A fantastic story and a breath of fresh air.. Historically and scientifically credible. Having studied Latin, early western civilisation and engineering, this story whetted my appetite for more of the same. This is reminiscent of many sci-fi books that were Hugo Award winners.
Kudos to Jaddua Ross and Cryptic.
Jolan'tru & cheers... RRF Captain Cybyl
PS: I may eventually forgive you for killing the STO Mac client for stories such as this so please keep them coming, oh, and please add Vegemite to the replicator menu
Thus spake Admiral Cybyl: Alea iacta est. Ibis redibis,numquam per bello peribis. Ergo, per aspera ad astra!
Cincinnatus was called to lead, to defend against the invasion of Rome, and given ultimate power as dictator. When he defeated the invaders, a short time after, he immediately resigned his post and returned to farming, instead of holding onto his power.
Cincinnatus is regarded as the ultimate example of Roman virtue, and in many regards George Washington followed his example when he was called to lead as President, especially when he turned down the offer to be made a king, and when he also refused a guaranteed third term in office as President.
If you truly believe that the "favorite" of Emperor Hadrian is more worthy of mention in a history class, than Cincinnatus, a man who was given ultimate power, and had the humility and courage to just simply give it up when he was he had finished his duty, instead of keeping that power and become "ruler for life", and by doing so, preserved Rome as a republic (instead of future leaders who held on to thier power and turned Rome into an empire, which eventually led to its downfall), you really did not learn the meaning of the history of Rome.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: "We think we've come so far. Torture of heretics, burning of witches, it's all ancient history. Then - before you can blink an eye - suddenly it threatens to start all over again."
"With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably."
History is history... its neither condoning nor accepting it, just presenting the facts as we currently know - at that time for that social class it was the norm, unlike nowdays
Changing fact to appease our current sensibilities is a major fallacy - and with the chosen setting, the story made sense as the only way an high tech assassin would fail was by assassinating the wrong target (exactly why she didn't cloak/get transported/detonate her rifle power pack/plant a bomb on the ship hull/other though I don't know)
History is history... its neither condoning nor accepting it, just presenting the facts as we currently know - at that time for that social class it was the norm, unlike nowdays
Changing fact to appease our current sensibilities is a major fallacy - and with the chosen setting, the story made sense as the only way an high tech assassin would fail was by assassinating the wrong target (exactly why she didn't cloak/get transported/detonate her rifle power pack/plant a bomb on the ship hull/other though I don't know)
She was arrogant. After all they were just primitives.
History is history... its neither condoning nor accepting it, just presenting the facts as we currently know - at that time for that social class it was the norm, unlike nowdays
Changing fact to appease our current sensibilities is a major fallacy - and with the chosen setting, the story made sense as the only way an high tech assassin would fail was by assassinating the wrong target (exactly why she didn't cloak/get transported/detonate her rifle power pack/plant a bomb on the ship hull/other though I don't know)
She was arrogant. After all they were just primitives.
Good point... still, as I say the only good type of kill is overkill
Well I for one am shocked and appalled. Who would have thought that bad things used to be socially acceptable in the past?
IMO, there are 2 distinctly separate points at hand:
1) on the one hand, it is true that pedophillia was 'accepted' in some cultures in the past.
2) on the other hand, why does that topic need to be discussed in a blog for this game?
No one familiar with history would really disagree with the first point, as that is simply part of historical fact(which does not mean I am saying it was "ok", but simply noting it happened). However, I think the second point is a valid question worth answering.
About Point 2, pedophilia was not discussed in the blog. In fact, I have never read anything about Hadrian outside of the fact that he was the guy who had the wall built in England. I really did not know anything about him or Antinous. Never heard of Antinous before, as a matter of fact. As I was unaware of Hadrian's predilections, I got nothing from the blog that pushed me into thinking that either. It was my research afterwards into this historical figure that I discovered the pedophilic connections. Even so, the subject is not the focus of the blog, not is it directly referenced in the blog so I see nothing wrong with it for what it did cover. More importantly it showed an heroic effort by a young man in defense of his king and that King's appreciation of the act.
I could see how the story might have been misconstrued by some as Antonius being a child, the "smaller shape", "Greek youth", "beardless face", etc. While history suggests he was 18-19 (taken as a "favourite" at 16-17), the writer did a poor job in describing him.
