NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1078: Olympics?
22nd January 1689,
Simhasana Bhavana, Imperial Capital Bengaluru, Akhand Bharatiya Empire,
Reading about the developments taking place in the empire after the Pragathi engine technology was made essentially open source, as far as people who can buy it are concerned, Vijay couldn't help but nod in satisfaction. He was looking forward to the next few years, when most of the development projects involving the engine would be completed, and it would be time to implement it for real.
Kavya's book really gave Vijay a surprise this time. Not only did she inspire people to invent a motorcycle, but she also inspired the subway systems, metro systems, overpass systems, and many other things. Most of all, Vijay knew that the greatest feat of Kavya by writing the novel this time around was the mention that space and time are not separate but are the same. Although Kavya did not go into this point too deeply, he was still surprised that Kavya could write about what is essentially the theory of relativity. It would be amusing if Einstein or whoever in the future came to realise the theory of relativity and figured out that a novelist had already hinted at their groundbreaking epiphany all those years ago.
Vijay chuckled, wondering about how their expressions would be after finding out, but jokes aside, what Kavya did was beyond impressive. Although he did implant Kavya with a seed of knowledge at the beginning of her novelist journey, he hadn't tampered with that power of his for such a long time, especially since the necessity did not arise. However, Vijay was still in awe as to how it was playing a role all these years later. Come to think of it, the people to whom he had given the seed of knowledge are either academicians or intellectuals who have already won a Dharma Award or are in the process of winning it. So it is safe to say that the seed of knowledge continues to provide inspiration and direct the person in the right direction throughout his life, right?
Vijay could only come to such a conclusion in the end. Shaking his head to clear his mind, his eyes fell on the new report Ganesh had just brought, 'So the Japanese have finally decided to approach the government,' 'Hehe,' he chuckled and shook his head.
'These Japanese are so meticulous and cautious that they actually went through all the southern states of the empire before making a move.' What's more, he also read that they sold some of the antiques they had brought with them in a pawn shop, which made him assume that they were running out of money. 'Maybe if their money was not bottoming out, they would even travel to every state in the empire,' he guessed with a smirk.
'Should I meet them?' he asked himself, and in the end, he shook his head.
There was no need to meet them when they themselves did not ask for his audience. Besides, his status was already several times superior to theirs, so in a formal setting, it would not look good if he, the emperor of the strongest empire in the world, met with delegates of a foreign country as soon as they requested a meeting. But he did not want his plans for Japan to be disturbed either, so he wrote down several instructions to the minister of finance, the minister of industry, and the minister of external affairs, and these instructions would be used to formulate a trade deal with the Japanese.
Handing over the instructions to Ganesh and instructing him to immediately send it to the Sabha, Vijay finally came out of the office for a walk. Getting out and feeling the fresh air hitting his face, he suddenly realised that he hadn't been in the city for a long time. Was it a year or maybe two? He couldn't even remember, so feeling a little itchy in his heart, he went undercover and visited several places in the city.
He saw people bustling everywhere, schoolchildren running to school with their bags bouncing, adults rushing to offices and workshops, cars running in every direction, and policemen sweating as they tried to keep order while the humidity began to rise. The city was alive and chaotic, yet beautiful in its own rhythm. With spring arriving, flowers along the roadsides had started to bloom, their gentle fragrance mixing with the morning air, giving a feeling of radiance and vitality. Vijay couldn't help but feel a quiet joy at the sight, already looking forward to the next month when Bengaluru would be drenched in colour, its streets and gardens bursting with blossoms, making it look like Nandana Vana, the celestial garden of the gods.
Beauty of the capital aside, his walk throughout the capital made Vijay realise that for the first time in a very long time, he was not in conflict with any kingdom, empire, or country. Although a war is indeed brewing between the East and the West, it is far in the near future. Right now, everyone is trying their best to develop their economies and build up their capacity, so in the meantime, there is actually no conflict.
