By September, London had become routine.
The fog, the press of crowds, the clatter of carriages—it no longer stunned Sonya, though it still weighed on her like a heavy cloak.
She had learned to walk with her chin raised, imitating the self-possession of the ladies they passed, even if her dress was simpler and her accent strange.
Elias noticed, of course.
He noticed everything.
One morning, as they crossed Westminster Bridge, he said,
"You are learning to play the part."
Sonya blinked.
"What part?"
"The part of belonging. That is half of survival in this world. To walk as though you deserve to be where you stand."
She flushed, unsure if it was praise or warning.
Elias spent long days in the galleries of parliament, listening as debates raged over tariffs, colonial reforms, and suffrage.
He was less interested in the words than in the machinery beneath them—the alliances, the bargains, the theater.
What some in another time would call 'The Grand Game'
Here was a system where men spoke of liberty while ensuring only a fraction of the nation could vote.
Where colonies bled wealth into Britain, yet the ministers congratulated themselves on principles.
Where corruption was not hidden but institutionalized, dressed in wigs and waistcoats.
To Elias, it was an education.
Each form of government he encountered he weighed, dissected, compared.
Autocracy offered speed, clarity, but bred decadence.
Democracy promised freedom, but collapsed into faction and inefficiency which only got worse the large the nations population became.
Britain's hybrid amused him: monarchy stripped of teeth, parliament dressed in ideals, empire ruled by ledger and fleet.
"The ultimate government,"
he murmured to himself one evening,
"must combine the efficiency of a crown, the accountability of a parliament, and the permanence of law above both. Power divided, yet focused. Liberty real, but bounded by order."
Sonya overheard him as she set tea on the table.
"You sound as though you want to invent a new world."
He looked at her, unreadable.
"I do."
The courier came more frequently now, for the mines had struck deeper seams.
Rich veins of ore and coal poured credits into his coffers faster than before—260… 275… 291.
The curve steepened with each week, and with it his timetable shortened.
Barracks, and factories under his hidden control expanded their output—As squad after squad of his military was upgraded, bringing them up to pre-ww1 standard.
His summoned engineers likewise being enhance, worked as foremen, and most already starting to climb up the corporate ladder to chief positions, his spies also updated occasionally giving then greater powers of elegance, statecraft and disguise.
Already, his armed forces had returned to the Montenegro bases, joining the garrison troops and marshalling a force clost to 2,000 for his personal use.
With the steady stream of credits, he projected that he could field close to 4,000 by the start of the Ottoman war, though he would need to give up some of those forces as he'd need to slowly start migrating men to the U.S if he wanted to get involved in their war.
Even if he retained only 2,000 with a hundred or so for base defense, they'd crush the ottomans easily, but for his true ambitions more men would be required to secure Albania if possible before the truce comes.
His mind sharp, enhanced by the system no doubt.
After all he'd had a great memory before but now it was like everything he saw he remembered, reading likewise was easier as he could speed read and still comprehend.
Mix that with his learning while journeying and he'd already started to plot out his future nation.
One autocratic by rule, but diplomatic to appease the masses.
The closest similar would be the Russian empire, back when they had the Duma, or the future German Empire with its kaisar, Upper House (Reichstag), and Lower house (Bundersrat).
His setup would be with a 'King' or 'Emperor' at the head, one 'chosen' from among the top of the nation by way of a vote using merit as the criteria, but unlike the former Holy Roman Empire, the electors would not work against one another, since all eligible to vote, or be voted for would be Elias's summons, publically however the people would have peace of mind that only the truly best would be serving as their nations head.
Meanwhile the lower house would serve to give the regular people a voice, one regulated and controlled to ensure actual fairness, but the actual role of this parliament or senate if you will, would be simply to report things to the Emperor but not actually accomplish anything themselves.
Making the people believe ever more in their leaders, and desiring the liberty of democracy less and less as it was revealed just how 'successful' it really was.
Then came his thoughts on policy.
It was straighforward, since his military and future police would all be system units.
Universal Suffrage, Freedom of Relgion, standardized labour laws, underage protection... etc
All of which would be enforceable by law, and punishment for true crimes, like rape, hate crimes, unjustifiable murder, exploitation of minors would all come with far harsher punishments.
Work camps to industrize the public while training them for employment post incarceration, while others would simply be delivered captial punishment after their guilt was proven.
Then a complete overhaul of the legal system, with heavy handed police forces militarily trained, Elias could enforce the law but how to prove guilt or innocense?
Well on that front he was mostly going to rely on the future advancements of the system, he could get by with pomp and bluster for a while but eventually he'd have access to Mind readers, Yuri, his accolytes, and clones.
Who then will stand to deny their crimes when they can uncover everything in an instant.
No multi-millon dollar trials, no circus courts feeding media frenzy just cold hard justice.
No sumbag lawyers who work for their own interests rather than their clients, or corrupt judges padding their bottem lines.
Elias inked it all into his notebook, creating the overall foundation of a nation yet to rise, and one that likely wouldnt truly appear on the world stage for another decade.
But a thought still lingered in the back of his mind, all the while.
America.
A paper tiger of the current age, but one that had the potential to rise up and challenge the world order for dominance.