The Portal
Author: a_delacroix@hotmail.com
Chapter 20
It was shortly after noon of the next day when their carriage finally, reached Arelate. They had traveled straight through the night, but even with three changes of horses, carriage travel was significantly slower than Chloe's original estimate via horseback.
Fortunately, the stable where they had made an early morning stop for fresh horses also had an inn attached. They were able to purchase some fresh bread, honey, and fruit to serve as breakfast. While not quite the hearty meal Clark's Mom felt was appropriate to start the day or the bowl of Fruit Loops Lana preferred, it did help get the day off to a good start.
At least until Lex made the casual comment to Chloe about arranging an expedition to South America to acquire some coffee beans, if they were stranded here much longer. Lex meant it as a joke, but as soon as the words were out of his mouth he felt Lana tense up beside him. For an excruciatingly long 60 seconds no one said anything.
Finally, Lana said quietly, "When they return with the coffee beans, we will have to open the first 'Talon' franchise in Rome. Do you think the Egyptian motif will work as well in Rome as in Smallville?"
Chloe started laughing. When the others looked at her, she said. "Sorry, I was just imagining a 'Talon' in ancient Rome, but with a 1950's drive-in style. You know waitresses in little red and white uniforms. On roller- skates. Of course, we would have to make the skates and teach them how to use them. Just think of the possibilities."
Lex just stared at her like she was crazy. "Uh, Chloe, do you remember a roller-skating crazy sweeping the Roman Empire about this time?"
Chloe was still grinning, but shook her head no.
"Don't you think that would change our future, just like a renegade army led by some guys from the 21st century would change our future?" continued Lex.
Chloe snorted, "Come on, Lex. A roller-skating craze is not quite the same thing as overthrowing the dominant civilization of the era. Lots of surprising things have occurred down through time that never made it into the history books."
"Name one." said Lex.
"That's easy," responded Chloe. "In 438 BC a group of Greek scholars in Corinth built a fully functional steam engine. They had it operating off and on for almost two years, but never made that leap to a useful application like a steamship or railroad or pumping water out of underground mines. When I heard about this device I made my way to Corinth to give them a nudge in the right direction. Unfortunately, I arrived two months after a boiler explosion killed off all of the key participants. It was impossible at that point to get anyone interested in continuing the experiments. But just think if I could have arrived before the explosion, steam power might have developed around 400 BC, instead of 1800 AD. So if I had been a little closer to Greece at the time, the world might be a much different place, but instead the whole incident has been lost to history."
They continued to discuss other lost opportunities and their implications until their meal was finished and the carriage was ready to proceed.
Once underway again, the morning was spent on Latin lessons. Just like the morning before, Chloe set the lessons to song. It quickly became a contest to pick a song and see how quickly Chloe could come up with the words. Her only restriction was that the songs had to be from Broadway, TV and the movies, since those were her personal favorites.
They had just finished a series based on the TV theme songs for 'Happy Days', 'Gilligan's Island', and Clark's request for 'Good Ol' Boys' from the Dukes of Hazzard when Lex requested 'Hey, Big Spender' from Sweet Charity.
Chloe was running the original music and lyrics through her head looking for inspiration on what to teach with this song when they crested a hill and the driver called out that Arelate was in sight. As the others leaned out to look at their day's destination, the music continued to play through her head:
'The minute you walked in the joint, I could see you were a man of distinction, A real Big Spender, good looking, so refined. Say wouldn't you like to know what's going on in my mind? So let me get right to the point, I don't pop my cork for ev'ry guy I see. Hey! Big Spender, Spend a little time with me.'
God, that song brought back memories of a simpler time to Chloe. Even when it came out in 1965 it was already something of an anachronism. The whole Beatles-hip era had been in full swing for several years and the movie had felt so fifties. Definitely it fell on the wrong side of the cusp of a major change in musical styles and public tastes. Still, it had been a catchy tune.
While Chloe struggled to get past her memories of a pleasant summer evening spent in a dark, air-conditioned theater with her boyfriend at the time and focus her thoughts on setting some Latin phrases to the melody, Clark interrupted her thoughts.
"I think it is time for a break from the Latin," he began. "How about a guided tour of the highlights of Arelate?"
