The cell, deep in the bowels of the Coliseum, was poorly lit by four large spluttering candles fixed upon brackets screwed onto the stone walls. Hanging waist height from three of the walls were long chains topped with wrist and ankle bracelets. Black stains discoloured the stonework and areas of the surrounding packed earth floor. The confined space smelled of stale urine, decay and death.
Richard looked around for Noah but he was nowhere to be seen. The four guards, who had dragged him roughly down several flights of wooden stairs, stood menacingly over him as if daring him to mount a protest. Not a word was spoken and Richard decided it best to act deferentially, not wishing to further exacerbate a potentially deadly situation.
‘I would like to speak to Noah,’ he said quietly. ‘We came to the Coliseum as invited quests. I cannot understand what I have done that is so terrible. Why have you brought me to this place? Can you please get in contact with Noah and ask him to come and tell me what is happening please?’
The tallest guard, the one who appeared to be in charge, jerked his head in a motion that made it clear the other three should follow him. They departed the cell without a word. The last one out slammed the heavy wooden door with such force that the draught created extinguished the flickering flames of two of the four candles on he walls. Richard then heard a dull thud followed by a loud scraping noise - it was the sound made by a heavy oak beam being thrust into iron slots screwed on the door to the prison cell. He sank to the floor and draped both forearms across his bent knees. He stared in disbelief at the door and shook his head several times before allowing it to drop down to come to rest on his forearms in an unspoken gesture of foreboding, confusion and despair.
***
The crowd in the Coliseum was vociferous, excited, and wildly expectant. The event about to be witnessed only occurred on the last Sunday in every month, a day known as Immaculation Sunday when those who dared to transgress Terra Nova’s strict societal code were cleansed, a nasty euphemism for death. Not only had the original settlers and their descendants on Terra Nova created the city of Rome exactly as it was before the birth of Christ but their present government had also introduced and duplicated its cruelty towards slaves and other unfortunates who transgressed the laws and judicial processes of Leviticus, the city where Richard Moss was now incarcerated and where his mentor, Noah, has been demeaned and humbled.
Ezra, the Great Leader, had severely admonished Noah for the way in which he allowed the insolent Earthling, Richard Moss, to insult him while he was exposed to the sight of his adoring public. His offence was so serious that punishment by Immaculation was passed upon him, the sentence to be carried out on the next designated Immaculation Sunday, four weeks hence. Noah, on learning of the sentence, had pleaded for clemency but to no avail. Ezra, a hard-line pragmatist, had never been known to annul a sentence once it had been passed. Consequently Noah now feared that the strategy for returning Richard to Earth as its saviour was now well and truly doomed.
***
Richard could hear the baying of the crowd even from the lowest depths of the Coliseum where he was incarcerated. He was confused, frightened and friendless. He now knew what it meant to be really alone and unable to do anything to rectify the situation. Although Immaculation was to be imposed upon him he was, thankfully, unaware of the sentence. He had not spoken to Noah since the unexpected meeting with Ezra and his accompanying phalanx. Consequently he could only wonder with fear and trepidation why he had been unceremoniously dumped into a stinking cell without any kind of rational explanation.
What on Earth is that terrible noise? He thought before realising, with a wry hint of irony, the absurdity of his thinking.
At that moment he was horrified to hear an even more disturbing noise. A blood-curdling, terrified series of screams were emanating from the darkness of the dank corridor outside his cell. He rose to his feet and scurried to the small, barred aperture built into the cell door. Although the corridor was inadequately lit by a few flickering candles he could still make out the ominous figures of the same four guards who had recently dragged him to the cell. They were now hauling a man along the corridor by his hands and arms, his unshod, bloodied feet were bouncing off and over the uneven cobbled stoned floor, leaving a trail of black stains in his wake.
‘Mercy, mercy,’ the man cried over and over again between his terrible screams. ’Please, please - have mercy upon me.’
The taciturnity Richard had already witnessed by the four guards was evident once again. Their faces were expressionless, their demeanour fixed, their intentions obvious.
This man, he thought, is being dragged to his death.
The screams of the deranged man finally merged with the noise of the crowd, leaving Richard staring through the cell grill into the empty, silent corridor a look of total despair shrouding his ashen face.
‘This is a bloody nightmare,’ he said. ‘Damn you Noah, damn you to bloody Hell.’
Chapter Thirteen
‘I protest in the strongest terms,’ said Noah looking Ezra straight in the eye, something he had not dared to do so overtly in the past. ‘Richard Moss is unused to our ways and acts only as do his fellow citizens on Earth. This must be taken into account for he is unaware of the ways of Terra Nova.’
Ezra was reclining on a marble, throne-like arm chair in the Forum of Leviticus. Terra Novan law allowed for judgements to be challenged face to face with whoever had passed the sentence. Ezra was the ultimate legal authority on Terra Nova, and consequently was rarely if ever challenged. It was to Noah’s immense courage and credit that he was prepared to stand up for Richard Moss even though, by doing so, he placed himself in great peril. Terra Novan law was clear; if a challenge failed, the person making the challenge would receive the same sentence as the person for whom the challenge was raised. Needless to say, such retribution dissuaded all but those with limitless courage from challenging perceived injustices.
