Scaevola's Triumph (Gaius Claudius Scaevola trilogy Book 3) (67 page)

"In which case," Gaius replied with a slight smile, "I guess I owe it to you to try and give you your life back too."

"Then good luck," the woman said. "Now, as a matter of importance, I shall turn this link off. Count to fifty, then go to the switch, switch it off, and keep the item. Arrange for Gemep to give you a diagram for the fitting. If you ever think you have finished, you can try building another such fitting, in which case you will be able to find out whether you were successful . . .

"Before you go," Marcellus interrupted, "can you interface your computer with this device?"

"Yes, why?"

"Do so," Marcellus said. "An Ulsian computer will interrogate your computer to gather data for your benefit."

"Actually, I have little alternative," the grey-eyed Pallas Athene smiled. "Dr Chu, the physicist here has already linked up, because he has read the document that contains this discussion. Apparently a lot of personal information about us has been requested and transferred, so we all wish you much success. Also, when you get there, the language is English, and an English –Latin dictionary is being downloaded, as well as an English grammar. Now, I must go but remember, what follows is your life. There are no rights and wrongs, other than what is normal. Just live, and live well. Again, goodbye and good luck."

Gaius stared mechanically at the wall as the image faded. Marcellus watched some dial, then he retrieved the communication device, packed it in the box, and the two of them made their way to the transport capsule. Gaius was partly furious, because some people from the future were playing with him, and he was partly intrigued that there was a future. However, there was absolutely nothing he could do about it, except to continue with his life. Perhaps he had to be more careful than most, by keeping an eye out for others with advanced knowledge who may be intending to kill him.

But then that appeared wrong as well. He was on this time-line, and the line had to run on to wherever it was destined to go. If someone was to interfere, that would create yet a further time line. He was this Gaius: there may have been others, but since he was completely unaware of them, effectively he was his own man, in his own time, living his own life that had to be free of temporal interference. Apart from these conversations he had across time, nothing could interfere with him, at least in a planned way.

Perhaps that was wrong too, but it did not matter. He had a life to live, and he was going back to Earth. To the ugliest woman in the world. Somehow that did not seem very enticing. To see Rome in ruins. Somehow that did not seem very enticing either. And to save humanity from total obliteration. Somehow the responsibility for that seemed quite depressing. Even the heroes of mythology did not have to manage that.

But then again, he was going home, to see and talk to other people, and that was enough to raise any spirit. Unbelievable as it was, bearing in mind where he was, he was going home!

* * *

And so, oh Ugly One, there is work to be done, and all that you, Lucilla and Gaius have to do is to save another civilization from extinction. This time it is yours.

M

Author's Note.

Thank you for reading this. If you enjoyed it, why not write a review? Such reviews really help authors.

Unlike the first two books in this trilogy, there is no history involved here, but I have tried to maintain the concept of showing what science and invention are about. Whether I succeeded in explaining some of the concepts of Einstein's relativity is a matter I would love to hear as a response. When this ebook is first published, I shall put a post on my blog, and I invite readers to give their opinions. The blog is at
http://ianmillerblog.wordpress.com
.
Also, you might consider my comment on the Schrödinger cat. According to the paradox, the cat is in some indeterminate state until someone observes it, but why cannot the cat observe itself? If it can, it is alive; if it cannot, it is dead, and no paradox. My ebook "Guidance Waves An Alternative Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics" has a number of further thoughts, but if you just like science fiction, you should leave this alone. It is not mathematically difficult, but it is not straightforward conceptually.

As can be seen, this story is not quite finished, which may seem odd for a trilogy. The reason is that the next in the series,
Miranda's Demons
was the first of these books that I wrote. I could not publish it because there was simply too much backstory that made it far too intractable. That will now be rewritten and simplified, and should be available in 2015. This trilogy was originally written as one book, but it was simply too long.

My previous novels form what I call a future history. Each are intended to stand alone, although books in the
First Contact
trilogy are probably better read in sequence. Each of these books also features a different form of governance, although the
First Contact
trilogy is essentially one form, because it was conceived as one book. The other fictional books are:

1. Puppeteer
   Set in 2030, it deals with a faltering government that arose through excess debt, terrorism and the energy crisis. The background is based on one interpretation of what will happen when oil becomes excessively expensive, and we have not become prepared.
   
2. Troubles
   Set in 2050, an anarchic society is coming out of the energy crisis, thanks to the invention of fusion power. As civilization rises from the ashes, those who move fast and ruthlessly will accumulate great wealth. The aged and decaying infrastructure is gold, life is cheap, and winners take all.
   
3. Red Gold
   Set in 2070, it covers the colonization of Mars, fraud, and when a scientific discovery is made that makes Mars viable, the fraud is exposed. However, the fraudster also has the only giuns on Mars, and men to use them.
   
4. A Face on Cydonia
   The first of the
   First Contact
   trilogy. When the rock winks, the question is, how, and eventually a disparate party set out to prove this rock has nothing to do with aliens, but instead each discovers exactly what they do not want to find. It also describes how evil has entered an entrenched corporate society.
   
5. Dreams Defiled
   shows how all their ambitions come to nothing, but the evil grows.
   
6. Jonathon Munros
   The conclusion of the trilogy, where machines begin self-reproduction and threaten the world, and where Jonathon Munro achieves immortality.
   
7. Athene's Prophecy
   is the first book in the Gaius Claudius Scaevola trilogy, in which Scaevola is sent on a quest to save civilization far into the future. Besides discovering some some science and learning military strategy, he must survive the erratic rule of
   Caligulae
   and prevent a Jewish Roman war.
   
8. Legionis Legatus
   is the second book in the Gaius Claudius Scaevola trilogy in which Scaevola becomes a
   Legatus
   and has a critical role in the Scribonianus attempted coup and in the invasion of Britain, and also works out how to prove the Earth goes around the sun.
   

I hope I have been entertaining, but I also hope that I have given readers something to think about.

Further details about me and about further books, including those yet to be written, and my scientific books can be found at my website,
http://www.ianmiller.co.nz