Athene's Prophecy (Gaius Claudius Scaevola Trilogy)

by Ian Miller

  "Maybe he wants me to learn patience," Gaius replied evenly. "We shall see."

  Timothy stared, then turned away.

  As expected, as evening came Timothy did not offer to share a meal, so Gaius made a small campfire and cooked some fish he had obtained from the port. He offered the soldier the right to leave, but the soldier had been ordered to stay so, to pass the time, he and Gaius began playing dice.

  There was a full moon that evening, so when the soldier tired of dice, Gaius lay back on the grass and stared upwards. It was so peaceful, such a pleasant place, he thought . . .

  A muffled scream came from the direction of the cottage. Gaius rolled over to look, and he saw a young servant running from the cottage in the direction of the port. He leaped to his feet and ran over to intercept her. When she saw him, she froze, almost petrified. Gaius raised both hands, palms outwards and said in as soft a voice as he could manage, "Please, don't be frightened."

  She stared at him. At least she did not scream.

  "What's the matter?" he asked.

  "Robbers!" she gasped.

  "How many?"

  "Four of them. They've got the master, and . . ."

  "Shshsh!" Gaius put his index finger on her lips.

  "What's the matter?" The soldier asked, and when Gaius explained, he said, without enthusiasm, "I'd better go over there."

  "No! There're four of them. Run down to the barracks and get help."

  "It's my job to protect you," the soldier protested.

  "It's your job to obey orders," Gaius replied harshly. "Do so. Now!"

  The soldier was uncertain of what to do, or of to whom he was responsible, but he could not stay without flagrantly disobeying someone who might be an immediate superior, and no matter what the consequence, in the Roman army disobedience would be punished with extreme severity. He turned and ran as fast as he could in the direction of the barracks.

  Gaius walked back towards his tent. Self-doubt returned; perhaps getting rid of the only help was not the brightest move, but what was done was done. Now, with the soldier gone, there was no need to hurry. If the thieves escaped, they escaped. Otherwise, the best he could do would be to delay the robbers until help came. He sat the young lady down, then he slung on his armour. He tied his greaves in place, then put on the helmet and grasped a shield with his right hand. He turned towards the servant.

  "Show me where they are," Gaius said slowly, hoping to instil confidence that he did not have into the young lady. "You must be very quiet, and when we find them, you should leave at once. Do you understand?"

  The young girl nodded, unable to say anything through fear.

  Gaius led the way towards the cottage. A dim light could be seen from the back doorway, and he headed towards it, the girl helping by leading him around a pile of wood. He reached the doorway and peered in. Ahead was another doorway with sounds coming from it. Gaius crept forwards and carefully put his head around the left doorpost. A few large candles placed unevenly on large objects provided the dim light, although none seemed to be secured, and Gaius' first fear was that at any moment one might slide away and start a fire. Some light and heat was also provided from the fireplace in the right wall. At the far side of the room Timothy was lashed to a post, his mouth gagged by a rather disgusting-looking piece of cloth. Four men were rummaging through the room, laughing and taunting Timothy, and throwing belongings around the room. Gaius pulled back from the doorway and turned towards the girl, and whispered to her that he wanted her to find the soldiers who were coming and lead them to this room. She nodded.

  Gaius could hear what was going on, as the robbers kept up a non-stop commentary about what they had found, what they were doing, so he felt he could safely sit behind the wall and wait. He did, for quite some time until he heard one of the robbers laugh, and say, "Oh, look at this! A valuable scroll!"

  "Valuable? What for?"

  "It'll burn well! I'm getting cold."

  "That'll last long!"

  "Ah but there's a pile of them here!"

  He had to do something! He was about to leap out and challenge them when the words of Libo came back to him. "If you can, deceive!" Gaius carefully placed his shield against the wall so that he could grasp it in an instant, he adjusted his helmet so that it looked as if it was about to fall off, then, putting both hands on the gladius, he stepped into view. "You mustn't do that!" He held the gladius in front of him, and allowed the tip to shake, as if he was petrified.

