XLV – Rome, Caesar And Really Overdue Library Scrolls

Dear Journal:

There I was, standing in a large, underground room (I was starting to wonder just how big the lower level was) staring in amazement at the biggest collection of scrolls I’d seen in my life. They lined the walls and were stacked on the floor.

I turned to one of the historians and asked the big question.

Where had all this material come from?

The library of Alexandria.

What . . . who . . . huh!?

The library of Alexandria.

I told the man I’d gotten it the first time. What I wanted to know was, how could that be true when the library had burned down in Julius Caesar’s time. The answer was even more unnerving.

We stole them.

Huh?

The guy started to repeat himself again, but was stopped by a withering glare from me. I stared at him and demanded an explanation. What I got didn’t help my nerves any.

It seems that, while Caesar was visiting Alexandria to sort out the royal squabble going on, he visited the library and was enamored of all the knowledge contained within. In true Roman fashion, he decided to steal . . . ‘er . . . appropriate the scrolls for himself. After all, those lazy, degenerate Egyptians didn’t really appreciate what they had.

So thinking, Great Caesar had some of his legionaires sneak in through the harbor entrance and grab all of that valuable knowledge. Afterwards, he arranged for the library to conveniently burn to the ground, blaming the fire on Egyptian soldiers.

Whatever the reason, I was stuck with what to do with all that material. Egypt would be mighty hacked off if they knew we had their missing property. I needed an answer fast. The solution turned out to be right over my head.

The Imperial Palace itself.

Chapter XLVI

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