Chloe happened to be looking at Lex and noticed the hint of disappointment in his eyes. With a quick glance outside and seeing they had at least ten minutes before they would reach the city proper, she said. "How about a compromise? I really enjoy this song, so let's just do it in English. Since you suggested it, Lex, I am guessing you know the words?"
When he nodded she continued, "Okay, the rest of you jump in for the chorus."
So as the carriage passed through the city gates they were all shouting at the top of their voices: "Hey! Big Spender, spend a little time with me."
-----
After everyone had settled back and caught their breath, Chloe suddenly leaned forward with that special grin only she could do and then started speaking with a really bad, fake French accent. "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I am Brigette with the Arelate Tourist Bureau. I will be your guide on today's fun tour of historical Arles, France or Arelate, Gaul, as it is known in the local vernacular. Don't hesitate to interrupt with any inane, pointless, or just plain stupid questions you may have, that's what I am here for." During this little speech her voice and manner changed until it perfectly mimicked the behavior only a true Parisian can achieve when haughtily speaking down to an uncultured American.
Lex started laughing as he remembered a French woman his father had required him to escort to a gala charity event in Metropolis six months ago. The woman had had the exact same voice and attitude Chloe had just been projecting. By the end of that evening he couldn't decide which fantasy was more appealing; finding out where in Paris she lived and building a McDonald's directly across the street, or just covering her mouth with a piece of duct tape.
While the thought of being trapped in the ancient Roman Empire or even dying here made the last few days among the scariest in his life, Lex also marveled how they had also been among the most fun. It seemed like he had laughed and smiled more than in the previous eight years combined.
"Well, Brigette," began Lex but then he couldn't get his voice back under control and fell back to giggling.
"Zuch zilly Americanz," grinned Chloe. Then she briefly dropped out of character and spoke to Nicholas in Latin. "LNickie, I want to do a quick tour of town before heading to my estate. Please tell the driver to swing by the harbor and then up through the center of town and then on to the estate."
Nicholas nodded and slid the small window open to quietly address the drivers.
Then Chloe turned back to the others and reverting to her bad French accent started her version of a brief tour/history lesson about Arelate. "Arelate is a much older town than either Tolosa or Narbo. Unlike those towns, which had originally been established as Roman garrisons, Arelate was founded by the Phoenicians nearly 700 years ago. The Phoenicians were a great sea-faring race in the pre-Roman era. Much of their wealth came from trading in gold and silver, abundantly available at the time from mining operations in Spain.
"The Phoenicians founded colonies all along the northern and southern coastlines of the Mediterranean since limitations in their navigational tools meant they stuck mostly within sight of shore. They founded numerous towns, the most famous of which is Carthage in North Africa of Hannibal fame."
"Hannibal, as in Hannibal and the elephants, who attacked Rome?" asked Lana.
"The very same," nodded Chloe. "Actually, rather than starting directly from Carthage, he started out from Spain about 250 years ago and crossed the Rhone river not too far from here on his way to Italy. His father had been a general for Carthage serving in Spain from the time Hannibal was nine. Hannibal mostly grew up in Spain until he went to battle with Rome. His army spent over ten years fighting in Italy. When he was finally defeated and returned to Carthage, it had been over 36 years since he had last been there. Like a lot of generals down through history, he spent much of his life in the field. You have to wonder if he even remembered what he was fighting for."
"So, Brigette," started Lex again having finally gotten his voice back under control. "Where elephants really effective in battle?"
"Well, we haven't seen too many elephants here in Arelate, so perhaps Chloe better field this one." Here Chloe dropped her French accent and reverted to her normal voice. "The shock value the first time an army came up against elephants could win it for the side with the elephants. If you had never seen one before, to have thirty or forty or more charging at you en mass, bellowing and decked out in bells and other noise-makers was extremely scary. A good general might lose that first battle against elephants, but if he could disengage without being routed and if he could convince his men that there was nothing magical about them, he might still win a second encounter. It might be difficult, but it could be done. By the second battle the general with the elephants needed to implement good deployment practices with the flanks of the elephant regiments properly defended. If the enemy was allowed to get behind the elephants, they could be defeated."
Chloe was just about to continue when Lana suddenly broke in. "Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Oh, shit."
