Scaevola's Triumph (Gaius Claudius Scaevola trilogy Book 3) (16 page)

Gradually those entitled to attend filed in. The Terrans were allocated a small cubicle, and as they sat down Gaius had yet another nervous fidget with the notes for his speech. He gazed around the room. All present wore trefunes, except the accused and the Terrans. Then the judge entered, and without any ceremony at all sat down and announced that the trial was now commencing.

The judge ordered that recorded evidence be entered. The Tin Man was connected to a cable, and the entire evidence was entered in less than a minute. Then Klendor appeared, and gave clear evidence that the accused had attempted to betray him to the enemies of Ulse, and also that it was clear that the Terrans represented an emerging civilization. The prosecution's case was essentially, "The evidence speaks for itself. The accused carried out the illegal act of slave trading, compounded by the far more serious crime of interfering with the development of an emerging civilization, and finally, to cover up these crimes, he deliberately colluded with an enemy of Ulse, thereby committing treason."

The defence offered no evidence, although the accused stood up and made a speech. His case boiled down to, "First, the Terrans came onto the ship of their own accord. They were not forced. Had they not done so, they would have been killed, so irrespective of what happened, he had done them a favour and should not be held responsible for the more philosophical aspects of the charges. Further, the Roman Empire was cruel and unjust, Romans themselves owned a large number of slaves, hence the Terrans had not had anything done to them that was not the lot of other Terrans. They operated a form of government that was barbaric in the extreme. Certainly, there could be good leaders, but there was too much room for tyrants at all levels. It was impossible for true civilization to emerge from this barbaric civilization. There was no way he could know Gaius was a scientist, Gaius would never have succeeded in swaying Terran opinion, and in any case there was no evidence Gaius would have completed his steam engine had he remained on Earth."

The accused paused, then said with a crafty look, "The Romans spend most of their time working out how to conquer, or how to get revenge for alleged wrongs done unto them. Let's suppose what everybody says is true, and let's suppose these Terrans could have introduced the industrial age to Rome well before the time it would otherwise arrive. What would be the result?

"You don't know? Well, I put it to you that with their aggressive nature what you'd get is more conquest, more killing, a greater nation, and if, as some said, science did emerge, there might even be a Roman Space Force well ahead of its time, going out to conquer. Now what would happen, given the nearby planet and the nature of its inhabitants? Was it not possible that my action, in slowing down the Terrans, if in fact I did, may have been the biggest favour I could have done?"

Lucilla was clearly furious. How dare that . . . Vipsania held her arm, and made sure she said nothing. Gaius was then invited to make his speech.

Gaius stood, bowed to the judge, bowed to the two advocates, then to the public. He paused, and remembered his old teacher's gruff advice. Self-control, poise, wash away emotion. So many times had he been insulted furiously and required to speak afterwards that this was relatively easy. He thought about his notes, and realized that these had not anticipated the accused's speech. If he proceeded with his prepared speech, he would give the first speech credence. No! He had to counter that. He pushed aside his notes.

"The accused argues," Gaius started, "that Rome was fundamentally flawed, therefore the accused could do what he liked with its citizens. First, I agree that Rome was flawed. It is true that a number of officials had too much power, and power can be misused. I saw that in Alexandria, where the Governor used his position to steal from a minority. However, while the occurrence of such crime is indisputable, how does it follow that the situation can be improved by some external force that removes citizens who do what they can to correct the situation? I understand my role in this was included in the information made available from the Tin Man." As this name was translated, there was a sudden burst of interest, and cackling, from the audience.

"Then, apart from that," Gaius continued, "even if Rome is flawed, it does not follow that an alien should have the right to act as some random variable, taking what he wishes for his own profit."

He paused, then continued, "The accused stated that nothing was done to us that was not the lot of other Terrans." He paused again, frowned, and said, "Really? That implies that being taken off our planet is common practice. Which begs the question, how does he know it is common practice? Because he has done it himself many times?" He paused again, and watched the look of horror pass over the accused's face, as the entire courtroom turned to look at him. Gaius remembered again his lessons. You have made a point; do not gloat. Continue in the same tone, and the audience may promote the importance of your next point.

