The Portal
Author: a_delacroix@hotmail.com
Chapter 26
Lex was starting to appreciate the comment Marcus had made about Coelia and her misplaced entourage way back on their first day in Tolosa, the day the reality of their situation was just sinking home. Today, he had been expecting a simple outing to the chariot races and suddenly he felt like he was traveling with a rap star, or a famous celebrity, or perhaps even the president. While Lex knew security was important and occasionally used a bodyguard or two when the situation warranted it, he had never traveled quite like this. For the mile and a half journey to the Circus Maximus complex their little party of four had grown almost beyond belief. First, each of them was riding in a sedan chair, Chloe and Lana's carried by six men and Lex and Clark's carried by eight men each. Then there were the ten slaves carrying hampers full of food. Lex could imagine the delicacies contained therein after the feasts they had attended in the past few days. If they remained at Chloe's estate much longer, he was going to have to seriously start hitting the gym.
Of course, in addition to all of the slaves, the group was being escorted by twenty five of the household guards. And finally, he mustn't forget the five piece musical ensemble that was going along for good measure. All in all, the simple little group of four he had envisioned when Chloe had first suggested it this morning had turned into a major production involving 75 people. Lex had to grin; they had celebrities, an honor guard, and even a band. All they needed were a couple of floats and they could be their own little Rose Parade.
The celebrity part had surprised him. Once Chloe's incredible secret had been exposed during their first day in Tolosa and she had gone on to tell a few stories from her amazing life, it was obvious Chloe was the richest person in the world throughout most of history, even up in the 21st Century. Yet back home she had chosen to live as a modest high school girl in Smallville, Kansas of all places. It was hard to believe the Smallville Chloe was the same person as the Roman Coelia, who so obviously flaunted her wealth.
However it was the reaction of people along the route to the Circus that had come as the biggest surprise to him. Oh, he was used to people stopping and staring when he used one of his limos in Metropolis, but here the response was much more than people just stopping and staring. No, the further they traveled, the more people stopped and bowed their heads until the party passed. And then some people even started going down on one knee. Lex hadn't particularly focused on Imperial Roman customs during his studies of history, but the behavior of the steadily increasing crowd was something he would have expected to have been reserved for the emperor, not for someone like Chloe, no matter how rich she was here. Certainly back at her estate everyone had been very respectful of her, but he hadn't seen anything like this kind of bowing and scraping.
For a moment or two, Lex thought the crowd's reaction might be for Lana and her Princess of Caledonia cover story that Chloe seemed to spread at every opportunity. And Lana definitely looked the part today with her shimmering white silk gown, golden tiara, and exotic little veil. However, regardless how enchantingly royal he thought she looked, Lex couldn't overcome the feeling something else was causing the crowd's reaction and he was curious what it was.
Arriving outside one of the main entrances to the Circus, Lex got a partial answer. They had just dismounted from the sedan chairs when a man broke through the wall of Chloe's guards and fell to his knees in front of Clark, not five feet from where Lex was standing.
The man looked up into Clark's eyes and said with a fearful look on his face like he expected to struck down at any second, "Forgive me, Lord. Is it true your offer is open to anyone?"
Lex looked at Clark who for an instant had an expression on his face like he didn't know what the man was talking about. However when he spoke, after waving back Chloe's guards, his voice was several notches deeper and much more powerful than Lex had ever heard from him before. In fact, his voice projected the same commanding presence he had always imagined Warrior Angel would possess.
"What offer was that, mortal?" Asked Clark.
'Mortal?' thought Lex. 'What the Hell?'
The man hesitated and then stammered out. "Ah . . . about the reward for the stones, Lord."
Lex realized the crowd and even Chloe's guards were listening with rapt attention as though Clark's response to this question was the most important thing in their lives. What was going on? What new story had Chloe and Clark been spreading?
Clark looked down at the man and then out across the crowd. "Yes, I, Ares, always keep my word. Whoever delivers the stones to me and then aids me in the coming glorious war against Zeus will be gifted with lordship over this realm and will also be gifted with the ambrosia of the Gods to maintain his rule until the end of days." Then Clark gently grasped the man's shoulders and raised him to his feet.
After the man had been escorted through the wall of guards, Lex turned to Clark. "Clark, what was that all about?"
Clark hesitated for a moment then sighed. "It's not Clark, it is Ares now. And Chloe's real name is Aphrodite; Coelia is just a cover story."
