##Library of Caligula

The stone doors which have held for thousands of years are blown open by a small stick of dynamite. The silent atmosphere that the scrolls grew to love is destroyed. Light pierces the darkness as three men enter the room with gas lamps.

“Unbelievable, I can’t believe you were right.” Lionel admires a nearby statue of a horse. “I never heard of the Library of Caligula when I met you.”

“You aren’t alone.” Otis is fiercely taking notes. “I was laughed out of the academic community for proposing such a thing. They laughed harder when I said it was in the Faroe Islands.”

“But what is here exactly?” Elmer asks. Stacks of scrolls stretch for three-hundred meters. The stacks are divided by a walkway in the middle with gold trimmings and tables spaced between five stacks. The stacks are four shelves high and ten shelves deep. Each shelf contains twenty scrolls.

“Let’s see.” Lionel grabs a scroll and opens it on the table. Nick walks next to him. His mouth opens.

“Unbelievable. This is an early description of a steam engine,” Nick says.

“And how do you know that?” Elmer puts his hands on his hips.

“I worked as a mechanic. Being regarded as a fraud doesn’t pay the bills.”

“Nonsense.” Lionel slaps Nick’s shoulder. “Frauds are the basis of our society. Their skills are probably very underestimated and largely underemployed.”

“Uh, thanks.” Nick pauses to process the back-handed compliment.

“If the Romans knew how to make a steam engine, why didn’t they do it?”

“That’s outside my expertise. The academic community largely accepts that such a device was discussed theoretically at the time, but-”

“Ah, so you’re saying it’s not shocking. Let’s see what else is here.” Lionel grabs another scroll and opens it. All three of them are shocked by what’s on the page.

“Is that really a car?” Elmer asks.

“It would appear to be the body of one.” Nick puts his paper down.

“That’s the engine of one.” Lionel points in the corner.

“There’s no way this would’ve been known in Caligula’s time,” Nick says.

“Well, I suppose everything you need for a better future and success has already been written.” Lionel walks away from the table. “Let’s see what else we can find here.”

The three men walk throughout the collection with their lamps in hand. Throughout the shelves, they find inventions that had only recently been invented such as radio and airplanes. Devices from the future are also present such as a phone that lacks a chord and a small movie player. Other scrolls contain maps of the world with borders throughout history. One lists the family tree of the Hapsburg family up to Archduke Franz Ferdinand with a note on his assassination.

“Why is all this modern knowledge in an ancient library?” Elmer puts down a scroll on the War of Spanish Succession.

“I don’t know. None of this makes sense,” Nick replies.

“Is this a prank?” Lionel pulls out a knife and stabs the shelf by Nick.

“What?” “Did you and your university pals just want to humiliate this old treasure hunter?” Lionel removes the knife and stomps towards Nick.

“There has to be an explanation.” Nick pulls out a scroll. A loud scraping noise echoes throughout the building. The three men leave the stack. At the end of the walkway, a silver orb sits in an alcove.

“Now what is that?” Elmer asks.

“It’s the Orb of Germanicus. They dismissed me as a fraud for that too.” Nick falls to the floor laughing.

“Now what’s gotten into you?” Elmer shakes his head.

“I theorized that Germanicus found it in Belgica and gave it to his son. Caligula’s so-called insanity was the result of that orb,” Nick says.

“That’s the dumbest thing you’ve ever said.” Lionel replies.

“Come on. Haven’t you noticed that Elmer is only speaking in questions?” Elmer asks.

“He’s always been inquisitive. This is crossing the line into the unrealistic.” Lionel kicks Nick’s laughing body. “And stop giggling you twit.”

“I can’t stop. Everything is so funny. Like the shut doors.” At that statement, Lionel looks up. The doors that they destroyed have returned; the rubble has cleared. Snow is no longer infiltrating the library.

“No, it can’t be.” Lionel runs to the doors and pushes.

“They’re locked. Caligula knew how powerful this knowledge would be and ensured that it could never be exposed to the outside world,” Nick says.

“And how do you know that?” Elmer asks. Nick holds out the scroll he took. Three men are drawn in the library. Underneath the drawing is one word. Mortuus.

r/AstroRideWrites