| Nero's Stretching Rack | |
|---|---|
|
Origin |
Nero |
|
Type |
Stretching Rack |
|
Effects |
Pulls target apart with ligitature remotely |
|
Downsides |
Dislocates limbs; increased savagery |
|
Activation |
Accusing a person of betrayal |
|
Collected by |
Warehouse 5 |
|
Section |
|
|
Date of Collection |
608 AD |
| [Source] | |
Origin[]
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his death in AD 68. Most Roman sources offer overwhelmingly negative assessments of his personality and reign. Most contemporary sources describe him as tyrannical, self-indulgent, and debauched. The historian Tacitus claims the Roman people thought him compulsive and corrupt. Suetonius tells that many Romans believed the Great Fire of Rome was instigated by Nero to clear land for his planned "Golden House".
Tacitus claims Nero seized Christians as scapegoats for the fire and had them burned alive, seemingly motivated not by public justice, but personal cruelty. Some modern historians question the reliability of ancient sources on Nero's tyrannical acts, considering his popularity among the Roman commoners. In the eastern provinces of the Empire, a popular legend arose that Nero had not died and would return. After his death, at least three leaders of short-lived, failed rebellions presented themselves as "Nero reborn" to gain popular support.
In AD 65, Gaius Calpurnius Piso, a Roman statesman, organized a conspiracy against Nero with the help of Subrius Flavus and Sulpicius Asper, a tribune and a centurion of the Praetorian Guard. According to Tacitus, many conspirators wished to "rescue the state" from the emperor and restore the Republic.
According to Tacitus, the rack was used in a vain attempt to extract the names of the conspirators to assassinate Emperor Nero in the Pisonian conspiracy from the freedwoman Epicharis in 65 A.D. The next day, after refusing to talk, she was dragged back to the rack on a chair (all of her limbs were dislocated, so she could not stand), but strangled herself on a loop of cord on the back of the chair on the way.
Effects[]
Summons cords that wrap around the user's joints and pull in opposite directions until broken. Will continue until victim has confessed to conspiratorial acts or died from blood loss. Causes administrator to violently seek scapegoats, real or imaginary, to violently punish for information and cruelty's sake.