Authority (1)
I had established ammonia synthesis through nitrogen fixation twenty years ahead of schedule. I had also perfected penicillin forty years early and mapped out the concept of blood types a decade before its time. Thanks to these achievements, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that hundreds of millions of lives have been saved. Through the crucible of war, these technologies had advanced to their absolute limits, and now, the time had finally come to put them to proper use.
At this rate, shouldn't they be giving me a Nobel Prize or something?
Sigh. Well, I had no lingering regrets. Now that my career as a politician was fully on track, winning the Nobel Peace Prize was already a massive honor in itself, wasn't it? Besides, I had even gotten to reject the award, which gave me a massive boost in cool points.
Yet, despite my monumental discoveries, the broader scientific progress of this world hadn't actually advanced all that much.
What new business can I use to rake in the cash now? Television? Cameras? Computers?
Unfortunately, I didn't even properly understand the core principles behind those three. Even if I did, the tidbits I possessed would be considered basic common sense to the engineers of this era.
I had thought my days of playing the genius scientist and profiting off future knowledge were over, but...
Right, it's about time I dipped my toes into that.
There was actually one contribution I had made to the physics of this era. I had dropped a subtle hint to Marie Curie. True to her reputation as a double Nobel laureate, she had taken my hint and published an absolutely groundbreaking paper!
“A Study on the Possibility of Nuclear Decay, Based on Rutherford's Research on Nuclear Structure and Transmutation”
I had once warned Marie Curie that radioactivity was extremely dangerous. Using that concept as a springboard, she had actually succeeded in theorizing that an atom could transform into another atom, and that this process was caused by the decay of the atomic nucleus!
In the original history, Rutherford would still be fumbling in the dark to complete his exploration of the atomic nucleus. But here, she's already reached the point of hinting at nuclear fission...
Of course, whether nuclear fission actually occurred and whether it could be artificially controlled remained uncharted territory. But at this stage, it was well worth a shot. I could finally reach for the very thing I had anticipated since the moment I first arrived in this world...!
The Authority of the Atom!
Granted, for the next ten years, it would likely remain a mere concept, and there was no telling what engineering hurdles we would face in actually building a bomb. Even so, it was theoretically possible!
I was no Albert Einstein. Even if I knew of the Special Theory of Relativity, I couldn't have discovered it myself. I might have known the final results, but I lacked the genius to prove them through either complex theory or rigorous experimentation.
“But I can certainly give them the ideas.”
Just as Marie Curie had painstakingly groped her way toward nuclear fission... I could gather the greatest minds of this era and hand them the blueprints!
I made a total fool of myself getting utterly dismantled by Keynes. I really should stick to my own field of expertise.
Nuclear fission, atomic bombs, and nuclear power. Alongside the computer, these stood as the greatest engineering triumphs of the past century.
“Now then, I need to gather my flock.”
Starting with Marie Curie...
Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg, Max Planck, Ernest Rutherford, and John von Neumann.
But where on earth was I to find these notoriously proud geniuses? They weren't the type to be swayed by mere money...
Then, it occurred to me that, armed with my future knowledge, I too had become one of those proud geniuses. What did I desire most of all? Ah!
“We should establish something similar to the Nobel Prize.”
“Hmm?”
“The one who bestoves the award is the one who defines authority. Wouldn't it be beneficial for us to seize that academic authority?”
Ferdinand II nodded as if it weren't a bad idea, but...
“Does the Nobel Prize not already hold the highest prestige? No matter how hard we try, can we ever match its authority? The very fact that you suggest making 'something similar to the Nobel Prize' is why this is bound to fail. Even if we create an award, it will only ever be seen as a cheap imitation.”
The Kaiser immediately expressed his reservations upon hearing my proposal.
After all, whether it was Einstein or anyone else, they already had more than enough money. So why did they dedicate their lives to making new discoveries? Setting aside their sheer obsession with science, they were simply drunk on the prestige of being a 'pioneer.'