End of Chapter 20
Author: a_delacroix@hotmail.com
Chapter 20
It was shortly after noon of the next day when their carriage finally, reached Arelate. They had traveled straight through the night, but even with three changes of horses, carriage travel was significantly slower than Chloe's original estimate via horseback.
Fortunately, the stable where they had made an early morning stop for fresh horses also had an inn attached. They were able to purchase some fresh bread, honey, and fruit to serve as breakfast. While not quite the hearty meal Clark's Mom felt was appropriate to start the day or the bowl of Fruit Loops Lana preferred, it did help get the day off to a good start.
At least until Lex made the casual comment to Chloe about arranging an expedition to South America to acquire some coffee beans, if they were stranded here much longer. Lex meant it as a joke, but as soon as the words were out of his mouth he felt Lana tense up beside him. For an excruciatingly long 60 seconds no one said anything.
Finally, Lana said quietly, "When they return with the coffee beans, we will have to open the first 'Talon' franchise in Rome. Do you think the Egyptian motif will work as well in Rome as in Smallville?"
Chloe started laughing. When the others looked at her, she said. "Sorry, I was just imagining a 'Talon' in ancient Rome, but with a 1950's drive-in style. You know waitresses in little red and white uniforms. On roller- skates. Of course, we would have to make the skates and teach them how to use them. Just think of the possibilities."
Lex just stared at her like she was crazy. "Uh, Chloe, do you remember a roller-skating crazy sweeping the Roman Empire about this time?"
Chloe was still grinning, but shook her head no.
"Don't you think that would change our future, just like a renegade army led by some guys from the 21st century would change our future?" continued Lex.
Chloe snorted, "Come on, Lex. A roller-skating craze is not quite the same thing as overthrowing the dominant civilization of the era. Lots of surprising things have occurred down through time that never made it into the history books."
"Name one." said Lex.
"That's easy," responded Chloe. "In 438 BC a group of Greek scholars in Corinth built a fully functional steam engine. They had it operating off and on for almost two years, but never made that leap to a useful application like a steamship or railroad or pumping water out of underground mines. When I heard about this device I made my way to Corinth to give them a nudge in the right direction. Unfortunately, I arrived two months after a boiler explosion killed off all of the key participants. It was impossible at that point to get anyone interested in continuing the experiments. But just think if I could have arrived before the explosion, steam power might have developed around 400 BC, instead of 1800 AD. So if I had been a little closer to Greece at the time, the world might be a much different place, but instead the whole incident has been lost to history."
They continued to discuss other lost opportunities and their implications until their meal was finished and the carriage was ready to proceed.
Once underway again, the morning was spent on Latin lessons. Just like the morning before, Chloe set the lessons to song. It quickly became a contest to pick a song and see how quickly Chloe could come up with the words. Her only restriction was that the songs had to be from Broadway, TV and the movies, since those were her personal favorites.
They had just finished a series based on the TV theme songs for 'Happy Days', 'Gilligan's Island', and Clark's request for 'Good Ol' Boys' from the Dukes of Hazzard when Lex requested 'Hey, Big Spender' from Sweet Charity.
Chloe was running the original music and lyrics through her head looking for inspiration on what to teach with this song when they crested a hill and the driver called out that Arelate was in sight. As the others leaned out to look at their day's destination, the music continued to play through her head:
'The minute you walked in the joint, I could see you were a man of distinction, A real Big Spender, good looking, so refined. Say wouldn't you like to know what's going on in my mind? So let me get right to the point, I don't pop my cork for ev'ry guy I see. Hey! Big Spender, Spend a little time with me.'
God, that song brought back memories of a simpler time to Chloe. Even when it came out in 1965 it was already something of an anachronism. The whole Beatles-hip era had been in full swing for several years and the movie had felt so fifties. Definitely it fell on the wrong side of the cusp of a major change in musical styles and public tastes. Still, it had been a catchy tune.
While Chloe struggled to get past her memories of a pleasant summer evening spent in a dark, air-conditioned theater with her boyfriend at the time and focus her thoughts on setting some Latin phrases to the melody, Clark interrupted her thoughts.
"I think it is time for a break from the Latin," he began. "How about a guided tour of the highlights of Arelate?"
