The Mechanical Era

The air around him cooled down a little as the month progressed. It was nearing the end of the summer and the beginning of autumn, which was only a few days away.  Kant's hands were occupied by a sharp wooden pencil, moving along the rules of a wooden ruler on top of the A3 sheet of paper, making a blueprint of a large steam-powered machine.

It had a few metal wheels on each side, connected to each other with a rod. The was also a large steel cylinder with a tall and wide exhaust at the front of it, puffed smoke, imitating those factories in Industrial District 1. On the back end, there was a place where a few men could stay, controlling the large vehicle.

With the steel mill set up, he now had the necessary materials to start designing and reinventing one of the most revolutionary devices of his old world; the steam locomotive. It allowed the mass movement of people and goods from one location to another, which will be a key factor in developing Kant's kingdom further.

As he kept on drawing the blueprint, his ears picks up someone knocking on his door. Kant stopped drawing on the paper with his pencil, rolled up the diagram, placed it in the drawer, and permitted the man on the other side to enter. Alan Fleck walked inside the room, carrying a few files with him.

"Good morning your majesty! I hope I wasn't interrupting anything important?" Alan asked the king.

"No, not at all. Sit down, minister." Alan walked right up to the chair and sat comfortably. Kant, keeping eye contact with the minister, questioned him.

"What brings you here, minister Alan?" Kant asks.

'Well sir, I have organized everything that you have requested of me and I came here to deliver the news myself.

The first is about the void crystals. I got a few supplies, who agreed to send in 50 grams of void crystal.

Though it was very expensive, costing about 5 gold coins. We should be receiving the crystals by the 3rd of Folia, next month."

"That is good. What about the preparations for the tests?"

"Done as well. I have managed to find a few volunteers that fit your criteria and range of skills. We should be able to do the tests on the 7th of the next month.

I have also reserved an area where you can safely conduct them in a proper manner, along with a few researchers experienced with adequate equipment they have been provided to study and record the results," Alan explained.

"That is wonderful. Is there anything else?" Alan hands over the files that he has been carrying. Kant opens them up, to find a detailed profile of a bunch of war-hardened men.

"I got a couple of excellent contenders that could fill the secretary of defense position. Their qualifications are in the files there.

From what I know, these men are said to be extremely flexible, able to learn and adapt to different conditions in war and technology, a good track record of working well under multiple leaders, AND is loyal to anyone offering a good salary.

pαndα,noνɐ1,сoМ They are, without a doubt, the best contenders to fill the role of Secretary of Defence, although they would act well as the Deputy Secretary of Defense, Service Secretaries, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Military Service Chiefs, Field Commanders, or any other areas you would want them in."

As Alan finished explaining, Kant focused on the men present in the files. It presented people from different parts of the northern half of the continent, all of whom have fought and battled against Rose.

"You seem to have found a lot of remarkable people," Kant commented.

"If you are struggling to choose one, I do have a recommendation of a man personally, but I don't think you would like to hear from me, sir. Unless you want to, that is."

"It is fine. Who do you want to recommend?" Kant questions.

"Well, there is a man named Richard Armstrong. He is 46 years old and he got his start in the 90s succession crisis. He had managed to rank up quickly at that time.

He is this big and respected guy who had to retire because of his belief in the church. Thankfully, he wasn't executed to keep relations with his respective kingdom, which looked up to him as a hero.

He played a big part in "the swift continental war", being one of the only commanders who employed effective tactics against Rose Valline's musketeer soldiers. I think he would be an ideal candidate."

Kant was silent. He read through Richard Armstrong's profile, which references him to be a 6'6 giant, towering above other men. The more he read about him, the more impressed he became with his qualifications.

"Hm... I see. Can you send out a letter? I would like to speak to him."

"I will, sir. Is there anything else that you wanted me to do?" Alan asks.

"I do, yes. Just give me a minute."

Kant places the files to the side and pulls the drawer. He then takes out the rolled-up blueprint and presents it to Alan. He then gets up from his chair, grabs more files, and hands them over to Alan. While the larger A3 blueprint presented the whole device, the smaller files contained the smaller components of the device.

"Ever since the steel mill had started, I have been working on a new invention that I hope will revolutionize transportation, and expand the kingdom of Hoverdam's reach and economic power.

Before the mill, I had no way of acquiring the adequate amount of materials needed to build this device, especially without steel.  I am sure you know about what a steam tram is, minister Alan?"

"Yes sir, I do. Is what you sir, are presenting like a bigger version of that?"

"Yes. I call it a steam-powered locomotive. You can call it a train or locomotive if you prefer. It works on the same principles as the tram, but it is much faster and has a higher carrying capacity than a tram.

I intend of building these locomotives and rail lines to connect and integrate the other urban settlement residing inside the kingdom's borders, to allow for more ease of moment within the kingdom.

Once the kingdom itself is connected, I desire to expand the rail lines outward, connect and integrate other kingdoms into the city of Hoverdam, sell more of the kingdom's products to other cities, and import more materials to the kingdom to allow further expansion of industry."

Alan looked at the blueprints and was rather fascinated by the drawings. At this point, he no longer began to feel surprised at the display of Kant's immense mechanical engineering knowledge.

"This is a very complicated device. I assume you desire me to send some letters to a few firms and get them to work together to build the machine drawn on paper?" Alan asks.

"That is correct, minister. For this mechanical device to work, I would need to employ many engineers specialized in a variety of fields, to come together to make each component of the device.

For this to happen properly, I think it would be best if they work off at the same location, so that they can communicate better and make design changes faster. Once the parts are built, they will then have to be assembled and then tested for any failures. Are you getting any of this?"

"Yes sir. I need to send out the letters to the firms, detailing what you just said, and get them to work on developing the necessary mechanical component in a disclosed building.

I will also make sure to reserve a location to test the device. How large would you like this location to be?" Alan asked.

"About as twice as the steam tram, for a longer test line. Do you think you can find a spot?" Kant asked. Alan thought of it hard, wondering where he could find a place like what Kant had described. Suddenly out of nowhere, a candle was lit in his brain.

"I got it, sir! You can do the tests in an area located on the outskirts. We can use the cargo trams to deliver the heavy parts to the area quickly and assemble the device there. Will that work for you, sir?" Alan suggested.

"That will work just fine," Kant answers.