They are of no use to man nor beast'

'Roman soldiers have no such weaknesses and the gladius,' gladius,' Thalius banged the sword on the arm of his chair, 'the Thalius banged the sword on the arm of his chair, 'the gladius gladius is our way of ruling the world.' is our way of ruling the world.'

Thalius handed the weapon to Ian. 'I should like you to have this,' he said, turning the sword over in his hands and revealing the initials 'IC' carved into the hilt. I have had the weapon inscribed for you, lest anyone hereabouts should fail to realise to whom it belongs.'

'The praefectus praefectus is a generous man,' Ian said simply, taking the sword and weighing it in his hand. 'It is a fine weapon and I am honoured to accept it.' is a generous man,' Ian said simply, taking the sword and weighing it in his hand. 'It is a fine weapon and I am honoured to accept it.'

'Use it wisely, and with prudence,' the praefectus praefectus told Ian, told Ian, 'but keep yourself alive with it. Life is the most precious thing that a free man can possess.'

The wine arrived and the talk turned to more trivial matters, Ian telling the governor of his adventures in the land of the Aztecs. However, just as he was beginning to relax in the atmosphere of power politics around the praefectus praefectus himself, a question was sprung on him that threatened to change everything. himself, a question was sprung on him that threatened to change everything.

'What know you, good Briton, of these Christians?'

Gemellus seems as surprised by the question as Ian. I am aware of them,' Ian noted. 'I am not a believer myself,' he added quickly, remembering where he was. 'I've always found their views to be rather narrow and inflexible. I am a rationalist and a humanist, personally. I don't feel that divinity is necessary in an ordered and scientific world.'

'Find you not that position to be a little... sad?' asked Gemellus.

Ian considered the question for a long time. 'There are many religions in the world, and, I dare say, many more yet to be born. They can't all be right,' he said eventually. 'A man of reason must ask himself whether he believes that free will is an illusion, which is what having G.o.ds who direct our every move would suggest? I cannot allow myself to believe in a world like that so I retain a healthy dose of scepticism about all religions.'

Thalius nodded, slowly. 'And the Christians?'

as good a creed as any, I suppose,' Ian suggested. 'Far better than some. They believe in many laudable things, but some of my experience often have an intolerance for those who do not share their views...' Ian paused, suddenly aware that he was speaking with his own prejudices of the twentieth century. Of cosy village churches and bigoted people who learned the Bible parrot-fashion without actually understanding its meaning. Who used the words of a man of peace as the justification for horrible acts of warfare, judicial murder, anti-Semitism and the oppression of women without bothering to know the context in which these statements were written. Or, refused to acknowledge the inherent contradictions within a work as large as the Bible.

People who, when they came knocking on your door and asked if you would like to let Jesus into your house, deserved a reply like, 'Yes, He can come in. But you'll have to wait outside.'

Perhaps I am being too hard on your Christians,' he said quickly.

'Are they making a nuisance of themselves?'

'Not specifically,' answered Thalius. He turned to his adviser. 'You tell him,' he ordered. 'I find the complexities of the matter too much of a bore.'

'Two Christians who live within Byzantium, Obadiah and Malaci by name, are to be crucified upon this afternoon,' began Gemellus. 'They were arrested by the Pharisee and accused of gross heresy and sacrilege several days past. Ridiculously trumped-up charges, of course, but they have been handed over to the praefectus praefectus after judgment for execution.' Gemellus paused. 'We have something of a dilemma on our hands.' after judgment for execution.' Gemellus paused. 'We have something of a dilemma on our hands.'

Ian gave Gemellus a curious glance. 'You support support this?' he asked, his voice raising in anger. Then he turned to the this?' he asked, his voice raising in anger. Then he turned to the praefectus. praefectus. 'You 'You both both support this support this outrage?' outrage?'

'Not at all. If there were any way to save these men, then I should be suggesting it most strongly,' replied Gemellus. 'But, unfortunately...'

'Well, here's a thought,' Ian suggested. 'How about you just don't do it? You don't do it? You tell the Jews that their ideas are utterly nonsensical and that you won't kill two innocent men, simply because they don't believe what tell the Jews that their ideas are utterly nonsensical and that you won't kill two innocent men, simply because they don't believe what they they believe.' believe.'

Thalius was taken aback by Ian's impa.s.sioned horror at the situation. 'I do not understand, my friend, why this offends you so,' he noted. 'You do not know these two unfortunates, do you?'

any needless death should offend anyone with an ounce of morality in them,' Ian replied, shocked at the callous Roman att.i.tudes to life and death. 'These men have done you no wrong.'

'They are Christians,' said Gemellus defensively. 'By the very nature of their religion, they deny the true divinity of Caesar.'

'As do the Jews,' admitted Thalius, although they are a little less, shall we say, "strident" about it?'

