Fallen Empire

chapter 2

II.

Senator Vesuvius returns his granddaughter’s smile; the grin vanishes as he turns from her. He walks through the entry hall towards a small wooden carving left of the golden entry doors. The intricately carved wood is a depiction of Romulus and Remus, the founders of the city, suckling a wolf. The wood carving splits down the center of the scene as the Senator approaches, it opens automatically, sliding apart left to right into the surrounding walls. Inside the Committee of Scientific Advancement is coming to order. The excited murmurs quiet down and give way to the soothing hum of florescent lighting and air conditioning.

The roll is called and the Chairman takes the floor, “We have some unfinished business to clear up before we can decide on a new project. Senator Vesuvius, were you able to determine Dr. Faith’s intentions for the Chronogynics project? Will she obey the Senate’s decree?”

Senator Vesuvius stands and takes the floor. “I believe she will, she may not want to, but I am sure that my granddaughter will do what the Senate orders. She appreciates her position too much to risk losing it.”

The Senator from the Canadian Provinces, who questioned Alice during the hearing raises an objection, “If the Senate was concerned enough about her ideas to order them destroyed, I don’t think we should leave her intentions to chance. If the distinguished Senator from Rome believes that she will comply, he will not object to sending Cerberions to watch her and make certain.”

Senator Vesuvius is taken aback “Cerberions? That seems a little excessive to call in the hounds of hell just to watch my granddaughter destroy some paper work.”

The Chairman rises and says, “Cerberions are only a name but I think we should take this threat to our livelihood seriously.” He calls for a vote on the proposal. It passes with only Senator Vesuvius objecting, “The motion is passed.” He calls to a secretary standing just inside the door, “Call in a detachment of Cerberions” The Committee continues with new business until five Cerberions enter into the meeting room. A clanking is heard when they step on the marble floor. Even knowing they are coming does nothing to remove the chill they impose on your spine. Senator Vesuvius has had many sleepless nights thanks to the nightmares these soldiers have given him.

The Cerberions are indistinguishable men in lightweight body armor. Each metal plate is jointed onto another, providing easy mobility and full protection. The helmet and crest are metal also, with a Y-shaped opening for the eyes and mouth. The effect is completely dehumanizing.

The Chairman greets the Cerberions with their assignment, “Your orders are to follow Dr. Faith, Alice, Vesuvia to her laboratory. Observe her to see that she destroys ALL equipment and papers regarding Chronogynics. Do not approach her; if she attempts to evade or otherwise prevent you from performing your duty, you are authorized to kill her.”

          Senator Vesuvius flinches at this statement and says, “There should not be a need for such excessive force.”

The Chairman says ignoring Senator Vesuvius, “The Committee has spoken” The Cerberions march out of the meeting room and the Chairman turns to Senator Vesuvius, “If Dr. Faith does as she is told she will be spared. This is a threat on our very existence, we cannot allow any mistakes. No one is to know of Chronogynics. Not even members of this Committee.”

          Senator Vesuvius quickly acknowledges the slightly veiled threat and realizes the only thing he can do for her now is pray.

•

Alice is lost in thought as she walks down the steps of the Curia. She is reluctant to consider obeying the Senate’s decree, but her options are severely limited. Her grandfather could not protect her if she openly defied the Senate, and there is nowhere she could run to, as the Empire covers the entire globe.

Her loyalty has never been questioned, but Alice knows that her heart will always be with her father’s lifelong devotion, even if it means giving up the comfortable position she enjoys and the life she knows.

Alice sighs as the questions in her mind threaten to overcome it. With no clear answer in sight she fights her way through the throng in the marketplace until she finds him.

Even though he isn’t much to look at, being metal plated, Seren D.P.T. is a robot with a heart of gold. Alice felt pride every time she looked at him, knowing that she was his designer and creator, but he had a personality that no tool could create.

“So, how did it go?” Seren asks cheerily.

“Mother talked to Grandfather last night.”

“That does not sound promising.”

“As a result, my entire project was trashed and they are finding me something more useful to do.” Alice rubs her eyes.

“I am sorry; I know how much this project means to you.” Seren pats her shoulder.

“Let’s get out of here.” Alice says, Seren nods and prepares to assimilate into a hover-cycle.

