The Siege of Masada
73 CE
The Siege of Masada
73 CE
Roman Empire's pettiest landscaping project.
The incline of the Roman Empire.
BAKED EARTH, HEAT WAVES, ROMAN CAMP
The sun cooks men like breakfast.
Goats scream in the distance.
A Roman engineer wipes sweat from his brow.
Scroll in hand.
⸻
ROMAN ENGINEER (nervous pitch):
General, hear me out—
We build a ramp. Straight up the mountain.
ROMAN GENERAL (annoyed):
A ramp?
You mean like… with dirt?
ENGINEER:
Dirt. Stone. Physics.
Roll up towers. Stab-stab-stab. Done.
GENERAL (annoyed):
You want me to tell Emperor Titus we’re going to beat a mountaintop fortress…
with a landscaping project using imperial funds?
ENGINEER (carefully):
I mean… we can keep hurling rocks at a cliff,
and let the men die of heatstroke. And goat bites.
But maybe—
GENERAL (interrupting, tearing scroll in half):
We are the Roman Empire.
You know what your problem is?
Too many ideas. Not enough statues.
The engineer is thrown out of the general’s tent.
WEEKS TURN TO MONTHS—DEAD SILENCE.
Dead soldiers litter the desert floor.
The fortress?
Netflix and chill.
SOLDIER (half-conscious):
Sir… we’re out of rocks.
The engineer is dragged back to the General’s tent.
CUT TO: LATER
A massive ramp climbs the mountain like a grudge.
At the top:
Smoke. Ruin. Silence.
The orchestra swells.
⸻
ENGINEER (dry as the desert):
Took you long enough, genius.
⸻
EPILOGUE—VOICEOVER
Emperor Titus got statues. Lots of them. The ramp got a footnote in history books and 3 1/2 stars on TripAdvisor.
The Siege of Masada
73 CE
Roman Empire's pettiest landscaping project.
The incline of the Roman Empire.
BAKED EARTH, HEAT WAVES, ROMAN CAMP
The sun cooks men like breakfast.
Goats scream in the distance.
A Roman engineer wipes sweat from his brow.
Scroll in hand.
⸻
ROMAN ENGINEER (nervous pitch):
General, hear me out—
We build a ramp. Straight up the mountain.
ROMAN GENERAL (annoyed):
A ramp?
You mean like… with dirt?
ENGINEER:
Dirt. Stone. Physics.
Roll up towers. Stab-stab-stab. Done.
GENERAL (annoyed):
You want me to tell Emperor Titus we’re going to beat a mountaintop fortress…
with a landscaping project using imperial funds?
ENGINEER (carefully):
I mean… we can keep hurling rocks at a cliff,
and let the men die of heatstroke. And goat bites.
But maybe—
GENERAL (interrupting, tearing scroll in half):
We are the Roman Empire.
You know what your problem is?
Too many ideas. Not enough statues.
The engineer is thrown out of the general’s tent.
WEEKS TURN TO MONTHS—DEAD SILENCE.
Dead soldiers litter the desert floor.
The fortress?
Netflix and chill.
SOLDIER (half-conscious):
Sir… we’re out of rocks.
The engineer is dragged back to the General’s tent.
CUT TO: LATER
A massive ramp climbs the mountain like a grudge.
At the top:
Smoke. Ruin. Silence.
The orchestra swells.
⸻
ENGINEER (dry as the desert):
Took you long enough, genius.
⸻
EPILOGUE—VOICEOVER
Emperor Titus got statues. Lots of them. The ramp got a footnote in history books and 3 1/2 stars on TripAdvisor.
The Siege of Masada
73 CE
Roman Empire's pettiest landscaping project.
The incline of the Roman Empire.
BAKED EARTH, HEAT WAVES, ROMAN CAMP
The sun cooks men like breakfast.
Goats scream in the distance.
A Roman engineer wipes sweat from his brow.
Scroll in hand.
⸻
ROMAN ENGINEER (nervous pitch):
General, hear me out—
We build a ramp. Straight up the mountain.
ROMAN GENERAL (annoyed):
A ramp?
You mean like… with dirt?
ENGINEER:
Dirt. Stone. Physics.
Roll up towers. Stab-stab-stab. Done.
GENERAL (annoyed):
You want me to tell Emperor Titus we’re going to beat a mountaintop fortress…
with a landscaping project using imperial funds?
ENGINEER (carefully):
I mean… we can keep hurling rocks at a cliff,
and let the men die of heatstroke. And goat bites.
But maybe—
GENERAL (interrupting, tearing scroll in half):
We are the Roman Empire.
You know what your problem is?
Too many ideas. Not enough statues.
The engineer is thrown out of the general’s tent.
WEEKS TURN TO MONTHS—DEAD SILENCE.
Dead soldiers litter the desert floor.
The fortress?
Netflix and chill.
SOLDIER (half-conscious):
Sir… we’re out of rocks.
The engineer is dragged back to the General’s tent.
CUT TO: LATER
A massive ramp climbs the mountain like a grudge.
At the top:
Smoke. Ruin. Silence.
The orchestra swells.
⸻
ENGINEER (dry as the desert):
Took you long enough, genius.
⸻
EPILOGUE—VOICEOVER
Emperor Titus got statues. Lots of them. The ramp got a footnote in history books and 3 1/2 stars on TripAdvisor.
Accessibility is the
innovation engine.
Build for edge cases first; the mainstream will follow.
Meet my partners who are part of making the future inclusive.
Accessibility is the
innovation engine.
Build for edge cases first; the mainstream will follow.
Meet my partners who are part of making the future inclusive.
Accessibility is the
innovation engine.
Build for edge cases first;
the mainstream will follow.
Meet my partners who are part of making the future inclusive.
