Deposition of Gaius Valerius (342 AD)

archive

COURT RECORD: PROVINCE OF AEGYPTUS DATE: IV Ides of October, 342 AD PRESIDING: Magistrate Marcus Aurelius Severus SUBJECT: Theft of Imperial Schematics (Case 88-Beta) (The witness, Gaius Valerius, enters. He wears a soot-stained toga of coarse wool. He smells of sulfur and machine oil.) MAGISTRATE: State your name and station for the record. VALERIUS: Gaius Valerius, Chief Artificer of the Antikythera Works, Grade III. MAGISTRATE: You claim a theft occurred within the restricted archives of the Library. Specify the item. VALERIUS: The primary blueprints for the Atmospheric Regulator, Mark VII. These are the vellum sheets detailing the differential gear-trains and the pressure-venting valves. MAGISTRATE: These designs are protected by Imperial Edict. Who had access to the vault? VALERIUS: Myself, the Prefect of Steam, and two junior scribes. The vault is sealed with a pneumatic lock. It requires a specific pressure sequence to open. MAGISTRATE: Was the lock forced? VALERIUS: No. The seal remained intact. The thief possessed the correct sequence. MAGISTRATE: You suggest an insider. VALERIUS: I suggest the Guild of Brass-Smiths. They have long coveted the regulator's ability to stabilize steam-pressure in high-altitude conduits. Without these schematics, their boilers continue to rupture in the Alpine provinces. MAGISTRATE: (Pause) The court notes the state of your attire, Valerius. You appear more like a dock-worker than a scholar of the Great Library. VALERIUS: The soot is the price of progress, Magistrate. The Library may preserve the scrolls, but the engines require grease. MAGISTRATE: Very well. Describe the thief's possible trajectory. VALERIUS: They likely exited through the ventilation shafts. The smell of ozone was lingering in the corridor. Only a trained technician knows how to navigate the steam-pipes without being scalded. (The witness is dismissed. The record is sealed by the wax of the Praetor.)