Paul, Apostle of Christ Page #3

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Stephen was out in the streets,

bringing charity to widows and orphans,

preaching truth to drunks

and the crippled.

I was blameless

in the ancient law of Israel,

while Stephen was blaspheming

on the very holy ground of God.

So what did you do?

We spread lies,

created an uproar

that had him brought to trial.

What did he argue?

That Jesus was the Messiah.

And the temple of God

was no longer the only place

where God could be worshiped.

Blasphemy.

I heard his final words even

amongst the roar of the crowd.

Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

Lord, do not hold

this sin against them.

Even in death,

a final blasphemy on his lips.

In that moment, I vowed to destroy

all those that spoke of this

Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah.

Your grace is sufficient.

Your grace is sufficient.

The wall can never

be breached here. Never.

The reports from the night.

And the Greek?

He came and went once more.

What do you know about Paul of Tarsus?

There are plenty

of rumors that circulate.

A magician. A god.

A madman.

Why does that Greek care

to visit him in that disgusting pit?

He dictates something to him.

A letter?

A story.

Her condition is no better.

She will be healed.

And if not?

Saul... Saul...

Saul... Saul... Saul...

Saul... Saul...

Saul...

Saul,

why do you persecute me?

Paul. Paul.

Paul.

Give me your hand.

You were screaming out.

The devil sneaks in the darkness here.

Taunts me...

Day and night...

Reminding me of this

terrible thorn in my flesh.

I'm haunted by myself as a child.

I wish to warn him

of the path he will take.

All these years,

I have had a vision of them.

I see them

waiting

somewhere...

But I do not know this place.

Its meaning has always

been hidden from me.

A torturous muse, the devil whispers

that they've found no peace...

They've found no joy.

I was remembering

when Caelia was a little girl.

She used to sit at the window

and watch small sparrows

sing and fly around the garden.

She would have been there

all day if I'd let her.

Do you remember our place

before the fires?

The light through the windows...

Flowers, the trees in the garden.

I was a noble woman.

The wife of a Roman hero.

It is Nero's madness.

I do not blame Nero.

It is no help that you walk

around this place

as if the gods have already taken her.

Don't you think you anger them by acting

like they have no power to heal?

I have been sacrificing faithfully

every day!

My conscience is clean.

I do not think that I'm the one

the gods refuse to listen to.

There he is.

Mauritius...

Your glum mood threatens

to make this lovely lass

more expensive than she needs to be.

Here, let me order you one.

Elysius. Publius.

Thank you, no.

Run along.

How is prison life?

You know as well as I it's a disgrace.

A black mark of dishonor

on my house and family.

Twenty years of service to Rome,

risking my life

to earn my citizenship,

and now forced to take

idle servant's work

while Nero makes a mockery

of everything Rome stands for.

These are the troubled times, my friend.

But that is why the gods keep

the day of our death a mystery,

so that we can enjoy this life.

I'm sorry.

Friend, how is your daughter?

Worse by the day.

I sacrifice to Bona DEA,

but she does not reply.

Then sacrifice to Carna or Meditrina,

and to Felicitas, Fortuna...

Juno, Libera, Sors, Spes, Trivia.

There are a hundred gods that stand by.

Paul of Tarsus is under my watch.

The man responsible

for burning down Rome?

He's nothing but Nero's scapegoat.

What do you really know

about these Christians?

I rarely find them in the

establishments that I frequent.

But I do know

they have a strange affection

for poor widows and ugly orphans.

But if you want to know

what the gods think of them,

just take a look around.

You'll see they're not even fit

to light the streets of Rome.

There is a Greek who slips in and out,

transcribing letters of some sort.

Mauritius, your mind has gone to rubbish

in the darkness of that prison.

What if you were to seize these letters,

find something, anything,

that relates to the crimes

he's been charged of?

Nero does not need evidence.

Assassination is in the air.

Half the city believes Nero

started the fires himself.

But if you were to bring him something

that shows that this Christian

did conspire and burn down Rome,

you would be a hero in Nero's eyes,

the most honored man in all Rome.

Mauritius, think of your daughter.

How much more would the gods listen

if the emperor himself made

a sacrifice for her?

Is it true that he has seen the Messiah?

Paul, that is.

Where's Luke? Luke!

Eubulus! Clear the table! Now!

Aquila.

Careful. Careful. Lie him here.

I found him in the street.

They said he was beaten by soldiers

after leaving Palatine Hill.

No!

No. No.

This is what trusting God gets you.

We must retaliate for this brutal act.

Many of us have only

a short time left in this city.

We must hold strong now.

Hold strong?

So we're like diseased dogs, then?

We do nothing to defend ourselves,

while we are chased from

the city just to be hunted down

and killed.

Cassius!

We understand your anger.

Tarquin was like a son to us.

I should never have let him go.

Why do you blame yourselves

and not the ones who have murdered him?

And who else have they taken from you?

This woman has come to you

covered in the blood of her child.

And what would you do, Cassius?

Tell me. What would you do?

We do what they do to us.

Yes.

Murder them in the cover of darkness!

I'm with you, Cassius!

Set fire and burn them

in their homes while they sleep!

You speak as if

your ears have never heard

the words of Christ.

You never walked with Christ!

How can you say he would

say these things in the face of

such an evil like Nero?

Quiet!

Be still.

None of us here have walked with Christ.

But Paul has followed him

longer than us all.

I have watched him be beaten,

I have watched him

be stoned and flogged,

and never once did he raise his finger

against his oppressors.

Let peace be with you,

for we live in the world,

but we do not wage war

as the world does.

Peace begins with you, Cassius.

Love is the only way.

There was a young Roman boy, Tarquin.

He was killed in the streets last night.

He was beloved by the community.

Most of them trust the Way.

But he has this cousin who is...

He's dividing them, Paul.

This growing faction

of young men that...

They want to retaliate.

They want revenge.

We cannot repay evil for evil.

Evil can only be overcome with good.

Well, considering

all they've been through,

can you really fault

their response, Paul?

What did you tell them?

Love is the only way.

And after all you've seen,

you still don't believe it?

This isn't anything I've seen.

My God...

This is a world in the grip of evil.

This is Nero's circus.

It's passionate hate.

Blood washing down the street,

widows, orphans starving to death.

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