"What? After that guy's comment are you saying you and Chloe are now the Greek Gods of Love and War? That is certainly a step up from Lana being a mere princess."
Clark shrugged. "Well, you know Chloe. Never do anything by half measures. Just keep the names in mind when we get inside as we will be joining the emperor in the imperial box and the emperor does believe the whole 'God' thing."
"Why would the emperor believe that?" asked Lex. Then he remembered the rumors that had flittered around Chloe's estate while he was having lunch with Lucius Seneca. Wild stories about a woman flying and a man eating a sword. "Were you by chance in the senatorial forum this morning?"
Lex watched the emotions rolling across Clark's face. Finally his expression settled into a look of resignation and he nodded. "There are things we need to talk about, but we will need some time in private. For the moment let's just say any rumors you heard are probably more or less true. Anyway, please go along with the cover story."
Lex suddenly realized Clark had finally, after a year of playing coy, admitted to the big 'secret'. Perhaps with a little patience he would finally get the answers to what happened that day on the bridge and to all the other unexplainable events in the year since then.
"Perhaps, Ares, you should explain a little more about the cover story."
Clark nodded again and Lex could see after admitting to the 'secret' his mood was starting to brighten again.
"Okay, after the end of the Trojan war Zeus banished Apollo, Hermes, me, and a bunch of other gods and heroes to the Tartarus. Ah, Tartarus is in Hades," explained Clark.
"I have heard of Tartarus, Clark. Lowest region of Hades. It is said a stone dropped from Olympus would fall for nine days before reaching the earth. The same stone would have to fall for another nine days to reach Tartarus where Zeus was supposed to have exiled his own father."
"Yeah, that would be Cronus, a nice enough guy although thousands of years in Tartarus have taken their toll. Anyway, I had been trapped in Tartarus for the past six hundred years until six months ago when I came across a mysterious green doorway and after passing through it found myself back on earth in the mountains beyond the Black Sea.
"While I and most of the other gods were in Tartarus, Aphrodite has been trapped in the mortal realm all of these centuries. Currently, she is using the identity of Coelia to travel among the mortals. When I returned to this realm she could sense me, which is why she left Rome when she did.
"Anyway, the version we told to Venta, the intended audience, and Emperor Gaius, who happened to be in the forum in disguise, was that Carius' device, which opens the time-travel wormhole, has unknowingly been opening a harmonic wormhole into the Godly Realms. Aphrodite then did this whole trance thingy to convince Venta the Godly Realms is actually a parallel universe. The kicker to the story is how the stones which power Carius' device will allow any 'God' to directly open a wormhole between earth and the Godly Realms, which is why we are trying to acquire them."
Lex thought about this for a second. "And you did this whole song-and- dance for Venta in a crowded forum with hundreds of people listening? I was wondering about the crowd's reaction to our little parade during the ride over and this 'God' story certainly explains it. By now, everyone in Rome must be aware of the 'Gods and Mystical Stones' story and a lot of them even seem to believe it."
Clark shrugged again. "Well, we put on a pretty convincing show. And you know us Gods, we don't really care what mere mortals know or believe. Plus, if everyone in Rome is busy looking for the Professor and his meteor rocks, how does it hurt us?"
As Lex listened to Clark's comment and thought about all of his statements since the man had first burst upon them, he started to wonder if this 'God' story was starting to go to Clark's head. Or maybe he was only trying to get himself into character. What exactly had happened at the forum this morning? What was Clark's big 'secret'? What did he really know about Clark?
As Lex mulled over these questions and how to get the answers from Clark, the party entered the Circus Maximus stadium. This location had been used for chariot racing for hundreds of years, almost as long as Rome had been a united city-state. In the beginning it had merely been a convenient flat- bottomed valley between a couple of small hills where the spectators could watch and see the entire course. Over the years wooden stands were added for the growing crowds. Eventually the wooden structures were replaced with larger, more permanent stone and mortar construction. As a finishing touch, the emperor Augustus had faced the exterior of the structure and much of the open interior with marble.
The finished Circus had seating for 150,000 and today every seat seemed to be occupied. At least that's how it felt to Lex as he walked out of the cool, dimly lit passage and into the brilliant daylight of the imperial box. Not that he could instantly see all 150,000 people, but it certainly felt like he could hear every single one of them. The race currently in progress was in the final lap and the entire crowd was standing and cheering on their favorites.