Also, keep in mind not everyone was a history major in college. I excelled at history in school and aced my Early Western Civ' course in college, and the names of Hadrian's lovers were not a topic of discussion, as there is a great deal of more important events and people to cover in that course/subject. Surely, Cincinnatus was a better person to spend time discussing instead, and if more people learned the lesson he presented to mankind, the world would be a better place.
Ahh Cincinnatus, the great Roman officer who was made dictator and got his job done in record time and resigned the office as quickly as possible. You know Cincinnati is named after George Washington who was called a modern Cincinnatus after he refused a third term as President.
History is history... its neither condoning nor accepting it, just presenting the facts as we currently know - at that time for that social class it was the norm, unlike nowdays
Changing fact to appease our current sensibilities is a major fallacy - and with the chosen setting, the story made sense as the only way an high tech assassin would fail was by assassinating the wrong target (exactly why she didn't cloak/get transported/detonate her rifle power pack/plant a bomb on the ship hull/other though I don't know)
She was arrogant. After all they were just primitives.
Even primitives know how to fight. Na'khul can talk as much condescending TRIBBLE as they want, but against a Roman Legion hand to hand, they're gonna get stomped on.
I'm still waiting on History of the World Part II.
"Rise like Lions after slumber, In unvanquishable number, Shake your chains to earth like dew, Which in sleep had fallen on you-Ye are many they are few"
Why in the world is pedophilia being shown as an acceptable behavior?
I'm really not sure what to make of it...
Daesk slipped into the rivers of the Nile under the cover of night. She swam easily up to the largest boat in the flotilla. She climbed up the side of the boat, flipping on her distortion field to hide her from any prying eyes.
Fortunately, she was able to avoid detection as she found her way to Hadrian’s cabin. For an emperor, he slept in surprisingly spartan surroundings. She disabled the single guard at the door to his cabin, lowering him gently to the ground.
She eased the cabin door open. The wood scraped on the floor, but she saw no stirring from the forms in the bed.
She raised her rifle and took aim at the larger form on the bed. Just as she was about to squeeze the trigger, the smaller form leapt out of the bed at her, tackling her to the ground in an impressive leap. Her weapon discharged, directly into the chest of the Greek youth atop her. He flew back into a seated position for a moment, his youthful beardless face registered shock and amazement. He looked down at the large hole in his chest, and slumped to the floor.
Hadrian had risen from the bed, and having seen the damage to his favorite, struggled with her for her weapon. “Empusa!” he shouted.
Two sailors came bursting in the room at the noise and helped Hadrian disarm and secure her. They bound her with rope.
As soon as she was secure, Hadrian bent over his favorite, Antinous. “You, who made my life complete, have now saved it. The world shall know your name,” as he wept over the cooling corpse.
“Emperor, what shall we do with this creature?”
“She can only be the spawn of Hecate. So back to Hecate she must go. She must be sacrificed, at midnight, at the crossroads. And none can ever know of the events of this night. It can never be learned that such a beast made an attempt on my life.”
“It shall be so, my lord.”
Maybe the person who wrote the story can explain the intent?
I didn't write the story, but the Classical world was full of such behavior. Especdially the classical Greeks who were extreme misogynists. In that period, it would be no more unusual than Donald Trump dating another 20 year old. Whether boys or girls, rich and powerful men of any period have always liked them young.
Quite to the contrary. The author uses that specific phrase more than once, which is what caused me to question what I was reading. "His Favorite" is clearly a euphemistic way of hiding male child to male adult sex.
If you think pedophilia is acceptable, then I can see why you might want to defend this. As for me, I'll have no part in it.
The general popular choice for a favorite would be a male somewhere in the late teens. Remember life expectances were a lot shorter in those times, children were considered marriagable and adult at the early teens. Again, when you're expected to be dead in your thirties, you need to reconsider your assumptions.
While she is a fictitious character, its amazing that even imaginary members of academia like to be over dramatic and hypocritical.
She speaks to arrogance of people believing thier timeline is the right one, yet helps someone whos job it is to protect the current "real" timeline to do thier job, and even assigns her students to help with the task.
I'm reminded of a scene in the Stargate SG-1 episode "Point of View" where Teal'c has just shot his own alternate timeline counterpart dead, pretty much in cold blood, due to concerns of the mission (the other Teal'c was still loyal to Apophis and would've given them away). "As I said, O'Neill, ours is the only reality of consequence."
