The Siege of Syracuse

Archimedes paced impetuously around the spire containing his sprawling laboratory and the last hope for salvation for the beleaguered city. For nearly a month the Roman navy had sat impatiently in the waters just outside of Syracuse, bombarding the cities defenses with flaming balls of pitch, waiting for their time to land eager marines on scorched shores. The failure of the last siege nearly a year prior at the hands of Archimedes and his engineering prowess had left them both enraged and newly cautious. This time it would require considerably more than curved mirrors concentrating sunlight to light the Roman galleys aflame, each and every ship that choked the city was reinforced with flame resistant sails, treated wooden beams with iron bracings in addition to newly crafted long range onagers and ballistae. However, Archimedes had been preparing as well, building a tower at the highest point of the city overlooking the harbor and making his laborers swear an oath of secrecy about his new project. Not even the city council knew of his machinations, only that they were for the defense of the city and he was not to be disturbed nor deterred from its completion.

Now, at the hour of greatest peril, it was ready at last. He smiled to himself as his calloused hand snaked into a leather pouch belted to his tunic, retrieving a gift from an Egyptian merchant he had called in a few favors for. A perfectly cut emerald, proportioned and polished to his exact specifications. Archimedes looked out of his tower window at the waiting invasion force, then back at his masterwork, delicately placing the gemstone turned focusing lens into the aperture slot. Satisfied with his handiwork he bellowed to the top of the spire to the eager young assistant awaiting orders, "Now Decimus!", without hesitation the lad removed the leather covering from the ceiling of the spire. Brilliant rays of sunlight shone into the laboratory, catching first in a polished reflecting mirror, then to a curved glass focusing lens, then another, and another, spiraling down and intensifying with each one of the nearly three hundred expertly carved pieces of glassware, until finally joining with the emerald. The very instant the now hyper concentrated beam of light made contact with the flawless surface of the gemstone the entire laboratory was flooded in a brilliant green light. Both Archimedes and his assistant looked on in wonderment at their creation, baffled by its beauty and power.

Once more Archimedes turned to the harbor, noticing now that the Roman galleys had stopped firing upon the city. Each and every marine and sailor looked up at the spire, crowding the decks of the newly constructed warships to observe the overwhelming verdant glow from the hourglass shaped spire. The captains stood by nervously, now unsure of their next move. Continue to attack the city and risk the machinations of the mad scholar, or retreat to the safety of Roman waters and face shame and possibly even execution? Even though the fleet commander was stunned by the display, he shook off his momentary enrapturement and barked orders to move in closer and continue firing. "Concentrate all artillery on the tower!" he cried out as the rowers plunged their oars into the choppy waters, causing the ships to lurch forward in unison. Steadily, the crews regained their confidence, steely men stood shoulder to shoulder painted in emerald light, swords in hand ready to descend upon the city the moment their vessels were in range.

Seeing the fleets advance toward the city from the tower had unnerved Decimus. He ran down the stairs to where Archimedes stood with his arms folded, a confident smile on his face. "Sir! What are we waiting for? Remove the stone cap and set the Romans ablaze like we talked about!" Decimus implored his mentor, fear obvious in his voice. Archimedes turned and responded coolly, "Not yet, dear boy, let them come just a little bit closer!" As he spoke he leaned out of the window to get a better view, checking to make sure all the ships had passed the mouth of the harbor knowing that once they did so, any retreat would be nearly impossible. Seeing the last straggling artillery ship pass the stone marker, he turned to Decimus and said simply "Do it!". Lunging for the stone cap, Decimus removed it hastily, but very cautiously, fully aware of the almighty beam the cap held in check. Once the stone was free, the true power of the spire was apparent to all. A deep green beam of light shot forth from the mouth of the spire, striking the commanders ship directly in the center of the hull. Within seconds the devastating beam began to melt through an iron fitting, causing sparks and molten metal to dance about the deck striking timbers, sails, containers of pitch and men alike as the sailors scrambled for safety. Seeing the awesome strength of Archimedes new weapon, the other ships in the harbor began a frantic, panicked retreat.

Their oars smacked against each other uselessly, utterly unable to gain any sort of momentum in such a crowded space, and the fire that had begun on the commanders ship quickly spread to the surrounding vessels as frantic crewmen desperately tried to throw any burning material overboard only to strike allied vessels and even fellow sailors. Archimedes watched with grim satisfaction as the blaze spread from ship to ship, engulfing the harbor in a furious wildfire still tinged with a brilliant green light. "Our work here is done Decimus, put the covering back over the roof." Archimedes said to the young man as he replaced the stone cap over the aperture. The gemstone now crackled with heat in its slot, steam rising from the base of the emerald. To Archimedes surprise, it was still perfectly intact, with no indication of cracking or warping. He thought he would use it again if the Romans were foolish enough to invade a third time. With one last look at the harbor, he could see a few stragglers from the now decimated roman fleet retreating into the sea. Archimedes watched until they were out of sight and breathed a sigh of relief. Once again the invasion was over. Once again, his beloved city was safe.