Scientists were no different from martial artists of the Wulin. They didn't care about wealth. They were the type of people who would throw their lives away just to earn a glorious title. In their world, a love for money was not only considered disgraceful, but it was also exceedingly rare. That was precisely why I proposed creating an award to rival the Nobel Prize.
I countered the Kaiser's skepticism.
“True, the Nobel Prize holds great authority. But at the end of the day...”
“At the end of the day?”
“It's an award with barely thirty years of history, isn't it? Let's just shower them with everything we have—medals, titles, whatever sounds grand.”
Having lived twenty years in my past life and thirty in this one, I had to admit it: I was absolutely starved for validation! And because of that, I knew better than anyone else exactly what to give people who were obsessed with recognition and honor.
“Just trust me and leave it in my hands.”
“I heard Vice Chairman Stahl is creating another award.”
“Oh? Is the prize money good?”
“Well, that goes without saying.”
“But isn't it just going to be a cheap knockoff of the Nobel Prize? He's probably just handing out fancy titles to spread his Stahlism.”
Why did the Nobel Prize become so famous? It was simple. First, Alfred Nobel was dead. Second, Sweden was a nation with prestige and wealth, but absolutely no geopolitical influence. If Britain or Germany had established the prize, its credibility would have plummeted to the earth. Why? Let's look at an extreme example. Imagine if Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union, Adolf Hitler of Nazi Germany, or Mao Zedong of China had created an award. How much trust would people place in it? Anyone could see it would be dripping with political intent. It would be universally dismissed as a blatant excuse to hand out shiny medals to their own lackeys. Thus, it was only natural for the journalists gathered here to doubt my true intentions.
“Ha, the Ferdinand Social Sciences Prize?”
“Even accepting an award like that seems suspicious.”
“Who's going to be the first recipient? Stahl himself?”
The journalists snickered, mocking an award that seemed so obviously laden with political motives.
“Come on, surely not. He'll probably give it to his brother-in-law, Wittgenstein.”
“Who knows? It's a well-known fact that Stahl is obsessed with the Nobel Prize.”
“Is that so? Has Stahl finally lost his patience and decided to make his own award just so he can win it?”
I had established the new Ferdinand Prizes. Of course, they had to be distinguished from the Nobel Prizes. Thus, in addition to physics, chemistry, and physiology or medicine, several new categories were introduced—most notably mathematics, economics, sociology, music, and art. Regardless, the journalists busied themselves predicting the winners. From Wittgenstein to even Sigmund Freud... after all, wasn't it obvious that one of Stahl's cronies would take the prize?
And then, the day of the ceremony arrived!
“The recipient of the Ferdinand Sociology Prize is...”
Drumroll...
“Georges Clemenceau of France!”
“What?!”
The name Georges Clemenceau was famous worldwide. There wasn't a soul who didn't know what an absolute disaster France had become. And Clemenceau, as if possessed by sheer paranoia, had been relentlessly criticizing Stahlism.
“Stahlism: Another Name for Austrian Imperialism.”
“The Bancor System: How Stahl Monitors and Controls the World.”
These were criticisms that even some within Austria voiced from time to time.
“Through his book, *Stahlism: Another Name for Austrian Imperialism*, former Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau has brilliantly shed light on the current state of the world, causing a massive stir in Britain and France. Furthermore...”
The journalists were utterly flabbergasted by this unbelievable turn of events. Georges Clemenceau? But their bewilderment quickly gave way to rationalization.
“Haha... Right, that's it.”
“What is it?!”
“Stahl is offering an olive branch to Georges Clemenceau, basically begging him to stop tearing him apart!”
Having cobbled together a plausible theory, the journalists focused their attention back on the presenter's next words.
“Regrettably... former Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau has declined to accept the award.”
The journalists began to snicker again, feeling vindicated in their assumptions.
“Haha, of course.”
“There was no way he'd accept.”