"Great War! / And I cannot take more! / Great tour! / I keep on marching on / I play the great score / There will be no encore / Great War! / The War to End All Wars"
— Sabaton, "Great War"
Why in the world is pedophilia being shown as an acceptable behavior?
I'm really not sure what to make of it...
Daesk slipped into the rivers of the Nile under the cover of night. She swam easily up to the largest boat in the flotilla. She climbed up the side of the boat, flipping on her distortion field to hide her from any prying eyes.
Fortunately, she was able to avoid detection as she found her way to Hadrian’s cabin. For an emperor, he slept in surprisingly spartan surroundings. She disabled the single guard at the door to his cabin, lowering him gently to the ground.
She eased the cabin door open. The wood scraped on the floor, but she saw no stirring from the forms in the bed.
She raised her rifle and took aim at the larger form on the bed. Just as she was about to squeeze the trigger, the smaller form leapt out of the bed at her, tackling her to the ground in an impressive leap. Her weapon discharged, directly into the chest of the Greek youth atop her. He flew back into a seated position for a moment, his youthful beardless face registered shock and amazement. He looked down at the large hole in his chest, and slumped to the floor.
Hadrian had risen from the bed, and having seen the damage to his favorite, struggled with her for her weapon. “Empusa!” he shouted.
Two sailors came bursting in the room at the noise and helped Hadrian disarm and secure her. They bound her with rope.
As soon as she was secure, Hadrian bent over his favorite, Antinous. “You, who made my life complete, have now saved it. The world shall know your name,” as he wept over the cooling corpse.
“Emperor, what shall we do with this creature?”
“She can only be the spawn of Hecate. So back to Hecate she must go. She must be sacrificed, at midnight, at the crossroads. And none can ever know of the events of this night. It can never be learned that such a beast made an attempt on my life.”
“It shall be so, my lord.”
Maybe the person who wrote the story can explain the intent?
I didn't write the story, but the Classical world was full of such behavior. Especdially the classical Greeks who were extreme misogynists. In that period, it would be no more unusual than Donald Trump dating another 20 year old. Whether boys or girls, rich and powerful men of any period have always liked them young.
I didn't write the story, but the Classical world was full of such behavior. Especdially the classical Greeks who were extreme misogynists. In that period, it would be no more unusual than Donald Trump dating another 20 year old. Whether boys or girls, rich and powerful men of any period have always liked them young.
This is quite extremely offensive. Spreading western propaganda about my people with no factual basis is reprehensible. Do some research before spreading feminist propaganda like this.
Cincinnatus was called to lead, to defend against the invasion of Rom[...]
Do you always judge a man for two weeks of his life?
Cincinnatus was an oligarch of the worst kind. He believed only the traditionally "noble" people should rule. He was, in fact, an enemy of the whole concept of a republic. That may have changed after he became (relatively) poor himself, or not. We don't know.
Besides, whether he gave up power or just knew he would not be able to keep it once the crisis was over is debateable.
That wasn't at all a radical sentiment however. As a matter of fact it's really only been a few centuries that the idea that noble people should rule went out of vogue. I would no more judge him for that than I would him owning slaves. It's his value as a parable that makes his name worth knowing at all, so in this particular instance the rest of his life is irrelevant.
His two weeks as dictator and the example he gave by surrendering absolute power swiftly is the example that actually made him notable.
As for why he gave up power, it's the same as George Washington, he wanted to go home to his farm. The thing that makes it notable is that as Dictator he had six months of absolute power to whatever he wanted. He took precisely the amount of time it took him to resolve the crisis and did nothing else.
"Rise like Lions after slumber, In unvanquishable number, Shake your chains to earth like dew, Which in sleep had fallen on you-Ye are many they are few"
I could see how the story might have been misconstrued by some as Antonius being a child, the "smaller shape", "Greek youth", "beardless face", etc. While history suggests he was 18-19 (taken as a "favourite" at 16-17), the writer did a poor job in describing him.
Also, keep in mind not everyone was a history major in college. I excelled at history in school and aced my Early Western Civ' course in college, and the names of Hadrian's lovers were not a topic of discussion, as there is a great deal of more important events and people to cover in that course/subject. Surely, Cincinnatus was a better person to spend time discussing instead, and if more people learned the lesson he presented to mankind, the world would be a better place.
