the CIA tells us, they haven't found any objects anywhere else, but are still on the lookout for any of these appearing, as are our allies. Many states have begun relaxing their readiness level, though remaining on alert. Oh, and the linguists are preparing language pamphlets to give the troops."

The president nodded, approaching the room that was connected to the Pentagon.

"Well, that's good to know. Thank you." He said, walking inside and leaving the aide behind.

Inside, a secure connection was established to a phone somewhere else in the world. Said phone that was somewhere else in the world was then connected to another line that would eventually lead to another place in the world.

The President took a heavy breath as the Premier of the Soviet Union answered.

Pleasantries were exchanged and gotten out of the way quickly.

The Russian brought it up first.

"…in regards to the other world... It is another world, yes?”

The president nodded slowly to himself, as if not surprised the Russian was aware of their findings despite them not being published yet.

Damned spies...

Keeping the thought to himself, he replied with “That seems to be the consensus.”

“Yes, well, regarding this other world that this… doorway has given you access to… what is your nation's plan for it?"

"Well, we are looking at a variety of plans, some involve destroying it, risky as that could be…"

"Ah, but not all plans involve destroying it?"

"No."

There was a pause.

"You would realize how a new era of imperialism would look for your country, yes?"

The president felt his nails dig into the palm of his hands at the hint of accusation in the words of the Russian.

"I want to come to a consensus here, Nikita."

"Don't we all?"

"Well, I mean it."

Silence.

"Look, the situation in Vietnam and what was once French Indo-China is clearly not turning in our favor…" the president admitted in a defeated tone, both changing the subject and bringing up what he wanted to discuss.

If he was standing in Moscow, he would have seen the premier stiffen in surprise at the statement.

Instead, the president had to contend with a seemingly unimpressed "Oh?"

"Yes. It is very clear that we have supporters in the country… countries involved- don't get me wrong… that said my… informants have made it increasingly clear that many more wish to be free of… free of our presence."

"Your country did effectively terminate their previous elections."

"In retrospect, that was a mistake, yes…"

One I supported even if I wasn't in office…

There was another pause as the Soviet Premier took in what he was being told.

"So… you will support free elections in Vietnam for reunification?”

“That’s what I intend to propose.” He said, leaving the clear implication to hang in the air, the Soviet Premiere picking up on it immediately.

“And if they choose… for your people to leave…" he didn’t finish, waiting for the American president to conclude for him.

The president answered with a stern "Then we will leave… we’ll let them decide and experiment for themselves, but Nikita…"

"Yes?"

"Assuming they choose to have us go, I don't want them turning into an authoritarian proxy state… If there are American sympathizers, they must be allowed to exist and travel freely. I don't want another Berlin Wall popping up around all of Indochina."

"That is something you should discuss with them, not-"

"I want your support on it."

Another pause.

"Why?" the Russian asked after a moment.

"Because despite the open support, their relationship to the Chinese isn't exactly optimal right now and both of us know it."

Another pause.

Gotcha!

"You and the Chinese aren't exactly on the same terms as you were even five years ago, and Vietnam is your new little investment ready to hop in on the scene and pick a side. Trust me, if my sources are to be believed, then the Chinese don't want Vietnam as an ally, so much as a territory, and I’d bet yours tell you the same. I would even be willing to bet Minh knows that much even now."

Another pause.

"As for this other world and the portal leading to it… we plan to see what happens, see if more show up, maybe… maybe send some scouting parties and diplomats assuming it stays where it is. I’ve already called back some Special Forces from Vietnam for that purpose. We also have prisoners and we're working on deciphering their language… it's a weird Latin gibberish… It might not even matter if it closes in a month or two. Just keep in mind, we have no control over where it appeared or how."

"That much I believe."

Of course, you do... damned Russian spies.

"If it stays up, well, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

The Russian chuckled.

"Cross... yes, of course... Though I can already see your country’s plans for this other world. However, you want to give Vietnam its rightfully due liberty to choose its destiny, us supporting that choice… all so that we leave you alone while you go ahead and conquer another planet that is sitting pretty in your backyard?"

"We don't know if it will stay there, but let's assume that it stays. It’s not big enough for us to bring in ships. At most, we plan to control the nearby area in order to establish a proper presence. At most. And this is all hypothetical, remember? We don’t know if it will close in a hundred years from now or a hundred seconds."

"Ah, well, hypothetically, I believe it’s safe to say that we can work with that prospect."

"You're going to have your representatives cry about it at the UN, aren't you?"

"Most definitely, but you already knew that. Have a nice day, mister president."