‘I heed not your protests,’ growled Ezra. ‘If your challenge is to be successful you must present cogent argument of sufficient strength that persuades me to reverse my original decision. So far you have not done that. I suggest, therefore, that you consult your legal advisors and then present your challenge again but, remember this well, fail and you too will face Immaculation.’
Noah’s face had turned the colour of virgin chalk. The emergence of a long forgotten emotion, fear, caused him to tremble uncontrollably at the mention of Immaculation.
‘I beg your indulgence Great Leader,’ answered Noah. ‘Unless I felt a great injustice was being done I would not deign to challenge your decision. I shall do as you instruct and will approach you again once I have gathered together all that is required to persuade you consider a change of mind. I trust in your beneficence and humbly request your indulgence.’
Ezra’s demeanour softened slightly. He and Noah were about the same age and their paths had crossed, diverted and crossed again many times over their lifetime. Nevertheless, thought Ezra, to have achieved the exalted position of Great Leader while Noah was merely an intergalactic traveller, spoke volumes about the social and political gulf that now existed between them. Richard Moss was merely an expendable pawn to be used, manipulated and, if necessary, disposed of as seen fit. Grandiose ideas about saving God-forsaken Earth Mark ll from itself were considerations outside of Ezra’s remit, and he did not allow such puerile, inconsequential matters to occupy his time or indeed his conscience. In fact he had completely forgotten his approval of the plan to bring Moss to Terra Nova.
Noah backed slowly away from Ezra who remained seated, imperiously, upon the marble arm chair. A dismissive wave of Ezra’s foppish hand signalled the end of the one-sided debate. A saturnine glaze returned to darken the Great Leader’s face - he raised his other hand to support his chin thereby managing to appear coolly sculpturesque and imperiously, majestically, aloof.
That’s put h
im firmly in his place, he silently mused. I don’t think I’ll see him challenging my authority again, damned foolish upstart!
Chapter Fourteen
The cell door shook violently as someone began to withdraw the two weighty oak shafts which held the door tightly shut. A face appeared at the grill. It was one of the guards whom Richard had come to know well, if only by sight. Not a word had been spoken to him during the seven days of his incarceration. The guards merely brought food and water, which was placed on a small stool in the corner of the cell. That was it, not a word, not a hint of recognition, nothing.
This time, however, it was different. Richard recognised a familiar voice outside in the corridor. The cell door swung open accompanied by a loud screeching as rusted hinges protested at being moved without the benefit of a coating of grease. Into the acrid stench and eye-watering mustiness of the cell stepped Noah still dressed in a toga, still looking as if he was an extra in a Hollywood movie. His nose twitched as the stale odour permeated his flared nostrils while his eyes blinked several times as if attempting to see beyond the immediate area of the entrance and into the furthest, darkest recesses of the cell. He could barely make out the form of Richard, who was sitting against a wall on the hard stone floor, his arms wrapped around his knees, in a position of abject despair.
‘Richard, Richard, it is I, Noah.’
If Noah was expecting a joyful, welcoming response he was to be disappointed. All he received in return was a baleful stare from a pair of bloodshot eyes that projected only anger and animosity.
Noah drew closer.
‘Richard, please, please allow me to explain... ’ His words had not the slightest effect on Richard who continued to stare, apparently unseeing, at Noah. ‘Richard, you must listen to me for unless you do we are both in very serious trouble.’
Noah feared the worst. The seven days during which Richard had been in solitary confinement had taken its toll. He had the appearance of someone who had lost his mind. The shocked look on his face, the wildly staring eyes, the apparent inability to speak, were all signs of a descent into lunacy.
‘My Goodness,’ gasped Noah. ’What have they done to you?’ He bent down on his haunches and took hold of one of Richard’s hands while, with his other hand, he brushed back a strand of dirty, unruly hair that was falling across Richard’s haggard face. ‘I am so sorry for what has happened to you Richard. Forgive me, please, please forgive me.’
Richard suddenly jumped to his feet and began dancing, spinning, careering wildly around the cell. He was yelling, unmelodious like a wayward child, at the top of his voice: ‘Noah thinks I’m crazy, Noah thinks I’m crazy.’
A guard poked his head around the open cell door.
‘What’s going on?’ he demanded ‘Is the prisoner causing problems?’
Noah, now on his feet, shook his head several times, held up a nervous hand and motioned for the guard to leave.
‘Everything is fine. Please close the door behind you - tight,’ he ordered.
Noah waited until the door slammed shut then turned and faced Richard, who, completely exhausted, was now on his knees, his breath coming in staccato, gasping bursts. He looked at Noah, bit his lower lip and clasped both hands around his face. Tears streamed down his face.
Noah felt an overwhelming surge of compassion, the several millennia of tinkering with the emotional genetics of successive generations of Terra Nova’s inhabitants was swept away in an instant by an unexpected bonding between two species of human beings, albeit from different galaxies. Noah took Richard in his arms, patted him gently on the back and waited for the sobbing to subside. Words were an irrelevance. What Richard needed more than anything was the comfort that comes from one human being empathising with the troubles and emotions of another human being. Fortunately, he was now in receipt of such comfort from his one and only friend, Noah.
