The governor sank to his knees again with his forearms resting on the paved surface of the Forum. He looked up beseechingly and spoke in a trembling voice.
‘I know not exactly what happened Great Leader. My investigations show the guards checked his cell several times as per standing orders. His final meal of the day was taken in and only then did the guards find a bolster covered with clothing and fashioned to resemble a body. The prisoner must have slipped out after his last visitor entered the cell. Unfortunately the cell door was left open on the orders of the visitor, one Noah Tullius Cicero, who I understand, is known to you Great Leader. But as soon as the escape was discovered a thorough search was immediately instituted and...’
Ezra’s eyes were now bulging as if ready to pop from their red-rimmed sockets.
‘Silence you, you, you... cretin. I have heard enough. Take him to the prison where he was supposed to be its governor, toss him into one of the cells and throw away the key! I never want to see his face again - and as for you three...’
He pointed a wavering finger towards the trembling guards.
‘You will be responsible for him during his incarceration. You will live, eat and sleep at the prison, your families may not visit and neither may any of you leave. As for him... ’
Ezra pushed the cowering governor to the ground with a sandaled foot.
‘He will not see light of day as long I have breath in my body. Away with them all. Get these miserable excuses for men out of my sight.’
Ezra slumped, a look of total exhaustion on his face, onto the unyielding seat of the marble throne where he froze into silence, moving only now and then to relieve his aching buttocks. His deep breathing was the only sound breaking the nail-biting tension. His entire entourage knew the signs, the Great Leader was close to mental breakdown and the only recourse was to join him in his silence until he recovered his poise. An anxious, tense, half an hour passed before Ezra suddenly rose to his feet, placed the excess material of his toga over his left shoulder and waived for the entourage to follow as he exited the Forum Leviticus. He headed, the crumpled parchment paper still clutched in his right hand, towards an unremarkable one-storey, red-tiled, building immediately adjacent. He was surrounded by his personal entourage of praetorian guards. Because of his morbid fear of assassination by dissidents who were becoming increasingly threatening, he rarely used the same venue for conducting the business of government for more than one sitting. Although guarded closely he was unyielding in ensuring that his whereabouts were kept strictly secret; even his closest advisors were unaware of the location of the next meeting until summoned and escorted by specially appointed staff to the designated venue. The same was true of his living quarters. Scattered throughout Leviticus were several luxuriously appointed homes where Ezra lived in sumptuous style cosseted by a coterie, comprised of persons carefully selected from his immediate family and very close friends, who tended to his every whim.
The double doors at the entrance to the building were swung open with military panache by two guards who had quickly straightened to ram-rod attention on seeing the Great Leader’s approach. Ezra, closely followed by his entourage, swept past the guards and into the opulent interior. Marble was in magnificent evidence everywhere, the multi-hued marble floors reflected blindingly as the sun’s rays slanted in through the still open doors and through huge windows set in the lofty roof. Scattered throughout were massive marble plinths on which stood sculptured likenesses of past and present leaders of Terra Nova, The walls were frescoed with scenes from Roman and Greek mythology. The only clue that the house was not a relic from ancient Rome was the soft whirring of air conditioners that pumped out cool and refreshing air, a welcome respite from the excruciating heat of the Forum.
More double doors, these ornamented with gold, silver and rare seas shells, led to a room off the entrance hall that, once again, was guarded by two huge, well-built impassive soldiers. The doors were swung open to reveal another room, equally as large as the entrance hall. Lit from above, the room was a magnificent example of the finest in Roman living. Thick rugs, inter woven with gold and silver threads, were spread opulently on the huge floor which was an expanse of the finest white marble. Couches and chairs were occupied by bloated, beautifully embroidered cushions, placed as if deliberately denying access to those who wished to take a seat. Already seated in one, however, was a beautiful young woman, dressed in the most delicate of diaphanous clothing. The breeze entering the room from the open doors caused the soft silky material she was wearing to waft revealingly as it settled on the contours of her shapely body, She rose to her feet as Ezra entered the room, alone and smiling.