For the moment, thoughts of Clark and his secret slipped to the back of Lex's mind as the spectacle and grandeur of the current situation commanded his full attention. He was actually here. Ancient Rome. At the Circus Maximus for honest-to-god chariot races. In the Emperor's own box. Lex had always had a secret, deeply hidden dream of someday being President, but would standing on the inaugural platform for the swearing-in ceremony begin to compare with this moment?
As Lex looked out across the circus to the opposite side perhaps 300 feet away and then up and down the incredible length of the course, the layout and feel was completely different than he had imagined. The ruins of the Coliseum that he had explored back in the 21st Century when he had visited Rome had felt a lot like a modern football or baseball stadium, but this Circus, which no longer really existed back home, was a lot different. The side directly across from his position was about the same distance as looking across a modern stadium, but the length of the course meant it extended left and right more than three football fields in each direction. With the steep seating along the sides and with the imperial box elevated at least seventy feet above field of competition, the on-going race almost looked like it was being run down at the bottom of a long, narrow canyon. The layout resulted in an experience unlike anything Lex had previously come across in a modern stadium or automotive race track.
Somehow the movie 'Ben Hur' never quite captured the feeling for the length of the course and therefore the length of the seating and magnitude of the crowd like Lex was experiencing at this moment. However the movie did get right the seven giant, fifteen foot tall, golden dolphins used to keep the lap count. They were mounted on the central barricade situated to keep chariots headed right from running head-on into those racing towards the left. As he watched, the final dolphin was being flipped down.
Looking down onto the course he could see this race was being run with chariots pulled by a pair of horses each. As the leaders entered the final turn, Lex counted seven teams still in the race with five more down in varying states of damage and injury. Fortunately, the clamorous roaring of the crowd mostly drowned out the screams of injured and dying men and horses.
From the colors on the chariots, harnesses, and charioteer's clothing, it was apparent each of the four color fractions had started with three chariots; however the blues were having the worst time of it with all three of their drivers down. Having noticed the colors on the teams Lex realized, with a second glance across the stands, how the spectators were mostly segregated by color as well. The blues, reds, whites, and greens all had their own seating areas, much like the home and away seating at big time college football games back home. With a final glance he noticed the greens were mostly centered on the imperial box.
He seemed to remember from before that the emperors were usually affiliated with the greens, but couldn't remember if it was something from his studies back home or something he had heard from Chloe since they had arrived back here. As he was musing over this and trying to burn this occasion into his memory, one of the subjects of his thoughts joined him at the railing to the box. As he was noticing her approach, he realized Chloe's silk gown was a shade of green which complimented the green most of the spectators in the immediate area were wearing.
With the current race over the noise level in the circus dropped sufficiently so Lex could address her in a conversational tone. "Aphrodite," began Lex with a nod of his head. "I see why you chose the color of the day. What about Lana? Will her white gown be an issue?"
"I see Ares has been filling you in," said Chloe, although from her expression it was clear she wasn't certain how much Clark had said. "And no, Lana's white gown will be perfectly okay. We will make it clear this is her first time at a Roman chariot race and if absolutely necessary that white is the 'official' color for the crown princess back in her homeland."
Before their conversation preceded any further Clark and Lana joined them, carrying plates of honeyed fruits from a stop at the refreshment table. Lana feed a piece to Lex before asking, "I thought the emperor was going to be here?"
Once Chloe finished chewing the piece Clark had similarly feed her, she answered. "The emperor should be here within the hour. I wanted us to have some time to get acclimated since none of you have been to a chariot race before, which would be extremely out of character for both Lex and Clark. Oh, by the way, Lex and Lana be sure to remember to address him as 'Your Highness' or 'Emperor Gaius' and try not to call him 'Caligula' as it is a nickname from his childhood which he really hates. At this early point in his reign he probably won't do anything if you make a mistake, but a couple of years from now he will have people tortured to death for less."
Lana went very pale at this comment and even Lex felt a twinge in his gut. Not that he didn't know this already, but having it repeated while waiting to see the actual man himself was a lot different than reading about it in some old, musty textbook.
"Hey," exclaimed Chloe after seeing the expressions on their faces. Grinning a silly Chloe grin, she continued. "Don't make this into a bigger deal than it is. Just stick close to Clark or me, we Gods look after our own."
Lex shook his head. "Chloe, I mean Aphrodite. Why did you decide on this whole 'God' scenario?"
