THE RISE AND FALL OF Caesar 2020

He always knew that he was bound for both glory and tragedy. Caesar had many faults but deep within him he always knew that the day will come when he will take the throne and accomplish what no other Caesar before him has accomplished. There were many ups and downs in his life, numerous women, failed marriages, conquests and adventures that did not materialize the way he dreamed them. But he had always kept his eyes on the prize, the throne of the empire.

His predecessor was Marcus Aurelius, once a slave who rose in the ranks and with eloquent magic he mesmerized his supporters and over time managed to capture the throne with the blessings of both his friends and his enemies. After many years Marcus decided to go to exile. Caesar thought it is his chance to compete for the throne. Many other generals were also competing and they had the advantage of being brought up in military families that constituted the establishment that built the empire. Not Caesar, not at all. He was different and so was his vision for the empire.

As he faded from the scene, Marcus Aurelius had already anointed his god-daughter Haly to take over the throne. But that anointment was not enough, the people of the land needed to support it. Caesar entered the battle for the throne without hesitation and with the confidence of a fool. No one in the land thought that Cesar had any chance, but lo and behold every general competing with him was conquered on the field of battle. Princess Haly, the god-daughter was certain of her victory and thought it would be a cakewalk to her throne. The entire empire administration was being prepared for the take over of the crown by princess Haly.

Caesar never gave up and he went on a campaign across the land to gain the support of those forgotten people in the land. To the surprise of many he gained a lot of devoted followers. What happened was nothing short of miracle. Cesar, the general least expected to win, took up the prize: the throne. No one in the land and beyond could believe it or wanted to believe it.

Rapidly and surely, he started his new conquest to overcome many visible and invisible enemies and to fulfil the pledges he made to his forgotten supporters. He had a vision of a different empire and all around him, even those close to him were people that were resisting his vision every step along the way. They questioned each of his campaigns and each of his conquests. From the day he sat on the throne, there were spies, there were conspirators, there were enemies who wanted to dethrone him. But Caesar was sure and certain of his destiny and faced each resistance with an iron fist. The more he showed his strength and his ability to conquer the enemies, the more his enemies collaborated to bring him down. In spite of all that, his empire grew and prospered and he was certain that his throne was safe for a generation to come.

The people that put him on the throne, the common forgotten ones kept by his side and cheered for him as he marched from one victory to another. But there were so many little people, angry people, vanquished people in different areas of the empire that resisted him with everything they had, and rebellions everywhere became the norm throughout the empire. It was bound to happen, so many little vanquished people each with their own grievances collaborated to have the head of Caesar on a plate. They even brought him for trial. He fought and fought tirelessly until he thought, alas, he conquered them all.

In his last year, he had certainly climbed the highest mountain and there was glory of winning all around him. But, the world around him suddenly and unexpectedly proclaimed his downfall. Early in the year, Cesar heard very disturbing unfortunate news. News of an invisible enemy that was crashing and destroying many regions throughout his empire. That enemy actually had taken most of the world even beyond the empire by the time Caesar realized the incredible threat to his throne. His wizards, his magicians, his witch doctors were all over him predicting an apocalypse of horror and suffering that had only been heard of in biblical times. For many nights, Caesar could not sleep a wink any anymore pondering what to do. They all advised him in one voice to hide and to tell his people to surrender and go into caves while the invisible enemy marched on killing his people starting with the old ones.

It seemed that Cesar and his people had absolutely no defense. Caesar wanted to say NO, NO. NO. "We will not go to caves". NO NO NO "we have built the greatest empire". He wanted to meet the invisible enemy face-to-face but everybody laughed at his foolishness. Against his better judgment and against every emotion of defeat in his body, Cesar had to sign the document of surrender because of the terrible emergency situation facing the empire. White flags were everywhere and instead of soldiers, he sent his white civilians not to fight but to heal the many thousands and thousands who were sick and dying. All the conquests Cesar accomplished over the years were quickly taken over by the invisible enemy. The gained territories he previously won simply evaporated and vanished.

In no time at all, Caesar was on his knees crying and praying for a miracle. His miracle happened when advisors told him that his invisible enemy had started to retract, and so he collected all his armies to try to bring back the glory of his empire. Little did he know that his enemies from within were all surrounding him with angry faces. They were led by returning Marcus Aurelius, his god-daughter Haly, her minions and all the previously defeated generals. They all ganged up on him. They started haunting him, confronting him and setting traps to eventually bring his downfall.

There were voices of his supporters shouting: Beware the Ides of March, but Cesar did not listen. On a fateful night in November 2020, the great Cesar was stabbed by a billion daggers and fell on his face to his doom wounded by both his enemies and his friends.

Marcus Aurelius came back from his exile and stood behind the curtain and put his previous YES-Man to succeed him, Marcus manipulated the scene that will ensure that his legacy will be restored and to erase every mention of Caesar for many generations to come.

Historians are now trying to decide what to write about Caesar and so they went around the empire asking the people that knew him well and most of them could only recite stories of his short temperaments that he expressed in a flood of cries and whispers anytime of day or night that echoed throughout the land. They concluded that Caesar was inflicted with a rare disease similar to epilepsy that at times made him think of himself as the Great Caesar of Rome and at times brought him down to the depths of depression willing to drop his tired body from all his battles on his own sword.

Far away from the historians, there lived millions of people who thought of him differently and decided to immortalize his legacy as Caesar the Great 2020. They vowed that one day he too shall return.