‘Esther Pius Oppius,’ he said softly. ‘You never fail to astonish me with your extraordinary beauty.’
He took her greedily in his arms and roughly kissed her slightly parted lips. He then released her and stepped back, arms outstretched, his hands coming to rest on her bare shoulders.
‘What I would be without you? I, the Great Leader, he whom others fear even beyond death, am under the spell of the most alluring creature on Terra Nova. Esther, you must never leave me for I fear if that were to happen I would surely die.’
Chapter Twenty Two
Julia Brownstone was not the type of person to simply sit back and let things take their own course. Even at work, where she is employed as a senior hygienist at a busy dental practice in Ambridge Wells, her persuasive powers are constantly utilised whenever she learns of new products, techniques, tools, that would help improve not only her patient’s teeth and gums but also her own professional advancement. Her boss, Robert Hunt, sole owner of the practice, was a very amenable, amiable and professional dental surgeon, who now and again (and purely for fun) pretended to resist Julia’s pleas for whatever was on her mind at a particular time, knowing full well she would not ask for something unless she believed it would truly benefit the practice. Her request this morning, however, to place a photograph of Richard Moss on the notice board at the practice, presented him with a problem. They were standing in the reception area by the company notice board prior to welcoming the first patient for what promised to be another extremely busy day.
‘Julia,’ he said ‘This is a dental practice and not the missing persons department of a police station. I know, I know exactly, how you must feel but, honestly, I do not think a photograph on our notice board would help. If I was you I would contact that programme on BBC, the one that helps solve crimes, you know the one I mean, what’s it called?’
‘Crime Watch,’ answered Julia smartly ‘I would and I have thought about it but I know they’d decline because there’s nothing to go on. What could I tell them? He’s disappeared without trace and that’s it. It’s been almost three months now and not a word, no sightings, nothing. And here I am with my tummy getting larger by the day and the man who is father of my child is nowhere to be found. It’s destroying me Mr. Hunt and I don’t know what to do next.’
Julia turned away and burst into tears. Compassion filled Robert Hunt’s eyes as he realised his valuable assistant was far more distressed than he had imagined. He motioned for her to follow him towards his surgery at the end of the narrow corridor. Once inside, he closed the door, picked up the telephone and spoke softly to his receptionist.
‘Please inform my next patient I’ll be a few minutes.’
He turned to face Julia.
‘Right,’ he said. ‘I need you to be able do your job properly and you cannot do that with all this worry resting on your shoulders. When we break for lunch we’ll sit down and come up with some ideas as to what can be done to find your boyfriend. But right now you have to understand we have patients to attend to.’
Chapter Twenty Three
Esther, fearful for her safety and bewildered as to what the outcome was likely to be, was nevertheless sufficiently experienced in the ways of Terra Nova’s ruling class to realise she
had no choice but to acquiesce and act as if Ezra’s feelings were being reciprocated. As much as she hated it she forced herself to smile when he touched her, although what she managed on occasions was more akin to a grimace. She had been summoned (ordered is perhaps is a more appropriate word) once again to one of his homes and instructed to await his arrival. The resulting three hour wait had been a lonely ordeal but no more so than it had been on many previous occasions in the recent past when receiving similar instructions to pay homage, as it was farcically termed, to the Great Leader. She was very aware that Ezra’s philandering was common knowledge among the middle and upper classes of Leviticus, in fact two of her female friends had already been in exactly the same position as she now found herself, only to be tossed aside when another unfortunate female took his fancy.
Esther’s ordeal, as she put it to close friends in guarded moments, began some three months ago when meeting Ezra face-to-face at her first, obligatory, last-Sunday-in-the-month, Immaculation ceremony held at the Coliseum of Leviticus. The experience horrified her beyond words as she witnessed, one trembling palm covering her mouth, the inhuman acts being committed in the arena, all in the name of The Creator. It was at, and after, that particular ceremony that latent doubts began to surface in her mind about the merits of life on Terra Nova. To her horror she learned that Ezra had spotted her from his exalted position overlooking the arena. His interest was aroused by her beauty and within two days she was summoned to another of his many houses, this one situated on one of the seven hills overlooking Leviticus. To be perfectly honest she was, at the outset, flattered to have been summoned. Flattery, however, was soon replaced by horror when each successive summons arrived. Now her only thought was to free herself of his unwanted, terrifying attention.
