The Sword of Jupiter (Imperium #1) - Chapter 26

“Commander,” the AI’s voice prompted. “This is a repeat of your scheduled wake-up time.”

Ky sat up slowly, rubbing his face. In the years since he’d first gotten his implant and been assigned to flight school, Ky had always gotten up at first notice from the AI. It wasn’t like the alarms he’d set as a young man, training in the batch processing center. The AI did more than simply tell you it was time to get up. Tied into his central nervous system, it actually began waking his body up. The brain was still too complex for the implants to directly interact with his brain to the point of actually waking him up, but he’d always found the audible warning inside his skull and the feeling of his body physically waking up was enough to bring him out of sleep and alert almost instantly.

The last few weeks, however, that process had been slowing down.

“Commander …”

“I know,” he said, predicting the warning that the AI had given him the last three mornings.

“Commander, continued avoidance of full sleep periods is not advised. Although your medical nanites are capable of maintaining your physical systems, numerous studies have shown this is not compensation for adequate rest. Research suggests more than two months at half rest will result in permanent degradation of physical abilities, regardless of system enhancements.”

“Remind me when we hit two months then,” Ky said.

“Commander, two months is not a firm guideline, simply an approximation and only for permanent damage. Temporary physical and mental deterioration happens much more rapidly, possibly leading to …”

“God Damnit, Shut UP!” Ky yelled at the software.

That alone should have been a warning to Ky that he was losing his grip. He’d trained for a long time to operate with the AI on a silent, almost sub-conscious level. The last thing a squadron of pilots needed was everyone talking to their implants aloud, filling the comms with chatter, during high-stress moments. Flight Command worked hard to train all of its pilots to keep all conversation with their implants on a purely internal level, regardless of the situation they found themselves in.

This was yet another of his finely trained responses that had started slipping over the past several weeks. That was probably a sign that the AI was right, but there was nothing he could do about it, at least not now.

“Sir, are you alright?” Sellic said, sticking his head inside the doorway.

“No, I’m fine Sellic. Sorry if I startled you.”

Sellic looked around the room once more, most likely to confirm to himself that Ky was, in fact, alone, before casting a worried look at his superior. Ky waved him off, waiting for the man to close the door, before heaving another sigh and standing to stretch.

He’d been up very late with the commanders, answering intricate questions and going over everything multiple times. The men weren’t questioning his plans, since the Emperor had clearly already approved everything, but what he’d asked of them was essentially a top to bottom reorganization of the system the Empire had operated under for hundreds of years. It required more than just handing out new organizational charts.

He had yet another busy day ahead of him, including meeting with the leading doctors in Devnum to try and fix some of the health crises facing the Empire, following up with the blacksmiths on the prototypes they’d started working on so he could get the production runs approved and, most importantly, the planned votes on the first sets of new legislation. While the first two things were important, the vote would ultimately determine if Rome would survive through the spring.

All of that meant sleeping in wasn’t possible. He’d accepted Lucilla's and the AI's suggestion that he needed to delegate more authority, but that would still take time. He’d just have to hope the handful of hours of sleep he got each night would continue to hold him together for now.

Collecting the notes he’d made for the doctors, after the meeting with the commanders finally broke up Ky left the palace. He cast one glance at the plaza, wishing he had time for a quiet stroll before diving back into the grind. Those peaceful few minutes he’d been taking each morning were the only thing Ky felt was keeping him sane, but he’d been too slow getting up, and had slept through the time he’d planned for his morning walk. The AI would probably suggest that sleep was more important than a slow walk, but Ky still missed it for his sanity. Especially since Lucilla often met him in the mornings, and he found he enjoyed their brief conversations, feeling much more centered after them.

Ky spared one last glance and then turned to his goal for the morning, the Collegium Medici at the center of Devnum, not far from the palace itself. Set up by Germanicus’s father, the Collegium Medici was designed as a place of learning for the more specialized fields. Most training in Rome happened through apprenticeships rather than schooling as it was in modern times. The only fields where people went to study were pure sciences and medicine. From what Ky could find out, Rome was still at the cutting edge of both. Partly because the Carthaginians had destroyed the other civilizations that could have competed with them and party because the Emperor’s family had always placed a focus on them.

