Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

26th July 1658

Akhand Bhartiya Empire, Imperial Capital, Bengaluru, Parliament Grounds

"You bloody idiot! How many times should I tell you to get certified by the Bharatiya Standards Organisation for event safety? Why haven’t you done it yet?"

Ganesh was fuming with rage, almost breathing fire from his nose as he looked at his subordinate, who had failed to complete the task.

The subordinate looked panicked. "But... but, Your Excellency, I did invite the people from the BSO, but unfortunately, they were delayed due to an accident on the road."

"You...!" Ganesh couldn’t take it anymore and was almost at his wits’ end. "I don’t need these excuses. Piss off! You will be demoted right away."

The subordinate was immediately shocked. He had worked for almost a year to reach his current position, and now, suddenly, due to his oversight, he was about to reach ground zero once again. Wouldn’t his hard work and persistence finally come to nothing?

The subordinate opened his mouth to plead for another chance, but, seeing the ruthlessness in His Excellency Ganesh’s eyes, he quickly accepted his fate and left fearing more dire consequences.

In fact, the subordinate was lucky because Ganesh actually wanted to completely fire him from the Emperor’s office due to his mistake. However, fortunately or unfortunately, the only reason he did not was not due to any kindness or compassion in his heart, but simply because of his inability to do so.

Workers in the Emperor’s office cannot be appointed or removed at will by anyone, and that restriction even applies to Ganesh, as he holds only the rights of demotion and promotion, and nothing else. To fire or appoint anyone, the Emperor’s consent is the only voice that matters.

Looking at the crowd that was constantly gathering on the Parliament grounds, Ganesh grew worried and quickly made a decision.

"Contact the Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru," Ganesh said.

The Deputy Commissioner, who was serving as the security coordinator for the Aikyotsava event, was surprised to be contacted by the top secretary from the Emperor’s office, Mr. Ganesh himself.

Thus, the Deputy Commissioner immediately handed over his task to a few of his subordinates and made his way to meet Ganesh.

Ganesh didn’t waste any time with pleasantries. "Sir Deputy Commissioner, I need your help. A group from the Bharatiya Standards Organisation, who were supposed to arrive at the event a few hours ago, have yet to arrive due to an accident on the road. Could you please reach out to them and escort them to the event quickly?"

The Deputy Commissioner immediately understood the importance of the matter and solemnly promised to get the job done.

The Bangalore police quickly arrived at the location of the accident where a huge traffic jam had formed and successfully located the group of inspectors from the Bharatiya Standards Organisation who were heading toward the parliament grounds.

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With the help of pedestrians, the police officers managed to push the fallen carriages onto their wheels. After that, they wasted no time and started directing the inspectors to move on.

The inspectors from the Bharatiya Standards Organisation heaved a sigh of relief as they not only received an escort from the Bangalore police but also had the rare opportunity to experience the emergency lane firsthand. It was surreal, to say the least.

All the carriages around them were following traffic rules at moderate speeds, while their entourage sped through the city from one street to the next, one locality to another at a breathtaking pace. Seeing all the traffic halted to let them pass, the inspectors were both mesmerized and slightly dazed, knowing they would likely never experience such convenience again.

Unbeknownst to them, they would be proven wrong only a few years down the line.

---

Just as Ganesh was about to lose his temper over the BSO inspectors’ delay, he was greatly relieved by their arrival.

"Come on, come on—quickly! We have no time to waste!"

Ganesh didn’t even attempt to learn the inspectors’ names and instead immediately pressured them into beginning their work.

While the crowd was slowly filling the stadium seats, the Bharatiya Standards Organisation officials entered the event grounds through the back door. They immediately took out their checklists, testing instruments, abacuses, and other essential tools.

The inspection began with the kitchen, where safety and hazard prevention regulations were rigorously checked. Following the new rule set by the Ministry of Standards, they also inspected the availability of fire prevention methods and ensured there were multiple emergency exits with visible signs marking their locations.

Thankfully, everything checked out. Ganesh heaved a sigh of relief and was thankful that everything had gone right this time. However, getting happy too soon is never a good thing, as there was a problem after all.

"Your Excellency Ganesh, I am sorry to inform you that our organization cannot approve of this event being held because of the seating arrangements you have made."

This came as a huge shock to Ganesh. What did he hear? Couldn’t the event be approved? Why? What happened? Hadn’t he done everything right?