Ahh Cincinnatus, the great Roman officer who was made dictator and got his job done in record time and resigned the office as quickly as possible. You know Cincinnati is named after George Washington who was called a modern Cincinnatus after he refused a third term as President.
History is history... its neither condoning nor accepting it, just presenting the facts as we currently know - at that time for that social class it was the norm, unlike nowdays
Changing fact to appease our current sensibilities is a major fallacy - and with the chosen setting, the story made sense as the only way an high tech assassin would fail was by assassinating the wrong target (exactly why she didn't cloak/get transported/detonate her rifle power pack/plant a bomb on the ship hull/other though I don't know)
She was arrogant. After all they were just primitives.
Even primitives know how to fight. Na'khul can talk as much condescending TRIBBLE as they want, but against a Roman Legion hand to hand, they're gonna get stomped on.
I could see how the story might have been misconstrued by some as Antonius being a child, the "smaller shape", "Greek youth", "beardless face", etc. While history suggests he was 18-19 (taken as a "favourite" at 16-17), the writer did a poor job in describing him.
Also, keep in mind not everyone was a history major in college. I excelled at history in school and aced my Early Western Civ' course in college, and the names of Hadrian's lovers were not a topic of discussion, as there is a great deal of more important events and people to cover in that course/subject. Surely, Cincinnatus was a better person to spend time discussing instead, and if more people learned the lesson he presented to mankind, the world would be a better place.
Ahh Cincinnatus, the great Roman officer who was made dictator and got his job done in record time and resigned the office as quickly as possible. You know Cincinnati is named after George Washington who was called a modern Cincinnatus after he refused a third term as President.
History is history... its neither condoning nor accepting it, just presenting the facts as we currently know - at that time for that social class it was the norm, unlike nowdays
Changing fact to appease our current sensibilities is a major fallacy - and with the chosen setting, the story made sense as the only way an high tech assassin would fail was by assassinating the wrong target (exactly why she didn't cloak/get transported/detonate her rifle power pack/plant a bomb on the ship hull/other though I don't know)
She was arrogant. After all they were just primitives.
Even primitives know how to fight. Na'khul can talk as much condescending TRIBBLE as they want, but against a Roman Legion hand to hand, they're gonna get stomped on.
I'm still waiting on History of the World Part II.
Not me. I don't really want to see Hitler on Ice.
Didn't like The Producers huh?
I think the Viking Funeral is the only one we haven't seen in some form though.
"Rise like Lions after slumber, In unvanquishable number, Shake your chains to earth like dew, Which in sleep had fallen on you-Ye are many they are few"
History is history... its neither condoning nor accepting it, just presenting the facts as we currently know - at that time for that social class it was the norm, unlike nowdays
Changing fact to appease our current sensibilities is a major fallacy - and with the chosen setting, the story made sense as the only way an high tech assassin would fail was by assassinating the wrong target (exactly why she didn't cloak/get transported/detonate her rifle power pack/plant a bomb on the ship hull/other though I don't know)
You haven't watched a Predator movie, have you? O read the countless accounts how technologically superior Europeans and Americans have fallen to technological inferior foes when they were in an environment foreign enough to them.
Cincinnatus was called to lead, to defend against the invasion of Rom[...]
Do you always judge a man for two weeks of his life?
Cincinnatus was an oligarch of the worst kind. He believed only the traditionally "noble" people should rule. He was, in fact, an enemy of the whole concept of a republic. That may have changed after he became (relatively) poor himself, or not. We don't know.
Besides, whether he gave up power or just knew he would not be able to keep it once the crisis was over is debateable.
Anyway, the way Hadrian's relation with Antinous is described in the fiction piece is in no way inappropriate. What is that fuss about?
James Madison and a few of the Founding Fathers felt the same way. He insisted that the Constitution should put in provisons to protect the elite from a tyranny of the majority.
Comments
Kudos to Jaddua Ross and Cryptic.
Jolan'tru & cheers... RRF Captain Cybyl
PS: I may eventually forgive you for killing the STO Mac client for stories such as this so please keep them coming, oh, and please add Vegemite to the replicator menu
Cincinnatus was called to lead, to defend against the invasion of Rome, and given ultimate power as dictator. When he defeated the invaders, a short time after, he immediately resigned his post and returned to farming, instead of holding onto his power.