It’s why Rome managed to be as healthy as it was, comparatively speaking. From what they knew from refugees, spies, and gossip, the Carthaginians put little effort into public health or learning, relying on brute manpower and willingness to accept high attrition to accomplish any goal.

While Ky knew that Rome was advanced when compared to its contemporaries, from a modern society’s perspective, Rome’s medical sciences were abhorrent. Bleeding, the taking of wildly poisonous substances, and the belief that most maladies were caused by capricious gods, made Ky wonder how anyone survived to adulthood. If it hadn’t been for the military and political necessities, this would have been one of his first priorities after deciding to stay.

He found the men he was meeting gathered in a small, indoor teaching amphitheater. He’d been warned by the Emperor that these men were incredibly proud, to the point of arrogance, but even with that warning, he hadn’t expected the sheer pompousness he encountered, led by Clovius. Ky had met the man only once, by the Emperor’s bedside, cutting small gashes in the man’s arm while he died of septicemia.

“Consul,” Clovius said as soon as Ky arrived. “We appreciate that you have been able to assist some of the more mundane areas of learning, but this is a house of learning. We will not be swayed by assurances that you know better, only by the evidence of our own studies.”

“What about those times when the evidence could be misleading if you don’t understand that the thing that seems to be happening isn’t the thing you’re seeing.”

“I’m not sure I understand what you mean.”

“You boil your water before drinking it. Why?”

Clovius didn’t answer. He may not have been as smart as he thought he was, but he was smart enough to realize Ky was setting a trap for him. Ky wondered why the man cared more about being proven wrong than actually being wrong, but thankfully, not all of the gathered men were cut from the same cloth.

“Because water straight from the cistern can sometimes cause a loosening of the bowels or fevers. If boiled to half, the unwholesome nature of the water is corrected,” one of the other men said.

“By why does it correct it? What causes the loose bowels and fever when you drink unboiled water? Why is unboiled water safe when used to dilute wine?”

“It just is. This is the nature of water. When it is created through rain or pulled from the ground, it is tainted and must be cleaned before use.”

“All water is tainted? What about when you find a natural spring. If someone drinks from that spring directly, do they have the same problems?”

“Sometimes, although not as often.”

“Why? If water is, by its nature, tainted even as it falls from the sky, then why is the water from a spring sometimes already corrected?”

The men began looking around at one another, unsure of how to answer his question.

“This is just one of the things that you know, but you don’t know why. The problem is, right now, the why isn’t something you can see. One day, you will be able to. If I’m successful in getting some of the inventions I am recommending, it may be in your lifetimes. I can explain the reasons why these things happen, but for now, you’ll have to choose to believe me and only accept the solutions I give based on the fact that they work.”

“I don’t …” Clovius started to say before being interrupted by one of the other men.

This was why Ky had decided to open things by presenting a puzzle and offering a solution. From his previous experience with the man, he already knew Clovius wouldn’t be receptive to anything he had to say, and the Emperor had already warned Ky that Clovius held a lot of power in the sciences community. If given the chance, most of the men would end up deferring to him. The thing that Ky had hoped was that, as men of science, even primitive ones, their curiosity would be stronger than their deference.

“Then why does boiling or diluting the water make it safer to drink?”

“You all understand there are smaller and smaller forms of life. You’ve seen insects so small you can barely see them, correct?”

The men all nodded, unsure of where he was going but still willing to listen, except for Clovius and a few men standing near him, who were just staring at Ky stoically, refusing to respond.

“Those insects are not the smallest forms of life, though. They are just the smallest you can see. There are even smaller forms of life, so tiny millions of them can fit into a single drop of water. There are special tools that can be used to observe them, but it requires the ability to produce a very specific form of glass. This is one of the things I intend to introduce to your craftsmen, but it will take time for them to learn how to properly make them. Until then, all I can do is describe these tiny life forms.”

