The Sword of Jupiter (Imperium #1) - Chapter 24

After several hours in conversation with Ramirez, Carus, and Taenaris, Ky finally got to leave the Senate. For now, as long as Ky was always at hand, they could block Silo, but they needed to get more loyal Senators in the city at least until the new laws were passed.

In the spirit of delegating out more responsibilities, Ky spoke to all three men about crafting the actual details of the new laws, after making sure all three of them were on the same page. While they didn’t understand the need or end goal of some of the laws Ky was pushing for, they’d been instructed by the Emperor to follow Ky’s lead, and all three men had been willing to do the bulk of the legwork on making Ky’s ideas law.

Ky was still planning to look over their work, just to make sure everything fit what was needed, but even with the AI’s help, he didn’t understand the inner workings of the government enough to do it himself. Lucilla had been right, he really did need men like this, that he could hand off some of the ever-growing lists of demands for his time.

All three men were now also sending messengers to the supporters they managed to sway to their cause. From the last count, Ky’s meetings with the various voting blocs had been enough to give the coalition they’d built the majority, which all supported the outline of the laws he’d layout for them.

While it was getting late when they finished, he wasn’t entirely done. The Emperor had insisted he attend the final victory parade for the various champions of the games, going so far as to call a halt to their meeting in the forums.

“I will admit, Emperor, that I am growing tired of these games. I understand their need and have no issue with their being held, but it seems like my presence is regularly required. Even with Ramirez and Taenaris doing much of the work in the Senate, I still have much to do.”

“I have tried to explain this, but I understand you are a soldier and not a politician, so I will try again. While you have built a coalition in the Senate capable of doing what you need, much of that power is fleeting. True, the Senators saw some value in what you’re proposing, but they are all, to a man, ultimately beholden to the people they serve. If you lose the masses, then many of the men you have brought to our side will slip back through our fingers. In politics, loyalty is fleeting, and most often only yours for a short amount of time. The most important thing you can do to keep their allegiance is to keep the people’s allegiance. If they support you, then their Senators will not abandon you.”

“That is fine, but this is, what, the fourth event I’ve been to. How much is enough?”

“There is never enough, when it comes to the mob. The mob will take all you can give and demand more. There is only what you are able to give.”

“Lucilla mentioned this was more of a parade of the victors than a contest. I hope I will not have to sit by while slaves murder each other for our approval, will I?”

“No, she is right. We take seats on the floor of the colosseum, and the victor of each contest will be brought before us. They will be given their winnings, if any winnings are due, and a laurel placed on their head. We will congratulate their valor, or skill, or what have you and praise them as a shining example of the Empire. Their family and friends will be in the stands, watching. The people don’t forget the magnanimity of their Emperor, or their Consul. We will be binding these men and women and all of their families to us, for a time, at least.”

When the Emperor said we would take seats on the floor of the Senate, Ky imagined simple chairs set. What he got was something closer to a portable throne room. An ornate throne sat in the center of the arena, flanked by a copy of the simple Consul’s stool on the right side. The throne was smaller than the one in the throne room, but only by a little. They faced the large gate that led to the subterranean levels, where the victors were being held in wait for each of their turn to process towards the Emperor and receive their accolades.

Behind the Emperor were his loyal guards. Ky’s Lictores were not allowed within an arm’s length of the Emperor. While Ky was fairly sure the Emperor didn’t fear him, that was probably a prudent security measure. He’d already seen how difficult it could be to tell friend from foe in Rome.

The processions started, each victor, or sets of victors in a few cases, were called out by a herald, after which they would proceed at a steady pace until they were several feet from the thrown, where they would kneel and bow their heads. The Emperor would say a few words of encouragement and then direct Ky to approach and place the laurel crown on their heads. The AI tried to explain that parts of the ceremony had been lifted from the original Greek Olympic games by the Romans at some point in the past, but that it had been further altered since the divergence from their original timeline, becoming more formal and serious.

Ky eventually had to tell the AI to shut up. Its long-winded explanation on a topic he had not requested information on was yet another note in the growing list of unusual behaviors.