  "And what's this?" one of the robbers said, and burst out laughing.

  "Untie that man!" Gaius did his best to squeak.

  "Oh yes! Why should we do that?" one of the robbers laughed.

  "You'd better piss off back to your mother's nipple," another laughed, "before your toy helmet falls off."

  "You must untie that man!" Gaius continued.

  "Oh, we must, must we?"

  "T Tiberius has or ordered m me to learn from him," Gaius said, hoping his memory of stuttering was at least adequate.

  "Oh, Tiberius! Well! You're in with the big stuff."

  "And I can't d d do that if I d don't rescue him," Gaius continued his plaintive squeak.

  "Well, then you'll be shit out of luck, bubba!"

  "Yeah! You can tell your Tiberius we couldn't give a stuff about his orders."

  "I'm sure Tiberius is really concerned about you," another laughed.

  "Actually," Gaius said, trying to sound as if he had suffered a reverse, "I h have t t to report to G G Gaius Caesar."

  "That effeminate little load of shit," another spat. "He needs a spear up the arse!"

  "Make a difference to what usually goes up!" another roared with laughter

  "This little shit's starting to piss me off," one of the men swore, and picked up a large club. Gaius saw the man come, and to his own surprise, he did not feel panic. The man was brutish, clumsy. Gaius watched carefully, and as the man got within two paces his right hand flew out to grasp his shield. As the club came down towards his head, he pushed the shield across so that the blow glanced off, then advancing a pace he drove hard. The man gave a funny gurgling sound, and as Gaius withdrew the bloody gladius, the robber fell to the ground, blood frothing from his lips.

  At that moment there was the sound of running feet and half a dozen legionnaires entered. One nodded to Gaius, kicked the body to one side and then they stormed into the room. The robbers were so stunned they were captured without any attempt at retaliatory action and Timothy was freed.

  "Good strike," one of the soldiers nodded towards Gaius, as he turned over the body.

  "And what do we do with these?" the leading soldier asked, more to himself.

  "They attempted to stop me carrying out Tiberius' specific orders," Gaius said evenly, "they abused Tiberius, they wanted to steal his property and said they wanted to spear Gaius Caesar. That's treason."

  "You know what the punishment for treason is?" the soldier frowned.

  "Since they're not Roman citizens, crucifixion," Gaius replied coldly. He turned towards the now terrified robbers and added, "Even when young, a Claudian makes a bad choice of enemy."

  "I'll have to put this to the Governor," the soldier said.

  "Of course," Gaius replied, "but I have also been ordered to report any anti-Roman action I come across to Gaius Caesar, together with my recommended action."

  "I'll see your report gets sent to Rome," the soldier nodded. He turned towards the robbers, gave the first one a kick, then indicated they should march.

  As the robbers were taken away, Timothy stared at Gaius and said, "And now what?"

  "I think we should do something about these candles. We don't want your scrolls to burn."

  "Very thoughtful of you," Timothy said sourly, as he watched Gaius collect the candles and place them on a stone shelf, "and, of course, efficient. Very Roman!"

  "You have a problem with efficiency?" Gaius challenged. He was starting to shake as he came down from his adrenalin high.

 
"Perhaps I have a problem with the slavery you Romans impose on others," Timothy replied, "at which point I suppose with your usual Roman efficiency you'll take me out have me flogged."

  "Why?" Gaius shook his head in disbelief. "I have been ordered to learn, and I can't see what I'd learn from that."

  "You wish to learn something? All right, go away and think about slavery. Think about what right you have to use another as a possession, to flog if you wish, to . . ."

  "Romans do not just go around flogging slaves," Gaius replied tersely, "It's not only wrong, but it's self-defeating . . ."

  "I know, the value drops," Timothy said sourly, then he looked at Gaius in the eye and said, "You want a lesson? Go away and think about what you'd do if you were a slave."

  "If that is the first lesson," Gaius frowned, "so be it. Oh, by the way, don't bother about thanking me for saving your life."

  "Who says I wanted you to?"

