Chapter 180 : Flying Roman man

Project Icarus.

Developed specifically for the Nova Troia festival, the project was a secret known only to a select few, even within Caesar’s Technical School.

"What exactly is Caesar trying to build this time?"

"Let’s just get the materials he asked for ready first. Different kinds of paper and cloth. I can’t even begin to guess what he plans to use these for."

The technicians gathered at the Ager Vaticanus, choosing the most isolated spot they could find to avoid prying eyes.

The vast, damp plain along the western bank of the Tiber were mostly empty, save for a few vineyards and pastures.

"First, let’s join the paper and linen as carefully as possible to form the main body."

"But can we really make something like this fly?"

"To be completely honest with you, I have no idea either."

Vitruvius merely shrugged at the question.

He had grown quite accustomed to Lucius’s bizarre proposals, but even he wasn’t sure this one would actually work.

A kite had to be light enough for the wind to carry it.

What they were building right now was the exact opposite of that.

"Let’s build a small one first and test it out."

Vitruvius and the other technicians started with a small prototype.

And surprisingly, the prototype worked exactly as Lucius had described.

"Wait, is this actually possible?"

"Let’s scale it up and try again."

The technicians cut the cloth, laid it out on the ground, and glued thin sheets of paper to it.

The resulting panels were then fastened together with buttons.

"All right, let’s do it properly this time."

A massive furnace was installed on the Vatican plain.

Two support pillars were erected next to the furnace, and the technicians attached the balloon’s envelope to them.

"Light the fire!"

The envelope slowly began to swell, the creases in the folded fabric gradually smoothing out.

The shape, which had looked like a collapsed tent, steadily grew larger until it easily surpassed the height of a grown man.

"Hold the ropes tight!"

The engineers shouted, gripping the ropes attached to the envelope.

"Just a little more!"

As the heated air rushed into the envelope, the ropes pulled taut in an instant. One of the stakes shifted, scraping loudly across the ground.

"Pay out the ropes slowly! Don’t let go!"

The first attempt was a complete failure.

The envelope tilted and collided with the flames, and the cloth instantly caught fire.

"Douse it! Quick!"

The second and third attempts ended exactly the same way.

No matter how detailed Lucius’s designs were, actually building it was a completely different story.

Ultimately, the technicians had to modify the design to better suit the materials they had.

And finally, it was time for their seventh attempt.

"Now, pay out the ropes slowly!"

The workers slowly paid out the ropes.

At first, nothing happened.

But then, the envelope slowly began to rise.

Now fully inflated into a massive sphere, the envelope slowly rose into the air.

"It’s really flying."

One technician muttered.

"It’s flying!"

Vitruvius and all the other technicians stared blankly as the hot air balloon ascended into the sky.

Then Vitruvius pointed at it and shouted.

"Caesar said people could ride in that! If we attach some kind of basket underneath for people to ride in..."

"But that’s far too dangerous! Let’s test it with animals first."

"If you ride in that, you’d be able to look down on the entire city. To be able to gaze upon a city under construction from the sky... Wouldn’t that be the first time we mortals had ever seen the world through the eyes of the gods?"

As the other technicians half-heartedly held him back, Vitruvius murmured in awe.

To think that humans could truly take to the skies.

How many people would actually believe it if he told them?

A few weeks after that successful test flight, five hot-air balloons were ready in time for the Nova Troia festival.

They had been modified to include baskets attached beneath the envelopes so people could ride in them.

But the hot air balloons weren’t the only things prepared.

"Are you saying this still isn’t enough, Young Master?"

"Father is going to propose a Religious Council to coincide with this Nova Troia festival. Let’s come up with something that will strengthen his proposal. Seeing those hot air balloons just gave me another idea."

On the day the Nova Troia festival finally began, something entirely new made its debut before the Roman citizens alongside the hot air balloons.

It was none other than giant inflatable parade floats.

***

"Damn it all, what on earth is that?"

"I have no idea either. I can’t believe something that massive is actually flying."

Priests dressed in white robes muttered as they stared up at the sky.

They were priests and augurs belonging to the temples of the allied cities.

They were scheduled to head straight to the Senate House immediately after the opening ceremony concluded.

Their plan was to meet with the optimates there and submit a formal petition against the Pontifex Maximus.

It was intended to be the first step in undermining Gaius Caesar’s authority and halting the temple reforms.

But right now, they could do nothing but stare blankly at the objects that had suddenly appeared in the sky.

"Don’t tell me Caesar received another revelation to build that too?"

"I knew Lucius Caesar received a revelation from Vesta telling him to create Palmolive, but..."

It wasn’t just them; Everyone stared up at the hot-air balloons bearing the letters SPQR, their eyes wide with astonishment.

None of them had ever seen anything so enormous floating in the sky.

"Even if he didn’t receive a revelation, this is a serious problem. How are we supposed to submit a protest with the crowd in a mood like this?"

"..."

The priests fell silent.

The crowd around them was erupting in cheers at the sight overhead.

The two consuls, Caesar and Luceius, were being greeted with thunderous cheers.

Roman citizens had always loved magistrates who entertained them with novel spectacles.

"Maybe we need to change our plans."

If they submitted a petition in a situation like this, they would undoubtedly bear the full brunt of the citizens’ fury.

Just then—

"Look over there!"

At someone’s shout, the priests turned as one.

