#4 in aimtoengage
#64 in Fantasy.. Want to get a collection of stories in all genres, of varied tasted and interests? Here are the yarns of stories I weave... A unique collection of 500 words one-shots of different tastes for the #aimtoengage conte...
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48 BC
Caesar had been pursuing Pompey into Egypt when he was suddenly cut off by an Egyptian fleet at Alexandria. Greatly outnumbered and in enemy territory, Caesar ordered the ships in the harbor to be set on fire. The fire spread and destroyed the Egyptian fleet. Unfortunately, it also burned down part of the city - the area where the great Library of Alexandria stood.
It was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world and part of a larger research institution called the Mouseion. The library was actually declining gradually over the course of roughly 800 years, starting with the purging of intellectuals from Alexandria in 145 BC during the reign of Ptolemy VIII Physcon, which resulted in Aristarchus of Samothrace, the last recorded head librarian, resigning from his position and exiling himself to Cyprus.
I stood in front of the now destroyed structure.
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The ruins of Alexandria that I need to rebuild, made my heart cry out.
I planned for days on end, hired labourers and finally the plan of structure was ready.
The domed ceiling of the library will be an impressive coffered construction of 32 meters high where we could spot 4,200 different alphabet letters engraved on its surface.
"How many books could we recover?" my voice shook at the sight of the destruction in front of me.
"Not much, most of them were charred beyond recognition," he replied.
I flinched.
Did Caesar even realise what he had done? He had not destroyed a building, he has, destroyed a part of the knowledge itself, which could have had phenomenal benefits for the humankind.
I bent down to pick up a charred parchment, it's edges crumpled black. I gently smoothed it out caressing the beautiful calligraphy in black.
The writings in Greek were beautifully preserved. The sight of burnt heaps of books with pages sticking out was too much to bear. It was as if some one had thrust a knife through my heart. The vast storehouse of knowledge and skills could never regain its former glory again.
I frantically threw apart shelves and removed debris with bare hands, searching for any bit of that precious jewel left in the ruins of the inferno.
I collected every bit of parchment which was intact and carefully stacked up the things in my backpack.
"Sir," Weikfield came running, panting, "We don't have to reconstruct this . Humans in 2012 have planned for the renovation."
"What? Why? These books will be spoiled for the more time it stays," I asked puzzled, "Few will be lost beyond recovery."
"Orders from higher authorities," he shrugged, showing the new plans.
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"Fine, then we leave it for the future," I replied, casting one longing glance at the ruins of the marvel of history.
I climbed onto my timeship, with a hollow in my heart. The burning of Alexandria, maybe a mistake, was definitely a great loss for human culture.
Alas, we from the 22nd century couldn't do anything.
500 words completed. A/N I've never written historical fiction so it's a blend with Scifi...