"Oh, I would have to say the decision is based on thousands and thousands of years dealing with superstitious, barbarian civilizations. If your goal is just to enjoy a long peaceful existence, I believe I have said before it is best to be near the top of civilization. However if you need to get something done, particularly when the leadership is in turmoil and Rome's power structure will be in constant turmoil through out Caligula's reign, then you need to deal from a position of undeniable strength. If you have the guts to go for it and the ability to make it seem believable, the 'God Gambit' can give you the maximum freedom of operation. Everyone below the highest levels will just bow to your wishes and even those at the top will think twice before crossing you, as everyone knows Gods are notoriously fickle and will change their minds at the slightest provocation."
"It sounds like you have done this before," remarked Lex.
Chloe grinned again. "Oh, a few times. Well, more than a few times. Usually, I get started down this path when I am really pissed off at someone or something, like the Professor and Venta at this moment." Chloe shook her head. "Someday I will have to finish the story about me and the Sphinx and how I ended up the Supreme God for several hundred years over an empire next to which Rome is but a faint shadow."
Like on previous occasions when Chloe made comments like this, Lex felt both awe at all of the unbelievable things she had done through the many millennia of her life and also just a little fear that to her this was all just some game. Who else would have the audacity to arrive in a place like Rome and two days later try to convince the entire city she was a god? No 'keep a low profile and quietly put out feelers for the Professor'. She would take the extreme opposite approach and be as high as profile as possible and convince an entire city to do the task for her. In her place would even his egomaniacal father have the balls to try this approach? Not fucking likely.
And just like that, Clark's comment back at the spa in Tolosa about not crossing Chloe struck home to Lex. If she had the skills and the resources and the guts to convince an entire civilization to just back down and do her bidding, he never, ever wanted to seriously piss her off.
As Lex's thoughts wandered down this path they were interrupted by cheers, hoots, and hollers from the surrounding crowd. However the tone of the crowd was much less strident and more jocular than at the climax of the last race. The other three turned and stepped back up to the railing to see what was going on and Lex followed suit.
Looking down onto the racetrack, Lex's attention was attracted to motion down by the starting gate. The twelve gates at the starting line were all closed signaling the next race was about to begin. After several moments six of the twelve gates snapped open, however the chariots that raced out onto the course were totally unlike the contestants in the previous match. This time the chariots were like miniature versions of the real thing and each chariot was drawn by not a horse or even a pony, but by an ostrich! The chariots were manned by what at this great distance looked to be young boys. The crowd was laughing and cheering for the contestants who looked just like the real thing right down to the color coordinated racing gear.
"This is so cool," exclaimed Lana as she clapped her in hands in delight.
"Yeah," answered Chloe. "This is a real treat. Usually one of the 'between races' entertainments is to use dogs to pull the miniature chariots, but only on very rare occasions would you get ostriches. However, enjoy it while it lasts, they don't have the stamina of horses. They just race down to the far end once and then back here to the finish line, rather than going the standard seven laps."
They all stood and watched the ostrich race for several minutes. It quickly became apparent the race might cover a lot less distance than with horse drawn chariots, but the duration of the race would be at least as long. Ostriches might be huge in size for members of the bird family however they still had a brain the size of an acorn, or if you were extremely generous perhaps a walnut. This made them difficult to train or control. Within sixty feet of leaving the starting gate the six ostrich drawn chariots were headed in six different directions. Before long, the team in the 'lead' was the team which was the first to lose the driver. After the ostrich turned in its harness and tried to attack the driver, the youth quickly fled and by chance ran down the race course with the enraged ostrich in hot pursuit.
The crowd was laughing and gesturing at the antics as a number of slaves rushed out onto the track to herd the race participants in the right general direction. As Lex watched the crowd he saw many were using this time to head back into the structure of the circus to visit the food vendors, or the wine vendors, or who knows, perhaps one of the prostitutes he had seen during their trek to the imperial box. Lex himself took this opportunity to move up behind Lana and wrap his arms around her as she continued to feed him pieces of fruit over her shoulder.
It was at least 15 or 20 minutes before the first of the ostriches had finally been coaxed around the track and on to the finish line. The crowd was just settling back into their seats in preparation for the next 'real' race when at least forty or fifty trumpets started to blare around the imperial box. The long ornamental looking trumpets you always saw in old movies. The emperor had arrived.
'Showtime,' thought Lex, unknowingly mimicking a comment of Chloe's from earlier that day in the senatorial forum, as he psyched himself up to meet the most powerful man in this era, a man who could order your torture or death on the slightest whim. A man who in many ways had more power and fewer limitations than any mere President of the United States.