"He claims the Roman Empire was bad. Perhaps, but everywhere else was worse. That Rome had invaded Britain is undisputed. It is also undisputed that the Britons were frequently sacrificing innocent people to various Gods, decapitating the weak, torturing those who are captured . . . No, in Ulsian eyes that may not justify invasion, nor was that the reason for it, but remember this. When any area on Earth was under Roman control for a reasonable time, that area joined the Empire in which, alone on the planet ordinary people could trade in peace, free from the threat of robbery, rape, or unjust oppression." He paused, then added solemnly, "In Roman territory, citizens could plan their lives, free from fear, and could expect to carry out those plans. Rome may not have been highly civilized in terms of Ulse, but it was the best available.

"Yes, there were criminals, people who broke our laws, but I suspect Rome is not alone in having criminals. Any civilization with courts has criminals." Sympathetic cackles arose. "He speaks of a Roman Space Force." Gaius paused, then opened his hands. "With respect, that is ludicrous. However, I submit that that is effectively a confession that he recognizes that he has interrupted the development of technology on our planet. From my point of view, I believe that what might have happened has probably been overstated, and there has been too much made of my limited abilities. However, the accused himself seems to believe in them with that defence. And in any case, while I may be limited in ability, he hardly established those limitations. I tried to communicate with him after I rescued him, and he refused to acknowledge my attempts. I know that in itself is irrelevant in the broader sense, but not if he claims to have assessed my abilities.

"Now," Gaius continued, "the accused appears to think of me as a barbarian, lacking in honour. He may note that when I first met him, he was trapped in a pit, weaponless, with a number of Celts ready to kill him. He states that we went onto his ship of our free will. That is true. We thought he was a being of honour. I had saved his life, and when he beckoned to us, I thought he would save ours in return. He states that Romans kept looking for revenge. Perhaps, but Romans also honoured debts . . ." He paused, then added, "Well, most of the time . . ." Laughter broke out as Gaius added, "There were always recidivists who would always spend more than they could ever repay.

"The accused speaks of favours," Gaius continued. "If he wanted to do us a favour, he could have put us down a few miles away. What we want is to be able to be back home, amongst our friends. Yes, I know that is impossible, and we accept that. However, he has done us no favours. Every act, including his treachery to your planet, was motivated by greed.

"What should happen to him? I wish to emphasize that we have no opinion, other than to see Ulse impose the correct penalty within its laws. What should happen to us? We say, this is not our fault. We do not beg, but we do say that as a matter of honour we should be treated with the respect that would be given to others of our position in other civilizations."

With that he sat down. The Terrans looked towards the judge, who was clearly about to make his decision.

The judge's remarks were curt. "Ulsian law does not accept incompetence as an excuse, there was every evidence that the Terrans would be supported by the
Princeps
, who, as far as Ulse could tell, had power limited only by ability, and finally, the relevant Ulsian law said 'could', not 'would'. Further, while minor in comparison, slave trading is quite illegal in Ulsian law, treason is most definitely illegal, and the accused has not even denied these self-evident accusations."

In less than six minutes the trial was over. The accused was found guilty, and sentenced to seven days luxury in some place that was not understandable to Gaius. Everyone was immediately cleared from the court. Gaius tried to get to Klendor, but Klendor had left by a side door.

"Some punishment!" Lucilla snorted later.

"Indeed it was most harsh," the Tin Man agreed. "Mind you, I think I have mentioned that this is the worst offence he could have committed against Ulsian law."

"That was not quite what I was thinking," Lucilla snorted. "I was uprooted, separated forever from my husband . . ."

"For which he pays," the Tin Man replied.

"With seven days luxury?" Lucilla almost shrieked.

