The Mechanical Era

Kant sat in his office waiting for Arjun to arrive. As a way to kill time, he wrote down a small black book he now carries around in his pocket. He uses it to write down the meetings he has scheduled in the future, and the ones he had attended.

It appears that tomorrow would be when Decan Hurst finally meets back with him in his office. He was the stonemason that Kant hired to design the school. That is if he comes on time. The school is to be an integral part of his plans for the future.

There was a knock on the door. Kant put down the quill, placed the book back in his suit pocket, and allowed whoever was on the other side to enter the room. Arjun walked into the office and sat down on the chair.

"You called for me sire?"

"Yes. I have a new piece of legislation that I would like to be enacted as soon as possible."

"Well, sire. Please educate me."

"Of course. It's called the 'Private Corporation Act of 5018.' It states that by filling out a given application with the registrar of companies and paying the necessary fees, a person can set up a corporation to conduct business through the temporary bureau of the registrar of companies.

A corporation is a large group of people that are treated as a separate legal entity owned by shareholders. Shareholders are persons who own shares in the company. They are set up using articles of incorporation.

The articles of incorporation mainly tell the person incorporating the primary purpose of the business, its location, the number of shares and stock being issued to owners and investors, and a few more details.

If you want to go further into detail, you read the bill."

Kant passed down the bill, which consisted of 22 pages of dense information regarding how this legal entity is supposed to function and act. Arjun started to read what was contained in its pages.

"This is just the first one. I have another legislation I need to type."

"I have to question sire," he asked after skimming through it all.

"First, what is that other piece of legislation, and second, what is the purpose of this bill?"

"To answer your first question, the second bill I plan on typing would allow individual persons who had come up with a new invention, whether it be a machine, medicine, composition, chemicals, processes and a list of other things, to file and gain a patent on the said invention.

A patent will give ownership of intellectual property and would allow the said individual to go after anyone who would attempt to make money off their invention without their consent.

It would allow them to have proper bargaining power, in order to make a deal with anyone wanting to use their invention. This would lead to them being able to earn a reasonable income with loyalties and fees, and it would allow larger and wealthier manufacturers to produce the product and make a profit.

You now have people who are incentivized to come up with new inventions and manufacturers who have new products and services to offer to customers, creating wealth.

To answer your second, It is to make business more easily to conduct, and a lot less risky by limiting liability, and to create said large organizations from before."

"Limiting liability?"

"Yes. The introduction of the corporation means that the amount of money one can lose on a business venture is the amount one had spent on said venture. With this, I hope to bring capital back to the city to be used to fund the technologies I have in mind.

It also allows for the easy raise of capital through the sale of stock, and the transfer of ownership to anyone else interested in buying in.

In all honesty, this should have been the first thing I should have done. I have come to realize that."

"What makes you think that they would invent these technologies sire? Say the cement powder for instance?"

"I get where you are coming from, and that is what I attempt to solve. The reason not many are willing to sell cement is the risk is too high. With a corporation, however, their risk is limited, and people are more inclined to take risks.

You have seen cement work with your own eyes minister. The product is superior to the alternative method of grinding stones. By using a corporation, they could gain a significant profit with a minimized risk, the main motivator for the merchants to do so.

Plus, because a corporation could issue shares, it can raise capital more easily, allowing for more money to be invested and used."

Arjun stayed silent. He thought through Kant's counter-argument.

"As long as you don't extend these policies too far, it won't be an issue regarding his and her majesty. In terms of the second piece of legislation... do not place the patent for the printing press."

"..."

"For now that is. That is all I am asking. His majesty might not approve of it."

"Alright then. Consider that done."

"Good. How do you want me to implement this new act sire?"

"Well, it's simple. First, we need a place for people to file the paperwork to do so."

Kant takes out a map of the city from his drawer and places it on the table.

"I suggest that we should put the department near the city center, but not in it. Real estate is a bit too high there for my taste, and I rather not take one for the building. The cost is too high.

We then need to staff the said place with people who are able to read and write. It doesn't matter where they are from. They might be expensive, but I deem the cost to be minimal to the returns.

The procedures on what to do are written down on this piece of paper. Find a place, convert it by the end of the month, and start finding someone to staff the registrar of companies. Preferably, find another building close to it to use for the patents."

"I understand sire. I will get to it."

Before Arjun could leave, there was a knock on the door. Kant was given a letter, signed by the King of Albersterg, Heinrich Canmore.

"He wants to purchase the cement?"

"It appears so. Though it does not say how much he wants. It appears I am going to send a letter back on the amount of quantity needed. I would for you to arrange a meeting with the merchants to ship the product to Albersterg."

"Does sire have an idea why he changed his mind so quickly?"

"No. I don't think I can. There are many possible reasons why he changed his mind. His city might have been hit by a natural disaster, or maybe he might want to finish the project in a shorter time frame."

"If sire had to guess, what would it might be?"

"In that case, considering that there has been a rise in demonic activity over the past months, it might be something related to the demons. Then again, the chances I would be wrong are high as there isn't any sufficient information to make a proper judgment.

If Arjun is curious, I can send him a letter regarding the matter. I would have to send one regarding how much he is willing to pay for the cement powder. I can add that question in the letter."

"Yes, sire. Please do."

"Since he seems keen on purchasing cement, I would like for you to arrange a meeting on the 31st of this month."

"Who should be invited to the meeting."

"Currently I have one in mind. A merchant named Oswald Audley."