End of Chapter 26
Author: a_delacroix@hotmail.com
Chapter 26
Lex was starting to appreciate the comment Marcus had made about Coelia and her misplaced entourage way back on their first day in Tolosa, the day the reality of their situation was just sinking home. Today, he had been expecting a simple outing to the chariot races and suddenly he felt like he was traveling with a rap star, or a famous celebrity, or perhaps even the president. While Lex knew security was important and occasionally used a bodyguard or two when the situation warranted it, he had never traveled quite like this. For the mile and a half journey to the Circus Maximus complex their little party of four had grown almost beyond belief. First, each of them was riding in a sedan chair, Chloe and Lana's carried by six men and Lex and Clark's carried by eight men each. Then there were the ten slaves carrying hampers full of food. Lex could imagine the delicacies contained therein after the feasts they had attended in the past few days. If they remained at Chloe's estate much longer, he was going to have to seriously start hitting the gym.
Of course, in addition to all of the slaves, the group was being escorted by twenty five of the household guards. And finally, he mustn't forget the five piece musical ensemble that was going along for good measure. All in all, the simple little group of four he had envisioned when Chloe had first suggested it this morning had turned into a major production involving 75 people. Lex had to grin; they had celebrities, an honor guard, and even a band. All they needed were a couple of floats and they could be their own little Rose Parade.
The celebrity part had surprised him. Once Chloe's incredible secret had been exposed during their first day in Tolosa and she had gone on to tell a few stories from her amazing life, it was obvious Chloe was the richest person in the world throughout most of history, even up in the 21st Century. Yet back home she had chosen to live as a modest high school girl in Smallville, Kansas of all places. It was hard to believe the Smallville Chloe was the same person as the Roman Coelia, who so obviously flaunted her wealth.
However it was the reaction of people along the route to the Circus that had come as the biggest surprise to him. Oh, he was used to people stopping and staring when he used one of his limos in Metropolis, but here the response was much more than people just stopping and staring. No, the further they traveled, the more people stopped and bowed their heads until the party passed. And then some people even started going down on one knee. Lex hadn't particularly focused on Imperial Roman customs during his studies of history, but the behavior of the steadily increasing crowd was something he would have expected to have been reserved for the emperor, not for someone like Chloe, no matter how rich she was here. Certainly back at her estate everyone had been very respectful of her, but he hadn't seen anything like this kind of bowing and scraping.
For a moment or two, Lex thought the crowd's reaction might be for Lana and her Princess of Caledonia cover story that Chloe seemed to spread at every opportunity. And Lana definitely looked the part today with her shimmering white silk gown, golden tiara, and exotic little veil. However, regardless how enchantingly royal he thought she looked, Lex couldn't overcome the feeling something else was causing the crowd's reaction and he was curious what it was.
Arriving outside one of the main entrances to the Circus, Lex got a partial answer. They had just dismounted from the sedan chairs when a man broke through the wall of Chloe's guards and fell to his knees in front of Clark, not five feet from where Lex was standing.
The man looked up into Clark's eyes and said with a fearful look on his face like he expected to struck down at any second, "Forgive me, Lord. Is it true your offer is open to anyone?"
Lex looked at Clark who for an instant had an expression on his face like he didn't know what the man was talking about. However when he spoke, after waving back Chloe's guards, his voice was several notches deeper and much more powerful than Lex had ever heard from him before. In fact, his voice projected the same commanding presence he had always imagined Warrior Angel would possess.
"What offer was that, mortal?" Asked Clark.
'Mortal?' thought Lex. 'What the Hell?'
The man hesitated and then stammered out. "Ah . . . about the reward for the stones, Lord."
Lex realized the crowd and even Chloe's guards were listening with rapt attention as though Clark's response to this question was the most important thing in their lives. What was going on? What new story had Chloe and Clark been spreading?
Clark looked down at the man and then out across the crowd. "Yes, I, Ares, always keep my word. Whoever delivers the stones to me and then aids me in the coming glorious war against Zeus will be gifted with lordship over this realm and will also be gifted with the ambrosia of the Gods to maintain his rule until the end of days." Then Clark gently grasped the man's shoulders and raised him to his feet.
After the man had been escorted through the wall of guards, Lex turned to Clark. "Clark, what was that all about?"
Clark hesitated for a moment then sighed. "It's not Clark, it is Ares now. And Chloe's real name is Aphrodite; Coelia is just a cover story."