“We will have to take your word for it,” the man said.

“I don’t. We’re men of science, not priests. I’m not going to stand here and listen to this nonsense. Small animals indeed.”

Pulling his toga up, Clovis and several men stormed out of the building. Ky was happy to see that the majority of the men were still there, listening intently.

“There are a couple of these small forms of life that can make people sick. The first is kind of like I described, a tiny form of life almost like an animal, although much simpler, that we call bacteria. They do what animals do; eat, defecate and procreate. There are millions of types of bacteria and some of them produce chemicals that are toxic to our bodies. If you ingest them, they can do things like cause the loosened bowels like you mentioned or even destroy flesh.”

“If they are so small we can’t see them, how do we keep from ingesting them and how does boiling the water keep them from harming us?”

“They’re just like us, in that they can be harmed or killed. The ones in water are killed by the heat of the boiling, although they’re also susceptible to some chemical mixtures, such as alcohol, which also kills them. These aren’t the only small animal that we can ingest from water, however boiling it tends to kill all of the other ones as well.”

“Are these creatures only found in water?”

“No, they’re everywhere, but there are things you can do to keep from ingesting them, such as washing your hands with soap. Of course, that isn’t the only way bacteria can enter your system. Cuts, for example, must be carefully cleaned and kept free from dirt or anything that would carry bacteria.”

“Open wounds sometimes fester, which often leads to the death of the wounded man.”

“Yes, and that is one of the reasons why. If the bacteria reach the bloodstream, it causes the blood to become poisoned, which can quickly kill a man.”

“When possible, we sometimes treat a wound with honey or vinegar, which can keep the wound from festering. Does that kill your …”

“Bacteria, and yes, it can. Not all of them, but they both have anti-bacterial properties, which is why it sometimes helps. There are other things, certain molds that, if collected and processed properly, can be taken as a medicine to clean up the infection before it becomes life-threatening.”

“Can you show us these molds and how to process them?”

“Yes, I plan on doing that. I should be clear; this isn’t a cure-all for all diseases. There are other tiny types of life that also cause death, including most of the plagues you’ve heard of before. There isn’t a medicine for those - at least, not something you will be able to make for a long time - but there are things you can do to keep safe from them. Not eating spoiled foods, washing your hands with soap, not touching or breathing the same air as someone infected can avoid some of the spread, although it doesn’t help a person who’s already infected.”

“Can you teach us how to identify these small animals?”

“Yes. My people know them as germs. I’ve written up some notes for you already, and I will begin writing up more. I want to be clear this is just a starting place. Clean water, cleaning your body with soap and washing your hands regularly, avoiding spoiled foods, keeping the sick isolated, and coverings over the nose and mouths of those who have to check on them. It won’t cure everyone and it won’t keep all of those who become sick from dying, but it will save many.”

“Show us these notes.”

Ky spent several hours with the physicians, walking them through everything he’d written down so far. Most of it barely passed basic hygiene and simple first aid, but considering the prevalent theory to this point - being that disease was caused by the stars or by angry gods - it was a start.

He didn’t try to teach them more advanced concepts, those would have to wait. Things like the scientific method required a change in the way people thought, something that didn’t happen in his history until the Renaissance, when observation and methodical testing took over from superstition-focused thinking.

Ky left the doctors arguing among themselves on the best way to implement some of the changes he’d been suggesting. He probably could have made more progress if he’d stayed, but improving the medical knowledge was just one of the things he had to worry about.

He’d already arranged for the major blacksmiths in the city to gather back together again and show him the prototypes he’d given them plans for a few days before. It had only been a few days since he’d ordered the designs, but it was time to plant the winter harvests, and he wanted the new plow at least for the demonstration.

They met at the same place as the last time and as before, Hortensius was already holding court by the time he arrived.

“Sorry I’m late,” Ky said.

“You were with the philosophers. We’re happy you managed to escape at all. If they had their way, you would be bones and dust by the time they finished lecturing on one of their obsessions.”

“They do like to talk, yes,” Ky said.