***
Several minutes passed with Noah and Richard clasping each other in silence. Richard’s shaking body slowly quietened until only the occasional shudder reminded Noah that he had a seriously disturbed person not only upon his hands but also upon his conscience. It was a hard fact to assimilate but, with a great deal of resolution and determination, Noah unequivocally accepted responsibility for his charge. After all it was he who had led the expedition to Earth, it was he who had “persuaded” Richard to join him on the journey back to Terra Nova and it was he who was patently derelict in his duty to ensure Richard was protected from the vagaries of an alien planet. A sudden, persistent knocking on the cell door invaded the intimacy of the relationship that was taking place within the cell.
‘Are you finished?’ A booming shout reverberated through the door’s grill. ‘Can I lock the prisoner up again?’
Noah rose to his feet and hurried to the door, his toga swirling in his wake.
‘What is your name?’ he demanded, thrusting his face against the open grill in the door. ‘You are the most insolent person I have ever met and I will report you to your superior officer as soon as I leave here. Do you not know to whom you are being so insolent you impudent buffoon?’
Noah’s surge of anger surprised the guard who backed away at the unexpected onslaught.
‘Ssssorry sire,’ he stammered. ‘I was only looking to your safety because you have been so long and so quiet in there with the prisoner. You had me worried sir. Please do not report me for I am only two warnings away from Immaculation and I have a wife and two children who would be fatherless if I...’
Noah sighed and beckoned the guard towards him.
‘Please - be still. I will not report you this time but make sure you never, ever speak to me in that way again. Do you understand?’
A frantic nod plus the sudden onset of rivulets of sweat running down the guard’s face was tangible evidence that Noah’s words had achieved the required effect.
‘Right,’ said Noah. ‘Now leave us alone and I will let you know when I am about to leave, is that understood?’
A series of acquiescent nods from the guard confirmed that Noah’s importance and rank had been recognised. Noah turned around, mouthed something unintelligible, and produced a wide grin. Richard nodded his appreciation at Noah’s show of authority. His tear-stained face was now brightened by the slightest hint of a smile.
‘Right,’ said Noah encouragingly. ‘Let’s discuss how we are going to get you out of this terrible place.’
***
Noah spent the next ten minutes explaining to Richard the reason why he was in prison. He also imparted the horrifying news that his sentence was to suffer Immaculation. Noah was astonished to see how Richard accepted the shocking news with nothing more than a mild shrug of the shoulders and an uplift of the eyebrows. In fact Richard was undoubtedly more disturbed and concerned when he was told that Noah was also sentenced to Immaculation unless he was able to mount a successful challenge to Ezra’s decision. In other words, unless something extraordinary occurred, he was destined to die alongside Richard in the killing arena of the Coliseum in the city of Leviticus.
‘What?’ gasped Richard, his eyes wide with shock. ‘That’s not right. How can you be under the same sentence as me when you’ve done nothing wrong? That’s not right, it’s absolutely not right! It’s a bloody stitch up. I don’t believe any of this is happening. Noah, please, tell me it’s all a bloody nightmare and I’m about to wake up from it.’
Noah wore the look of a penitent. His demeanour spoke a thousand words. His eyes were filled with pity. He felt unable to speak. It was Richard who broke the silence.
‘How?’ he asked. ‘How is it done?’
Noah paused before answering.
‘You mean Immaculation?’
‘Yes.’
Noah shook his head.
‘Believe me, you don’t want to know.’
‘If I am to die, I have to k
now how, what they’ll do, what happens. Noah, you have a duty, a responsibility, tell me.’
Noah felt tears well in his eyes.
‘Richard, believe me, there is nothing to be gained for you to know.’
The haunted look that had been permanently etched across Richard’s face for the past seven days was now even more accentuated.
‘What have you done to me Noah? All the promises.. Me returning to and saving the Earth, me meeting the Magus. All those other things you promised. What did you think you were doing?’
Noah sighed deeply and once again shook his head.
‘I am so sorry Richard, none of this was supposed to happen. You were destined to become the saviour of Earth, rather like Christ returning as He promised. Instead of that you are under sentence of death and my problem is I don’t have a persuasive argument to place before Ezra in order for a challenge to be successful. The way you acted in front of Ezra was against Terra Novan law and, consequently, there is no legal, moral or persuasive argument I can think of that would assist in overturning the sentence.’
Richard was awestruck.
‘Do you mean to tell me that you challenged Ezra on my behalf knowing that your challenge was weak and would probably fail? Is that what you’re saying?’
Noah managed a hesitant nod.
‘Yes.’
Richard swallowed hard.
‘Why? Why would you do that? I’m nothing to you...’
‘I brought you here. I’m responsible for you.’
‘But Immaculation - for both of us!’
‘That is the law.’
‘So, we are going to die - together?’
‘Yes - unless we decide otherwise.’
‘What do you mean, decide otherwise? Do we have a choice? There’s nothing we can do is there?’
Noah stood up, looked around at the cell door and decided it was safe to continue. He shuffled closer to Richard, bent down and spoke in a whisper.
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