"Wait, is that..."

Their jaws dropped as they stared at the objects parading down the street.

An eagle, clutching lightning bolts in its talons, was making its way down the road.

But it wasn’t just an eagle.

Behind it came a peacock with its long tail spread wide, followed by an owl and a giant shell.

Every single priest instantly recognized what those shapes represented.

The eagle represented Jupiter, king of the gods; the peacock Juno; the owl Minerva; and the shell Venus.

These massive figures were parading straight down the center of the street.

"Don’t tell me those are all statues?"

"No, look closely. They look like they’re floating in the air."

Speechless, the priests exchanged bewildered glances.

"What in the world is going on?"

***

"The crowd seems to love it."

Pompeia smiled, gesturing toward the street.

"With the crowd this excited, even Iaia should be satisfied."

"I think ’satisfied’ would be an understatement."

I looked out at the street, now filled with cheers and excited shouts.

Massive balloon floats shaped like animals were parading down the center of the street, while citizens lined both sides of the street, taking in the spectacle.

Seeing this sight, one thing immediately came to mind.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Held annually in New York City since 1924, it had grown into one of the world’s largest and most famous parades.

The signature features of the Macy’s parade were its giant balloons and elaborate floats.

It had been my main inspiration for the Nova Troia parade.

Hot air balloons floating high in the sky.

And massive animal-shaped structures parading down the streets.

Strictly speaking, they weren’t floating in the air like helium or hydrogen balloons.

Instead, we built hollow fabric figures over carts and kept them inflated by pumping air into them with bellows.

But even this was more than enough to leave a strong impression on the Roman citizens.

"Shaping them after symbols of Rome’s gods was a brilliant idea, Pompeia."

It was Pompeia and the other artists who had suggested shaping the floats after symbols associated with the gods.

Every time the staff riding in the carts pumped the bellows, their fabric bodies swelled and contracted slightly.

It almost looked like they were moving.

"Look, it’s an eagle! It has lightning bolts in its talons!

"Does that shell represent Venus?"

It wasn’t just the children who were excited by the balloons. The adults were waving and cheering every bit as enthusiastically.

In a way, this was the perfect parade for Rome.

During games and festivals, it was customary to carry images of the gods through the streets.

Divine images were carried on shoulder-borne platforms called fercula or conveyed in sacred chariots known as tensae.

Such sacred processions were a familiar sight in Rome.

But this was undoubtedly a first.

Massive balloons shaped like animals.

I watched the citizens enjoying themselves.

Children rode on their fathers’ shoulders while women laughed and tossed flowers into the street.

Maybe scenes like this weren’t so bad after all.

The crowd here numbered in the tens of thousands. Soon, hundreds of thousands—and eventually millions—would share in the excitement.

By tomorrow, everyone in Italy will have heard about this.

In a few days, they’ll see woodblock prints depicting this exact scene.

"Father will announce the Religious Council soon. The visiting priests won’t be able to attack Father openly with the crowd in a mood like this."

How would future historians judge what was happening here today?

At least this part wouldn’t make for boring history.

I linked arms with Pompeia.

Political schemes were all well and good, but enjoying the festival with my wife mattered far more.

"For now, let’s just enjoy the moment too."

***

"Cassia, I’m all done getting ready!"

"Alright. The customers will be here soon, so let’s just wait."

Cassia said, stretching her arms. She did one last check of the pamphlets and cards on her cart.

For this event, she had rented two additional carts from the Temple of Vesta.

Having received permission to set up a stall in front of the Gridiron Arena, she was busy preparing alongside her brother and the other women.

"But will these really sell?"

Her younger brother, Cassius, asked, holding up a small wax tablet.

Attached to the wax tablet was a single sheet of paper bearing a drawing of a man holding a shield.

The man was one of the players participating in the gridiron matches.

"To be completely honest, I don’t really know either."

Cassia said with a chuckle. Her thoughts returned to the mysterious patrician she had met some time ago.

Cassia was almost certain the man had been Lucius Caesar himself.

The advice he had given her right before they parted was simple.

’Focus on selling gridiron-related merchandise during this festival.’

And these little pieces of paper, called ’cards,’ had been Pompey’s idea.

They were woodblock prints depicting famous players from each city’s team. But would people really pay money for them?

Cassia had put nearly all the money she had painstakingly saved into buying a stock of the cards.

And right now, with the first gridiron match just around the corner, no one was more nervous than she was.

"Anyway, what on earth is that?"

Just as she was staring at the hot air balloons floating far off in the sky, her brother shouted.

"The customers are coming!"

"Alright, alright, let’s get ready!"

Cassia hurriedly stood behind the carts alongside the others.

The next moment, the people heading toward the arena came into view.

At first, it looked like a few hundred people, but in the blink of an eye, the crowd swelled into the thousands—then into a mass too large to count.

"T-That’s way too many people..."

Just as Cassia was muttering to herself, the tidal wave of people surged toward her stall.

"Is this where they’re selling the player cards?!"

"Do you have a drawing of Plution?"

"Yes! Just a moment, please!"

"What about Lipanus and Secundinus?! I’ll take all five of them!"

Cassia and the other staff frantically searched for the cards and passed them to the waiting customers.

Amidst cheers, roars, and laughter, the Nova Troia festival was in full swing.

And just like that, Troy—long relegated to the realm of legend—was being reborn in Rome.