He actually thought most Romans didn’t give the physicians enough credit. Of course, with the current level of science available, they hurt their patients more than helped them, but Ky hoped he’d be able to change that.

“Were you able to finish the prototypes?”

“Partially. The plow is done as you requested, and seeing it done we already have some notion of how this will help. The iron was a bit of a problem, but I spoke with one of the foundry owners today before he left to return to his forges. These heavier iron plows will work for now until we can get some of the steel he was describing to me.”

“That might take some time. Most of that steel is going to be allotted to military construction for the time being.”

“Yes, which is where we’ve run into issues. The current material we have isn’t good enough for the crossbows. We crafted the pieces, but they’d don’t have the stretching strength you asked for, and won’t until we get better materials.”

“I made sure to tell them this was a priority. The Emperor has already put in a large order specifically allotted for the crossbows.”

“Yes, he told me as much. We still fashioned up some that will work in the meantime. They will not have either the penetration or the range you wanted, but they should be enough for you to begin training.”

“Excellent. I’d hoped you might do that. Hortensius, could I speak to you for a moment alone?”

“Certainly.”

Ky led them outside, just clear of the building. He’d been thinking about Lucilla’s advice, and Hortensius had just made his decision significantly easier.

“Hortensius, I know you already have a lot to deal with, but I need your help.”

“Anything, Consul.”

“There are a lot of things left to take care of before the Carthaginians arrive, and I need people who can lead some of these projects. Your decision to make temporary prototypes was an excellent one, and tells me you’re one of the people I need.”

“Consul, I have a lot …”

“I know, and I promise you won’t be doing it as charity. The Emperor will back me on this, but we need you. I know you have several enterprises that demand your attention, but none of them will matter if the Carthaginians burn the city to the ground.”

Hortensius looked thoughtful for a moment before saying, “What would you need?”

“I need you to manage handing out the contracts for these projects. I will give you detailed plans and, of course, answer any questions you need answered, but you would manage the production schedule.”

“Can I use my own forges for these?”

“Yes, but not just yours. While what you have is impressive, it won’t be enough to meet the volumes we need. We also need to spread the wealth out across the other merchants. I believe you’re a smart man Hortensius. Smart enough to understand there will be much more money if you play this fairly, rather than trying to get as much as you can as fast as you can.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t appeal to my sense of honor.”

“I do think you’re an honorable man, and you’ll do as the Emperor and I request, but I think you’re an even better businessman.”

“Fine, fine, you’ve sold me. I hope the Emperor knows this will cost him.”

“It’s worth it if you can get the weapons we need in time.”

“I’ll do what I can.”

Returning to the others, Ky said, “Now, I brought someone with me that I want to show this plow to. Senator Opilio, please come in.”

After a demonstration and a fair number of questions from Opilio, Ky was glad to hand everything off to Hortensius. They were nearing the end of the Senate afternoon session when Taenaris planned to introduce the surprise vote on the new anti-slaver and tax laws, as well as several additional, smaller laws to address military pay and the creation of the Praetorians.

During Silo’s move to sneak through legislation to block the anti-slavery law, Taenaris had called in every Senator they’d aligned to their side. Although not all of them had made it on time then, they’d still been sent for, in case Silo tried it again, hoping to catch Ky away from the forum. It had been the Emperor’s idea to turn Silo’s own strike against him.

Silo had been right to be concerned by the coalition Ky had been putting together. By their headcount, if they got all of their supporting Senators in for the vote, they would have the numbers to pass it. Taenaris was still concerned that Silo might find a way to somehow delay the vote, perhaps indefinitely. That was when the Emperor had the idea to do to Silo exactly what Silo had done to them, by offering the legislation without preamble.

Taenaris had sent word for the Senators not already in attendance to gather and stand ready to join only during today’s final session, when he was scheduled to have the floor. Ky and the Senators were to appear at that time, when Taenaris would begin introducing the legislation. By law, once a bill began deliberation, a quorum was established, even if Senators then left, since the session would have already started.

With the deadline looming, Taenaris had also spent the past two days working on some of the neutral Senators, since it was always possible some of the men who’d agreed to vote with the loyalists would in fact turn and vote with the opposition at the final moment.