 Seren’s head withdraws into his body and his arms clamp to his sides and stiffen. His chest plate splits into two pieces and rotates to the sides, exposing a circular thrusting device. He leans forward and activates the thruster. The hum drowns out the sound of his gears and hydraulics moving about and the thruster lifts him six inches off the ground. His shin plates rotate up while his knee joints bend, revealing a thruster on each knee that remains dormant. His legs withdraw slightly, tightening the shin guards against his body. A section of his back-plate rises vertically over the shoulders. The underside of this plate is a dashboard with steering levers, and his now uncovered back is a cushioned seat.

The fully converted Seren hovers delicately as Alice opens the seat and pulls out her helmet. She straps it on securely, swings her leg over, and places her feet on the runners. Seren’s voice comes over the microphone built into her helmet.

“So what is the plan?”

“I am heading to the house; I think I need to talk to Mother.”

They take off, weaving through the crowd in front of the Curia. The elevated highway that stretches from one end of Rome to the other rises above them, supported by two-ton marble blocks, it is made of white and red marble and the guardrail of the highway is lined in gold. They take the entrance ramp a little faster than the flow of traffic and have to slow quickly to avoid hovering-barge carrying garbage. Seren snorts in frustration as Alice looks for an opening in the next lane,

“Are you sure you want to deal with your mother now?”

Alice sighs despairingly, “It will only be worse if I put it off. Maybe I can convince her to get Grandfather to apply to the Senate for a second hearing.”

Together they take the next exit ramp and arrive outside the Faith Vesuvius residence. Out of all the homes on the block, it is among the smallest, but the carved facade is imposing nonetheless. Alice never feels comfortable at her mother’s house. She had mostly lived with her father at the laboratory in the city, ever since she was old enough to be more of a help than a nuisance.

 She parks Seren in driveway next to the well-kept garden. Many varieties of genetically engineered roses are in bloom. The neatly trimmed bushes line the walkway to the back door of her mother’s house. Everyone who visits this garden is mesmerized by how fragrant it is, but this pleasant aroma offers no solace to the young scientist.  Alice puts her helmet inside the seat while telling Seren, “Wait out here, I do not think I want to be here very long.”

Walking into the house was like seeing two worlds collide, as it was a perfect culmination of antique and modern. It has very classical Roman architecture intermingled with modern conveniences. Alice ignores the servants gliding silently through the elegant hallway that connect the family’s living quarters to the public rooms. She goes to the dining hall and asks the servant in charge of food service to prepare a light meal for her.

Cheese, bread, and figs are laid out on the dining room table for her. She eats sitting on a couch one of four that surround the table. As she finishes the last bite, Vesuvia Albina Drusis walks into the room holding an arrangement of fresh flowers.

Alice's mother is very demure yet has the bearing of royalty. Alice is always intimidated by her but not enough to hold her tongue when she is passionate about certain things. Albina dismisses her servants with a wave of her hand; she wishes privacy to speak to her child.  Albina has shoulder length dark hair and Alice has been told by many of her classmates that her mother is very attractive for her age. She wears a modest sundress with a floral pattern on it as well as a frown on her face when she spies her daughter.  Hiding her grimace Albina asks, “Are you only here for refreshment or also to demonstrate that you are angry by not speaking to me?”

Alice looks up, “You know me, Mother. I am forthcoming when there is a problem. I would not keep silent and sneak around behind your back.”

Albina sets the vase on the table; turning it to find the angle she likes best, “I guess it is pointless to ask the outcome of the hearing?”

“The hardest part of the Senate’s decision was not the decision itself.  I knew the chances of the majority agreeing with me were nonexistent. The hardest part was that you took away the single vote of confidence that should have been heard. If Grandfather had spoken his support, it might have been at least considered.”

“I spoke to your grandfather, but it was for your own protection,” Albina says.

“All that is being protected here is the desire for ignorance. You are protecting me from further learning and you are protecting our society from intellectual advancement.  If my work is ignored, millions of future lives could be destroyed.”

          Albina sighs and shakes her head, “You sound like your father, but look at what good did it did him. His scientific achievements are not as well-known as the rumors about his disappearance.”

“I can bring him back, I am sure it was a simple malfunction of the retrieval device...”

“But you do not know, Alice.” Her mother sits on the couch opposite her, “What if something went wrong? The same thing could go wrong if you try to travel.”

Alice starts to speak then stops realizing it is pointless to argue. Her mother does not have a receptive mind.

Albina continues, “Study the theory of Chronogynics if you wish, in your spare time, and take on other projects from the Senate. Mortals were not meant to play with the fabric of existence.”

“I think I will go back to the lab tonight. There are a few things I have to finish.” Alice stands up; she is upset but trying to hide this fact from her mother.

 Albina follows Alice to the door, “Be careful.”