  "Nobody! Just keep feeling sorry for yourself. Don't think about your servant girl, or whatever she is. Even if your nose is out of joint, maybe she still values her life, so don't thank me for looking after her too. But," Gaius began to raise his voice, "while I don't expect gratitude from you, you'd better show her some kindness, or else." He spat the last words, then he turned and stormed out of the room and made for his tent.

  His first task was clear. When his hands stopped shaking, he must write his report to Gaius Caesar. He would say these robbers had attacked Tiberius' property and had made treasonable utterances against both Tiberius and Gaius Caesar. They had shown a clear intention to steal and burn Tiberius' property; they had attempted to kill him, and looked as if they would murder Timothy. He had killed one robber, and in view of Caesar's last request, he was reporting this incident. He recommended crucifixion, although he recognized Caesar's greater experience, and wished Caesar to confirm the punishment, show clemency, or refer the matter to Tiberius for final judgment. In conclusion, he would remain Caesar's humble servant.

  Yes, that should do. The robbers would, of course, be crucified, but that did not worry him in the slightest.

  Next, his problem with Timothy. What could he do? The situation was ridiculous. Tiberius knew Timothy, so he would have known that this situation would arise. Perhaps this was another of Tiberius' droll jokes. Perhaps Tiberius knew there was no solution, and this was merely a convoluted way of showing that his family was totally useless to Rome. That would mean that not only he but also his family would suffer when he failed.

  He must not fail, but what could he do? Timothy was obviously hurting that the power of Greece had passed. He believed that Rome enslaved other nations, but Rome allowed the citizens to continue their lives as if nothing had happened, apart from the requirement that they paid taxes. Anyone from the Roman territories could join the Roman army, and eventually become Roman citizens, with all the consequent benefits, and if they did not, they could carry on with their lives free from marauding warlords, free from rape and pillage from adjacent armies, they could grow crops secure in the knowledge that the crops were protected by Roman law, and that thieves would be properly punished if caught. All they gave up was their identity, their pride. Yes, it was true some were made slaves. Slaves, on the whole, were well treated. It did no good to beat a slave, and it certainly did not impress anyone, usually including the slave. Suppose he was a slave, what would he do? That situation, he snorted, was inconceivable. But then, he had been ordered to learn, and he had to acknowledge that dismissing a problem as irrelevant was not part of the process of learning.

  So, suppose he was? Yes, he would hate it. Even if the master were benevolent he would hate bowing. And if the master came home in a bad mood and lashed out at him, he would . . . What would he do? Fight back, and be crucified? That would be easy for him to say now, he of senatorial class who would never suffer the indignity, but if he was a Greek? Escape? Where to? Rome controlled if not the world, at least the useful world. He would have to swallow his Claudian pride and endure. Not that a Claudian could ever become a slave. The proposition was . . . No! That might be true, but it was not the answer. If he could not find a correct answer from Timothy's viewpoint, he was learning nothing.

  So, what did he tell Timothy? That he could do nothing about slavery? That was rather pathetic. That when he got to be a governor, he would abolish slavery? That would be a clear lie. That he would be very interested to hear what Timothy could suggest what he could do, practically, to solve the problem. That might be a little better, if for no other reason than it would force Timothy into dialogue. Very reluctantly, he had to acknowledge that this was a situation for which there was no correct answer.

  * * *

  "So?" Timothy asked when Gaius appeared early the following morning. Gaius noted that he seemed rather agitated, as if he were not really in control of the situation.

  "I will grant you that slavery is inherently wrong," Gaius said slowly, "but I cannot see how I can do much about it. If I were enslaved, I would hope I could plan some way out of it, but I can see that this does require courage that I might not have. If you ever have any ideas about how to end slavery, I'll listen, but frankly, I can't see it happening."

  "A typically clever Roman answer," Timothy scowled. "Why you wish to learn from me when you've already mastered duplicity beats me."

  "Timothy," Gaius said coldly, "it's not my fault Tiberius sent me on what is increasingly becoming a ridiculous task. If the Princeps thinks I can learn something from you, I'm going to obey the Princeps. All I'm asking is that either you teach me, or if you don't wish to earn some money, then just let me follow you around."