The Senators had gathered near the treasury, to make their grand entrance, with Ky and Opilio being the last ones to arrive. As soon as he showed up, Taenaris’s aide hustled them to the forum, cutting off any pleasantries. Opilio and his group hung back until the very last minute, talking amongst themselves. Ky trusted that Taenaris’s aide would make sure they followed along and lead the rest of the Senators in a procession to the forum.

Ky could hear Taenaris speaking as they climbed, on reaching the doors to the Senate, he pulled them open. The volume of chatter among the benches increased until men on Silo’s side began shouting curses, quickly realizing the fix was in.

“I object to this,” Silo said, standing up, yelling at the Princeps Senatus, who oversaw the sessions when a Consul wasn’t present.

Unfortunately for Silo, the Consul was now present.

“Rejected,” Ky said, taking his seat. “Continue Taenaris.”

“This will not stand. You cannot be allowed to introduce new legislation when …”

“I know I am new to this Senator, but I believe you did just this very thing standing exactly where Taenaris is standing now, just two days ago. How was it legal then but now it won’t stand?”

Silo glowered, but didn’t reply.

“That’s what I thought. Please continue, Taenaris.”

“Thank you, Consul. As I was saying, we will now begin the presentation of several new pieces of legislation that the Emperor has requested of us and we believe are imperative for the survival of our Empire.”

“A point of order, Senator,” Senator Kaeso said, exactly as he and Taenaris had scripted out the day before. “Because of the hour and the imperative nature of these new laws, I ask for the time of debate to be removed, in favor of only a reading of the bills followed by a vote.”

“Seconded,” called out Opilio from the farming block, who’d arrived just that morning.

“Wait,” Silo shouted, but Ky ignored him.

“Senator Taenaris, I believe you have a motion proposed and seconded. All those who vote for?”

The senators on the loyalist block shouted loud ‘Ayes’ while those on the opposition side’s ‘Nos’ were drowned out. Ky noticed the center neutral faction was mostly empty, and several of the men there were siding with the loyalists, despite not taking an official stance. Taenaris had clearly been making progress over the past two days.

“Passed by majority,” Ky said. “Taenaris, please begin the reading of the bills.”

They started with the Praetorian Guard expansion legislation, which was the least controversial of the lot. It passed by majority with most of the neutral senators voting for it. More interestingly, Silo and his block abstained. Ky imagined they thought that they would eventually manage to wrangle power from the Emperor when they could use the guard to maintain control once they got it.

That was one of the possible dangers of the expanded role for the guard, but the Emperor had agreed it was worth the risk.

That was, by far the easiest of the legislation. Next was the legislation covering military funding, specifically the banning of bounty pay and the establishment of a monthly stipend for soldiers, paid for by the Empire itself. It also put the burden of paying to equip soldiers from the individual legionnaire to the Empire itself, along with the establishment of an actual quartermaster’s corps for the legions, to keep track of that equipment.

This the opposition did vote against, although from what Ky could tell, only because it’s what they wanted to be seen as being in opposition. Beyond that and tradition, the only reason Ky could think for them to all oppose the changes was to keep the favor of the Legates who had not agreed to the military shake-up. The neutral senators in majority voted again with the loyalists, probably prompted by a fear of the coming Carthaginians.

Those were the easiest two pieces of legislation. Next was the second most controversial law to be passed and covered the changing of taxation laws. The farmers still didn’t love the idea, but they accepted the possibility at least that it could be more profitable for them in the long run. They may have voted less enthusiastically than the other senators on the loyalist side, but they voted for it, which is what mattered. Silo’s group was particularly loud in their Nos, which, when a vote was close, could still force down a vote.

Ky found it odd that the Senate voted by shouting Aye or No, and the loudest group got the vote. If the Princeps Senatus, who was tasked with deciding which vote was louder when the Consul wasn’t present, or the Consul himself when he was, couldn’t tell which was louder, they’d just keep shouting until it was possible to tell which was louder. Ky thought that it was possible then for the Consul just to lie and decided which vote was louder, but maybe since the Consul could also veto any legislation, that wasn’t a concern for most Romans.

