The Mechanical Era

Both raised their hands immediately upon hearing his proposal. Kant took a deep breath and prepared for the objections he was about to receive. He decided to go with Arjun first, as he was the one to raise it first.

"Yes?" he pointed at him.

"Sir, do you not realize what an expensive endeavor this will be? To teach a population big as Hoverdam is an extremely difficult task. I do not know how sire intends to see it through."

"Same here sire."

"Not to worry you two. I already have thought it through. We are going to use the help of two new inventions for that. The first one will be cement.

Now, as I am sure Arjun knows, the factory has been able to turn out 20 tons per day. The production could increase if we brought in more materials along with hiring new workers to have 2 shifts. But that doesn't matter here.

The point is that we are expected to produce more cement than originally projected. However, as a side effect, we can build many schools with stone bricks a lot faster at a cheaper price. Cement will be an essential ally in helping us to do so.

It will provide us with a place of learning, and at the same time, it will be a practical showcase of cement's effectiveness and cost efficiency. Convincing any potential merchants to buy and sell it off."

"What is the other invention sire?"

"The next invention that we can use to help us is what I like to call the printing press. A printing press is a mechanical device that allows us the mass production of uniform printed matter.

It does this by applying pressure on an inked surface upon the print medium. That process transfers ink to the other paper. A wooden one can print about 20 to 25 pages an hour compared to 2 pages an hour through handwriting."

He hands over a blueprint he had made to the both of them.

"I will give you some time to digest it."

After a few minutes, Kristina raised her hand.

"Yes, Kristina?"

"I have a question sire. Wouldn't a mechanical device such as this be expensive to maintain?"

"Though the expenses are high, the benefits the device produces far outweigh the cost. First of all, we can stuff a lot of textbooks into schools, which means that even at home, they could learn to read in their free time.

It could also act as an experiment on how we can effectively teach the police officers, and they will be able to communicate with reports more efficiently.

Second of all, it would mean that a book publishing industry could be created. We can sell a lot of our books not just to the commoners, but also internationally. Think of all our literature that the kings and other wealthy peoples of other continents aren't able to acquire them.

With this, it becomes feasible and more profitable. This high volume of the sale of books means that, with a little tax, we can reap in a lot of new tax money from the commoners.

Thirdly, it incentives people to start to get into reading. This then creates massive wealth for the people that can write books, and a new opportunity is created for people to grow wealthy, incentivizing them to learn to write. A self-fulfilling prophesy if you will.

Finally, it would allow for information and knowledge to flow more freely with the commoners. They can learn new techniques. Learn new skills that would allow them to invent new inventions that could increase output, like say in agriculture."

Arjun raised his hand. "What about the teachers sire? Wouldn't it take time?"

"It will take some time to hire and train some good teachers. Maybe in about two to three months in total. But having them would be vital for the schools to be effective."

If you want more details, I have them within these papers here." He gave them what he had worked on all day the previous day. The two took time to digest the high amount of information presented over there.

"How many are you planning on making?"

"To fit one in every school at least."

"Did sire prepare a... map?" Arjun asked.

"Oh yes, I have made a location distribution map. Here." Kant presented both of them with a map.

"Here in the red circled area, is where I want the general location of the schools. I factored in the average walking distance, which is about 4.83km/h to 6.44km/h. Inside the circle, I have assigned a number that indicates how big I would want them to be.

The areas with the higher amounts of population are where the taller buildings should be, as the price is a bit higher there, but also more students will be packed in here.

I intend to start in the autumn, as the summer will be too hot. It will also give us time to prepare the material needed.

Since we can't take in all of them at the same time, we will have each student attend school every other day. They can learn to continue at home. With the materials provided."

"So, what do you think?"

There was a brief moment of silence. The two were thinking about it. Digesting the information that was presented to them.

"Well, Sire... I am afraid this would take us a while. May I have your permission to discuss this with Knight Kristina? We both like to think this through in private."

"Granted. I will be leaving now. Inform me of your decision at my office. Please leave once you have finished." With that said, Kant left the room.

"Well, what do you think?" Kristina asked.

"I have... mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I would rather not like the lower peasants being able to read or write. They might get some ideas. His majesty thinks so."

Kristina slightly nodded at his response, slowly looking away. Arjun picked up on this.

"Why, do you not feel the same?"

"What... oh no, I think the same as well. Just thinking."

"What exactly?"

"This might sound a bit ludicrous, but what if we... use the schools to hide teaching magic. For royalty only of course."

"Fool Vallina to think that we are just allowing more people to read? To act as a cover?"

"Exactly. It would allow us to buy more time in training them, and we could start from summer if they all build quickly."

"I think we might have to ask his majesty for permission."

"Won't that take 4 days at least to get a response back? We should allow Prince Kant to make at least 1 or 2 of these printing presses."

"Why so?"

"We both know how he has been getting more ambitious over the weeks. He wants to help improve the lives of the people, and as a result, is getting more and more popular among the commoners. Especially with the..."

Kristina stopped.

"What is it?"

"Never mind, I was thinking of something else. But my point still stands. Besides, think about them."

"Salvator Humat?"

"Yes. We both know that they have been gaining supporters in the commoners over the years. Thanks to all the... questionable things they did in their youth.

Having a young prince seen well mannered and popular among them is vital for the royal family's safety. We could even stunt their growth."

"That is... yes. I think I agree. I will write to Nexert informing his majesty. Can you inform Kant about the decision?"

"Of course."

...

The sun was beginning to set. Kant was in his room reading a bunch of papers when Cora, his maid, entered the room to bring his cup of tea. She noticed that Kant was going through a dense list of names. Intrigued by what it was, she decided to ask.

"What is that sire?"

"It is a list of the most trusted artisans in the city. I need to choose one to make the printing press."

"Printing press?"

"It's like a highly advanced stamp mixed with a screw press. I hope to teach people to not just read and write, but also to help create a book publishing industry. Maybe even a public newspaper service."

"A newspaper?" Kant used his hand to get Cora to come closer.

"A document that allows the people to be informed of what is happening in a given area. That is the gist of it at least."

"I see. Can I... take a look? I might have someone." she asked.

"Oh, of course! Here." She starts to flip and skim through the pages, using her index finger to help find what she needs. She stopped at one name in particular.

"Bingo! Sire, have you heard of the Petersons?"

"The Petersons?"

"Yes. You mentioned earlier that the printing press is like a screw press, correct?"

"Do they have some experience with screw presses?"

"That and many more sire. They have a lot of experience with many complicated machines, and they have a lot of connections."

"To their suppliers?"

"Suppliers and buyers. The Petersons have a loyal customer base, and they are good friends of mine."

"Alright then. Thank you, Cora."