After the first dozen presentations, Ky checked out of the whole process. Beyond clapping at the right points and putting a wreath on the head of the victor, there wasn’t much for Ky to do. While he appreciated how much this meant for each of them, he’d never been invested in the games themselves. For the Romans, these games had a religious and social impact, which meant little to Ky. While religion still existed in his time, it was mostly centered around Emperor worship, and he hadn’t been one of the devotees.

The level to which people of this time believed every aspect of life was somehow controlled by mighty figures watching from a high peak baffled Ky. They believed that these beings that created the world would care if a person didn’t slaughter enough goats or offer enough daily prayers, like some petty accountant checking off tallies for the proper amount of worship, and would create misfortune on that person if the numbers didn’t add up. It was all perplexing, although the AI had repeatedly warned that he had to take their religion into account if he was going to mold them into that which could survive.

So, Ky did his duty for each person being awarded, even if he did it with disinterest. That disinterest almost cost him his life, had he not had the AI.

“Commander, hostile detected,” it warned, highlighting one of the people gathered in front of him.

Even with the warning, Ky was almost caught off guard. It took a moment to recognize what the AI had been warning about. The person had ducked a hand inside their open-sided tunic and the beginnings of a dagger had started to be pulled out.

His Lictores were several steps behind, and they too had been lulled into a sense of security by the repetitive nature of the ceremony. To their credit, they reacted as soon as Ky began to move, but it wouldn’t have been enough to stop the assailant.

Ky, however, was fast enough. The AI had already removed the interlocks that they put in place to limit his speed to something just above what unaltered humans were capable of. Ky felt like he had suddenly stepped out of a pool, no longer pushing against the force of the water and able to move freely again. That too, almost caused problems. He hadn’t moved this quickly in some time, and his balance was slightly off. The AI’s motor assist helped correct for this, as it was designed to do.

Ky’s arm shot out in a blur, grabbing the assailant’s wrist just as the weapon cleared the man’s tunic. He squeezed, not hard enough to turn the bone into powder, but enough to break it, causing the man to drop the weapon. At the same time Ky lifted the man straight up, his arm fully extended, so the man dangled free from the ground.

The assailant didn’t give up. He struck out his hand catching Ky on the side of the face. A fist was too slow to activate his shielding, but Ky was sturdier than the people of this time, the blow causing no permanent damage.

The guards around him didn’t seem to realize this, reacting instinctively.

“NO!” Ky called out as one of the guards who’d been flaking the men being awarded, stabbed out with the spear he’d been holding.

The iron tip exploded through the assailant’s chest as the guard skewered him through the back. A look of surprise locked on the man’s face as he died, the spear ripping through his heart.

Ky released him, angry.

“I wasn’t in any danger,” Ky said, fury in his eyes.

“I’m … I’m sorry Consul. I didn’t …”

“I think it’s best if we call an end to the ceremony now,” The Emperor said, pulling himself up out of his throne.

The guards reacted quickly, hustling the remaining citizens on the floor of the colosseum back into the tunnels, while the Emperor’s personal guard and Ky’s Lictores led them back inside the building itself.

He hesitated, unsure of where to go. The ramps of the arena were filling with spectators, some running in panic others to spread the word of what happened. There were already far too many people in between them and the safety of the Imperial Palace, and that number continued to grow as people realized the event was over and began filing out of their seats for home.

“To the antechamber of my box, please,” the Emperor said.

“We needed that man alive, to question him,” Ky said as they were led to the Emperor’s box.

“I agree, but the man was just doing his duty. He saw you in danger and acted. You might not have been in danger, but any other man would have been. You have to forgive them their training.”

“I do, and I hold no ill will towards you, soldier,” Ky said to the man who’d slain the attacker.

“Thank you, Consul,” he said.

“This was a planned attack, and I would like to know which of our enemies set it in motion. I don’t think it was in response to what happened in the Forum today, this would have taken more time to set up. It’s been less than a week since the word of our proposed laws started leaking out.”

