Fast forward 2057 years.........
Gaius Cassivellaunus Svenius (known to most as GC) rose from his couch in the triclinium having finished his breakfast and strode through the atrium of his villa. He paused to pay obeisance to the Lares (family gods) by the vestibulum. He patted the head of the bronze figurine of the first Svenius. It was only appropriate on this most special day of the year to give the progenitor of his family some extra attention. If Svenius had not saved Gaius Julius Caesar from assassination by the vile Brutus and his evil conspirators on that long past Ides of March how different things might be today.
That Caesar had granted Svenius his freedom and Roman citizenship as a reward for his bravery had certainly helped the pair of lovers get established and no longer fear retribution by his wife's family. The later discovery that Svenius was the son of the subjugated British tribal king, Cassivellaunus, taken as a hostage, and misplaced, after Caesar's invasion of Britian had endeared him even more to the leader. Svenius had proved a valuable advisor in rooting out those who opposed the continuation of the republic. If Octavian had not been disinherited as Caesar's heir then they might even have managed to set up an empire.
GC waited under the front arch of the vestibulum as the British rain lashed down. His servant would be bringing round the automobile to take him to his office in Deva (Chester). As he waited he mused on other changes that had happened after that assassination attempt. Caesar had sensibly reversed the proclamation that had made him 'dictator in perpetuity' which in effect had been a death sentence for him. He ruled by popular acclaim for another 10 years before retiring to his country estates. In his time in power he had re-established the Republic as a true democracy and started the move away from slave ownership, even though the latter had taken a couple of generations to be complete.
The extension of citizenship to all occupants of newly captured or acquired provinces had cemented the republic into a true world government. Even the later discoveries of Terra Nova and Terra Australis had been generally peaceable with local rulers accepting the advantages of being part of the mighty republic. In fact the legions and the navy were little needed to show their might these days except for the occasional secessionist trouble makers or those that thought piracy was a good career choice. Most of their work these days was as engineers and research scientists. The main roads and the ferrum-via were still maintained by the army and they had the best vehicles to use them.
At this point GC's automobile whispered to a stop in front of him. A good example, his rank as Praetor of Britannia Caesarensis (The Midlands) gave him use of this military staff car, and even in the dull British climate the solar cells on his villa roof charged the flow cells for a good two hundred miles range within a day, and he could exchange them at any of the mutationes (changing stations) on the main roads. I he really wanted to he could just make it to Londinium on one set in about four hours, but it was quicker and easier to let the iron rails of the ferrum via carry him there in just over two hours. With luck and a good ferry crossing to Gaul he could be in Rome within a day should he be needed.
Outside the Praetorium, next to headquarters building of Legio XX, Valeria Victrix, GC's personal assistant was waiting with a copy of his days schedule. GC quipped with him that this was a Gaulish day, divided into three parts. First as chief magistrate he had some legal cases to settle, then in his military role he needed to meet the legate of the legion to check on the progress of his engineers in solving the problems of their prototype flying vehicle. Finally he would have to officiate at the celebrations for this special day at the temple and the forum. He would have a few minutes in the office first.
At his desk GC started up his computatrum and logged onto the reticulum. There were a few tabella electrum with news from the family. His younger brother, Marcus, was a legate in Terra Australis and doing well, so strange to think it was autumn there while it was spring here. His youngest sister, another Lilliana, was married to a merchant in Terra Nova, and she let him know she had sent some of the acer syrup that he liked so much on the ship that had just left for Londinium. These vitrum fibra cables that stretched beneath the oceans were such a great invention in speeding up communication. There was even talk of allowing ordinary people access to the system rather than just the military and large businesses. They were going to call it the Telam Mundi (World Web).
In the children's playroom the large white disc glowed in contentment as the last of the playthings were again in the places they should be. Perhaps as they grew older she would not have to tidy up all the mess they made.
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