Tyranny of Steel

An elderly man sat within a lecture hall belonging to the University of Vienna, with a confused expression on his aging face. Throughout his entire life, he had studied the art of alchemy within the University of Oxford, where he had been amongst its most honored professors.

However, after their crushing defeat at the hands of the German Empire, which saw their entire army obliterated in a matter of minutes. The Kingdom of England had entered the German sphere of influence as nothing more than a puppet of the Reich.

As a result, this aging professor had been dispatched to the University of Vienna in an attempt to learn what secrets the German people held within their sacred halls of higher learning. Currently, the man sat in a lecture hall where he was being taught the course labelled as Chemistry 101.

In this class were a bunch of bright eyed, twenty-two-year-olds, who were fresh out of military service. These young men, like all who attended this prestigious university, would form the backbone of the Reich's future academic pursuits.

Naturally, having learned the basics of science from the robust education system that the Kaiser had established, these young men understood every word that the professor spoke, and quickly jotted down their notes.

When comparing himself to these students who were nothing but children in his eyes, the old man felt as if he was a fish out of water. He had spent a lifetime pursuing the field of alchemy, only to realize that it was all utter nonsense. Chemistry and its basic foundations had completely shaken the aging alchemist's reality.

Currently, the class was being lectured on the basics of atomic structure, something that the alchemist could hardly comprehend. As a professor at the University of Oxford, which had existed centuries before, any German University had sprawled up in this world. The old man had come to this school with a haughty attitude. However, after spending a single day listening to the German lecturers, the aging alchemist now realized how utterly foolish he had been.

While he scribbled down his notes, the old man could not help but question the information he was writing. The words used in this course might as well be ancient egyptian hieroglyphics, as he could not decipher their meaning in the slightest. Seeing that he was falling behind, Nigel felt compelled to ask the question on his mind, which he did by raising his hand.

Upon seeing that the guest from England had a question, the German professor, who was less than half the old man's age, had a smug grin on his face as he called upon the man.

"Professor Nigel Bradshawe from the University of Oxford, was it? Do you have something to add?"

All eyes were cast upon the old man and his hunched back as the German students whispered and chuckled at his expense. Every word spoken was laced with arrogance, something which Nigel found hard to endure. Finally, after several moments of awkward whispers, the old man rose from his seat and spoke the words that filled his mind.

"What exactly is this Atom you keep speaking of?"

Immediately, the entire class broke out into laughter, as the German students openly mocked the elderly English professor in their native tongue. With the raising of the German professor's hand, they suddenly silenced themselves.

The German Professor tried to keep a friendly facade, but deep down he had only contempt for the old fool who had dared to enter his lecture hall without having so much as a basic high school level understanding of science. Naturally, his response was as arrogant, if not more so, than the students who openly mocked the English professor.

"Sir, I believe it would be best if you spent your time in a less advanced course. If you do not even know what an atom is, then I'm afraid you are not fit to study at our prestigious university. I'm sure one of our many high schools would be happy to educate you on the basics of physics and chemistry."

Nigel was stunned into silence, never before did he ever think in his wildest dreams that he would be laughed out of a foreign university's lecture hall. However, with the German Professor's crass remark, this is exactly what happened.

---

In the city of K?nigsberg, a finely dressed young woman sat within a doctor's office with her child in her lap. The little girl was in her formative years and had a wide smile on her face while playing with the toys left in the lobby for her and the other patients' entertainment. Suddenly, the door opened, and a nurse appeared with a clipboard in her hand. She called out into the lobby with a single name.

"Monika Wagner?"

The mother immediately grabbed hold of her child, and stashed the toy away back where it came from, before walking toward the nurse with a rather nervous expression on her face.

"That would be us!"

The nurse had seen such a sight too many times to count, and thus had a comforting smile as she handed the mother the clipboard while giving her a brief summary about what would soon occur.

"Just fill out your daughter's information, and we will have her immunized in a matter of minutes."

