"For you to come seeking me out first, Crassus... the gods must be playing some kind of sick joke."
Pompey let out a loud laugh, half-reclined in his chair.
Basic etiquette dictated that a host should rise to greet a guest respectfully, but no such pleasantries existed between the two men.
"I'm sorry, but I have no need of more slaves. The ones I have are already a headache to manage. Why don't you try knocking on my neighbor's door?"
"Cut the jokes," Crassus growled. He gestured to a slave standing nearby to bring him a goblet of wine.
The slave froze and looked nervously to Pompey for permission.
"Are your finances in such dire straits that you can't even afford to offer a guest a cup of wine?" Crassus sneered.
"My apologies, but I'm not a miserly coin-pincher like you."
Pompey gave a curt nod, and the slave let out a breath of relief before hurrying off. Soon, only Crassus and Pompey remained in the grand atrium.
"I highly recommend keeping deaf slaves in the atrium. It makes private conversations much more comfortable," Crassus said as he settled into an empty chair.
"Unlike you, I don't spend my days plotting secret conspiracies. Enough of this nonsense. Tell me why you're really here," Pompey sighed.
Even though young Caesar had spent the past few months keeping the peace between them, dealing with Crassus face-to-face was still an unpleasant experience for him.
To Pompey, the man was nothing more than a money-grubbing merchant, completely blinded by his obsession with multiplying his wealth.
Not to mention, Crassus never missed a chance to bare his petty jealousy, still bitter that Pompey had stolen the glory for crushing Spartacus's revolt.
"Always straight to the point. Well, I suppose I don't mind," Crassus said, taking a sip from the goblet the slave had brought him.
"Gaius Caesar will be returning to Rome shortly. Meanwhile, Lucius Caesar is currently ranging across Italy, wiping out bandit bands."
"Without any of your help, I might add," Pompey snorted.
"If he had merely chased them across the countryside without a plan, it would have taken him years. But because he collaborated with me beforehand to draft precise maps and develop new equipment for the cavalry..."
"The boy turned a bandit hunt into a perfectly legal trade in captured slaves. With slave prices at record highs right now, could there have been more irresistible bait for allied cities?" Crassus interjected smoothly.
"He used those towers and the promise of slave profits to bind the allied cities to his side."
"Yes, yes, Lucius is a brilliant kid. Did you truly come all this way merely to tell me that?" Pompey asked, feigning a bored yawn.
"I hosted a banquet that ran far into the night yesterday. If you don't mind, I'd very much like to take a nap..."
"The Caesars are the counterweight that could tip the balance of power in Rome—and between the two of us."
Crassus sat up straight, locking eyes with Pompey. Staring his rival down, Crassus continued.
"If that is the case, shouldn't we ensure that this counterweight rests perfectly in the center between the two of us?"
"What exactly are you trying to say? Lucius is already deeply entangled in dozens of business ventures with you. And he's engaged to my daughter."
"Yes, I've heard Pompeia has been assisting Lucius in various ways behind the scenes."
Crassus set his wine goblet down on the table.
"I came today to speak of your daughter."
Instantly, a dangerous fire flared in Pompey's eyes.
"You want to talk about my daughter?"
***
"Is it true? Is Caesar really visiting our city?"
"Without a doubt. I heard his vanguard just arrived. A massive crowd is already forming by the main gates."
"Then our chance has finally come."
Men clad in rough tunics searched through wooden crates with grim, hardened expressions.
They had been waiting for this exact moment for months.
The moment Caesar stepped foot in their city, their long-awaited chance would finally come.
"Is everyone ready?"
"I am," one man replied, tracing the edge of his dagger.
Another picked up a heavy shield, while someone else secured a helmet.
They thoroughly inspected their gear one last time before stepping out of their insula.
"If not today, we may never get another chance. Let's get this done."
The men nodded with resolute faces. Throwing the door open, they marched straight toward the massive crowd gathering at the city gates.
Today, fortune was finally about to favor them.
***
"Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for returning our daughters safely, Imperator."
"I only did what any Roman magistrate ought to do."
Man, this was getting a little embarrassing.
Every time I stopped in a city, crowds gathered around me just to offer their tearful gratitude.
Standing perfectly still and nodding graciously for over an hour was exhausting enough on its own.
After finally reuniting the rescued hostages with their families, I was just about to head inside to meet with the city leaders.
That was when it happened.
"There he is! Caesar's over there!"
A group of burly men suddenly shoved their way through the crowd and charged straight toward me. Some of them were carrying shields and oddly shaped contraptions.
What on earth is going on now?
As the startled civilians scattered out of the way, my armed escorts instantly stepped forward, forming a protective wall.
"Halt!"
At the guards' command, the rushing men skidded to a stop.
An awkward silence settled over the gate before one of the men cautiously stepped forward.
"We've been waiting desperately for you to visit our city, sir Caesar!"
"What exactly is going on here?" I asked, waving my hand to signal my guards to stand down.
They didn't look like assassins bent on murder. If anything, they looked like blacksmiths or craftsmen.
One guy was holding a shield, while the others were clutching helmets or various metallic contraptions.
"Why were you waiting for me?"
"We all heard the proclamation you issued in Rome! You promised great rewards for new tools and inventions!"
"Rewards for new tools..."
Ah, they were talking about the patent system.
Right after I introduced that concept, patent applications had flooded my office in Rome.
And not just from Rome. Master craftsmen from all over Italy had flocked to the city to show off their innovations.
Granted, only a tiny fraction of them actually passed the rigorous evaluation and secured a profitable deal.
But the moment rumors spread about a few lucky inventors making fortunes overnight, the number of applications had skyrocketed.
"We've all developed new tools and equipment! For example, I invented a revolutionary new type of dagger..."
