Long Beard is the villain in the “fantasy within fiction” story The Twin II. He commands ruthless mercenaries brought over from Twin’s penal colony to do tough jobs for the Unified Elites Commission. The elites like to present a benevolent kingly face on Twin, but they have their dark ways. And Long Beard and his troupe are the means. He introduces himself by greeting the Bohemian islanders, “May your lives be long and your gifts many.” Does that sound like a heartfelt wish or rather a veiled thread? Never disclosing his name but by his waist-long beard showing his rank,…