Cincinnatus is regarded as the ultimate example of Roman virtue, and in many regards George Washington followed his example when he was called to lead as President, especially when he turned down the offer to be made a king, and when he also refused a guaranteed third term in office as President.
If you truly believe that the "favorite" of Emperor Hadrian is more worthy of mention in a history class, than Cincinnatus, a man who was given ultimate power, and had the humility and courage to just simply give it up when he was he had finished his duty, instead of keeping that power and become "ruler for life", and by doing so, preserved Rome as a republic (instead of future leaders who held on to thier power and turned Rome into an empire, which eventually led to its downfall), you really did not learn the meaning of the history of Rome.
"With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably."
Changing fact to appease our current sensibilities is a major fallacy - and with the chosen setting, the story made sense as the only way an high tech assassin would fail was by assassinating the wrong target (exactly why she didn't cloak/get transported/detonate her rifle power pack/plant a bomb on the ship hull/other though I don't know)
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She was arrogant. After all they were just primitives.
Good point... still, as I say the only good type of kill is overkill
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About Point 2, pedophilia was not discussed in the blog. In fact, I have never read anything about Hadrian outside of the fact that he was the guy who had the wall built in England. I really did not know anything about him or Antinous. Never heard of Antinous before, as a matter of fact. As I was unaware of Hadrian's predilections, I got nothing from the blog that pushed me into thinking that either. It was my research afterwards into this historical figure that I discovered the pedophilic connections. Even so, the subject is not the focus of the blog, not is it directly referenced in the blog so I see nothing wrong with it for what it did cover. More importantly it showed an heroic effort by a young man in defense of his king and that King's appreciation of the act.
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Ahh Cincinnatus, the great Roman officer who was made dictator and got his job done in record time and resigned the office as quickly as possible. You know Cincinnati is named after George Washington who was called a modern Cincinnatus after he refused a third term as President.
Even primitives know how to fight. Na'khul can talk as much condescending TRIBBLE as they want, but against a Roman Legion hand to hand, they're gonna get stomped on.
I'm still waiting on History of the World Part II.
Noted mainly in history for having a wall built in Britain, having giving up on efforts to conquer the Scots.
I didn't write the story, but the Classical world was full of such behavior. Especdially the classical Greeks who were extreme misogynists. In that period, it would be no more unusual than Donald Trump dating another 20 year old. Whether boys or girls, rich and powerful men of any period have always liked them young.
The general popular choice for a favorite would be a male somewhere in the late teens. Remember life expectances were a lot shorter in those times, children were considered marriagable and adult at the early teens. Again, when you're expected to be dead in your thirties, you need to reconsider your assumptions.
.. Because my last one has been devolved to primordial slime.
Submit your own answer here.
I'm reminded of a scene in the Stargate SG-1 episode "Point of View" where Teal'c has just shot his own alternate timeline counterpart dead, pretty much in cold blood, due to concerns of the mission (the other Teal'c was still loyal to Apophis and would've given them away). "As I said, O'Neill, ours is the only reality of consequence."
— Sabaton, "Great War"
Check out https://unitedfederationofpla.net/s/
My character Tsin'xing
^This.
Tal'Shiar/Reman Resistance/Romulan Nemesis uniform, pls.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7403/13262502435_5604548f2c_o.png
^Also this.
Tal'Shiar/Reman Resistance/Romulan Nemesis uniform, pls.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7403/13262502435_5604548f2c_o.png
That wasn't at all a radical sentiment however. As a matter of fact it's really only been a few centuries that the idea that noble people should rule went out of vogue. I would no more judge him for that than I would him owning slaves. It's his value as a parable that makes his name worth knowing at all, so in this particular instance the rest of his life is irrelevant.
His two weeks as dictator and the example he gave by surrendering absolute power swiftly is the example that actually made him notable.
As for why he gave up power, it's the same as George Washington, he wanted to go home to his farm. The thing that makes it notable is that as Dictator he had six months of absolute power to whatever he wanted. He took precisely the amount of time it took him to resolve the crisis and did nothing else.
I think the Viking Funeral is the only one we haven't seen in some form though.
You haven't watched a Predator movie, have you? O read the countless accounts how technologically superior Europeans and Americans have fallen to technological inferior foes when they were in an environment foreign enough to them.
James Madison and a few of the Founding Fathers felt the same way. He insisted that the Constitution should put in provisons to protect the elite from a tyranny of the majority.