'That still doesn't give you the right to kill someone simply for their beliefs.'

Again, Thalius Maximus was surprised by such an argument. 'But does not both the Jewish and Christian holy text support the taking of life?' he asked. "'An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth". I am told this is a very popular chant when Roman soldiers are those upon the receiving end of summary justice.'

'The Christians also have a doctrine that states that let he that is without sin cast the first stone,' Ian added. 'I am aware of the contradictions, even if they are not.'

A lengthy silence followed, Ian finding himself breathing heavily. He knew how red-faced with anger he was, and how harsh his voice must have sounded to his allies. One part of his conscience was cursing him for putting his future in danger over the lives of two men whom he had never met. And in all probability never would. But another part of Ian Chesterton was standing on a soapbox at Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park, being loudly applauded by a crowd of concerned citizens.

'You provide wise and unexpected counsel, young Briton,' said Thalius at last. 'Your compa.s.sion and integrity do you great credit.

Unfortunately...'

At that point Ian actively stopped listening to what Thalius was saying. There was a lot of stuff about how the Pharisees were a powerful force within Byzantium and that Thalius needed a fight with the Jewish community far less than he needed the antipathy of the small Christian sect. He went on to say that the lives of two men were but a small price to pay for the continued peace of the city and that if their deaths saved the lives of dozens of others in rioting and mayhem then, surely, that was a price worth paying.

All the while, Ian simply shook his head. The end justifies the means,' he muttered. 'Horrible, just horrible.'

I am forced to wash my hands of the entire affair,' Thalius concluded. 'I will not interfere in a predominantly Jewish matter.

The executions will go ahead.'

Both he and Gemellus were clearly embarra.s.sed by the whole business. Ian thought about adding something, then decided that it wouldn't do any good. He stood and bowed to the praefectus praefectus and and his counsellor.

'Gentlemen,' he said. 'It is, in my experience, easier to regret something that you haven't done, than something that you have.'

And with that enigmatic thought, he left them.

Barbara was also learning about the forthcoming executions.

Hieronymous, contrary to her expectations, was showing neither a squeamishness when discussing such terrible events in front of his female guest, nor a bloodthirsty and vengeful delight at the prospect of nailing two heretics to a pole and watching them suffer and die. Instead, he talked about the death of the Christians in a chillingly matter-of-fact way. Barbara suddenly understood just how cheap life was in Byzantium. Just as the Doctor had predicted when they had arrived here. Death was a daily companion for these people. Physical and capital punishments were factors not to be dreaded but actually looked forward to as a release from the constant threat of pain and torture and death.

The rules were simple. Obey all the rules. If you don't, you get whipped. Or stoned. Or crucified. Or have your head chopped off. Or any one of a hundred other ways in which the Romans and the Jews and the Greeks amused themselves with methods of dispatch.

'Don't you find the idea of killing someone purely for their beliefs at all troublesome?' she asked Hieronymous in all seriousness.

'No,' the priest replied simply. 'For it is written, "whomsoever shall disobey the commandments of the Lord, surely he shall be put unto death".'

'Written on the wall of the local public lavatory, no doubt,' said Barbara through gritted teeth. 'I mean, can't you see how downright barbaric the concept is?'

Again, Hieronymous replied with a certainty that Barbara might have admired under different circ.u.mstances, but now just found sinister. 'An Arab woman, a Bedouin, stole into the temple one night to exact her vengeance upon one of the priests whom she had accused of terrible wrongdoing. She did it with no mercy, or pity. When found, and tried, she offered no mitigation for her dastardly and terrible crimes.'

'Was there any point?' asked Barbara. 'You'd already made up your mind she was guilty, surely?'

'Such things as guilt and innocence,' Hieronymous replied, 'can only be decided by the Lord G.o.d, in heaven. The Pharisees merely arbitrate on the execution of His law. Now, the issue of the death of the two Christians comes before us. I should attend, to be certain that the Romans have complied with our requests.'

Barbara shook her head. 'Oh, I'm sure you'll find them very efficient in such matters,' she noted. 'I don't think you should go.'

'Why?'

The real reason? Barbara managed not to say. Because I can't share a roof with someone who attends public executions without remorse. 'Such spectacles merely incite violence,' she noted, persuasively.

Before the debate could continue, a knock on Hieronymous's door brought the conversation to a halt.

Phasaei and t.i.tus, Hieronymous's deputies, entered into the priest's home, bowing respectfully to Barbara. She took an instant dislike to the pair of them, both of whom, Hieronymous had a.s.sured her, were usually involved in separate (though occasionally linked) power struggles against the old man.

'We were unaware that you were occupied in your private matters, Hieronymous,' noted t.i.tus with a cunning glance at Barbara. 'Had we known you were so busy...'

Hieronymous failed to rise to the offered bait. 'You are to attend the execution this afternoon in my place,' he ordered.