"What? After that guy's comment are you saying you and Chloe are now the Greek Gods of Love and War? That is certainly a step up from Lana being a mere princess."
Clark shrugged. "Well, you know Chloe. Never do anything by half measures. Just keep the names in mind when we get inside as we will be joining the emperor in the imperial box and the emperor does believe the whole 'God' thing."
"Why would the emperor believe that?" asked Lex. Then he remembered the rumors that had flittered around Chloe's estate while he was having lunch with Lucius Seneca. Wild stories about a woman flying and a man eating a sword. "Were you by chance in the senatorial forum this morning?"
Lex watched the emotions rolling across Clark's face. Finally his expression settled into a look of resignation and he nodded. "There are things we need to talk about, but we will need some time in private. For the moment let's just say any rumors you heard are probably more or less true. Anyway, please go along with the cover story."
Lex suddenly realized Clark had finally, after a year of playing coy, admitted to the big 'secret'. Perhaps with a little patience he would finally get the answers to what happened that day on the bridge and to all the other unexplainable events in the year since then.
"Perhaps, Ares, you should explain a little more about the cover story."
Clark nodded again and Lex could see after admitting to the 'secret' his mood was starting to brighten again.
"Okay, after the end of the Trojan war Zeus banished Apollo, Hermes, me, and a bunch of other gods and heroes to the Tartarus. Ah, Tartarus is in Hades," explained Clark.
"I have heard of Tartarus, Clark. Lowest region of Hades. It is said a stone dropped from Olympus would fall for nine days before reaching the earth. The same stone would have to fall for another nine days to reach Tartarus where Zeus was supposed to have exiled his own father."
"Yeah, that would be Cronus, a nice enough guy although thousands of years in Tartarus have taken their toll. Anyway, I had been trapped in Tartarus for the past six hundred years until six months ago when I came across a mysterious green doorway and after passing through it found myself back on earth in the mountains beyond the Black Sea.
"While I and most of the other gods were in Tartarus, Aphrodite has been trapped in the mortal realm all of these centuries. Currently, she is using the identity of Coelia to travel among the mortals. When I returned to this realm she could sense me, which is why she left Rome when she did.
"Anyway, the version we told to Venta, the intended audience, and Emperor Gaius, who happened to be in the forum in disguise, was that Carius' device, which opens the time-travel wormhole, has unknowingly been opening a harmonic wormhole into the Godly Realms. Aphrodite then did this whole trance thingy to convince Venta the Godly Realms is actually a parallel universe. The kicker to the story is how the stones which power Carius' device will allow any 'God' to directly open a wormhole between earth and the Godly Realms, which is why we are trying to acquire them."
Lex thought about this for a second. "And you did this whole song-and- dance for Venta in a crowded forum with hundreds of people listening? I was wondering about the crowd's reaction to our little parade during the ride over and this 'God' story certainly explains it. By now, everyone in Rome must be aware of the 'Gods and Mystical Stones' story and a lot of them even seem to believe it."
Clark shrugged again. "Well, we put on a pretty convincing show. And you know us Gods, we don't really care what mere mortals know or believe. Plus, if everyone in Rome is busy looking for the Professor and his meteor rocks, how does it hurt us?"
As Lex listened to Clark's comment and thought about all of his statements since the man had first burst upon them, he started to wonder if this 'God' story was starting to go to Clark's head. Or maybe he was only trying to get himself into character. What exactly had happened at the forum this morning? What was Clark's big 'secret'? What did he really know about Clark?
As Lex mulled over these questions and how to get the answers from Clark, the party entered the Circus Maximus stadium. This location had been used for chariot racing for hundreds of years, almost as long as Rome had been a united city-state. In the beginning it had merely been a convenient flat- bottomed valley between a couple of small hills where the spectators could watch and see the entire course. Over the years wooden stands were added for the growing crowds. Eventually the wooden structures were replaced with larger, more permanent stone and mortar construction. As a finishing touch, the emperor Augustus had faced the exterior of the structure and much of the open interior with marble.
The finished Circus had seating for 150,000 and today every seat seemed to be occupied. At least that's how it felt to Lex as he walked out of the cool, dimly lit passage and into the brilliant daylight of the imperial box. Not that he could instantly see all 150,000 people, but it certainly felt like he could hear every single one of them. The race currently in progress was in the final lap and the entire crowd was standing and cheering on their favorites.