  "Earn money?" asked a now perplexed Timothy.

  "I never assumed you'd do this for nothing, but I was leaving it to you to name your price."

  "Why do you feel you have to pay?"

  "To get you to do something, not that I feel I owe you much so far," Gaius responded in a caustic tone.

  "What do you know about me?" Timothy asked, a touch of concern now on his face.

  "Nothing," Gaius replied, "except the Princeps seems to think you're worth learning from."

  "Oh."

  "And what, exactly, does 'Oh' mean?" Gaius paused, noted Timothy's discomfort, and pointed a finger at him. "Believe me, I shall find out."

  "Tiberius owned me," Timothy replied in a flat tone.

  "Oh," Gaius replied, then he gave a little laugh and added, "I see what 'Oh' means now."

  "I'm not that sure you do," Timothy replied.

  "Look, I can see that you don't feel all that wonderful about being a slave, particularly since it seems your master left you to your own devices for years and now I turn up, but I assure you, there's absolutely nothing I can do about this. I must follow Tiberius' instructions. And, as an aside, it makes no difference to the fact that I'll pay for your services. Of course you should hand the money over to your master when he turns up, but for what it's worth, I doubt he'll ever leave Capreae again."

  "You don't know," Timothy said in a tone of near despair.

  "I don't know what?"

  "Tiberius gifted me to you." Timothy said in a dull tone.

  "What?" Gaius said in a surprised tone. He stared at Timothy's increasingly fearful face, then suddenly he laughed, "You know, I could have you flogged for insolence."

  "Yes, master."

  "And as one of us noted," Gaius added, "I'd learn a lot from that." He stared at Timothy, then finally seemed to come to a decision. "Timothy, I could set you free, but if I did that, you'd be free to leave and I couldn't carry out the Princeps' orders, which would leave me in deep trouble of my own making."

  "So you're going to go back on your fine words and . . ."

  "I'm going to order you to stay here," Gaius said, "and nothing more. You can behave as if you're partly free, which means, of course, buying your own food."

  "With?"

  "There's always the money I'll pay for the lessons," Gaius shrugged. "When we're finished, I'll set you free, an
d give you enough money you can afford to live."

  "So you wish to really learn? Learn what?"

  "If I have to spell out to you what to teach me, I would already know it, which is pointless and self-defeating."

  "Logical," Timothy said. "I suppose logic is something we can work on." He paused, then said, "You Romans have such a low view of us Greeks. Why learn from a Greek, and don't say the Princeps ordered you to. What is the most interesting Greek achievement that you know? Quickly!"

  "Geometry," Gaius replied quickly, as he struggled to think.

  "Really? And what do you know about that?"

  "I've had to study Euclid."

  "And no doubt you enjoyed every moment," Timothy added in a tart tone. "Forget architecture, forget surveying, and forget counting the area or volume of your loot, what's the most interesting thing you know that's come out of geometry?"

  "I know the Earth is a ball of circumference about 37, 000 kilometers. Also, Aristarchus measured the distance of the Sun as twenty times the distance of the Moon, and he believed the planets go around the sun, and the stars are even further away than the sun."

  "You believe that?" Timothy asked curiously.

  "I believe the distance is highly likely to be in error," Gaius replied.

  "You do, do you?" The tone was a mixture of disappointment and challenge.

  "I think the sun could be further away," Gaius shrugged, "not that what I think matters. I also note that you Greeks discredited Aristarchus on ground of impiety."

  "Which is probably why you think he's right," Timothy laughed. "If the Greeks disown him, it doesn't matter so much that he was a Greek."

  "That may well be true, but you said it."

  "Suppose I give you a logic problem," Timothy said. "If you tell me truthfully how you solve it, and if you solemnly promise not to go to a library or into town, I shall teach you."

  "And if I do not solve it?"

  "You set me free," Timothy replied. "Have you got what it takes to accept the challenge?"

  "I accept," Gaius said. He could always order Timothy to teach him, but he had the feeling that if he did that, he would learn very little of use.