The moment he reached into his tunic and yanked out a dagger, my guards surged forward with their swords half-drawn.
"You dare draw a weapon in the presence of the Imperator?! Have you lost your mind?!"
"It's fine. Stand down," I ordered. "If they had truly meant to assassinate me, they wouldn't have put on such a bizarre theatrical display."
Still, better to be careful.
I gestured for my guards to bring one of the gears to me.
"This is... quite a unique shield."
I picked up the heavy piece of wood and inspected the bottom edge.
Sharp iron spikes were affixed along the bottom edge, clearly designed to be driven into the ground for stationary cover.
Hmm, I was pretty sure I'd seen something like this before in a history text.
After carefully examining their various tools and weapons, I looked back at the men.
"If you had such new inventions, why didn't you just travel to Rome to register the invention?"
It was only after the question left my mouth that I realized the obvious answer.
"Ah, right. Traveling all the way to Rome just to file a patent application was hardly a simple undertaking. You'd have to abandon your livelihood for weeks, scrape together travel funds, and brave the dangers of the road."
The roads might be safe from bandits now, but the cost of travel was still a formidable obstacle.
The craftsmen nodded emphatically.
It was simply too big of a gamble for ordinary citizens. Even if they somehow made it to Rome, the evaluation process took an unbearably long time, and there was no guarantee they'd even get approved.
I looked at the men, their eyes almost shining with desperate hope.
No wonder they were waiting for me to show up today.
It reminded me of something Vitruvius had said.
He said that men of talent and ingenuity would soon flock to me not just from Rome, but from all over Italy and the known world.
If that's the case, I needed to build the proper system to draw them in.
There was no better time to begin. The roads were secure, and the allied cities were backing me completely.
"You don't need to worry anymore," I announced. "From now on, registering inventions will become far easier."
"Does that mean you'll be paying our travel costs?"
"As much as I'd love to, I'm afraid that wouldn't be possible," I chuckled.
I might be rich now, but funding the travel and lodging for every aspiring inventor across Italy was a step too far.
"You won't have to travel to Rome at all. You'll be able to send your applications without ever leaving the city."
The moment those words left my mouth, a barrage of questions erupted from the group.
"Are you talking about the signal towers? We heard those only transmit short texts. Can they send detailed designs on papyrus now?"
"You idiot, he obviously means he'll hire couriers to carry them for us!"
"But that would cost a fortune too!"
I nodded slowly.
Well, they practically gave me the answer themselves.
"I will employ a fleet of couriers to regularly transport your documents to Rome."
"But hiring that many couriers would require enormous capital..."
"They won't be carrying only your applications for inventions."
I turned my head, gazing off in the direction of Rome.
The Roman Republic already possessed the most magnificent, sprawling road network of any civilization on Earth.
And thanks to my little bandit purge, those roads were now perfectly safe.
Which meant there was one new enterprise waiting to be claimed.
Rome to the allied cities.
Allied cities to other allied cities.
A new network for carrying news and messages of the Italian peninsula was possible now.
"Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."
It was the famous passage Herodotus used in his Histories to describe the ancient Persian mounted couriers.
It would later become the unofficial motto of a certain institution in the US.
The United States Postal Service.
Come to think of it, the USPS logo was an eagle, too.
How fittingly Roman.
Looking at the craftsmen, who were tilting their heads in confusion, I added, "I will set up a new office in this city so you can send your applications whenever you wish."
Hmm, figuring out how to run the postal service is going to be a headache.
Eh, whatever.
I'm sure Felix will figure it out somehow.
***
"Is something wrong, sir?"
"No, I just... felt a sudden, violent chill run down on my spine," Felix replied, shivering uncontrollably.
He let out a heavy sigh, staring at the mountains of paperwork piled so high they nearly swallowed his desk.
"There really is no end in sight, is there?"
The workers sitting around the room nodded with dark, exhausted expressions.
As always, The Strategic Office was drowning in an endless flood of work.
Thanks to the employees' highly aggressive 'referrals,' new personnel were being rapidly hired, yet the workload always far outstripped their numbers.
"Using the newly hired scribes, we've managed to produce about a hundred copies of the manuscript so far."
"That's a fast turnaround."
"Well, we have practically hired half the scribes in Rome, so it's only natural," Felix sighed deeply.
First Pompeia, and then Servilia, Brutus's mother.
Producing so many copies of such lengthy texts at once was no easy feat.
But the real bottleneck still remained.
"I suppose all that's left is the distribution, then."
"Let's start by distributing copies to senators allied with us and the businessmen on our side. Thankfully, we have more than enough couriers in our employ to—"
Felix continued.
Ever since Caesar set so many enterprises in motion, the Strategic Office had maintained a small army of couriers.
When the signal towers rendered the traditional Ostia-Rome messenger route obsolete, Felix had simply hired all the newly unemployed couriers and put them on Caesar's payroll.
With so many different business ventures operating simultaneously, they needed couriers carrying orders and account books back and forth anyway.
For them, distributing a few books was child's play.
Felix began to mutter under his breath.
"Furthermore... thanks to our fire insurance business, we already possess a comprehensive map of the city and precise records of where people live."
"Sir?"
"What if..." Felix whispered, his eyes glued to the papers on his desk.
"What if we didn't just deliver our documents? What if we offered a service to deliver letters and small bundles for the citizens of Rome?"
"With all respect, sir, that hardly seems possible," one worker said, prompting nods of agreement from the rest of the room.
"Right?" Felix let out a chuckle. "Even I think it sounds absurd."
It was exactly at that moment.
A junior clerk threw the door open and burst into the meeting room.
"Sir! An urgent letter has just arrived from Caesar!"