Building a Viking Empire with Modern Industry-Chapter 72: Architect of the Modern Age

Brother Aethelstan had been hard at work on his corporate audit of the Church’s inefficiencies and mismanagement of spiritual assets. So much so that his "Report" had grown even larger than the tax codes Ragnar had introduced the previous winter.

After collecting data on the Bishop’s wine consumption, the Frankish bribery payments, and the general lack of hygiene in the southern monasteries, Aethelstan compiled it together in a sharply worded pamphlet completely disputing the Church’s monopoly on truth. He had spent nearly a month gathering what he needed in an attempt to optimize the Faith.

Now that he had finished writing his paper, the former Jarl brought it to Ragnar’s attention for final approval and possible redactions.

Ragnar smiled as he read through the "Audit," which spoke many of his own corporate values, and unlike the religious texts of the time, Aethelstan spent a large amount of time focusing on the necessity for Sanitation and Literacy.

From a theological standpoint, the work was radical; from a marketing standpoint, it was revolutionary.

After reading through the whole thing, Ragnar placed down the parchment and looked at Aethelstan, who had been silently waiting with the discipline of a Huscarl for the Director to finish his review as he sat upon the high seat in York. After placing down the pamphlet with great care, he approached Aethelstan and clasped the man on the forearm.

"My employee, it is a work of absolute efficiency; I am truly ready to invest after reading it. This must be distributed across the Saxon Kingdoms and the Frankish coast as a whole. With my screw-press, it can be mass-produced much like the instruction manuals we have been distributing and spread to the hands of the workforce everywhere!"

Aethelstan smiled grimly upon hearing the high performance review he received; he too agreed that the truth needed to be spread; as such, he did not hesitate to agree to Ragnar’s suggestion of mass producing and distributing it across the illiterate regions of the world.

"Thank you, Director; I must say I would never have calculated the spiritual depreciation without your mentorship. It is truly an honor to be part of the Company!"

Ragnar grabbed the parchment and placed it back in Aethelstan’s hands before complimenting the man further.

"The profit is all mine; now shall we head to the Ministry of Propaganda and begin the production run?"

Aethelstan nodded and agreed to Ragnar’s request once more, and as such, Ragnar and Aethelstan marched down to the print shop, which was now located within a converted longhouse run by Brother Osric.

Ragnar’s "Heavy Assets" guards flanked the two men as they did so. Despite being in the safety of York, Ragnar had made many competitors, and he could never be too careful when it came to his liability insurance.

The average factory workers looked upon the men as they marched into the industrial district and into the ink-stained workshop where they entered the press room, where Brother Osric was more than happy to greet them.

As always, the monk was a nervous wreck and showered Ragnar and his guest in anxious blessings upon arrival.

"Director! It is an absolute blessing to witness your productive presence enter the scriptorium! Tell me, how can I facilitate your workflow on this profitable day?"

Ragnar could not help but smirk at the man’s frantic energy; he was not the kind of man who desired to be around cowards, nevertheless the monk was excellent at typesetting, and as such, Ragnar kept him on the payroll.

"I need a priority production line dedicated to the mass printing of this Audit. Can it be done before the quarter ends?"

Osric once more put on an air of frantic devotion as he continued to compliment Ragnar, which ultimately looped right back around to a simple confirmation.

"Of course, Director, for your vision, I can make the ink flow like wine. As you know, we have optimized the woodblocks quite successfully lately, and as such, we can easily afford to dedicate the night shift to this project."

With that said, Ragnar motioned for Aethelstan to hand it over, after which the warrior-monk quickly did so.

Ragnar looked around the area and noticed that the security was lacking for this vital information hub. As such, he looked over to General Bjorn and informed him of his decision.

"I will attach a ’Firewall’ detail around this facility around the clock; it looks like the Information Sector needs more hard power."

With the influx of the new "Commissioned Officers" to his army, Ragnar established a significant guard post in the printing district whose full-time job would be to defend the press and act as censorship resistance. Essentially they would become the Media Guard until he could establish a dedicated Intelligence Bureau.

After saying that, Ragnar left while trying to ignore the nervous bowing from Osric who could not refrain himself from treating Ragnar like a furious pagan god. After Ragnar and Aethelstan returned to the Palace, he pulled out a pair of glass tumblers before filling them with imported Frankish wine (seized from a smuggler) and handing one to Aethelstan before saying a toast.

"To the Disruption, may the Market be purged of its monopolies!"

The two men clinked glasses before taking a sip. Aethelstan, of course, could not refrain from his righteous intensity.

"I truly do hope something comes of my Audit; I can not sit idly by and allow the Bishop to be blighted by the inefficiency of greed and the refusal to boil water."

Ragnar merely smiled and took a sip from his glass; he knew the possibility of the Catholic Church actually admitting they were wrong was statistically zero; what was most likely to happen from Aethelstan’s actions was the Saxon peasantry questioning their lords and the Church splitting off into a localized schism.

Though such an event would inevitably lead to chaos within the southern kingdoms, Ragnar needed that chaos to distract the Franks while he poured the concrete foundations of City Titan.

As the two men celebrated their strategic launch, only Ragnar was aware of how things would turn out.

The future would be filled with endless ink wars and social upheaval due to these two men’s actions. Yet, it would allow Ragnar to build one of the most technologically advanced Empires in history.

An achievement that would one day brand him as the Architect of the Modern Age. Among his many titles for which he would be known, this was the one of which he was most proud.