I looked over my shoulder to make sure Felix’s Optio and men were out of earshot, then told him quietly, “So do I. I read quite a bit.”
He looked so surprised that I am sure a strong wind could have blown him over. I recognized that here was the opening I was looking for, in my attempt to make him an ally.
“In fact, I’ve built up quite a little library over the last few years,” I said, hoping my voice sounded casual. “If you ever have the urge, please feel free to borrow anything that strikes your fancy.”
Through the cautious expression, I saw the blaze of interest at my words, and recognized that look, for I suspect there were times when my own face was a reflection of his. Once I finally started reading for reasons other than reports and tallies, a whole world had opened up to me, and now rarely a night went by that I did not spend some time reading whatever I could get my hands on. I knew that look because I knew that feeling, and I hoped that this would be enough. Following the Street of the Soma, one of the principal north-south thoroughfares, we passed by the great Library, interesting the men not at all, but Felix and me greatly, and we exchanged a secret smile, knowing what the other was thinking.
“I could get lost in there for months,” he said wistfully as we marched by
“More like years,” I replied, my tone matching his.
~ ~ ~ ~
Upon reaching the Canopic Way, which is the primary east-west road, we turned left, and I marveled at how the roads not only ran straight, but how wide and well maintained they were. The streets were made of carefully fitted stone, much like our military highways, with curbs and gutters. Now the gutters were lined with people standing shoulder to shoulder and several people deep, and gazing down the length of the avenue, I realized that I could see almost a mile down the thoroughfare without my view being obstructed. And as I looked down the road, my heart sank; every step of the way was lined with people, a great brown, heaving mass, none of whom looked happy to see us.
“How many people you think live here?” Felix’s question mirrored my own thoughts, but I could only shrug.
“More than I’ve ever seen in one place is all I can say,” I answered.
“It has to be bigger than Rome.”
I looked at Felix in surprise. “You’ve been to Rome?”
He nodded. “Several times.”
“How does this compare?” I asked him.
He gave a short laugh. “This place is much, much cleaner.”
“So are the streets laid out this way?”
Another laugh. “Not even close. I don’t think there’s a street in Rome that runs straight for more than a few paces.”
That did not make sense to me and I said so. “But if we make our camps like this, and we copied from Alexander, and Alexander laid his cities out like this, then why don’t we?”
He shrugged. “I think it may be because it’s too late. The only way to make Rome look like this is to tear everything down and start over. And I don’t think that’s happening anytime soon.”
I was struck by a thought. “Don’t be so sure,” I replied. “I have a feeling Caesar is going to be changing a lot of things about Rome. If he looks at Alexandria and thinks it’s a good idea for Rome, he’ll do it. He’ll tear everything down and start all over again, and nobody will stop him.”
He looked at me for a moment, saying nothing. Then, “You have that much faith in him?”
“Yes.” I was about to continue, but decided against it.
“Well, that’s understandable. You’re his client, he’s your patron.”
I felt a surge of anger well within me, but I pushed it aside, forcing myself to think about it from someone else’s perspective. I recognized that it was a logical conclusion for one to draw, and in fact could be true, but I just had not realized it.
“I understand why you think so, Felix,” I said carefully, trying to decide how far to go. “But it’s not that simple. Caesar’s my general; in fact, he’s the only general I’ve ever followed for any length of time, except for that bastard Labienus. I was part of his dilectus when he raised the 10th. And say what you want, nobody can argue with what we did under Caesar because it’s never been done in the history of Rome. We conquered more territory and people in Rome’s name than any other time in our history. Through all that time, I’ve come to one conclusion. Caesar is blessed by the gods; he is truly their favorite. I’m not a particularly religious man, but there are things that even I can’t ignore, and all the signs are that Caesar will go down in the history of Rome as its greatest man.” I turned to look him in the eye. “Greater even than Pompey.” I could tell that he did not like my words about Pompey, but he said nothing. Turning my head back forward, I continued, “The simple truth is that I’ve never seen Caesar fail, and over the years I’ve simply come to the conclusion that it’s wiser to be on his side than against him. As you and the rest of the men should well know.”
He liked that even less than my remark about Pompey, but I was speaking nothing but the truth, and I saw that he understood that. He did not like it, but he accepted it.
There was a silence between us for some time before he shrugged. “That makes sense, Primus Pilus. I understand what you’re saying. It’s just. .”
He looked away, and I could tell he was torn about what he wanted to say next. “Go ahead, Felix, speak your mind.”
“It’s just that while I may understand what you say about Pompey and Caesar, I don’t think the men are ready yet to accept that reality. Just like you, they were part of Pompey’s dilectus and view him as the father of the Legion.”
I nodded, and I replied, “And I understand what you are saying, Felix, and I’ll bear it in mind. Thank you.”
By the time our conversation ended, we had reached the gates of the palace enclosure, home of the boy king Ptolemy. We halted, waiting for Caesar to make his way to the front of the formation so that he could be the one to ask for entrance, and I had to suppress a smile when he was preceded by his lictors. He strode up to the very nervous looking Nubian guards, big brutes of my size with skin so black it looked very much like a ripe plum, but before he could say anything, one of them turned to open a small door inset into the huge gate, disappearing from sight, drawing a chuckle from us. A moment later, the door opened and a creature that could have been the twin of Paulinus stepped out, although if anything he was more richly attired, wearing an elaborate wig, black as night. His face was made up in the same style of Paulinus, and when he spoke, I was shocked because it was as if this thing and Paulinus shared the same voice. His name, he said, was Pothinus, and after listening to his oily blandishments for a moment, I felt in desperate need of a bath. However, Caesar behaved with impeccable courtesy, showing none of the impatience he had displayed at the dock. After a brief exchange that I could not clearly hear, Pothinus turned to the guards, who in turn put their weapons down to begin straining against the gates. Ponderously, and with much shrieking protest from hinges that did not seem to have been oiled in my lifetime, the gates opened up, giving us a glimpse into what would turn out to be our home for the next several months.
~ ~ ~ ~
We marched into the enclosure, and thank the gods that the palace compound was so large, given what would take place. There was still not enough room for everyone to assemble in formation, so I was ordered by Pollio to send one Cohort back to the docks, accompanied by Nero, who was going to arrange billeting for the men. Choosing the Seventh to remain in the palace complex, there immediately arose another complication, with Pothinus haughtily informing Caesar that we were not allowed to remain under arms while inside the palace compound.
There was much back and forth over this, but Caesar ended the impasse by saying simply, “If you think your men can take their weapons, Pothinus, by all means order them to do so.”