Chapter 150

Preamble

We, the citizens of all nations reached by the influence of this Covenant, do hereby enter into this pact and swear upon our own consciences to defend and expand the cause of justice, peace, and liberty.

Article 1

All those within the jurisdiction of this Covenant are free and equal. Every human being possesses an equal right toward liberty, and based upon this natural principle, we establish this sacred body politic.

Article 2

All nations subject to this Covenant shall maintain liberty, independence, mutual fraternity, cooperation, and peace. They shall fight as one, maintain sovereignty as one, trade as one, and exist as one. All affairs concerning war, diplomacy, trade, and sovereignty shall be held exclusively by the Union bound by the Covenant.

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Article 11

All nations subject to this Covenant agree to mint and utilize a single currency originating from a single source. The right to issue and circulate this unified currency shall be held exclusively by the Union bound by the Covenant.

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Amendments to the Covenant shall only be possible after being resolved by a three-fourths majority vote in the Continental Congress.

The Continental Covenant shall endure in perpetuity and serve eternally for the sake of humanity.

For humanity.

***

The completed Covenant was, in essence, merely strings of words.

Its enactment didn’t trigger an immediate technological revolution, nor did it spark an extraordinary social upheaval. Kim Lee-sang hadn’t thought much beyond the simple idea of: ‘Since this is basically a constitution, I should probably just write down a bunch of good-sounding things.’ After all, Lee-sang was a grape farmer, not a legal scholar.

Consequently, the Covenant merely outlined the fundamental functions and roles of a state, even by 17th-century standards. The only truly innovative aspect was the explicit mention of individual equality. Most people didn’t even pay much attention to the fine print; the preamble and the closing sentence were frequently quoted here and there because they sounded “cool,” but that was the extent of it.

Still, it was a relief that Archbishop Alonso now had a tangible justification to present to the North Americans in Florida. Thanks to that, the threat of Florida being annihilated by an untimely native invasion vanished.

However, that wasn’t the end of it.

“…I heard that a massive tribe called ‘Florida’ joined in the south.”

“Yes. Together with Virginia, the two nations have formed a single Union. Now that these two lands are strongly united through the ‘Covenant,’ we shall become even more powerful. You should join us—”

“Wait.”

“Pardon?”

“Is my tribe not included in your ‘us’?”

“…That is…”

The news first rippled through the tribes already integrated into the trade network centered around Virginia.

“I hear that it isn’t just about trading anymore. If we are incorporated into your group, those ‘Knights’ of yours will plow the fields in our stead.”

“…That is correct.”

“Before, I thought we had to scatter our tribes and become members of a different people… but now you’re saying we only need to join this thing called the ‘Covenant’?”

“Yes. That is right.”

“…”

“…”

“Can we join as well?”

They immediately began questioning the missionaries and merchants.

“…If you meet the requirements,” they replied.

That was the beginning.

“The Shawnee, the Iroquois Confederacy, and the Wabanaki Confederacy are rallying all the surrounding tribes…”

“Yes, they are asking to be included in our Covenant.”

Because of a few strings of words, everything began to shift.

***

The winter of 1612.

Hundreds of thousands of indigenous people, forming ‘nations’ in droves, arrived seeking admission into the Covenant. Most were tribes already involved in the gift-giving trade network. After a careful screening process, it seemed at least two or three new nations would be admitted.

Do they have an adequate population?

Do they exercise control over a territory of sufficient size?

Does their government system appear sufficiently democratic and rational to Kim Lee-sang’s eyes?

Beyond that, do they fulfill the conditions set forth in the Covenant, such as universal equality and the prohibition of slavery?

Had they not conducted the screening based on these criteria, dozens of nations would have likely joined the Covenant overnight. But even though the Continental Congress prevented such a chaotic expansion through its review process, problems remained.

Their combined population numbered in the hundreds of thousands. And to every single one of those people… Virginia was now obligated to gift them the ‘Right of 25 Hectares.’

—Those who wish to become Knights, come hither! Vast rewards await you!

—Go forth into the wild, untamed lands and claim the glory of conquering a vast territory!

Naturally, the demand for knights, squires, and technicians skyrocketed. Desperately. Oitotan broke into a cold sweat as he declared he would double, quadruple, and octuple the number of knights.

Furthermore, because the number of knights grew so large, they had no choice but to create a new rank of Marshal above the Captains. Otherwise, the Knight Commander’s residence at White Castle might have drowned in a sea of paperwork.

“Now, everyone, look and memorize. This length is called one meter.”

The process of training knights and technicians had to become far more systematic than before. If not, the veterans wouldn’t be able to handle the flood of new recruits. Thus, a ‘Knight Academy’ and a ‘Mechanic Academy’ were newly established in Chesapeake.

Though not an educator himself, Kim Lee-sang merely shared his experiences with ‘exams’ and ‘group activities’ from modern education, leading to a massive leap forward in the field. Within months, the manpower supply issue began to see some relief.

Yet, as important as people were, they could achieve nothing alone. Even the most well-trained farmer cannot do the work of two without a machine. He cannot plow a field twice as fast or sow twice as many seeds with his bare hands.

But with a machine, he can. With a tractor, he can.

In this land, the tractor was the knight’s warhorse, his spear, and his armor. And those tractors were now needed by the hundreds, then the thousands.

It was a total manifestation of future technology, a product of a highly developed industrial society brought forth by Kim Lee-sang’s intervention—two hundred years earlier than in original history. To mass-produce such items…

“Move! Hurry! Bring more coal!”

It was impossible using the methods of the current era.