For the moment, thoughts of Clark and his secret slipped to the back of Lex's mind as the spectacle and grandeur of the current situation commanded his full attention. He was actually here. Ancient Rome. At the Circus Maximus for honest-to-god chariot races. In the Emperor's own box. Lex had always had a secret, deeply hidden dream of someday being President, but would standing on the inaugural platform for the swearing-in ceremony begin to compare with this moment?
As Lex looked out across the circus to the opposite side perhaps 300 feet away and then up and down the incredible length of the course, the layout and feel was completely different than he had imagined. The ruins of the Coliseum that he had explored back in the 21st Century when he had visited Rome had felt a lot like a modern football or baseball stadium, but this Circus, which no longer really existed back home, was a lot different. The side directly across from his position was about the same distance as looking across a modern stadium, but the length of the course meant it extended left and right more than three football fields in each direction. With the steep seating along the sides and with the imperial box elevated at least seventy feet above field of competition, the on-going race almost looked like it was being run down at the bottom of a long, narrow canyon. The layout resulted in an experience unlike anything Lex had previously come across in a modern stadium or automotive race track.
Somehow the movie 'Ben Hur' never quite captured the feeling for the length of the course and therefore the length of the seating and magnitude of the crowd like Lex was experiencing at this moment. However the movie did get right the seven giant, fifteen foot tall, golden dolphins used to keep the lap count. They were mounted on the central barricade situated to keep chariots headed right from running head-on into those racing towards the left. As he watched, the final dolphin was being flipped down.
Looking down onto the course he could see this race was being run with chariots pulled by a pair of horses each. As the leaders entered the final turn, Lex counted seven teams still in the race with five more down in varying states of damage and injury. Fortunately, the clamorous roaring of the crowd mostly drowned out the screams of injured and dying men and horses.
From the colors on the chariots, harnesses, and charioteer's clothing, it was apparent each of the four color fractions had started with three chariots; however the blues were having the worst time of it with all three of their drivers down. Having noticed the colors on the teams Lex realized, with a second glance across the stands, how the spectators were mostly segregated by color as well. The blues, reds, whites, and greens all had their own seating areas, much like the home and away seating at big time college football games back home. With a final glance he noticed the greens were mostly centered on the imperial box.
He seemed to remember from before that the emperors were usually affiliated with the greens, but couldn't remember if it was something from his studies back home or something he had heard from Chloe since they had arrived back here. As he was musing over this and trying to burn this occasion into his memory, one of the subjects of his thoughts joined him at the railing to the box. As he was noticing her approach, he realized Chloe's silk gown was a shade of green which complimented the green most of the spectators in the immediate area were wearing.
With the current race over the noise level in the circus dropped sufficiently so Lex could address her in a conversational tone. "Aphrodite," began Lex with a nod of his head. "I see why you chose the color of the day. What about Lana? Will her white gown be an issue?"
"I see Ares has been filling you in," said Chloe, although from her expression it was clear she wasn't certain how much Clark had said. "And no, Lana's white gown will be perfectly okay. We will make it clear this is her first time at a Roman chariot race and if absolutely necessary that white is the 'official' color for the crown princess back in her homeland."
Before their conversation preceded any further Clark and Lana joined them, carrying plates of honeyed fruits from a stop at the refreshment table. Lana feed a piece to Lex before asking, "I thought the emperor was going to be here?"
Once Chloe finished chewing the piece Clark had similarly feed her, she answered. "The emperor should be here within the hour. I wanted us to have some time to get acclimated since none of you have been to a chariot race before, which would be extremely out of character for both Lex and Clark. Oh, by the way, Lex and Lana be sure to remember to address him as 'Your Highness' or 'Emperor Gaius' and try not to call him 'Caligula' as it is a nickname from his childhood which he really hates. At this early point in his reign he probably won't do anything if you make a mistake, but a couple of years from now he will have people tortured to death for less."
Lana went very pale at this comment and even Lex felt a twinge in his gut. Not that he didn't know this already, but having it repeated while waiting to see the actual man himself was a lot different than reading about it in some old, musty textbook.
"Hey," exclaimed Chloe after seeing the expressions on their faces. Grinning a silly Chloe grin, she continued. "Don't make this into a bigger deal than it is. Just stick close to Clark or me, we Gods look after our own."
Lex shook his head. "Chloe, I mean Aphrodite. Why did you decide on this whole 'God' scenario?"
