Ave Resistentia! The Roman Roads to 365 Infantry
Or the Many Modes of Unlikely Inspiration...
This is the first in a series of articles for paying subscribers of 365 Infantry about the creation of the series. This will aim to be a monthly look behind-the-scenes to showcase the hard work, research, and fun had in conceptualizing, writing, and producing the quarterly magazine. This is one of our many ways of saying “thank you” to all who see fit to support us via subscription. Please enjoy.
In the first of these posts delving into the creation of the series, I want to strip back the wolves, the rides, and the electric wilderness to talk about something near and dear to me: history. In this particular instance, Roman history.
When I started developing 365 Infantry late in August of 2021, something had been sitting in the back of my mind for a while. It was the nonstop comparison of the United States in the modern day to periods of civil unrest in the past. All of the classic preludes to disaster have been bandied about by now. The Weimar Republic’s implosion in the interwar period, stateside protests in 1968, and perhaps the crown jewel of them all: the fall of the Roman Empire.
Rome as an ancient civilization has fascinated me ever since I was a kid in school. The architecture, the philosophy, and the drama of the ruling class sparked both intrigue and imagination. I was never ardent in my study, but I did take more than a passing interest in it. And when writing about an alternative future for a post-apocalyptic United States, it seemed like the perfect time to draw on that fascination to inform certain details about the world.
First there was the timeline itself.
“The War” takes place in the year 2476 and onward, as the central computer system of Haven, the sentient A.C.E.S., grows both weaker and all the more powerful. The “birth” of A.C.E.S. occurred exactly one century prior in 2376. Drop the 2s and what you’re left with are 376 AD and 476 AD. The former saw the sudden influx of the Germanic Goths into Rome, igniting the Gothic War, and the latter saw the ostensible dissolution of the Western Roman Empire. The fact both years share digits with the birth of America as an independent nation, 1776, were memetic bonus points.
Another notable detail involves the many names of the 365th Infantry. I’ve always had an affinity for Latin, and I enjoy incorporating it into my work as appropriate. And I managed to find a smidge of room for it 365 Infantry. Under the tenure of Officer-turned-General Leonard Ford Godred, peacekeeping corp the Ascensores (Latin for “Riders”) were restructured into the mobile army of the Ambiorixians.
Godred, a student of Old World history, adapted the name from that of Ambiorix, one of two rulers of the Eburones, a tribe among many involved in the Gallic Wars. It was the adoption of Ambiorix as a national hero by Belgium in 1830 (the country residing where northeastern Gaul once sat), that sparked the notion, but not without reservations.
Godred’s discovery of the Eburones’ defeat gave him pause, as well as Ambiorix vanishing thereafter. Ultimately, he decided to go ahead with the nomenclature as he saw parallels between the impending fight against A.C.E.S. and the ambush waged on the occupying Roman soldiers in the winter of 54/53 B.C.
Whereas the Gaulish prince was up against the legions of Caesar, a distant force that could, and ultimately would, pump the area full of soldiers to defeat the uprising, Godred saw well in advance of the first true battle the daunting task of facing a machine like A.C.E.S. It was an enemy designed to forge anything and everything it could need, and automate those devices on a whim, coupled with a protectionist attitude stemming from its programmed objective of maintaining stasis in Haven’s infrastructure. Both faced outrageous enemies, but Godred saw to it in his life that the defeat that befell the Eburones would not befall the Wastelands.
To break the kayfabe for a bit, I’d like to discuss some of what went into “The Hunt” as a series, as that is perhaps where most of the Roman imagery is projected. From names of Latin origin such as Valentina, Marcus, Sabina, and Brennus, to the core concept of fighting before the masses in a tremendous colosseum, “The Hunt” represents a concerted effort to not only create a more character-centric drama with suspense and action to spare, but a specific affinity with the Old World.
Part of this stemmed from an earlier concept called Arena, an original story which focused on an overtly Neo-Roman society where bio-mechanical beasts are forced to fight in gladiatorial combat. For lack of better words, it’s a giant, high-tech dogfight. Think Roger Zelazny’s “Auto-da-Fé” from Dangerous Visions, except there are no people in the ring. The sport was called “aremort,” the name becoming a holdover when Brennus tells Val it’s the name he heard of what is publicly branded as “Sanguis et Oleum” .
In the case of “The Hunt,” the concept went for explicit gladiatorial combat, enhanced with updated tech. The “bizarre blades” and firearms described by Valentina being laser-powered guns and implements. The harpoons mentioned in the harrowing account are signs that old-school weaponry is in tow, but begs the question: how can a harpoon pierce the steel of a car with such force?
What started as bread and circus soon evolved into something designed to unleash heightened emotional and psychological responses from those forced to fight. The Roman theming is not just an aesthetic choice; there is something A.C.E.S. desires to achieve with it right down to the ritualistic inclusion of old Romanesque (and occasionally Greek) sandals for the riders who pilot in this twisted arena. Valentina herself sports modified caligae, the common boot of the Roman soldier.
With a story as rich and as iconic as the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, it was a bit hard to overlook how it could supplement a world in decay as seen in 365 Infantry. And while our inspirations and influences are many, the shadow of Rome looms large over the series, and shows no signs of vanishing any time soon. Until next time.
Venimus, Vidimus, Deus vicit.
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