Disappearing Emperors

The Midnight Article "Revertere Imperator Est (The Emperor is Back)" was written by u/MatgamarraAlt3 and posted to r/MidnightPaper

The text of the Article was as follows:

REVERTERE IMPERATOR EST (THE EMPEROR IS BACK)

Yesterday, the 20th of October of Anno Domini 2020, the Roman World entered in turmoil when Emperor Aurelian XXI announced that Emperor Stilicho, who ruled after the assassination of Emperor Honorius in 408 AD until his mysterious disappearance in 419, had  been found alive and well in the corridors of the Imperial Palace in Mediolanum.

It’s still unclear what happened to Emperor Stilicho and how he disappeared for so long and reappeared unscathed. However, this phenomenon is strangely not uncommon for the Roman high nobility. Consul Julius Caesar, in one example, disappeared mysteriously in 44 BC, and was only found in the Senate building in 1740. Emperors like Urban, Nerva, Titus, Chavez and Washington II also vanished during their reigns, with some of them also being found alive and well several centuries later.

During his first press conference after his reappearance, Stilicho, speaking flawless Classical Latin, said his version of events: “I was walking around the palace’s gardens in Ravenna when suddenly the sun flashed. Next thing I knew I was right here. I guess it happens then.”

Emperor Sulla VIII, who vanished in late 1240 and reappeared in the January of 1987, also made statements: “It’s a shame these kind of things keep happening to us Emperors. It’s dreadfully inconvenient. You lose contact with all your contacts, with the status quo, you literally lose hundreds of years of events, and worse of all, reappear just to discover a new emperor is charge, and you can now be just a senator, at most. The whole language is changed, and it’s difficult to speak correctly.”

The news spread internationally quickly. Emperor Sharpur Al-Makkah posted on his Tuitterium account how he wished the best for Emperor Stilicho and that all missing emperors were found. The emperors of China, the Aztecs and the Guptas also posted messages on their own accounts wishing for the best and that all missing emperors were “returned”.

Description:

The "Disappearing Emperors" phenomenon is an Event-Type Oddity that is affecting what appears to be an alternate universe where the Roman Empire is still active in modern times. Not only is this Empire still active, but their reach and influence is so great that Latin still appears to be a widely-used language, in addition to English.

Timeline and Process:

The Event-Type Oddity in question appears to have started in 44BC, with the inexplicable disappearance of Julius Caesar, only to reappear in 1740. Other emperors who have disappeared and reappeared in a different century include Urban, Nerva, Titus, Chavez and Washington II. Emperor Sulla VIII vanished in 1240 and reappeared in 1987.

Emperor Stilicho made it appear as if the process of disappearing and reappearing is immediate. To him, it appeared as if the Sun flashed and he was suddenly in a different time period. This 'flashing' of the Sun appears to be a vital part of the process.

It is interesting to note that Emperor Washington II may be that reality's version of George Washington. Chavez, as well, may be a reference to Hugo Chavez. How these historical figures made their way to the modern Roman Empire, however, is a complete mystery. It is also possible that these are simply these emperor's names, without them being alternate versions of these historical leaders.

Theories:

Why only emperors of the Roman Empire are targeted, and why they are all transported to other time periods, is a mystery. It is also unknown who (or what) is behind the disappearances and reappearances.

The 'flashing' of the Sun that Stilicho witnessed may not have been the Sun at all, but rather an unknown Oddity that is behind the process. This 'flash' may have been an unknown energy discharge that makes the vanishing and reappearance possible.

If time travel technology were to be invented at any point during the timeline of human existence, then it could explain this strange phenomenon. A person in possession of this technology could, for example, go back in time to 44BC, use the technology on Julius Caesar, and send him forward in time to the wear 1740. Given the fact that this event is focused strictly on Emperors of the modern Roman Empire, it is almost a certainty that whatever is behind this phenomenon is intelligent and has a very specific goal in mind.

What this Oddity (or Oddities) accomplishes by transporting the rulers of the modern Roman Empire from one time period to the next, is a mystery. However, given the fact that they have targeted the Empire so specifically, it may be possible that the perpetrator (or perpetrators) has some kind of grudge against the Roman Empire.