Over the course of the past few weeks, Bruno had been doing his best to overhaul the capital city of Tyrol on a practical miniature scale. He had enlisted the help of the German Armys' Corps of Engineers best minds in the project.
This was simply a mockup, a protoype for the futue layout of all cities across Eruope. And it was progressing swimmingly with each passing day. But this was a distant future, Tesla had only just finished proving his prototype could work, and it would be another five years, perhaps even a decade before every city in the German Reich was powered by such revoluitionary technology.
It was perhaps because Bruno understood that this was a solution to a problem on a much larger tiscale that while he marveled at the realization of these innovations which would soon be spreading across Europe, his thoughts drifted across the Atlantic. The United States, once a beacon of progress and innovation.
But In the wake of Germany's triumph in 1916, the world found itself at a crossroads. The old empires of Europe lay fractured, their colonial grips loosening, while new powers erged, eager to shape the future. Amidst this global upheaval, the United States remained steadfast in its isolationism, a sleeping giant unaware of the shifting tides that threatened to erode its influence.
The decision to remain neutral during the Great War had spared Arican lives but at a significant cost. The nation's detachnt from global affairs led to a stagnation that was both intellectual and economic.
The "brain drain" saw luminaries like Tesla, who once conducted experints in New York, seeking more receptive environnts in Europe. Particularly the fertile pastures of the German Reich where Bruno poached them away from their holand in return for ample rewards and a far looser leash to work with.
Without the crucible of war to drive innovation, Arican industries lacked the impetus to evolve, resulting in overproduction and dwindling markets. Politically, the landscape was equally tumultuous.
The absence of Woodrow Wilson from leadership ant the progressive movents that sought to position Arica as a global diator never took root. Instead, a series of administrations, deeply entrenched in isolationist policies, focused inward, neglecting the seismic shifts occurring globally.
In the power vacuums left by war torn European empires, nations in Latin Arica and the Caribbean seized the mont to assert their independence and redefine their identities. xico, for instance, perhaps emboldened by what they perceived to be weakness by the Arican Governnt made a push for a forgotten claim over the southwestern United States.
For the first ti since the xican-Arican war had co to the shores of the United States, and it was once more from their southern neighbor. But the military of the United States had been neglected, without the foreign imperialistic policies of the progressive movent, the Great White Fleet had not received the funding necessaery to keep it capable of competing with modern adversaries, let alone receive proper maintanaince over the course of the last decade.
In addition to this, the Arican Army found itself woefully lacking in both machine guns, and modern artillery. Luckily for them they were contending with a southern neighbor that was not a major power, nor ard by one, lest they would have received a hell of a loss should they have co to blows.
Germany, recognizing the strategic importance of these regions, and the ongoing chaos within them, extended its influence through economic investnts and political alliances. German banks, especially the one privately owned by Bruno's family personally financed infrastructure projects.
All the while cultural exchanges beca commonplace, weaving a tapestry of mutual benefit and understanding. The Monroe Doctrine, once a declaration of Arican dominance in the Western Hemisphere, now seed a hollow proclamation as the U.S. watched from the sidelines.
Bruno understood that the resonance towers were more than just technological marvels; they were symbols of a new era, one where energy was abundant and accessible. He believed that cities designed around this technology would not only thrive economically but also foster a societal renaissance, breaking down class barriers erected by energy monopolies and the nouveau riche who had built these Empires based not upon chivalry and noblesse oblige but avaricous intent.
He pondered the potential had Arica embraced such innovations. Cities like New York and Chicago, with their towering skyscrapers and bustling streets, could have been transford into hubs of clean energy and efficiency. Instead, they remained tethered to outdated infrastructures, their growth stunted by a reluctance to engage with the evolving world.
The silence from across the Atlantic was deafening. While nations rebuilt, redefined, and reerged, Arica stood still, its potential energy dissipating into inertia. Knowing what happens when powerful n began to loose their prestige nad wealth, it was only a matter of ti before this sleeping giant of industry shifted its gears towards the nation, and the man behind it which was making them obsolete.
For now, Arica continued to sleep, but it had already been provoked, Bruno had known this reality the mont he had dared to challenge its oil barons and titans of industry. The United States, or I should say those wealthy elite behind its failed "democracy" would not go quietly.
And because of this, Bruno needed to prepare for the future, a future capable of dealing with a threat across the atlantic. But plans were already in place that could address this, whether it be the introduction of turbopropeller engines to be used on all military aircraft, including long range bombers that could drop major payloads on the United States and its critical political, military ,and infrastructure assets with impunity.
Or in the form of free flowing, advanced electric power that could very soon replace fossil fuels entirely, Bruno knew that striking the United States, which was an impossibility and quite frankly the fever dream of a mad man in his past life, was but a stone's throw away from reality in this one.
He just needed to continue to work towards this goal. Was war with the United States his goal? Not at all, it was an outco that should be avoided at all costs. But should it manifest itself in the way of his goals in this life as a threat to be neautralized he would be prepared, and would be ready to face it head on.
As Bruno continued to stare at his mockup of how future cities could most efficiently function with the introduction of this new and revolutionary energy source, a call ca to the desk beside him. Having been interrupted mid thought, Bruno was not in a very good mood when he ineviatably picked up the call.
That is until he heard the heavy breathing, and panicked yet instantly recognizble feminine voice on the other end.
"Your royal highness? Bruno it's ! Marie-Adélaïde, the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg! For God's sake, I know you're there, I can hear you breathing, please say sothing!?!"
Bruno could tell sothing was seriously wrong by the fact that not only had this woman called his ho personally, but she was also excessively anxious, almost as if the world was coming to an end, this implied she was in imdiate danger, prompting Bruno to respond imdiaetly.
"Tell what's wrong? Who is attacking you?"
Upon seeing how Bruno's instincts had not dulled in the slightest since the war ended nearly two years ago, there was a slight sigh of relief in the woman's tone upon hearing he was already thinking things through in a way that aligned with her reality.
"There are... I I guess you could call them brigands here, from France! They have begun to march through our territory in armored cars and machine guns! My gendars are fighting them right now, but i only have a small company, and nothing to deal with their overwhelming firepower they brought! I think they might want to take over Luxembourg, or God forbid take hostage. I really don't want to flee my ho again Bruno, especiaslly in a ti of peace? What do I do!?!"
Bruno's tone was severe, and stern as he responded to the won with the best advice he could give.
"I need you to listen to , and listen to carefully Marie... The mont I hang up, you give the order to withdraw your gendar to your palace, their sole responsibility at this point is to protect you and your family. To hold off the enemy at your ho, lonmg enough for my n to co rescue you.
Once I hang up, I'm going to make a call, and I promise you, in six hours these brigands you are dealing with will be made an example of so brutally the entire world will know never to violate your sovereign borders again. Can you do this for ?"
Marie was practically hyperventilating at this point, but was quick to take control over her fear and panic as she found the resolve to do as Bruno told her.
"Yes... Yes I promise... Please get here quickly!"
After making sure Bruno had heard him properly, he hung up, and quickly dialed a private number, one that instantly got connected as he did not even bother with pleasantries.
"I have a job for you and your n, never mind about paynt, it's urgent, I assure you, however, you and your n will be paid in full. Are you in, or out?"
The vocie on the other side was cold, but stern, a man who had already spilled blood in the past for profit, a hound bound by Bruno's leash. He was direct, and to the point as he asked one simple question.
"Who do we have to kill?"
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