"Can I do something in the middle so that the influence of the empire spreads into the European countries even more and muddy the waters, so that the Europeans think that they are fighting both the Bharatiya Empire and some of their own countries, not just the Bharatiya Empire?"
The more he thought about it, the more he felt that it was doable. He quickly went back to the Simhasana Bhavana and started planning. For one, he needed some sort of event that could attract the attention of almost all of Europe and definitely the world. Attracting the attention of the world was easy since the Bharatiya Empire was the only superpower in the eastern hemisphere, and the empire had good relations with all the nations. An invite from the Bharatiya Empire was enough to get them all involved, but involving the Europeans was slightly trickier.
To get the Europeans involved, he had to do something that would catch their attention, and he had just the right thing to make those conditions.
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"Olympics! You say, Your Majesty?" Maharana Pratap, the Minister of Sports, hearing the idea of his majesty, exclaimed.
"Yes, Olympics. It is basically the Aikyotsava Festival, but instead of athletes within the empire competing, it would be athletes from different nationalities from all over the world going against each other for the top spot."
"So, each tournament will be longer, and investment will be higher."
Maharana Pratap took a big gulp. The scale at which His Majesty was planning to host such an event was truly beyond his comprehension. 'How will a tournament that will bring together the world's best athletes to compete be?' He began to feel the bubbling excitement. He hosted the Festival of Unity in the empire every year and also oversaw the four seasonal tournaments. At first, he had some enthusiasm, but as time went on, it died down, and his excitement also dropped. But now, hearing His Majesty's ambition, his heartbeat began to pick up, and the long-lost sense of excitement and anticipation reappeared.
"So, what are your orders, Your Majesty?"
"Establish an Olympic organisation and register it in..." Vijay paused mid-sentence. In his previous life, the Olympic Committee had been founded in Switzerland, chosen for its neutrality and the founder's personal connections. But where should he establish it this time? He thought for a moment, realising it didn't really matter; location was secondary to the vision itself. Finally, he said, "Constantinople." What truly mattered wasn't where it was founded, but whether the event itself succeeded.
"Not in the empire, Your Majesty?"
"No, being both the umpire and the player reduces the credibility of the tournament."
"Right, the tournament itself can be held in Athens. The Greeks were the ones who brought the world the Olympics. It had to be cut off with their fall, but now that the Greeks are united once again, it should be commemorative to host the Olympics in Athens."
"As you wish, Your Majesty." Maharana Pratap felt a little disappointed that the first-ever Olympics was not being hosted in the empire itself, but he could understand His Majesty's idea, so he did not object.
Vijay continued giving his orders, "Pratap, you will travel to the United Greek Socialist Republics and start planning how the games will be held."
"Your Majesty, what to do about the infrastructure?" He counted in his mind. "If the Olympics are a larger version of the Aikyotsava Festival, then we would require at least 3 large stadiums and multiple venues. I don't think the Greeks have this infrastructure."
Vijay did not deny it and stood up. "That is why we will be funding the construction of these stadiums and will hold a stake in all of them, as well as absorb most of the profits brought by them."
"The Olympics will start in 1692 and will be held every four years after that, so there are two years for the infrastructure to be placed. I think it is not that difficult to achieve."
Maharana Pratap was not an expert in infrastructure, but he was the one who started the club culture in the empire. After all, he had built the first private club for local children, so he knew a thing or two about constructing stadiums. "It is definitely possible, Your Majesty, especially with engineers from our empire participating."
"I am confident that the Olympics will be an event everyone wants to witness. I'll take my leave, Your Majesty, and plan to set off for Constantinople right away."
Vijay's plan required extensive coordination, so after sending off Maharana Pratap, he immediately called Jaishankar, who had just finished signing the deal with the Japanese, to his office and briefed him on what needed to be done. He then sent an order to Jagannath Mohan to allocate funds for the construction of stadiums in Athens, Greece.
P.S. Thank you, WhySoSerious7, for the suggestion on the theory of relativity