She already knew that Ezra’s admission of dying if she were to leave him was a sham, a repeat of the same plea he had made to others prior to her being the latest in a shameless mélange of lovers. But, for the present, survival was her prime consideration and she was obliged to acquiesce to the awful situation until the inevitable happened and Ezra’s interest in her eventually faded and he switched his attention to another woman.
‘Why would I ever wish to leave you?’ she asked, attempting, unsuccessfully, to eradicate the overt unsteadiness in her voice. ‘You are the most powerful person on Terra Nova and I am proud to be the one that holds you spellbound.’
Ezra’s mouth creased into an arrogant smile. Although in his early sixties, he was still handsome in a craggy, used, sort of way. Straggly reddish hair fringed his deeply lined high forehead, while his wrinkled neck showed signs of the onset of aging. Standing a full head’s height above Esther he presented an imposing figure, sure of himself, sure of his authority, sure of his hold over the woman whose hands he now held in his.
‘Let us retire to my private room. I have had a trying day and need the warmth and comfort only you can provide. Come Esther, help me forget the incompetents who provoked my anger and who drove me to the point of despair.’
***
Joshua Tullius Cicero was uncharacteristically nervous. Never close to his younger brother Noah, he still felt that the ideological differences that had driven them apart as young adults remained immutably in place. The arrival of Noah accompanied by a stranger, even though both were expected, was a cause for concern, especially since Ezra’s recent introduction of Proscription, a decree of condemnation to death or banishment of named enemies of the state. Proscription implies the elimination en masse of political rivals by whatever means. Joshua was well aware of the dangers inherent in the decree. Although born and raised in a middle class environment his left-leaning political sympathies were fashioned by the study of the politics of ancient Rome and, consequently, he was acutely aware of the damaging effects of the first Proscription of 82 BC when Lucius Cornelius Sulla was appointed dictator rei publicae constituendae - Dictator of the Constitution of the Republic. Lucius Cornelius Sulla’s first act was to draw up a list of those he considered enemies of the state, the list was then exhibited in the Roman Forum for all to see. Anyone whose name appeared on the list was stripped of citizenship and excluded from protection under the law. Rewards or bribes were given to those whose information led to the death of a proscribed person and anyone who killed a proscribed person became entitled to keep part of that person’s estate. Inheritance from a proscribed person was denied to the beneficiary as was the freedom to remarry after the death of someone proscribed. Many victims of this vile law were decapitated and their heads displayed on spears in the Forum.
The introduction of Proscription therefore was the final nail in the coffin of the ten millennia long democratic system that had prevailed so immutably on Terra Nova. Joshua Tullius Cicero, never enamoured by Ezra’s omnipotent, brutal style of government, was now so disillusioned that the original orthodoxy of passive resistance practiced by him and his fellow dissidents, was about to turn aggressively active. Already plans were approved within the clandestine organisation, where Joshua was a leading member, for highly visible acts that would include assassination, kidnapping and disruption of Ezra’s autocratic style of government. The militant organisation, Licentia ex Persecution, was now several thousand strong and growing exponentially as more and more citizens became disenchanted with Ezra’s autocratic rule and that of the genuflecting clique surrounding him.
A list of enemies of the state was already drawn up by Ezra and, as did Lucius Cornelius Sulla, it was now displayed in the Forum of Leviticus. Joshua Tullius Cicero’s name was ranked fourth in an ever expanding list. Recently added at number two hundred and twenty three was the name Noah Tullius Cicero. Another new name followed... Richard Moss!
