Last Prophecy of Rome

Seventy-Five

X-rays on Myles’ shoulder confirmed his wound was not life-threatening. The bullet had broken through his shoulder blade near the joint. Fragments of bone would have to be aligned so they could heal and Myles’ underarm muscles, ripped apart by the exit wound, would take several months to regain their strength. But Myles had been lucky: the shot struck him just a few inches above his heart. Lunging at Dick Roosevelt may have saved his life after all.

The first two weeks of his recovery, confined to a hospital bed, frustrated Myles. He wanted to get out. To see Rome and Italy, and to explore. But daily visits from Helen, which often ran on well beyond the hours dictated by the hospital bureaucrats, made things much easier. It was not the sort of relaxing time in Rome the couple had initially planned, but it was what they both needed.

Myles was also consoled by the rolling news coverage of the story. Although not many new facts emerged, there were several follow-up stories which all got good coverage. It took six days before news channels found a lead item more interesting than the story of the disgraced Senator and the conclusion of Placidia’s ‘Last Prophecy of Rome’.

Dick Roosevelt recovered from his self-inflicted shoulder wound quickly. It meant, after ten days, he was fit enough to appear in handcuffs, unshaven and in an orange jumpsuit. Cameras flashed and the videos rolled: he had an image of defeat on his face. Even his confidence was finally exhausted. The evidence against him was overwhelming — he had been filmed shooting someone who posed no threat, passed classified documents to Juma, and conspired in an act of terror against the United States. The final irony was that a federal law brought in by his father — the Roosevelt-Wilson Act — would be used in his trial. His father’s legislation meant crimes committed abroad, like Dick’s, were tried as if they had been committed in the continental USA.

The political demise of the young Senator Roosevelt had become inevitable ever since the world logged on to the videostream being broadcast from the Pantheon. Since people now realised how dangerous Dick’s firm, the Roosevelt Guardians, had become — a danger to American democracy itself — they had to be disbanded. Other private security firms would soon face strict controls. Myles smiled as he saw Susan, who had been seconded to Sam Roosevelt’s office, now back with the Department for Homeland Security, interviewed on the rolling news. She made the point very well: ‘Private’ had to be taken from ‘security’, since security was always a public matter…

New private security legislation was championed with the slogan ‘Driving standards up to drive the bad boys out’. There was even a cross-party consensus in the US Senate on the issue. It would have made Sam Roosevelt proud.

The Senators were also pleased to be able — finally — to dispel the continuing rumours about pornography on their computers. Once seen as the most innocent amongst them, Senator Dick Roosevelt was now the most guilty. In time, his name would become a byword for sharp practices and behaviour which threatened the constitution of the United States.

After two weeks in Rome, Myles was fit enough to take a flight. He and Helen flew back to the United States together, where he could convalesce in her New England home. Even though they tried to keep the details secret, it didn’t stop him being treated as a hero by reporters and well-wishers as he passed — again — through JFK airport.

Myles didn’t answer any of their questions. He had already promised his one-and-only interview about the whole affair to a single journalist: Helen.

She interviewed him seated in an armchair, in her own house. He still wore a sling, but didn’t need the head bandages anymore, and looked relaxed.

‘So, Myles,’ she asked, framing the question with poise. ‘Many people have said you saved America. Are they right?’

He couldn’t help smiling at the question. It was probably the softest interview Helen had ever done. ‘No,’ he answered. ‘The country would have survived anyway.’

‘But is the US doomed to decline and fall like ancient Rome?’

‘No. Because the US is very different from Rome — different enough. America is set apart by its values. Rome was built on a culture of violence — of empire and aristocracy. Of people killing each other to get to the top, or for entertainment. America is not like that. Perhaps, if America and the West become as cruel as Rome we deserve the same downfall. But it’s up to everyone to make sure we stay better than that…’

Myles had answered the riddle of Rome. Not the puzzles set by Placidia in her terrorist broadcasts, but the real riddle: how was the world’s greatest empire, a civilisation which had lasted a thousand years, brought down by nomads and barbarians? Myles explained there was no single answer. But the best answers were not about Rome’s enemies, but about Rome itself.

The interview continued for twenty minutes. Myles felt able to talk about it now, and he gave one of his best lectures ever. He showed how modern America was partly like ancient Rome, but also very different. He enthralled viewers across the nation as he explained how the Romans lived and died, and how the United States could avoid the same fate.

And as he talked his individuality came through. People could see what Helen had seen before — that Myles was unique. The things that made him unusual were also the things that made him brilliant.

‘Thank you, Myles.’ Live on TV, she kissed him again. Myles blushed, then took her hand as the interview closed.

Finally, it was over.