Doctor Who_ Byzantium! - Keith Topping [18]
The chaos in Nero's capital was, if truth be told, a necessary diversion for him from the mundanities of Byzantium and its frustrating levels of society. 'Tell me of what has transpired here in my time of absence so that I may be apprised of any changes pertaining to this place and my role within it,' he asked.
`There have been the usual regretted outbreaks of lawlessness and debauchery. The latter, usually, amongst our own troops.’
Thalius rolled his eyes and clucked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. 1 suppose that I should make an example of the next legionnaire found on his knees in some Greek or Jew whore's bedchamber. One swift and merciless kill for all to see and reflect upon should help to keep the ill-educated vermin in line'
`You may have trouble with our noble general if you attempt such a thing,' Gemellus added with a sigh. 'The Greek city-states have no important military or political role, as well Gaius knows, but he likes to think that he is still in Britannia, fighting the Trinovantes, or Boudica's wretched Iceni at the God Claudius's side.'
At that moment, as Thalius continued to discuss mundane household affairs with his friend, Gaius Calaphilus entered, announced from the peristyle exterior by Drusus in a loud and booming voice.
`My friend,' Gemellus whispered to Thalius as the old soldier laid his helmet and sword by the entrance, bowed, and strode into the peristyle. `Do not make this any harder than it needs to be.'
Thalius Maximus nodded to the soldier and then, with some obvious relish, continued his conversation with Gemellus, ignoring the presence of general Calaphilus entirely.
Calaphilus stood by the table awaiting a request that he sit which never came. After a while he simply sat anyway and picked at the praefectus's olive-bowl. Gemellus, meanwhile, a little embarrassed at his friend's rudeness, inadvertently stoked the fires of hatred between the two men by mentioning a Greek slave girl from Thalius's own household staff, Dorcas, who had expressed her Christian belief and wished to have her religion recognised.
`Her belief in what?' asked Thalius with a genuine puzzlement.
`She is a Christian, praefectus,' Gemellus explained. 'They are a legal if somewhat minor subsect of Judaism who believe that...’
`We all know of the Christians and of what nonsense they believe,' Calaphilus noted sharply. 'At least, those few amongst us with an ear cocked hard towards the ground.
This girl? May I suggest that she be flogged until she begs for mercy? That would, perhaps, be an effective cure for her wanton and treacherous ways.'
Thalius tutted loudly, appalled at the very suggestion. 'I am not keen to meddle in the internal affairs of the Jews. You know that,' he told Gemellus, whilst continuing to ignore the general. Ì cannot say that I have ever heard of these
"Christians", did you say? What manner of men are they?
What do they believe in, exactly?'
'That is a very interesting question, praefectus,’ replied the little adviser. ‘All Jews believe that a messiah, a literal "King of the Jews", shall come unto earth from heaven and redeem the land of Israel and all of its tribes. This prophecy was first made by their ancient law-giver, the prophet Moses, shortly after the Jews had first been led out of Egypt, during the reign of Rameses II, which the Jews refer to as the exodus.'
The praefectus nodded. 'I know my Egyptian history even if I am seemingly ignorant of that of the Jewish peoples,' he noted. 'Please do go on.’
'Many Jewish scholars, prophets and holy men have written of the coming of this messiah. He is said to be born of the lineage of their King David who, as you know, built the great temple in Jerusalem between five and