“That means they would have had to start plotting right after your victory,” the Emperor said. “Silo and his snakes trying to kill you because you could veto whatever laws they try to pass makes sense. It’s in his nature. Before that, you were barely known here, and what people knew of you was that you saved our city from complete destruction. Why would someone start plotting your death then?”

“Maybe the same people that poisoned you. They might be angry enough that I stopped their plan to want me dead. We need to get Ramirez and Carus working on this now. There’s something larger going on here, and we need to know about it.”

“I agree,” the Emperor said.

They waited ten more minutes for the city guard to create a lane between the colosseum and the palace lined with armed men. That ten minutes seemed to drag on into eternity, as Ky worked through all the information they’d collected so far, trying to figure out what he was missing.

After dispatching Carus, Ky spent the next several hours in his rooms trying, and failing, to go over the next day’s plans. His distraction got to the point that the AI even queried him, asking if everything was alright. Finally he gave up and sat in a chair, staring at the ceiling, continuing to mull his problem over.

Everything they were doing was still in the early stages, barely started and easily halted. He’d been trained as a soldier and was ill-equipped to deal with this kind of intrigue. Political plotting and scheming was beyond his experience, and that worried him. He felt blind to a fight that had already started.

He was finally pulled out of his reverie by a knock at the door.

“Come,” Ky said, not bothering to stand.

“Consul,” Carus said, sweeping into the room and slapping a fist to his chest in salute.

Ky sat up when he saw who it was.

“Any word?”

“Some, although not as much as I would like. Although the Emperor has allotted significant resources to your protection, including for my assignments, we haven’t had time to get everything placed. It’s difficult work getting men in the right places to hear the things we need to know. Ramirez has spent decades building his network, and he is still blind in many areas.”

“Were you able to work with him, have access to his resources?”

“Yes, we’ve been together until just now. It is late and he has early meetings. Besides, you can only pluck at the strings of a network so many times before you must rest them.”

“All of which means you don’t have much, but you do have something,” Ky translated.

“Yes. We’ve been focusing on getting men, or Ramirez’s assets, inside the households of the people we think most likely to be part of this cabal we’ve heard about. They turned up little. If they are part of it, they’re still playing the game too cannily for us to catch them.”

“That is what you haven’t found. What have you found?”

“We’ve had more luck with our less than reputable contacts.”

“The underworld?”

“Consul?”

Ky realized he’d used a term that didn’t translate properly. When the Romans talked about the underworld, they spoke about the home of Pluto, the god of the dead.

“I’m sorry, where I come from that term is also used to name the criminal element that operates underneath more civilized society.”

“Ohh, I see. That’s not bad actually. Yes, our contacts in the, uhh, underworld. The price on your head has increased twice more. Once after your victory in the games and again three days ago. The amount is significant, more than any but the richest man could afford.”

“It could be a group of men offering the bounty.”

“We’ve considered that, which takes us back to our supposed cabal. We understand they’ve been having problems getting professionals to take the job though. We aren’t certain, but it seems this attempt wasn’t a paid job. The man’s family disappeared last night. We haven’t found them yet and fear they’re already dead.”

“Damn,” Ky said, banging his fist on his chair. “All the more reason not to kill him. It was me or his family, not a hard choice. He knew he was a dead man, but did it anyway.”

“I agree, but what’s done is done. It does tell us how desperate they are. This attempt had almost no chance of succeeding while exposing them again to discovery.”

“It’s the new laws. They’ve wanted me dead for a while, but now they’re on a deadline.”

“Which means this will not be the last attempt on your life. We will have to be more watchful.”

“I’m more concerned about the people around me getting hurt. I am more than capable of protecting myself.”

“Of that we have no doubt Consul, but even a man sent by the gods sometimes sleeps. Besides, part of protecting you is keeping these threats from getting to the point where it hurts those around you.”

Ky immediately began to bump up against Carus’s increased vigilance when they tried to deny him his morning walk along the palace complex plaza. While he appreciated the man’s dedication to protecting him, he wasn’t going to hide inside, always surrounded by armed guards.

