The peace process used to resemble a three-ring circus, with the conciliators in one arena, and republicans and unionists occupying the other two. Now there's only one circus ring, and at 10 o'clock this morning in Stormont the performance begins. New structures within Northern Ireland will be discussed at the first session of the substantive talks, attended by the British government and eight of the 10 eligible parties (the Democratic Unionists and UK Unionists are staying away).
They will be joined for the afternoon session by the delegation from Dublin, led by the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, and the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Ms Liz O'Donnell.
This session is devoted to Strand Two, the relationship between North and South. This is the "hot potato" of the talks, where the real dividing lines will be drawn. As far as the unionists are concerned, partition is not even on the table, whereas Sinn Fein's chief negotiator, Mr Martin McGuinness, said as recently as last Sunday that his party's objective was to "smash the Union".
Discussion of Strand Three, the "east-west" relationship between the two islands, commences at 7 p.m. The only formal participants are the British and Irish governments, but the other delegations will be kept informed of developments.
Each of the delegations is entitled to make an opening statement at the morning and afternoon sessions. It is understood the Ulster Unionists will simply table their submission, which will cover the main substantive issues (their party leader, Mr David Trimble, is currently visiting the US).
However, other parties have designated speakers for each session (contributions are limited to 10 minutes). For instance, the SDLP speaker at the Strand One session is the party leader, Mr John Hume, while his deputy, Mr Seamus Mallon, will make the party's opening statement to Strand Two.
Like others, SDLP spokesmen will outline the general principles they believe are necessary for a settlement. They will highlight the concept of an agreed Ireland and how that might be achieved.
Sinn Fein's speaker at Strand One will be Mr McGuinness, and the party president, Mr Gerry Adams, will address Strand Two. In a draft of Mr Adams's remarks, made available last night, he speaks of the need for a "democratic peace settlement", adding that Sinn Fein is "absolutely committed to democratic and peaceful methods of resolving problems".
Sinn Fein would be seeking an end to British rule and a united Ireland, but it was willing to "listen to other positions and to see and uphold the dignity of all sections of our people".
For nationalists, the continuing speculation about the position of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Burke, casts a shadow over the start of substantive talks. Close observers of the peace process point out, however, that officials from different Government departments have been working on the peace process for many years, and there should be no fears about continuity in the event that Mr Burke is either forced to resign or to spend considerable amounts of time attending tribunals of inquiry.
As push comes to shove, there are signs of nervousness among both unionists and republicans. A number of dissenting voices were heard at the Young Unionists' conference in Belfast last weekend. Outright attacks on the leadership were rare, but there was clearly some concern that if one sups with the enemy one does not allow him to dictate the menu.
On the republican side, there was surprisingly sharp reaction to reports that Mr Ray Burke believed Sinn Fein would accept something less than a united Ireland in the talks.
Both Sinn Fein and Mr Dick Spring raised the matter in the Dail, and a full page of the Sinn Fein weekly An Phoblacht was devoted to the issue. The paper warned: "It suits the enemies of republicans to put out the message that republican leaders have changed their political objectives."
Mr McGuinness's declaration of intent to "smash the Union" suggested there were still some Sinn Fein supporters who become unnerved from time to time about possible political compromises and who need reassurance that there is no deviation from fundamental aims.
At the end of the day, the Sinn Fein leadership will have to go back to their IRA associates and explain how the deal emerging from the talks brings a united Ireland closer and is not, as republican dissidents suggest, just a reinforced form of partition.
The current political situation in the Republic carries some echoes of the events of November 1994. It is understood the IRA ceasefire was conditional upon the replacement of Mr John Bruton by Mr Bertie Ahern. If continuing instability leads to Mr Ahern's departure, there could be interesting and far-reaching consequences in republican circles.