Chapter Twenty Four
“Greed and injustice are festering, hypocritical religious thinking has replaced true worship, Proscription has usurped Immaculation as the most abominable law ever introduced on Terra Nova. This marks the beginning of the end of democracy on Terra Nova unless we act, precipitously, to stop this headlong descent into despotic autocracy.”
These words, directed at Richard Moss by Joshua Tullius Cicero at the close of their meeting at the Trattoria Panem Et Circenses, energized Richard and Noah as they made their way through a maze of streets in the outskirts of Trastevere to another safe house; one of the many used by members of the militant organisation Licentia Ex Persecution. Upon arrival they were searched, with rigorous thoroughness, on entering the house by a duo of muscular, unsmiling men, before being escorted to a large, windowless room where they were introduced to Amos Caelius Aquila, Ezra’s twin brother. Once the closest member of Ezra’s inner circle he was now co-leader of the opposition to his brother’s tyrannical rule.
Amos, a large man of imposing presence, was addressing not only the four new arrivals but also dozens of his closest supporters. He resembled a latter-day Moses with his grey cascading hair and luxuriant beard. His handsome features were accentuated by startling blue, kindly, eyes. Voluminous long, grey robes draped nonchalantly over his broad frame, served only to emphasize the charisma and power radiated by his imposing persona.
‘As you all probably know,’ continued Amos. ‘My name is at the head of my brother Ezra’s Proscription list. I feel proud so to be since I am, without the slightest doubt, one of his most passionate adversaries and will not rest until he is unseated and thrown into one of his own, despicable prisons.’
Richard’s head swiveled to confront Noah.
‘You didn’t tell me he was Ezra’s brother,’ he whispered.
Noah placed an index finger to his lower lip.
‘Hush - I’ll explain later,’ answered Noah.
Richard shook his head.
‘No, now...’
Noah glowered
‘No Richard - later.’
Richard felt extremely lonely and depressed. Not only was he isolated on another planet located in an alien solar system but he
was also a fugitive who was becoming inextricably involved in the uppermost echelons of a dissident organisation that was headed by the twin brother of the man who had sentenced him to Immaculation. He glanced sideways at Noah who was standing alongside Joshua - both were clearly under the spell of the mesmeric Amos Caelius Aquila.
Amos, after taking a hurried drink from a tankard, raised his right hand for silence.
‘Among us stands a young man who, until very recently, was living a modest, quiet life on Mother Earth. He was brought to Terra Nova on my express orders so that he could be programmed, forgive me, schooled, by the Magus for an eventual return to Earth. His mission? To help save it from the same fate that befell our forefather’s original version of Earth. Sadly, his time on Terra Nova has proven to be catastrophic, not only has he been imprisoned and sentenced to Immaculation but he is now a fugitive whose name appears on the Proscription list exhibited in the Forum of Leviticus. He stands here among us exhibiting signs of acute distress, distress we, I in particular, have thrust upon him without anticipating the terrible consequences it would inevitably cause. To admit I am ashamed for what has happened would be understating my deep embarrassment and sorrow at his plight.’
Richard felt all eyes in the room rest upon him. He tried to raise a smile but failed miserably. He raised a shaking hand which he fluttered in mute acknowledgement, before switching raised fingertips to cover his mouth in an unambiguous sign of increasing nervousness.
Amos translated Richard’s body language correctly and reacted sympathetically.
‘Richard,’ he said. ‘We owe you an apology for all the ill that has befallen you since your arrival on Terra Nova and I want to give you my personal assurance that you will be returned to Earth as soon as possible. The plan to have you schooled by the Magus will be shelved until the present political imbroglio is rectified. Unfortunately we cannot say how long that will take - indeed if at all. Our first priority is to ensure that you and Noah Tullius Cicero are safe from those who would do you harm. The city of Leviticus is dangerous ground for those who defy Ezra and his cohorts. So what we intend to do is move you out of Leviticus, out of Canaan itself, to a land of safety where our supporters are many and where Ezra’s followers are loathe to venture. Once you are there we will have more opportunities to pursue the various options for your safe return.’
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