Re: Blood and Iron

Chapter 190: Prophecy or Deduction?

 n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

If Bruno's father wanted to speak with him in private, it must be a rather serious affair. And Bruno most certainly suspected what it was about. Thus, after the doors closed behind them, he broke out the imported Kentucky Bourbon aged to perfection for twenty years.

Once Bruno poured a glass to his father and himself, and they both had a sip, the old man responded with a satisfied smile on his face.

"You always know how to get the best stuff..."

Bruno chuckled, making a joke about what his father had said, one that his father wouldn't truly understand.

"You better enjoy it while it lasts, because in roughly eight years this stuff is going to be damn near impossible to get my hands on, other than perhaps for medicinal purposes..."

Medicinal purposes? How exactly is this drinkable liquor medical grade alcohol? Bruno's father didn't understand Bruno was referencing prohibition which would begin within the USA in 1920, and in doing so make alcohol effectively illegal other than for "medicinal purposes."

But then again, Bruno had an almost prophetic sense of what would happen in the world, and because of this, his father placed down his cup on the desk before addressing the matter at hand.

"Funnily enough, the reason I requested this private discussion is specifically because of your uncanny ability to predict the future. As you know, I am getting old in years, and I have no intention of staying in politics for much longer.

But... I'm not fool Bruno. Many people may not understand what you have been up to this past decade or so, and though I am ashamed to admit that it took me longer than it should have to fully comprehend it.

I now know the real reason behind everything that you have done, whether it's the creation of advanced weapons, investment into a wide variety of industries, or even the reason you have decided to stay in the military and rise through its ranks all these years.

You are preparing for a Great War that is on the horizon, and you have been doing so alone for a very long time. So let me ask you this, my son... How many years do we have left?"

Bruno looked at his father with a smug smirk on his face. It was a look the old man was not expecting, that is until Bruno began to speak and explain himself.

"I'm impressed... You know, aside from perhaps Heidi, who knows me better than just about anybody, I don't believe that a single person in this world has caught onto what I have been doing since I first became an adult.

I mean not for nothing, but you would have to have an exceptional degree of pattern recognition to connect the dots between my various enterprises and find out what the line leads to. I must commend you, father, I see now where I gained my enhanced intelligence from.

Fine... I'll admit it. By the year 1885, I deemed it a mathematical certainty that a global war would erupt, which would devastate the German Reich within the first two decades of the new century.

Everything I have done in my adult life has been specifically to prevent this otherwise inevitable result. Even now I race against time, knowing I have very few years left before the conflict begins to ensure that everything is perfectly in place for the start of the Great War that is to come.

So, the fact that you are bringing this up means you probably want to know precisely how much time we have left? Truth be told, father, I'm not entirely sure myself. But I can tell you this, it entirely depends on how long the wars in the Balkans will last.

This struggle between the Ottoman Empire and the Balkan League is just the beginning of something far more sinister. Bismarck was right in that regard... At most, we have two, maybe two and a half years.

At least a year, maybe less. Either way, soon I will be called off to war, where I will do everything in my power to obliterate every enemy army, I come across down to the last man. Well, as long as I can do so in accordance with the rules of war, that is....."

Bruno's father stared at his son. His expression wasn't one of shock, or dismay, or even one of a grim and sobering awakening. No, he stared at his son as if he was thinking through every word the man had just said. As if he was truly trying to figure out if there was any hidden meaning concealed within them.

After a rather long pause, he finally exhaled before speaking of why he had asked this question to begin with.

"I was planning to retire early, but if my vote can prevent the German Reich from going to war, then I might as well stay within the Bundesrat as long as possible."

Bruno, however, disagreed with his father's perspective, pouring the man another drink, and himself one while he was at it. He did not speak until they had both consumed the amber liquid in its entirety, and when he did so, he gave his father some advice.

"I would retire now while you can father, your vote will not make a difference, and if I may be so bold... If this war will start the way I think it will, your loyalties may even come into question should you refuse to cast your vote in favor or war...

What is about to happen will determine whether the German Reich emerges as the supreme hegemony of this world, and in doing so, usher in a new era of scientific, cultural, and technological progress. Or if Western Civilization itself will collapse within the next two hundred years.

Either way, the war must be fought to determine the fate of our way of life... Though you need not worry father, so long as I am here in this world, and God remains on my side, there is no path which leads to defeat. For anyone who tries to prevent our victory will not live long enough to accomplish their aims. I can assure you of that..."

After saying this, Bruno placed his glass down on his desk, and got up, where he patted his father on the back with a silent grin before leaving the man to his own thoughts.

Either way, Bruno had said what needed to be said, and it was up to his father whether he wished to retire now, or be among those who were to blame for the suffering that would soon be forced upon the world as a whole.