Gateway to Antiquity

An alternative history novel (sci-fi blended with historical fiction)

by P. P. Hutchens

Genre: General Fiction

The story begins in the 22nd century when a parallel universe is discovered. The parallel universe is an exact duplicate of our own universe, including an exact duplicate of Earth, except that this other-Earth is still in pre-Christ times. The main character, Mark, is a shy, gentle, slightly bumbling research student who becomes stranded on the other Earth in 73 BC with a few 22nd century gadgets to aid his survival. Mark tends towards pacifism, but he is faced with some extreme ethical dilemmas when Spartacus’ slave revolt against the Romans breaks out. He meets a runaway slave named Rani and they become lovers. Influenced by Rani, he uses his gadgets to make ever more dramatic and deadly interventions in the slave revolt; culminating in the destruction of Rome. Although Gateway to Antiquity is essentially an action/adventure story, its main sub-plot concerns the ethical issues involved in technologically advanced societies intervening in the internal affairs of less technologically advanced societies (such as the USA and UK in Iraq and Afghanistan). It also sets the scene for Mark's later conflicts with religious fundamentalists in a currently half-completed sequel.

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