“Stahl must have severely miscalculated.”
“Exactly. Georges is absolutely consumed by spite... What olive branch?”
Yes, up to this point, one could call it a failure on Stahl's part. Having secured such a juicy story, the journalists turned their attention to the next category: the Ferdinand Economics Prize. The Sociology Prize was one thing, but when it came to economics, wasn't the winner blindingly obvious to everyone?
“It's a foregone conclusion. Who else could possibly receive it besides Keynes?”
“True...”
“Honestly, Professor Keynes winning would actually be quite fair.”
Politically and academically, there was no one else who deserved the honor more than John Maynard Keynes. Even if a Nobel Prize in Economics existed in this era, who else but Keynes would receive it? The journalists waited for the inevitable announcement.
“We will now announce the recipient of the Ferdinand Economics Prize. The winner is... Rosa Luxemburg!”
“W-What...?”
“Professor Rosa Luxemburg has pioneered new developments in Marxist economics by theorizing that expanded reproduction under capitalism is achieved through interactions with non-capitalist environments. We will now hear the acceptance speech from our laureate, Professor Rosa Luxemburg.”
An utterly impossible event had unfolded. Rosa Luxemburg was an orthodox Marxist. And frankly, from France to Germany, the relationship between Stahlism and communism was anything but amicable. One only had to look at the actions of Trotsky and Rosa to see that. Sure, they might have cooperated when fighting against nationalist revolutionary forces... but at some point, they had begun to display a distinctly hostile attitude toward Stahlism.
While the journalists stood frozen with their mouths agape, Rosa Luxemburg stepped up to the podium.
“Initially, I intended to reject this award... But the prize money turned out to be far greater than I anticipated. If the insidious Stahlists wish to fund our revolution, I see no reason to refuse.”
Rosa had walked up to the stage wearing shabby, worn-out clothes. She delivered her acceptance speech with her hands casually shoved into her pockets, even going so far as to light a cigarette!
“Ah, but that is not my main point. Ladies and gentlemen, Stahlism is an utterly wretched ideology. It is nothing more than a compromise engineered by reactionary elements—far more insidious than the capitalists themselves—to drag our era backward. I implore you, do not be deceived by Stahlism!”
A bombshell declaration from Rosa Luxemburg! The journalists frantically scribbled her words into their notebooks as camera flashes erupted in a blinding frenzy. Rosa Luxemburg spent the next twenty minutes delivering a scathing, razor-sharp critique of Stahlism. It was a performance so magnificent that Georges Clemenceau would later kick himself in regret, lamenting, I should have done that too!
At any rate, following Rosa Luxemburg's speech, the awards for the various arts were presented, bringing the first day of the ceremony to a close. While the journalists were still reeling in a state of absolute shock, Kaiser Ferdinand II, having concluded the event, turned to me.
“Well?”
“Pardon? Well what?”
“You were just insulted to your face in front of the entire world.”
“It's a shame Clemenceau didn't show up. I think her words provided some excellent advice for our state administration.”
“...”
Ferdinand II stared at me, utterly dumbfounded.
“Why on earth did you pull a stunt like this?”
“Pardon? Well... did you see the look on those journalists' faces?”
“They looked as if they had completely lost their minds.”
I smirked. Journalists were a breed that was always itching to tear something apart.
“You can already predict how they would have reacted to the awards, can't you? They would have claimed it lacked credibility, that it was politically biased, and so on.”
“That is true.”
“But by handing out the awards like this, at least no one can accuse us of political bias, right?”
“Even so, isn't this far too blatant? Clemenceau and Rosa's books are going to sell like hotcakes now.”
“Well, while there may be a few minor side effects... please look forward to tomorrow's ceremony as well.”
In truth, the purpose of establishing these prizes was simple. It was to lure the world's greatest scientists to Austria. The journalists had already received their share of shocks on the first day... but tomorrow, when the scientists took the stage, would be the true highlight.