The mother was obviously anxious. As someone who had been immunized herself, she felt as if sticking a hyper-dermic needle into her little girl's arm was a bit excessive. However, the Kaiser had decreed that all children were to be immunized against certain diseases such as smallpox, polio, measles, and several others.

Thus, she had no chocie but to fill out the form regarding her daughter's personal information, and health background. The girl followed her mother into the doctor's room, where they waited for his arrival. It was not long before the pediatrician arrived with a wide smile on his face.

"So this is Monika? She's gotten big since the last time I saw her. Well, I'll make this quick so you don't have to waste any more of your time." </>

After saying this, the man pulled out the measles vaccine and held onto the girl's arm. There was a slight bit of fear in the girl's eyes as she saw the needle coming her way, but she did not resist. Instead, she looked at her mother with a pleading gaze, but the woman simply responded to her daughter with a defeated tone.

"Monika, be a good girl and stay still for the doctor. Once we are done here, mommy will take you out for some ice cream."

Upon hearing she was getting a treat after this, Monika looked away from the needle, which was quickly approaching her arm, and gritted her teeth. Without even realizing it, the needle had entered her flesh, and the vaccine had been distributed into her bloodstream. By the time Monika looked back, the needle was already retrieved where the doctor properly disposed of it. With a friendly smile, he handed the girl a lollipop before complimenting her for her 'bravery'.

"Monika is really brave. Here's a lollipop as a reward for your courage."

Upon seeing the piece of candy, a wide smile formed on the girl's face, as she completely forgot about the vaccine she had just been given. After it was over, the mother sighed a relief, and had a brief discussion with the doctor about the girl's next checkup before departing from the hospital.

For the German Empire, occurrences like this were a common thing, and with the robust public health system in place, the parents of the children need not worry about the expense. After all, in Berengar's eyes, healthcare was a necessity in life, and the people should not be charged for such services.

---

A group of highschool boys walked through the streets of Kufstein in their uniforms. With classes over, they had decided to hit the town where they would enjoy themselves in some fashion before finally going home for the evening. However, the trio could not easily agree on what to do at this time, and were thus debating on how to spend their afternoon.

"Man, I think we should go to the cinema. There's a new movie that just recently came out called Frankenstein! I doubt any of you guys would be able to sit through it without pissing your pants!"

However, another of the friends immediately disagreed with this proposal and presented his own ideas.

"Nah man, screw that. We should go to the carnival. I hear it's back in town again! Think of all the fun we could have there. Games, prizes, food! Who needs the cinema when we have such an option?"

The third boy, who had remained silent until this moment, was quick to dismiss both ideas as he spoke about something the other two had neglected.

"Hey, isn't there a fight at the Grand Kufstein Arena tonight? Why don't we see if we can get ourselves some tickets? If not, we can always hit up the local tavern and watch it there. Hell, I could go for some hot wings right now. What do you guys say?"

Immediately upon hearing this option, the other two boys dropped any notions of going to the cinema, or the carnival, and nodded their heads in agreement, however before they could speak a feminine voice interrupt them.

"That's the best idea I've heard all night. You boys mind if we join you?"

Upon hearing this, the trio looked around to see three girls roughly their age, dressed in uniforms from a different school. Two out of the three of the boys instantly became nervous when they saw the girls so boldly approach them. As for the boy who suggested watching the fight, he had a confident smirk on his face as he approached the leader of the three girls.

"Sure, I don't mind, but won't your parents worry if you don't return home before it gets dark?"

The teenage girl responded with an equally confident expression while crossing her arms.

"I'll just tell daddy that I was at a friend's house. However, don't think that just because we're joining you that you can take advantage of us. If anything happens, I'll have you take responsibility!"

The boy merely chuckled when he heard this and nodded his head before responding to the girl's taunt.

"I can accept those terms. After all, I wouldn't mind having a girl as cute as you as my wife."

Upon hearing this, the girl blushed and looked away for but a moment, before latching onto the boy's arm and following him to the Grand Kufstein Arena along with their friends.

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