The people needed to see him. The Emperor had made it clear that his presence, especially after the victory outside the city gates, was the most important piece in keeping the citizens behind them, and with that enough power to hold their own coalition together. Ky didn’t agree that he was the lynchpin to their plans, but he accepted that the Emperor was more skilled in these areas than he was.

Beyond that, Roman buildings were dark, damp, and altogether too claustrophobic. He spent enough time indoors meeting with various functionaries. He wanted to be outside, feeling the breeze on his face. His Lictores found his need for these moments of peace outside strange, but just chalked it up to another of his oddities. Had they known his true history, and understood it, they would have only found it stranger. Even Ky found the idea of a man born in an enclosed habitat surrounded by vacuum demanding time outdoor strange, and he was that man.

They had another big day ahead of them today. First was a meeting with the millers outside of town. He’d made sure to send invitations to his presentation out to as many millers from other towns as possibly more than a week ago, including a promise to help pay for the cost of their trip to the capitol. The Emperor had questioned the need for the last part, but Ky insisted on it. He needed as many of the Empire’s millers at today’s meeting as possible.

One of the most limiting factors in Rome’s manpower was its food situation. Growing crops was labor-intensive, even when most of it was slave labor. His new anti-slavery laws would make the strain on farm labor that much worse. He was already working on technology to deal with that, but it wasn’t the only constraining point in the Empire’s food supply. After growing the grain, the next issue was processing it into flour that could be used for baking, bread being a staple of the Roman diet.

Despite the pending labor shortage, he expected to be able to increase farm yields significantly for the next harvest. That was the easy part. He needed the millers to be able to handle that increased supply, and the steps needed for their changes were much more intensive. Which was why this meeting had been put so early on his schedule, ahead of even the demonstration for the farmers themselves of the new techniques he was offering them.

He and his Lictores, plus a handful of the city guard the Emperor insisted Ky took to bolster his defense, mounted, and rode out of the city, heading in from the inlet, following the river that made up one side of Devnum’s borders. It wasn’t a long journey, just far enough down the river to where the millers had built their primitive water wheels for running the large grinders.

Ky locked his legs around the horse and let the AI guide it while he reviewed the letters he and the Emperor had been sending back and forth since the disastrous military counsel. That was his second major task for the day, but it still had some preliminary work that needed to be done. He made sure not to let on to his men when they made comments about his riding without a hand on the reigns, while holding his upper body still enough to be able to scrawl out notes on loose pages.

He timed it right, and managed to finish his latest batch of notes for the Emperor by the time they arrived at the mill that had been selected for his presentation. Handing it to a runner to take back to the Emperor, Ky swung himself off the horse and handed the reins off to one of his Lictores before heading towards the men gathered in front of the building.

“Good morning gentleman … and lady,” Ky said when he noticed a woman standing among the group. “I’m sure many of you are wondering why you were all brought here and why the Emperor himself put his name on the request. Over the next year, you’re going to see the size of the grain harvests increase dramatically. That’s good, because we’re going to need it. Large armies in the fields and hopefully an increased population, if everything goes well, means we’ll have a large need for food. Once we get the harvest yields up, we’re going to start facing an issue here, in getting that grain milled fast enough so that we can feed all the people we need to and so that the wheat we do harvest doesn’t go bad.”

“We’re going into winter,” one of the men said. “The next harvest won’t be in for half a year, why do we need to meet now to deal with it?”

“Because the changes you’re going to need to make are substantial. For some of you, that will require nearly rebuilding your mills.”

“Rebuilding the mills? Do you know what that’ll cost?”

“I do, actually. The Emperor has agreed to fund loans to any of you for construction. Before any of you ask why you should take on the loan, let me explain what’s in it for you. When we’re done, your yields will at the very least double, if not triple, and after all that wheat is turned into flour you’re going to find a ready market to buy it. The army is going to be marching in the Spring, and we’ll need to fill our supply columns with your flour to do it. The markets are going to need more bread to feed the new mouths. You’ll make your money back and then some.”