"Oh, I would have to say the decision is based on thousands and thousands of years dealing with superstitious, barbarian civilizations. If your goal is just to enjoy a long peaceful existence, I believe I have said before it is best to be near the top of civilization. However if you need to get something done, particularly when the leadership is in turmoil and Rome's power structure will be in constant turmoil through out Caligula's reign, then you need to deal from a position of undeniable strength. If you have the guts to go for it and the ability to make it seem believable, the 'God Gambit' can give you the maximum freedom of operation. Everyone below the highest levels will just bow to your wishes and even those at the top will think twice before crossing you, as everyone knows Gods are notoriously fickle and will change their minds at the slightest provocation."
"It sounds like you have done this before," remarked Lex.
Chloe grinned again. "Oh, a few times. Well, more than a few times. Usually, I get started down this path when I am really pissed off at someone or something, like the Professor and Venta at this moment." Chloe shook her head. "Someday I will have to finish the story about me and the Sphinx and how I ended up the Supreme God for several hundred years over an empire next to which Rome is but a faint shadow."
Like on previous occasions when Chloe made comments like this, Lex felt both awe at all of the unbelievable things she had done through the many millennia of her life and also just a little fear that to her this was all just some game. Who else would have the audacity to arrive in a place like Rome and two days later try to convince the entire city she was a god? No 'keep a low profile and quietly put out feelers for the Professor'. She would take the extreme opposite approach and be as high as profile as possible and convince an entire city to do the task for her. In her place would even his egomaniacal father have the balls to try this approach? Not fucking likely.
And just like that, Clark's comment back at the spa in Tolosa about not crossing Chloe struck home to Lex. If she had the skills and the resources and the guts to convince an entire civilization to just back down and do her bidding, he never, ever wanted to seriously piss her off.
As Lex's thoughts wandered down this path they were interrupted by cheers, hoots, and hollers from the surrounding crowd. However the tone of the crowd was much less strident and more jocular than at the climax of the last race. The other three turned and stepped back up to the railing to see what was going on and Lex followed suit.
Looking down onto the racetrack, Lex's attention was attracted to motion down by the starting gate. The twelve gates at the starting line were all closed signaling the next race was about to begin. After several moments six of the twelve gates snapped open, however the chariots that raced out onto the course were totally unlike the contestants in the previous match. This time the chariots were like miniature versions of the real thing and each chariot was drawn by not a horse or even a pony, but by an ostrich! The chariots were manned by what at this great distance looked to be young boys. The crowd was laughing and cheering for the contestants who looked just like the real thing right down to the color coordinated racing gear.
"This is so cool," exclaimed Lana as she clapped her in hands in delight.
"Yeah," answered Chloe. "This is a real treat. Usually one of the 'between races' entertainments is to use dogs to pull the miniature chariots, but only on very rare occasions would you get ostriches. However, enjoy it while it lasts, they don't have the stamina of horses. They just race down to the far end once and then back here to the finish line, rather than going the standard seven laps."
They all stood and watched the ostrich race for several minutes. It quickly became apparent the race might cover a lot less distance than with horse drawn chariots, but the duration of the race would be at least as long. Ostriches might be huge in size for members of the bird family however they still had a brain the size of an acorn, or if you were extremely generous perhaps a walnut. This made them difficult to train or control. Within sixty feet of leaving the starting gate the six ostrich drawn chariots were headed in six different directions. Before long, the team in the 'lead' was the team which was the first to lose the driver. After the ostrich turned in its harness and tried to attack the driver, the youth quickly fled and by chance ran down the race course with the enraged ostrich in hot pursuit.
The crowd was laughing and gesturing at the antics as a number of slaves rushed out onto the track to herd the race participants in the right general direction. As Lex watched the crowd he saw many were using this time to head back into the structure of the circus to visit the food vendors, or the wine vendors, or who knows, perhaps one of the prostitutes he had seen during their trek to the imperial box. Lex himself took this opportunity to move up behind Lana and wrap his arms around her as she continued to feed him pieces of fruit over her shoulder.
It was at least 15 or 20 minutes before the first of the ostriches had finally been coaxed around the track and on to the finish line. The crowd was just settling back into their seats in preparation for the next 'real' race when at least forty or fifty trumpets started to blare around the imperial box. The long ornamental looking trumpets you always saw in old movies. The emperor had arrived.
'Showtime,' thought Lex, unknowingly mimicking a comment of Chloe's from earlier that day in the senatorial forum, as he psyched himself up to meet the most powerful man in this era, a man who could order your torture or death on the slightest whim. A man who in many ways had more power and fewer limitations than any mere President of the United States.
End of Chapter 26