Disclaimer: Tavington and Bordon are not mine. Ferguson is his own man, and his girls are—his girls. Everything else belongs to me.

Here is the promised sequel to The Door Into Time. A few years later, we get a glimpse of our hero, his family, and the progress of the Aurora Project.

Episode 12: Tavington's Atlantis, part 1

Prologue: May, 151 A.D.

A letter from his old friend! The tired man at the writing table smiled. It was unexpected, but a great pleasure. Setting aside the burden of office for a moment, he opened the missive to read the news.

Gaius Ulpius Naso to Lucius Didius Plautianus, greeting!

My dear Lucius, I hardly know where to begin, but perhaps it is just as well to start somewhere, and try to make sense of my chaotic thoughts as I write. The extent of the disaster in which I find myself enmeshed is too broad for excuses or fine rhetorical style. I have thrown myself on the Emperor's mercy, and perhaps this will be my last message to you or to anyone. If nothing else, I can lay before you the whole tale, neither denying nor excusing my part in it.

It was the Atlanti, of course. Whatever you have heard, be assured that it is all paler than reality! I, as the governor's deputy, have dealt with them personally, and I can only caution you to avoid my fate. As everyone knows, the appearance of these mysterious people has set the entire empire on its ear. From Iberia north to Lusitania, and south to Africa, and on and on and on, spreading awe, confusion, and the wildest rumors in their wake.

When that extraordinary iron ship, sailing against the wind with its strangely shaped crimson sails, utterly without oars, appeared in the harbor of Gades, we hardly knew what to make of it. The men—and women!—who crewed the ship were admirably disciplined, and were fluent in a curiously old-fashioned, formal kind of Latin. Amongst themselves, however, they conversed in a language known to no one else.

Their leader, Patricius Verguso, was no barbarian warrior, indeed, but a soldier, a diplomat, and a shamelessly sharp trader. What was even more extraordinary was the fact that the ship was crewed by women. Their very pilot was a woman of a beauty that one might justly describe as divine. Uccarte is as close as I can pronounce her barbarian name, though she was addressed as the captain of the ship by the soldiers, her crew, and by Verguso himself.

It soon became clear that these were odd people indeed: so odd that it was difficult to understand what they wanted or how they thought. Their very garments, of fine weave and color, expertly tailored, provoked interest, even considering that they wear barbarous breeches, both men and women. At first we thought that there was some custom that demanded that men wear red coats and women blue; but my secretary Nikeratos, who learned as much as anyone about the Atlanti before he went absolutely mad and decided to sail away with them, discovered that the red coats simply signified that the wearer was a soldier. The blue coats were worn by the women, not because they were women, but because they were sailors. Curious, most curious.

They seemed no less puzzled by us, and even Verguso, who rarely showed anything but detached amusement, was surprised by the intense interest shown by all in the net-like edgings of his undertunic, which they call "lace," (perhaps derived from lacerate?) but which have become fashionable, and ubiquitous, as reticulata. As you may know, even stationed as you are in faraway Pannonia, it has since become the rage in Rome. An expensive fashion, however; for all attempts to reproduce the subtle patterns have either failed, or proved to take the weavers and embroiderers weeks to finish even the smallest piece. Another mystery of Atlantis!

They offered in trade a great quantity of saccharum. Hardly unknown, you may say, but the saccharum of the Atlanti is the finest, the purest, incomparably the best in the world. The Atlanti, for their part, do not reveal how they create the delicate, sand-like texture so prized by all. They were willing to drink our wine, but amongst themselves drank strange hot drinks that have also become very much the fashion, especially when sweetened by saccharum. Above all, theobroma, rarest and most precious of spices, is their gift to the world. They call it "coco" in their own strange tongue, but theobroma is its rightful name—"food of the gods" indeed!

In addition, they brought with them a rich, deep, and delicious wine. Atlantean wine is brownish red in color, and quite strong. A superior wine; and I believe the Emperor himself was sent some, curiously stored in large glass bottles! The Atlanteans are prodigal with their fine glass.

Also in bottles was something that I had never experienced. Verguson called it "rum," but I would call it a liquid thunderbolt. He laughed, and said that was not an unsuitable name. The gods help us if the Atlanteans were to ever sell it in large quantities! I swear to you, one is dead drunk after one goblet!

They had many other objects of beauty and rarity—more magnificent glassware; exotic, unknown fruits. To the governor, they made a large present of silken cloth of the richest, darkest red, with an almost carpet-like pile, which they called "velvet."

The Atlanti were asked by me and by others where they came from, and they replied with prudence that they came from an island, and that, yes, they were from "New Atlantis." Verguso, though an important man among his people, is answerable to his commander, whose title he gave variously as "dux" or "princeps." Further, it was apparent that this Prince Tabitus is not a king as we understand the word. Nor is he what the Greeks would describe as a "tyrant." Instead, he is the head of government, and commander of their army, but himself answerable to a body of leading citizens, and to some extent to his people at large. Thus, he functions more as a consul, but with no defined term of office.

As to how many Atlanti there are, we received no indication. When asked directly, Verguso would smile and talk of other things. They are a sophisticated and educated people. Even the common soldiers of his guard were all literate. I know this for a fact, for I had them followed about the town to all the places dear to travelers—to the taverns, to the brothels, to the various places of note. Even to the temples, which they examined with interest, but at which they would not sacrifice. About their religion, there is drawn a veil of secrecy.