“I will.” Alice walks out to Seren and straps her helmet on.

“Where are we going?” Seren asks.

“I guess we will go back to the lab. I need to think about what to do.”

“Do you have a choice?  I thought the Senate…” Seren pauses for Alice to concentrate on driving. They pull out into a crowded avenue.

“I know what they said, but I have my professional ethics to consider. I do not think I can just turn my back on what will happen. We can turn here and go through the Trajan Baths.” Alice manipulates the levers carefully to steer through the narrow streets.

“What can you do about it?  It is better to go along with the Senate until you can convince them. Watch out for the festival.”

Alice slows as a group of dancing freedmen passes on the main road. They are pulling a cart with a replica of Bacchaus, the god of wine and theatre, “You are probably right, but I am not going to give up yet.”

“They will try to force you to cooperate. Are you sure the Senate trusts you to destroy everything?”

“Of course they do. I have devoted most of my life to the Senate. They know I am trustworthy, why is everyone going so slowly?”

The traffic’s usual bustle slows to a snail’s pace. Several people look nervously towards the highways towering overhead.

Alice looks up also, “There are five Cerberions right above us. Do you think they are following us?”

Seren laughs at her. “Of course not. The Senate would not do that.” He reconsiders that statement and quickly says, “Take the next left and we will see.”

She makes a hard left and turns into a small alley, away from the elevated highway, all the while watching her rear-view display screen.

The Cerberion formation veers off and flies over the houses towards her.

Alice begins to worry and speeds into the tunnel under an aqueduct and stops the hover-cycle.

“What are you doing?” Seren asks.

“I think the Senate might be checking up on me…Let us see if they turn back when they don’t see us.”

The Cerberions make a slow circle, holding close formation; they fly back towards the aqueduct. All five ready their weapons – each a long, cylindrical barrel supported by two grips and capped with a glass magnifier that converts small beams of light into controlled bolts of energy resembling lightning. The leader fires a shot that ricochets off the walls of the tunnel causing Alice to duck in alarm.

She slams the appropriate lever forward and the hover-cycle turns 180° before leaping out of the tunnel with the Cerberions less than 100 feet behind her and closing fast. “Well, it is a good thing the Senate trusts you or I would be really scared right about now,” Seren says dryly in Alice’s ear.

She works her way frantically through the back alleys of Rome, avoiding crowds and dodging occasional shots from the formation behind her. Taking a sudden turn, she drives out onto the Forum of Brutus, a little used meeting place founded by admirers of the assassinated figurehead. She maneuvers the hover-cycle to an arched entry behind an oversized statue of the late Senator. As the Cerberions burst into the Forum Square they do not shoot at her for fear of hitting the statue, which will lead to curses or other kinds of unpleasantness.

Looking to her left, Alice notices a ramp leading onto the elevated highway. She makes a run for it, dodging exiting hovercraft she races up the ramp and into oncoming traffic, terrified of being trampled in traffic she maneuvers her way to shoulder.

Seren offers his assessment, “I would like to state my opinion: ARE YOU CRAZY?” Alice smiles until she looks down at her rear-view display. The formation of Cerberions rises above the highway, looking both directions searching for her. They locate her and their rockets flare up to follow.

“Ye Gods! Seren, I do not think you should watch this.” Alice spots an opening in the traffic and she moves into the lane to next to her. She negotiates another lane change, narrowly missing another hovercraft. She passes through all four lanes miraculously unscathed. Wind from the traffic pushing her around takes her breath from her. She steers Seren the outside shoulder and breathes a sigh of relief escaping the immediate danger from the oncoming traffic.

Glancing to her left, Alice sees a Vespa track, the Roman monorail transit service, approaching rapidly.  She pushes the hover-cycle to its maximum speed and engages the lower thruster at full power. The cycle is propelled over the stone barrier lining the highway. Alice pulls back on a lever and the cycle drops, painfully landing on the Vespa track sixty feet below.

The Cerberions fly over the concrete barrier and take aim as she speeds away from the highway. She rounds a bend with bolts melting the steel track behind her. They are gaining, firing with increasing accuracy. As the distance between the pursued and the pursuers’ closes, Alice shoots ahead, pulling into the Vespa station, barely missing the departing train.

The formation of Cerberions breaks off, each one using evasive maneuvers to avoid the outbound Vespa. Gathering above the station, the leader concedes they lost visual contact and decides to report back to the committee to warn them of Dr. Faith’s treason.

“For the moment she has evaded us but we know where she is heading”