23rd December 1704
Imperial capital Bengaluru, Simhasana Bhavana,
Vijay was pacing around in his office, his expression sombre.
"I knew with that man still alive, the Europeans were truly not without a chance to struggle, but still, to think that they have cracked the locomotive technology so quickly!" he muttered, his face uncertain.
Just to be clear, Vijay was not afraid of the Europeans cracking the locomotive technology, because that was something bound to happen, if it was not today, then tomorrow. Steam technologies were like a ladder; once the first step was reached through effort, the rest would only require resources and investment.
