A period of waiting followed. Definitely a problem for those who wished to conquer the world, Gaius thought. Bearing in mind the size of the world, messages from the far side could take a year to get to the capital, at which time the original problem would have passed. For all practical measures, other than the matter of the swearing of allegiance, whatever that really meant, a place far enough away had to be independent. On the other hand, if Rome did not conquer any more, then it had to do something more with what it had, or eventually 'the rest' would catch up militarily, and then Rome really could fall. Maintaining that lead had to involve more than running enormously expensive games for the masses.
Chapter 39
Jerusalem was one of the more distant districts, and currently one of the more troublesome. At present the city was so tense that it was becoming unbearable. All the citizens knew the legion was there for one purpose, to spill blood if required, and despite what the hotheads said, everyone knew that it would be Jewish blood that was spilt. The stares of fear mixed with hatred and religious self-righteousness forced Gaius to keep the legion from the city. The last thing he needed was for insults after one too many cups of wine to be the match to ignite a holocaust.
All the same, it was never desirable that soldiers spend their time doing nothing uncomfortably. Besides the continual drills, Gaius ordered squads of soldiers to march to various Jewish centres, to show the Roman presence, so that each soldier maintained marching fitness. Invariably they did nothing but march around, get hot, and suffer the disgruntled stares of the local population. As a consequence, the soldiers were continually grumbling about the waste of time and effort. This did not worry Gaius: grumbling soldiers meant that the legion was still functional.
It was then that he received a message from Caesar. As he took it his hands were trembling. This message could seal everybody's fate. He broke the seal, opened the page, and stared in disbelief.
Since you are in such a hotbed of religious fervour, inform me of your views on the Gods. G.
What was all this? He could make a guess, and it gave him a chilling feeling. Fortunately he had received warnings through his correspondence with Claudius. It was then that he remembered the prophecy. Was this the time to deny, or the time to assert? Perhaps both! He took a piece of papyrus and a pen, and after putting down the suitable heading he wrote,
For me, there is no power above Caesar. However, I have had one experience. Following the orders of the divine Tiberius, I was sent to Rhodes, where, at a temple dedicated to Athene, I had a vision in which Athene promised me I would lead a legion that would be the most loyal of all. Legio III awaits your orders. G. Claudius Scaevola.
He then folded the paper, and arranged for it to be sent. He was quite apprehensive throughout the day; somehow he had come to the front of Little Boots' attention, and that was perhaps the most dangerous thing that could happen to him.
It was as much to avoid boredom as anything else that Gaius personally led the next squad out on an excursion. Most of these excursions were simple route marches through this depressingly parched land, but they did have the effect, Gaius noted as time wore on, of reminding the citizens that they were a conquered people. In many ways this was bad, but when they were considering insurrection it was, perhaps, helpful.
Usually nothing much happened, but this time Gaius ran into yet another potential religious flare-up. He led the two centuries to the outskirts of a small village, to see a mob in the central square. Backed against a tree a man was sheltering a young woman, while he was presumably preaching. A stone was thrown from of the mob and this just missed its target. The preacher continued, which obviously antagonized the mob, because another stone was thrown, this time striking the young woman on the arm. Gaius signalled the first century to advance, and he rode quickly ahead towards the mob.
The man seemed to be inviting the mob to throw more stones, saying something about when struck, you should turn the other cheek and let the sinner strike again. The predictable happened; another stone was thrown, striking the girl on the head, and drawing blood.
"I forgive you your sins!" the preacher said. Someone laughed and reached down for another stone.
"He might," Gaius roared, "but I am inclined not to."
The crowd turned to stare at him.
"One of your preachers once said," Gaius continued, "'He who is without sin, cast the first stone.' What more can I say, but add that in my opinion, casting the stone against a defenceless woman is a sin itself, and by so casting you negate any claim to perfection."
"How dare you quote that heretic!" someone yelled.
"Then look at it from my Roman perspective," Gaius said harshly. "I order you not to throw stones. To disobey that order is insurrection, and on this very spot I shall crucify anyone who so disobeys."
"You wouldn't dare!" someone said, although not with any special conviction.
"My next order is to disperse!" Gaius laughed a bitterly cold laugh. "Stick around and see if I dare. And do not worry that I might run out of nails. The legion is well-stocked."
The crowd stared almost belligerently, but then a few at the edges decided discretion was desirable. Before long, only a very few remained and seeing how alone they were, they turned and ran.
The preacher stared at Gaius. No thanks here, Gaius noted to himself. He asked their names, then ordered the preacher be taken to the other side of the square.
"Rebecca," Gaius nodded at the girl, "You stay!" He turned back to the preacher. "I won't hurt her, and my physician will tend to her wounds."
"Please don't worry," Gaius assured her, after the blood was cleaned from her head. "I just want to ask you some questions."
"About what?" came the cautious reply.
"From what I gather, you are what I believe is called a Christian?"
"My uncle and I follow the ways of The Master," came the simple reply.
"Why?"
"Because The Master was the truth and the light."
"Despite the obvious physical danger and, if you don't mind my saying so, the apparent lack of money?"
"Money isn't everything," Rebecca replied.
"It buys you food and clothes," Gaius smiled, "both of which you seem to need."
"The Lord provides."
"Not lavishly."
"Sufficiently."
"Perhaps," Gaius remarked. "Tell me, in your uncle's absence, why are you so convinced in your Messiah?"
"Because he is the truth."
"Yes, but forgive me," Gaius persisted, "there have been several hundred other would-be Messiahs making similar claims. Why do you believe that yours is different from the others?"
"He died to save us from our sins."
"The official version," Gaius pointed out, "is that he died for sedition."
"If you say so."
Gaius stared at her for a moment, then laughed. "It's not what I say, it's what's recorded."
"If it's seditious to tell the truth, to preach peace and forgiveness."
"Answer this truthfully," Gaius said with a quiet smile. "I am just trying to understand."
"You wish to follow the ways of The Master?" came the fascinated response.
"Not in the way you are thinking," Gaius smiled. "You Christians presumably hate us Romans."