Tyranny Of Steel

Chapter 509 – Creation Of Synthetic Fibres

Aldo von Passau was currently within the Chemistry lab, with a team of chemists by his side. For quite some time now, he had been experimenting with two chemicals that he had recently discovered. Diamine Acid, which was made from Austria's limited crude oil deposits, as well as the water based dicarboxylic acid. At the moment, he was carefully pouring an equal mixture of the two substances.

In doing so, the Diamine Acid rose to the top of the mixture due to it being based upon oil, causing the two substances to create an obvious divide. However, an interesting reaction occurred in center of the two substances as the mixture settled.

A small film of a new material appeared. Aldo von Passau did not know it at this time, but he had just created Nylon, which was an important material in the manufacture of military equipment. Upon seeing the strange reaction, the man barked orders at one of his subordinates as he witnessed this strange reaction.

"Bring me tweezers now!"

The other chemist did as he was instructed and brought his boss the tools that he had called for. Aldo quickly grabbed hold of the device and played with the small film in the middle of his chemical mixture. As he did so, he pulled the nylon up revealing a small string, the more he grabbed ahold of and dragged away the more material he would obtain. 

As he did this, a wide smile appeared on the man's face. He had quite possibly just discovered something very important. Thus he began dispatching his orders for more of the mixture to be applied, in doing so the Chemists in Kufstein began experimenting with the creation of Nylon, they would not reveal the results of their findings for several weeks, only after they had thoroughly tested this new substance, and the best ways to harvest it. 

—

Berengar was sitting in his office. Weeks had passed since Aldo and his team of Chemists discovered Nylon, however he was utterly unaware of this feat, instead he sat upon his leather-bound chair, with one of his wives sitting in his lap.

This woman was none other than Yasmin. While Berengar was trying to get some work done, the Moorish princess had insisted on spending time with her husband, and thus she played with his chest as he struggled to stay focused. 

By now, the tan-skinned beauty had a well-developed belly, signifying that she had entered the later stages of pregnancy. Despite this, Berengar was still very attracted to the woman, and had spent many nights with her. After all, of all his wives, she was the most exotic, and was the only one he had brought back from a conquest. 

The Moorish Princess prodded the Austrian King's chest as she gazed into his sapphire blue eye with a longing expression. Just when she was about to kiss her man, she heard a knock on the door, interrupting her actions. She pouted as her husband coughed and called out to the mysterious intruder.

"This better be important!"

A familiar voice resounded on the other side, one which Berengar had not spoken to in some time. 

"Your Majesty, I believe I have found something that will impress you!"

Berengar scoffed when he heard this. Aldo von Passau was always a kiss ass, but he was damn good at his job, and thus Berengar tolerated his sycophantic personality. With a heavy sigh, the King of Austria allowed entry into his office. 

"Very well. It is open. Do not waste my time…"

When Aldo entered the room, he had a humble smile on his face as he instinctively bowed before his King.

"I wouldn't dream of it…"

In the next moment, he noticed the intimate nature of Berengar and his Moorish bride. He realized why the King was in such a foul mood. Perhaps he had intruded upon something he shouldn't have. Despite this, he was here now, and he would not waste the monarch's precious time. 

The middle-aged chemist immediately withdrew a large spool of nylon from his jacket and handed it over to the King. Berengar did not immediately take notice of the substance until Aldo boasted about his achievements.

"Your majesty, this is a synthetic fibre that my lab has created from a mixture of diamine and dicarboxylic acid! It appears to be quite flexible and resilient, at least when compared to fibrous materials found in nature. We can also use it in things other than fabric. It is my suspicion that this product will be very useful for many applications in our Kingdom's future."

Berengar was shocked to see that his chemists had accidentally come across plastic so soon. He truthfully knew little about chemistry, and because of this, he could not contribute much more than an undergrad's understanding of the subject to his people. 

However, in every generation, there were exceptional geniuses, which, when taught properly, could create things beyond imagination. Clearly, Aldo von Passau was one of these aforementioned geniuses. As for the application of this technology, Berengar had a very specific use in mind. 

Despite its discovery, production of the material would remain limited for a very long time, at least until Berengar could produce enough chemical manufacturing facilities and chemical engineers to operate them.

However, in the meantime, he could make use of his limited supply of the newfound material to ensure a new generation of body armor was issued to his Special Forces, thus he was quite pleased with his Chemistry Department's results. With a wide smile on his face, Berengar nodded his head before giving the man his approval. 

"Aldo, you never cease to amaze me with your ingenuity. I want as much of this synthetic fibre as you can produce within the next year. I have plans for it that will benefit our special forces and ensure improved survivability among their ranks."

Though Aldo did not know what Berengar had planned for such a fabric, he could tell by the expression on the King's face that he had at the very least earned himself another massive bonus. Thus, he wore a humble smile as he bowed before his King once more. 

"I thank you for your compliments. I can always rely on you to know how best to use my resources." 

After saying this, Berengar dismissed the Chemist, and got to the drawing board. Truthfully, the body armor currently issued to his special forces was plagued with a variety of issues. Trench Armor was inherently a stopgap in Berengar's plans until he could develop synthetic fibres. Now that such a material existed, he could create a far superior body armor for use by his soldiers. 

With the creation of nylon, Berengar could create velcro, which was instrumental in the establishment of lightweight, slick plate carriers. Plate carriers were a form of modern armor that could use ceramic, steel, or composite plates to protect against not only primitive arrows and bolts, but also modern gunfire. 

As for other uses, he could create a more modern set of camouflage web gear that would go over these slick plate carriers, in doing so replace the use of leather for this application. There were plenty of other applications for nylon that could apply to both the civilian and military sectors. However, for now, Berengar planned to use what limited supplies he had to ensure that his best troops were protected against all threats. 

After all the cost to raise Jaegers, and Jagdkommandos was no small expense, years of training were required to produce a single Jagdkommando, and he would spend whatever price was necessary to ensure their safety on the field of battle. Thus, he quickly jotted down the details on the creation of velcro and plate carriers. 

Though it would be some time before such equipment was crafted, tested, and fielded to his troops, it was better to get to work on such designs early, rather than later. The future was looking up for the Kingdom of Austria, and Berengar fully intended to make use of the latest inventions. 

As for Yasmin, she continued to play with her husband, interrupting his work every so often to get some sign of affection from him. Berengar was happy to entertain the woman, and thus, his work for the day was rather slow.

Ultimately, he would finish his designs for improved body armor and tactical equipment late in the evening, where he would finally take his bride to the harem room and enjoy some alone time with her. By the time the couple emerged from their solitude, dinner was already prepared, thus Berengar and his newest wife joined the rest of their family.

As for the Chemistry department, they would be hard at work producing Nylon in as vast a quantity as they could manage for the foreseeable future. With such a few chemists available, they would have to have a small but dedicated team to the research and development of synthetic materials. 

It would take some time before the production levels of Nylon fabric were high enough to begin construction of Berengar's newest body armor, thus in the meantime his special forces, and other advanced troops were forced to endure the faults of their trench-style armor.