The reverberatory furnace-based ironworks, which had been gradually spreading, were expanded to a far greater scale. The molten iron pouring from those furnaces formed the skeletons of the tractors. Conveyor belts were installed in every factory.

Countless industrial-monks stood at their stations, meditating solemnly. They assembled the massive tractors with rhythmic precision before the roaring belts. Dozens of such factories were erected one after another.

Naturally, they needed factories to produce the bricks to build those factories. So, the Virginians built brick factories. Then they needed ships and ports to transport the finished tractors. So, they built ships. They needed roads to move the tractors inland. Thus, paths were dug and filled with gravel, stretching out in every direction.

In this climate, the price of raw materials had to remain low. Fortuitously, the numerous bandits and former slaveholders captured in Florida were sent to mines as their place of exile, where they dug out cheap iron ore and coal.

As numerous factories rose near Chesapeake, people naturally flocked there looking for work. Villages merged together, and Chesapeake—already growing due to its commercial districts—swelled into a massive city with a population in the tens of thousands.

Of course, Kim Lee-sang hadn’t failed to predict this while building the factories. He standardized city buildings and roads, and laid down simple water and sewage systems beneath them to prevent epidemics.

And then, Kim Lee-sang invited Elizabeth to the city. To the metropolis of ‘Chesapeake,’ the heart of the community.

“…My God. No, has it really come to this in just a few months, a few years?”

“When you were last here, the population was likely around ten thousand.”

“And now?”

“Thirty thousand.”

A population of thirty thousand. Such a metropolis was rare even in England. While the London of original history should have been trending toward two hundred thousand by now, that London was currently barely clinging to the hundred thousand mark due to rebellions and turmoil.

However, Elizabeth’s shock wasn’t due to the population size alone. She gazed up at the bell tower of the half-finished cathedral.

The principle was simple. When Kim Lee-sang’s wristwatch vibrated with its alarm, the bell-ringers would strike the bells in sync. That was how the time was announced to the citizens of Chesapeake. That bell tower was the city’s command center.

As the bell tolled nine times, people poured out of their homes and onto the streets in swarms. They swarmed into the factories, offered a brief prayer, and entered into their sacred labor-penance. When the bell struck twelve times at noon, they would emerge to buy lunch from street stalls.

At the hours of arrival, lunch, and departure, those belonging to the monastic orders would recite verses to inspire loyalty to the community and a will to work.

Dong. Dong. Dong. Dong…

“We, the citizens of all nations reached by the influence of this Covenant, do hereby enter into this pact and swear upon our own consciences to defend and expand the cause of justice, peace, and liberty.”

Dong. Dong. Dong. Dong…

“The Continental Covenant shall endure in perpetuity and serve eternally for the sake of humanity. For humanity.”

“For humanity.”

“For humanity.”

“For humanity.”

Dong. Dong. Dong. Dong…

Then, the people scattered back into their respective factories.

It was an astounding sight. Based purely on scale, England had dozens of times the population of Virginia and its Union, so its heart should have been dozens of times more magnificent and wealthy.

Yet the reality was different. The massive tide of commuters, the sound of that oath echoing everywhere at fixed times, and the swift, rhythmic movements of those self-proclaimed monastics were placing this new city upon a gargantuan foundation of rock.

Elizabeth marveled at it, while Kim Lee-sang toured the factories, thinking only that things finally felt a bit closer to the 21st century.

Virginia was prospering.

Nay, it wasn’t just Virginia. Factories were being built in far-off Florida as well. Furthermore, considering the massive number of tractors and knights heading toward Florida, one could expect a staggering bounty of grain to emerge from there soon. It was the same for the other member nations. The gift trade network grew denser, new plantations sprang up everywhere, and everyone was growing wealthy.

The year was 1615. In just two or three years, everything had changed.

Elizabeth had seen many cities larger than this. In fact, she had lived in such a city for almost her entire life. But she had never seen this kind of city. She had never once seen an industrial city.

“Please, come inside.”

“Ah… thank you.”

Regardless, Elizabeth hadn’t come here for a sightseeing tour. She led her aged, weary body up the stairs with Kim Lee-sang’s help, finally reaching the headquarters of the Council of Six. As Lee-sang opened the door and led the way, she was met by the members of the Council.

Elizabeth sat in a chair facing them.

“Magnificent… It was a spectacle I haven’t seen in a long time.”

“We are grateful.”

“Anyway, enough with the pleasantries. Shouldn’t we… get down to business?” the Queen said. “Does ‘the Union’ now inherit the treaties that Virginia previously established?”

“That is correct.”

“Then… the treaty document?”

“It is here.”

Sitting across from the Queen, Kim Lee-sang handed over a paper, which the Queen and her aides scrutinized thoroughly. There were no problematic clauses, but…

“…There is a blank space.”

“…”

“Have you still not decided? On the name of the nation, I mean.”

“Lord Nemo deliberately chose not to set a name. This is a sign of humility before God and of this political entity’s—”

“I am well aware of that. But we cannot leave it blank forever, can we?”

“…”

“…”

“Now, tell me, Nameless One.” The Queen smiled like a mischievous child, forcing Kim Lee-sang to make a choice. “What shall you write?”

At that moment, the bells chimed outside the window. Exactly twelve times. Soon, the monastics who had emerged for their break began to murmur softly.

“…The Continental Covenant shall endure in perpetuity and serve eternally for the sake of humanity.”

Then, Kim Lee-sang instinctively muttered the words.

“The Continental… Covenant?”

It was the name of the pact that had led them all here years ago. Hearing this, Hewitt silently filled in that name in every single blank space on the treaty document without exception.

‘The Continental Covenant.’

That became the name of this nameless Union.