217 An Exhausting Trip
After Alexander’s discussion with Wegener about the creation of the Global Positioning System, Alexander went on to his room to get some rest.
The room was simple and not that luxurious compared to his office in the Winter Palace or the office in the VC-25. There is a bed with a white mattress on it, a desk for him to use if he would want to do some work here, and there are no windows, making the room atmosphere a little gloomy.
Alexander sat on his bed and propped up his chin as he contemplated something. With the successful test of the atomic bomb and rocket launch, he feels fulfilled. During the last four years, these two projects are the ones he focused on. Although the space program is fairly new to the government, unbeknownst to them, he has been working on the project for two years ago secretly with his own funding.
When he realized that his funds alone cannot support the program, that’s when he asked for the Imperial Council’s help fund the project. The bureaucracy of the Ruthenian Empire where something must be approved by the Imperial Council through a vote before passing to the Emperor to make it official is making Alexander a little bit frustrated.
He just realized the power he just lost to the people. Ruthenian Emperors are not autocratic rulers anymore where the Emperor of Ruthenia wielded once before and everything bends to their will. Well, there’s no use in crying over spilled milk. His only choice is to move forward and work for the best interest of his country. To think about it, he never wanted to be the supreme ruler in the first place. After all, it’s work after work after work. Who wants that kind of life?
In his original world, Alexander experienced a lavish life where he can do anything he wants without the shackles of getting to work because it is a must. Money just comes into his bank account and spends it however he likes.
Well, all of that changed when he got too less involved in the business and decided to take matters into his own hands. Which by the way, is the cause of his reincarnation. Imagine, if he didn’t go that time, he would’ve still been in his original world. But also imagine what would happen if he didn’t reincarnate here.
Anastasia would probably die because a cure for tuberculosis has not been invented yet. Alexander’s sisters would also have their lives in danger from the revolutionaries that are trying to take over the government with their revolutionary ideals. Sevastian would become the next Emperor of Ruthenia because of the Pauline laws enacted by the past Emperor Paul I two centuries ago that forbade women to succeed on a throne.
Though he doesn’t know how Sevastian would rule the Ruthenian Empire, he is certain that if they stick to the old ways, the Empire will collapse.
So should he be grateful or ungrateful that he reincarnated in this world? Alexander felt the former.
For as long as he is alive, he is going to do whatever it takes to change the world where his sisters would be able to freely roam the world without fear of getting killed by foreign governments or the Black Hand and also a world where his children have a future.
That was the ultimate goal. Maybe it’s about time to put pressure on the Foreign Intelligence Services to find the Black Hand and also investigate if the Yamato Empire’s government has something to do with the attempted assassination of his sisters.
He had decided he would ask for updates when he got home.
A knock on the door sounded, snapping Alexander out of his thoughts. He stood up to open the door.
“Rolan? Is the plane ready?” Alexander asked.
“No, Your Majesty, but we are given an approximate time. The plane will be ready in twenty minutes so we will leave in ten minutes. Also, Sevastian would like to have a moment of your time.”
“Okay, let him through,” Alexander said. Rolan bowed slightly and signaled the guards to let Sevastian come over.
Sevastian walked forward and entered his room.
“Is something the matter, Sevastian?”
“Yes, Your Majesty, a big one,” Sevastian answered solemnly.
Alexander raised an eyebrow at the serious tone of the other. “What happened, Sevastian? Is this about the war?”
Sevastian sighed as he shook his head, “No, Your Majesty. I just got off the phone with Foreign Minister Sergei saying that the government of the Han Dynasty is looking to enter the war and is asking for our permission.”
Alexander’s eyes widened. “What! No, reject it immediately. We can handle ourselves and we don’t need help from others. Besides, their entry into the war could trigger a defensive alliance with the Britannia Empire. That cannot happen at all cost.”
“Will do, Your Majesty,” Sevastian bowed his head lightly.
“Did they at least tell us the reason why they want to enter the war?” Alexander inquired.
“They didn’t state it but Sergei believes that it could be that they wanted revenge from the First Han-Yamato War and take back Taiwan that was ceded to them under the terms of the Treaty of Shimonoseki. I concur with his inference, Your Majesty.”
“I see but my decision won’t change. Tell the Han Dynasty that they should keep out of our war. If they want the island badly, do it once our war with the Yamato Empire is over.”
“Understood, Your Majesty.”
***
Four hours later, Alexander arrived in St. Petersburg. The night has considerably darkened, a blanket of stars stretching above him as his VH-3D exclusive transport helicopter made its way to Winter Palace.
He looked down the window and gazed at the beautiful sight of the cityscape where lights were shining brightly, illuminating the roads. His heart warmed when he realized that it didn’t look like that before. Truly the capital of the Ruthenian Empire has improved dramatically over the years.
The helicopter arrived at the airspace of the Winter Palace and the security team on the ground began conducting necessary procedures to clear the helicopter he was in.
Alexander grabbed a bottle of scotch from the fridge and poured himself a glass. As he drank, he stared outside the window, letting his mind wander in the vastness of Ruthenia. “It sure was big,” he muttered.
He reiterated the size of his country so much. The journey was exhausting as he had to wake up at four in the morning and the whole trip took almost ten hours. Transportation is really an issue in the Ruthenian Empire. Good thing that he already provided himself a solution and made it so that the time consumed in his future trips to another city will be less. Because if he didn’t he would have to settle with old-fashioned trains.
But still, he’s the only one who has that luxury. His people are suffering from time-consuming transportation just to get from one city to another. Maybe next year he’ll start to lessen the restriction placed on jet engine aircraft, allowing for the operation of commercial jet airliners. He is even considering exporting his technology to another country to further increase his economy in all sectors. But he knew this posed a great risk as foreign countries could reverse engineer it. The solution to that problem is fairly simple, by installing some sort of a trojan horse or a backdoor, or a locator transmitter inside the aircraft. Should the foreign nation try to repurpose it as a military aircraft, the Ruthenian Armed Forces can shoot them down before they can even reach the airspace of the Ruthenian Empire.
But reverse engineering would take a lot of time as other foreign nations don’t have the capability, knowledge, and infrastructure to make one. So in the next five to ten years, the Ruthenian Empire has a monopoly over the airline industry. And even if they catch up, by the time they get there, Ruthenian’s technology would be ten to twenty years ahead of them. Since he already has an atomic bomb, Ruthenia’s security is guaranteed, so he is not worried at all.
And before he even knew it, the helicopter just landed on the Palace’s Square.
“Your Majesty,” Rolan called.
Alexander grabbed a pen from his pocket and pulled out the paper Rolan gave to him. He signed it.
“Thank you for coming with me Rolan. Starting next week, you’ll start your four-month break. Before you do so, you have to understand something. Since you are my Chief of Security, there are times that you are involved in meetings that are classified in nature. So you are not allowed to leave the country without my permission. Know that this is for your safety and for the national security of the nation.”
“I understand, Your Majesty.”
Alexander stood and offered a handshake. Rolan took it and shook it firmly.