"I think what Lucilla means," Gaius interrupted, and tried to calm her down, "is that seven days of luxury is more an incentive for him to do that again than a punishment."

"He won't," the Tin Man said.

"And why not?" Lucilla cried angrily.

"How could he?" came the flat reply.

"Exactly what happens to him after seven days?" Gaius asked, quickly trying to calm the next explosion from Lucilla.

"Nothing."

"Nothing!" Lucilla nearly failed to get even that out.

"Nothing. No food, no breath, no thinking, nothing. There was nothing further mentioned in the sentence, so when that which was expires, nothing."

"Where is his body?" Gaius persisted.

"Nowhere." The Tin Man finally realized this was inadequate, so he added, "It is disintegrated. The constituent atoms will go to the food cycle."

"You mean he dies?" Gaius asked.

"I presume that happens when his body ceases to exist," came the nearest thing Gaius had ever heard to sarcasm, or any other expression of distasteful emotion, from the Tin Man.

"We did not understand," Gaius said quickly. He felt certain their response would be monitored, and he did not wish to be seen as more unruly than necessary to the Ulsians.

"Most of the time, Ulsians try to avoid thinking about death," the Tin Man said. "The creature that captured you will now be forgotten by Ulse. It would be in your interests also to forget him."

"That's easier said than done," Lucilla sobbed later.

"You will always remember," Vipsania said softly, "but you must try to leave him, and Quintus, just as memories."

Chapter 11

It was easier said than done. The basic problem of nothing interesting to do remained. They could visit the great library, and they did quite frequently, but that could only hold their interest for a certain fraction of the week. They could go for walks, and they did to maintain fitness, but there was nowhere in particular to walk to. There were cafés where Ulsians would sit, eat and drink, but the Terrans could not eat this food. Eventually the Tin Man arranged for certain cafés to have acceptable food, and this helped, but not enough. There were the equivalent of theatres, but the Terrans could not understand the language, and in any case the average Ulsian play seemed somewhat boring, even when they understood it. There was music, but that was also too strange.

According to the Tin Man, if they wished to interact with other Ulsians then they should attempt to learn at least the elementary principles of sociodynamics.

"Why?" Lucilla asked, in a tone that showed she had absolutely no desire whatsoever to do this.

"If you understand sociodynamics, that may help you understand both your own and Ulsian societies," the Tin Man informed them. "The basic premise is that societies behave as if forces drive them, as if societies do not have the free will their members think they have."

"What rubbish!" Lucilla replied coldly. She might have been bored, but she saw little point in learning some arcane Ulsian method of arguing about the minutest points.

"Perhaps," the Tin Man said. "Your point is, you have total free will? You can do as you wish?"

"Not here," she replied.

"Consistent with your income, back in Rome?"

"Consistent with the law," Lucilla said.

"So you had complete freedom as to how you dressed? You didn't have to dress like other Roman women, you didn't have to follow fashion, and you didn't have to use the same type of make-up as the women in the Imperial family?"

Lucilla was stunned. "Of course people fitted in with others, but that was −"

" . . . for their own benefit," the Tin Man interrupted. "So they would be looked upon favourably by others, and not left out of the good things, as they see it, offered by society."

It went far further than that, the Tin Man added. Cities arose when the hunter-gatherer suddenly discovered that it was easier to grow and herd food than to continually look for it. But the problem with growing food was to stop other hunter-gatherers from stealing it. Accordingly, groups would get together and grow food together, and jointly defend it.

Once a force arose to defend food, in harder times this force would go out and steal it from other groups, or take better land from other groups. Before long, interminable fights broke out, and it was desirable to group into larger cities, or groups of cities for mutual self-defence. By now the concepts of kingdoms and war had emerged.

But when people lived in cities, trade began, fashion began. When fashion began, there were forces present to find new cloth, new colours. Better tools were forged to plough land faster. Bigger cities required engineering, water supplies. Eventually you could get to where Egypt got.