In this case, it wasn’t close enough to need anyone throwing the vote. The last was the anti-slavery law. It was more complex the any of the others, filled with caveats and provisions for when and how slaves gained their freedom, reimbursement to the original owner for slaves owned before the law went into effect, and rules against Roman citizens owning slaves captured after the law was passed. The second section of the law, which governed how captured soldiers were treated, offering imprisonment until repatriation or a term of service in exchange for citizenship similar to, but less harsh than, the service required of slaves seeking liberation.

Ky had wanted to outright ban slavery altogether, but the Emperor had counseled that they only have it apply to Roman citizens, which wouldn’t close the door on possible alliances with other governments against the Carthaginians. While Ky disliked that wording, he accepted that changes like this happened in stages, and the Emperor had a point.

All of the law took Taenaris time to read out, and the longer he read, the more worried Ky got. He’d expected Silo and their faction to storm out at some time, since they had to know they didn’t have the numbers. The fact that Silo was there, and looking worryingly calm, made Ky nervous. Although he was certain they’d sprung Silo in his own trap, the man was crafty, and might have had a contingency plan for this type of move.

Taenaris was focused on reading out the law and didn’t seem nervous, and all of the senators on the loyalist side were equally focused, since they expected the law to pass and understood that the more they knew about the law, the better they could take advantage of it.

Silo’s face broke into a slight smile as Taenaris finished the reading and the Princeps Senatus called for the vote. He made eye contact with Opilio and then Ky, his expression becoming more confident as he stared. Ky stared back, keeping his face neutral.

Opilio and his farming block paused for a second, making direct eye contact with Silo, before joining the loyalist’s chorus. Silo’s grin vanished instantly, his face going to surprise and then fury. He gave the Senator one final glare before standing and storming out of the forum, his faction in his wake.

“What just happened?” Taenaris asked, walking to the center of the floor.

“I’m sorry we didn’t have time to warn you. Silo made a move while you were with the blacksmiths, offering to vote for a wish list of farming block provisions if Opilio would quietly switch sides. Instead, the Senator came to me at the blacksmith’s this afternoon and negotiated for some additional concessions to stay with us.”

“What concessions?”

“Most are minor, except that when reimbursing for slaves, it will be at the top rate for the highest-paid slave during a repayment period, regardless of the slave’s current physical condition. It will make this whole endeavor significantly more expensive, but I think it will be worth it.”

“Silo has a bad habit of being too smart for his own good,” Opilio said. “He’s willing to do anything for a win, and assumes everything starts new each time. Several of the items he offered were things he’s opposed almost as much as he opposed the anti-slavery laws. He’s played us for a fool before, making concessions and then not following through. I did not trust him to come through now. Taenaris, on the other hand, is usually good on a deal, even if he doesn’t like it. I’d rather a sure victory than a possible one.”

“I also gave the Senator a demonstration of the new plow. I’d promised to deliver new techniques and technologies that would end up making him wealthier, even if he had to start paying for his labor.”

“I was impressed. I couldn’t see it at first, since the blade design would make it harder for the animals we have here to pull against the soil, but the added weight of the blade more than made up for it. It will require two-horse teams instead of a single horse, but we should be able to plow a field in half the time, and dig in deeper, which gets us to some of the lower layers of the topsoil.”

“There is more where that came from. I will be out in a few days to discuss more planting techniques. Thank you for staying loyal.”

“I’m loyal to my coin purse. As long as you keep that heavy and hold your word, we’ll stay with you.”

“He’s always so honest it makes my teeth hurt,” Taenaris said.

“I’m a farmer, you’re a politician. One of us works for a living.”

“You’re …”

“Gentleman, remember we’re on the same side now. We still have a lot to do and I don’t expect Silo to take all this sitting down. We haven’t heard the last from him, yet. Until the demonstration, at least, keep your men at hand, Senator.”

“As you say, Consul.”