The governor, that arrogant fool Vinicius, found them of great interest from their first encounter. Would that he had never seen them, as you will agree when I tell you of the misfortunes arising from this ill-fated meeting. He invited them to a feast at his residence, and later to join him in his box at the Games. Verguso and his legate, Bordo, conversed with great charm, and enjoyed the dishes and the entertainment at the feast. Their striking scarlet dress attracted much attention from the ladies and from the slavegirls, whom they treated with quite exceptional kindness. One of the dancing girls, a valuable slave of the governor, disappeared shortly thereafter, and is believed to have run away and joined the Atlanti on their ship. Nor would they have revealed her presence.

For it appears that there are no slaves among the Atlanti, and furthermore, they view the practice of owning slaves with the same abhorrence as did the philosopher Demokritos and his school. They consider a slaveowner degraded by the possession of other human beings. Verguso and Bordo, indeed, were neither rude nor even very vocal on this issue, but the philosophers and women sailors of the Atlanti certainly were. Everyone is free, and all are educated, boys and girls alike, in the same schools at state expense. Most Platonic!

What they wanted in return for their trade goods was as surprising as the people themselves. Gold: yes, and they left with plenty of it. However, they were very interested in books, especially old ones. Their philosophers had a list of books they wanted. I believe they paid a high price for a play by Euripides, and some astronomical treatises of Aristarchos. The Atlanti also, more mundanely, bought a great deal of fine leather, a large quantity both of sulfur and of cork bark, and masses of lead and copper ingots.

In addition, they wanted some well-educated individuals, to learn more of us. They were sold some learned Greek scholars, one Amyntor the Mathematician from Massilia, and two well-trained slave tutors. One of them was Lysis, who educated my sister's children. The Atlanti told them that they wished them to return with them to their island, and promised them their freedom if they did. Not surprisingly, the men were enthusiastic in their accord.

As I indicated, the Atlanteans attended the Games as the governor's guests, and their reaction was more Greek than Roman. Several were obviously fighting men, and they observed the armed combat with interest, and showed both experience and discrimination as they judged the various gladiators' skills. The earlier combats, with wooden swords, or for first blood, they observed with evident pleasure. As the fights grew in intensity, it was plain that they disapproved. A fight to the death merely for the entertainment of the populace they found offensive. The executions by wild beasts of criminals and political agitators caused them great disgust, and they felt the delight of the spectators to be repulsive and depraved.

Naturally, I explained to these foreigners that the Games are a great tradition, and one with a vital purpose: to make the citizens brave. Verguso was unimpressed with this reasoning, and replied briefly that he did not see how watching the death of others, especially helpless women, from a place of safety could make anyone brave. "Cruel, I'll grant you," he agreed. "Indifferent to the sufferings of others—but not brave. They risk nothing themselves."

Of course, we have all heard these arguments before: and from some of the best in our Empire. It was disagreeable to feel that these cultivated and powerful strangers were sitting in judgment of our mores, and finding them wanting. But to end the Games would create a profound social and political crisis. The Games amuse and pacify the masses: they provide an opportunity for great men to display public generosity, and allow them to further their political aspirations. What could replace them? The theater, I suppose, or horse and chariot racing—but none of those things truly has the visceral life-or-death excitement of a battle for supremacy between a man and a lion! Or a staged battle!

I asked what the Atlanti did for entertainment, and it seems they too have several types of drama, and attend musical concerts and lectures. They also participate in ball games of a highly ritualized kind. Most extraordinary of all, they dance. I give you my word that Verguso himself told me that the men and women of the Atlanti dance together as partners at large gatherings convened for that very purpose, and it is considered a polite social amusement. I know what you are picturing, and I cannot quite banish the idea myself, but without actually living among the Atlanti, we can never know if our envisioned Atlantean orgies are real or not.

The Governor showed increasing fascination with the Atlanti, wishing their presence ever more frequently at his functions, both public and private. He conversed frequently with many of the Atlanti, and sent expresses to the Emperor to relay the news and request instructions. Fearing that the Atlanti would depart before he could receive an answer, he planned tours of the province, and various entertainments to keep them occupied. I did not know until later that he had a private, and most insidious reason for his apparent devotion to duty. By the time the Atlanti returned for their second visit a year later, it became clear.

Perhaps it is already evident to you: you were always a better student of philosophy than I. You may recall the reference to Atlantis in Plato's dialogue Kritias. There is a description of the grandeur of ancient Atlantis, and the events leading to its fall. Much of the description can be understood as allegory, depending upon which school of philosophy one's teacher held to!

Vinicius, alas, interpreted it all too literally. At any rate, his vanity, his greed, his cupidity resulted in a disaster on the scale of the defeat at Carrhae, or the massacre in the Teutoberg Forest. I will relate the events in the best order my disordered wits can contrive…

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Notes: Theobroma (food of the gods) is the real scientific name of cocoa. Or more properly, Theobroma cacao is the scientific name of the chocolate tree.

Saccharum is Latin for sugar.

The ancients did not stopper their wine jars with cork, but with clay or wax or a combination of the two.

Madeira wine, such as the Atlanteans produced, is a fortified wine; quite beyond Roman technology, and with a higher alcoholic content than ordinary wine.

Strong spirits, such as whiskey, rum, gin, etc., were unknown in the ancient world. Distillation was not sophisticated enough.

Next: Part 2--A Family Vacation. Tavington reflects on the progress of the settlement of New Atlantis, and his people's own view of that first contact with Roman culture.