'You will not be overseeing the spectacle yourself?' asked t.i.tus, eager for any sc.r.a.p of information that would explain such a surprising development.

'No,' said Hieronymous, simply. 'I have more important matters to attend to.'

t.i.tus and Phasaei exchanged corner-of-the-eye glances.

'More important than the death of heretics?' asked Phasaei with none of the subtlety of t.i.tus's questions. 'Be you sure of this course?' Without waiting for Hieronymous to answer, Phasaei continued. Is it not written in the law of Moses, "he that offendeth the sacrifice unto the Lord shall bring about his own destruction"?' With a satisfied smile, Phasaei folded his arms and awaited Hieronymous's reply.

'The Lord also commands that his work should take the precedence over all other things, does he not?' asked Barbara, her sudden interjection surprising all of the three men.

'For do not the commandments also order that thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy G.o.d in vain. For the Lord thy G.o.d is a jealous G.o.d, visiting the iniquities of the father upon the children unto the third and fourth generations of those that wrong him in such times.'

Phasaei turned with a most startled expression on his face. I certainly did not mean to suggest...'

answer me this: the Lord who commanded that Moses say unto the Pharaoh, "Let my people go", demands also that the sin of ignorance be punished, yes?'

'The female guest of Hieronymous is wise and fair,' said t.i.tus with a cruel sneer that Barbara ignored.

'To err is human, to forgive is divine,' Barbara continued.

'And I am sure that Hieronymous forgives you your trespa.s.ses, as you forgive those that trespa.s.s against you, is that not so?' It was New Testament, not Old, but Barbara didn't care. She knew that she had won a great victory against ignorance and hate.

Phasaei and t.i.tus again exchanged glances. Glances that seemed to say, 'Oh, but she's good!'

'The twin pillars of the Pharisaic system are Torah and Tradition; the application of the laws of Moses to everyday life. I can see that such a n.o.ble approach is alive and well in the hands of you both, rabbis. The advisers of Hieronymous do this humble traveller great honour with your words,' Barbara continued, on the a.s.sumption that a little bit of flattery can usually get a girl a long way. 'Hieronymous thanks you both for the interest you have taken and asks that you represent him at the forthcoming...' She struggled to say the word 'executions'. At the forthcoming judgments.'

With a smile, she guided the two men towards the door. 'Gentlemen,' she concluded. 'It was the will of the Lord that we met this day. Go with my, and with the Lord's, blessing.'

She closed the door behind t.i.tus and Phasaei's bemused faces and turned away, putting a hand to her mouth to stifle her involuntary laughter. Then she saw Hieronymous's furious expression. I'm sorry,' she said. 'That was wrong of me.'

'No it was not,' replied Hieronymous. 'But it was foolish.

You have made two very dangerous enemies for yourself.

And for me. It is not difficult to run circles around Phasaei and his childish attempts at entrapment by the scriptures, but t.i.tus will not be dealt with so easily.'

Iola had been searching for Vicki most of the morning when she found her friend standing on the banks of the Bosphorus, staring into the distance. Vicki flinched as Iola tapped her on the shoulder and she spun around quickly.

'What?' Vicki snapped.

'h.e.l.lo,' said Iola. I've been looking for you everywhere.

What are you doing?'

'Thinking,' replied Vicki sullenly.

'You seem upset. Do you want to sit down and talk?'

'I'd sooner stand if it's all the same to you,' answered Vicki.

'What's so urgent?'

Iola was almost hopping up and down with excitement as she told Vicki about what she had learned. 'There's going to be a crucifixion,' she said, brightly. 'Soon, at Beylerbey Mount, beside the golden gates. That's where they always do it.'

Vicki was somewhat disturbed to find Iola had an intimate knowledge of such barbaric spectacles as public executions.

'Do they happen often?'

'Yes, yes,' said Iola, grabbing her friend's arm and literally dragging her along the road by the sea walls. The pungent smell of fish and sea salt filled the aft Vicki almost stumbled as she shook herself free from lola's grasp.

'Hang on, slow down,' she said, but Iola was hurrying ahead. 'What's the hurry?'

'Come on on,' said the girl, eagerly. 'We shall be late and miss it.'

Vicki had to run to keep up. 'Who's going to die?' she asked, hoping she didn't sound as morbidly curious as she felt.

But Iola seemed not to mind. 'Two Christians, apparently.

Heretics.'

Oh,' replied Vicki as they reached the base of the rising ground. 'Well, I'm sure they deserved it.'

The two girls ran to the dry-stone wall that surrounded the hillock and Iola pulled Vicki with her. They crouched down and peered over the wall at the hive of activity taking place fifty feet higher up the rolling gra.s.sland.

are you sure this is wise?' Vicki asked, her voice cracking as she said it. 'The Romans might...'

Iola gave her a sharp look. 'The Romans want people to see,'