Chloe happened to be looking at Lex and noticed the hint of disappointment in his eyes. With a quick glance outside and seeing they had at least ten minutes before they would reach the city proper, she said. "How about a compromise? I really enjoy this song, so let's just do it in English. Since you suggested it, Lex, I am guessing you know the words?"
When he nodded she continued, "Okay, the rest of you jump in for the chorus."
So as the carriage passed through the city gates they were all shouting at the top of their voices: "Hey! Big Spender, spend a little time with me."
-----
After everyone had settled back and caught their breath, Chloe suddenly leaned forward with that special grin only she could do and then started speaking with a really bad, fake French accent. "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I am Brigette with the Arelate Tourist Bureau. I will be your guide on today's fun tour of historical Arles, France or Arelate, Gaul, as it is known in the local vernacular. Don't hesitate to interrupt with any inane, pointless, or just plain stupid questions you may have, that's what I am here for." During this little speech her voice and manner changed until it perfectly mimicked the behavior only a true Parisian can achieve when haughtily speaking down to an uncultured American.
Lex started laughing as he remembered a French woman his father had required him to escort to a gala charity event in Metropolis six months ago. The woman had had the exact same voice and attitude Chloe had just been projecting. By the end of that evening he couldn't decide which fantasy was more appealing; finding out where in Paris she lived and building a McDonald's directly across the street, or just covering her mouth with a piece of duct tape.
While the thought of being trapped in the ancient Roman Empire or even dying here made the last few days among the scariest in his life, Lex also marveled how they had also been among the most fun. It seemed like he had laughed and smiled more than in the previous eight years combined.
"Well, Brigette," began Lex but then he couldn't get his voice back under control and fell back to giggling.
"Zuch zilly Americanz," grinned Chloe. Then she briefly dropped out of character and spoke to Nicholas in Latin. "LNickie, I want to do a quick tour of town before heading to my estate. Please tell the driver to swing by the harbor and then up through the center of town and then on to the estate."
Nicholas nodded and slid the small window open to quietly address the drivers.
Then Chloe turned back to the others and reverting to her bad French accent started her version of a brief tour/history lesson about Arelate. "Arelate is a much older town than either Tolosa or Narbo. Unlike those towns, which had originally been established as Roman garrisons, Arelate was founded by the Phoenicians nearly 700 years ago. The Phoenicians were a great sea-faring race in the pre-Roman era. Much of their wealth came from trading in gold and silver, abundantly available at the time from mining operations in Spain.
"The Phoenicians founded colonies all along the northern and southern coastlines of the Mediterranean since limitations in their navigational tools meant they stuck mostly within sight of shore. They founded numerous towns, the most famous of which is Carthage in North Africa of Hannibal fame."
"Hannibal, as in Hannibal and the elephants, who attacked Rome?" asked Lana.
"The very same," nodded Chloe. "Actually, rather than starting directly from Carthage, he started out from Spain about 250 years ago and crossed the Rhone river not too far from here on his way to Italy. His father had been a general for Carthage serving in Spain from the time Hannibal was nine. Hannibal mostly grew up in Spain until he went to battle with Rome. His army spent over ten years fighting in Italy. When he was finally defeated and returned to Carthage, it had been over 36 years since he had last been there. Like a lot of generals down through history, he spent much of his life in the field. You have to wonder if he even remembered what he was fighting for."
"So, Brigette," started Lex again having finally gotten his voice back under control. "Where elephants really effective in battle?"
"Well, we haven't seen too many elephants here in Arelate, so perhaps Chloe better field this one." Here Chloe dropped her French accent and reverted to her normal voice. "The shock value the first time an army came up against elephants could win it for the side with the elephants. If you had never seen one before, to have thirty or forty or more charging at you en mass, bellowing and decked out in bells and other noise-makers was extremely scary. A good general might lose that first battle against elephants, but if he could disengage without being routed and if he could convince his men that there was nothing magical about them, he might still win a second encounter. It might be difficult, but it could be done. By the second battle the general with the elephants needed to implement good deployment practices with the flanks of the elephant regiments properly defended. If the enemy was allowed to get behind the elephants, they could be defeated."
Chloe was just about to continue when Lana suddenly broke in. "Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Oh, shit."
End of Chapter 20