“How exactly are you going to double our yield?”

“There are a couple of ways,” Ky said, rolling out a series of plans he’d drawn up. “The first is in your mills themselves. Most of you are still using animal or hand-powered mills, and those who are using water wheels are still using undershot wheels.”

“Undershot? We have wheels, the water pushes them. I’m not sure what you mean by undershot.”

“There are several ways to push a wheel. Right now you put your wheel so the current pushes the braces as it passes underneath it, turning the wheel. This works fine in turning your wheel, but it doesn’t have the power you really want it to have. More power means heavier stones and a higher heat generated while crushing the grain. The speed and heavier stones allow you to grind the wheat faster while the heat allows you to lock in more nutrition into the flour, allowing for a higher quality product.”

“How do we get more power?”

“A system like this,” Ky said, pointing at one part of the diagram. “Allows you to drop water down on the outer part of the wheel blade, pushing it down instead of pushing it up. You get more force by using the leverage of pushing the blade down and the assist from gravity, allowing the wheel to turn faster.”

“We’ve tested a system similar to this, but if the river drops too low, you can’t get the water up the aqueduct and production drops to a halt. You also can’t raise the wheel and stop the mill when maintenance is needed.”

“Right, which is what this does for you,” Ky said, pointing further up the diagram. “We build a cistern here. It collects water when the level is high and allows you to supplement the water flow when it dips. We’re also looking into extending the city aqueduct out to some of the mills, allowing for a more consistent level of water.”

They began discussing the ideas amongst themselves. Not all of it was new. Parts of the technology they should have already had by this point, in Ky’s timeline, but their technological advancement had been stunted some thanks to decades defending their homes from the Carthaginians and how many times Rome as a whole had to relocate further and further from their ancestral home. Other parts were minor improvements that they would have come to on their own before long. Parts of the plans were based on a large Roman mill factory located in Gaul, although without the sixteen parallel waterwheels.

“That’s not all. We can also lower your manpower need in the mill, as well. Right now, every step is done by hand. Someone pours the grain into the shifter, which then dumps it on the grindstone. Then, someone collects the ground flour and puts it through a series of shifters. These plans,” Ky said, moving the first plans and showing them another. “Show a hopper design where you fill all the way up, and it adds grain to the wheel as ground flower moves off, thanks to these fans, blowing everything down this funnel. Then an elevator of rotating buckets on a belt continually picks up the flour and lifts it up and over to here, where a small group can continually fill sacks with flour. They never have to move, because the flour will keep being brought to them by these buckets and belts here. What makes this work is that all of these other parts are run off the same water as you’re using for your mill.”

It took some time to walk them through the plans for how the whole system would work. Overall it was a combination of late Roman renaissance, and early Victorian technology mashed together. Flour milling, as a science, had moved slowly in his time, at least until the nuclear age, with its addition of higher quality metals, chemicals and electricity. It was a hodgepodge of technological levels with ideas that weren’t used concurrently in his timeline, but which were all within reach of the technology Rome had access to now.

They also quickly understood the need for enough time to rework all of their mills. Besides new things like the belts and the cisterns, the plans also called for a geared vertical design, as opposed to a simpler horizontal wheel design, where the water pushed one router in a single action. The addition of gearing, which allowed for the changing of direction in the machine power, also allowed for even greater speeds. This would, however, require a complete retooling of their current mills.

As with the other people Ky had spoken to, there were some too stuck to tradition, who refused to change from the way things were always done. Ky knew some of them would end up being a problem but, like so many other things he’d had to bypass, he’d have to deal with that later.

By the time they finished up, enough of the mill owners had signed on to building the new design to keep up with the expected production increase from the farms. There were some millers not at the meeting, who’d needed to be approached one on one, but that would also have to wait. He’d have to find someone to go to the further out towns and try to bring some of those into the fold.

What mattered is that he had enough millers onboard to make his plans work … for now.