His pupils kept dilating due to the great shock and his increasingly unstable thoughts. But fortunately, being at such a high place for a long time, Ganesh was able to immediately rein in his rampant emotions. "What happened? Could you please tell me clearly?"

"Sure, Sir. It’s actually the problem with the seating arrangements. Although you have utilized strong oak wood to build these seating compartments, which should in practice be alright, contrary to common sense, after testing various factors affecting structural integrity, we came to the conclusion that these seating arrangements do not meet our requirements."

"How so?" Ganesh continued to ask.

"Ah, this..." The inspector didn’t know how to explain, since all he knew was that the venue did not meet the standards which were put forward by his superior.

Fortunately, he didn’t have to wait long when a thin, middle-aged man with a scholarly temperament came forward to clarify.

"It’s like this, Sir. It is true that this strong oak timber will definitely be able to withstand the weight of the people in a normal situation, but I am not so sure that it will be able to withstand the current situation."

"You see this, Sir?" The man pointed towards the band that was enthusiastically playing the drums and then towards the people in the stands who were happily cheering at the top of their lungs for their favorite athletes.

"Due to the rhythm provided by the band and the excitement produced by the athletic events, the audience is bound to get excited and celebrate passionately by jumping around."

"Imagine this: The gameplay has reached the most intense moment; people are intently staring at their favourite sports team, whose fate of winning or losing would be decided in the next second, and their nerves are tight. Suddenly, there is a result that greatly stimulates their passion and quickly alleviates all the tension they feel.

In this situation, wouldn’t you say that it is expected that the audience will immediately jump up and down in joy? My worry is, what if the frequency of their jumps is synchronized due to the rhythm provided by the band? If such a thing happens," the man shivered, "I don’t even want to imagine the consequences."

Ganesh immediately had a bad feeling. "Tell me clearly what could happen?"

"The platform will completely collapse, Sir. It will inevitably break apart. If the platform does not absorb the vibrations of everyone jumping at the same time and does not flex, then the rigid wooden structure will not last, and it will undoubtedly collapse at a single point."

"Damn!"

Even hearing about what could happen made Ganesh’s back go cold. Just thinking about the consequences made him shudder, as he knew his majesty wouldn’t leave him unpunished like he did last time.

Ganesh looked at the cheerful expressions in the crowd and then at the platform they were sitting on. In his eyes, the platform suddenly transformed into a deadly trap that could swallow hundreds of people to death at a time.

Ganesh wanted to immediately call off the event, but considering the significance of today’s occasion, he was hesitant. "Is there any way to resolve this issue without calling off the event?" Ganesh had little hope because, in his opinion, how could such a big problem be solved without causing any inconvenience? But he was happy to have been wrong and was pleasantly surprised.

The scholarly man actually nodded his head. "There is, Your Excellency.

As a matter of fact, the consequence I mentioned could only happen in the most rare moments when everyone jumps up and down at the same time, so I would say there is only about a 10% probability considering today’s event and less than a 2% probability for any other such events that have been held in various districts and states."

"But if we want to resolve even this 10%, then there is an easy way."

Ganesh was like a drowning man grasping for a straw. "What is it?"

"It’s simple: reinforce it, sir. If you want to make sure that this platform made of oak wood does not break apart, then simply reinforce it with something else from underneath; it’s hollow anyway, isn’t it?"

"My opinion is to use iron plates, since they are not only strong but also have better vibration absorption capabilities, and you can find these iron plates fairly easily, as any house construction utilizes these plates for the purpose of building the ceiling."

"Reinforcing the seating platform with these plates should be enough to pass the safety standards of our Bharatiya Standards Organisation."

Ganesh was immediately enlightened and looked at the thin, middle-aged man, impressed. Not every day does he meet such a keen individual.

"Thank you for your suggestion. May I know your name?"

The thin, middle-aged man smiled. "No need for thanks; this is the job we should do. As for my name, I am the senior inspector of the Bharatiya Standards Organisation and a civil servant in the Ministry of Standards, Badri Gowda."

Ganesh firmly remembered the name in his mind and quickly got to work.

He immediately mobilized all the labor force under the Emperor’s office and had them go to the Central library that was still under construction to get back all the iron plates and poles in order to reinforce the audience stands.

Finally, after this change, the Bharatiya Standards Organisation quickly provided a certificate of approval after conducting various safety and hazard prevention tests.

This time, Ganesh felt truly at ease as he was successful in safeguarding the event within only an hour before it started.

"Phew! Well done, team! Now let’s enjoy this marvelous sporting carnival!"