Chapter 30

A closer look at the young preteen Crown Prince Harry Tudor in my story, who is one of those kids that you probably would see tearing apart motors, wires, and circuit boards to create motors. I've met a few kids like him in my life, they are highly solution-driven and look at the world as a puzzle that can be solved. Also, sexuality isn't at the top of their thought process, so I imagine Harry as being asexual. Asexual awakening is an interesting concept, unlike straight, gay, or bi/pan guys getting hardons for opposite, same sex, or both, the realization that nothing sexual interests you is seldom described like I did with Harry.

Sadly, Harry's solution-driven mindset would lead to his early death due to the bigger plot elements built over the last ten chapters.

The internal attack has begun. The problems probably began many chapters ago, like cancer within the kingdom over the decade. I started my chapter by quoting a realist hero because at the heart of my story is realism, despite the sci-fi and fantasy elements. I had mentioned that Queen Mary's spread a lot of nationalistic ideas promoting English supremacy against minority Welsh, Cornish, and especially Irish. Though she is dead, the repercussions of promoting such ideas have lasting power just as we in the modern world are confronting issues that people dealt with nearly a century ago. Dissident movements grow from those who don't like status quo, they also are prime targets for foreign agents to use against the current government. People will think I am just talking about the current problems between Russia and US or China and US. However, numerous historical examples can be drawn from US assistance in the overthrow of the South Vietnam's government with anti-Communist dissidents, Russian involvement in overthrowing Czechslovakian government, and China's action in Hong Kong recently. It's a common trick to use factions to topple governments.

In my story, nationalism is just a facade for greed. The nobles haven't received any corrupt bargains or good lands from Eli in the last decade of reign. Those who served under the old system established from the Lancastrian and Tudor eras are pissed with their lack of financial gains. Worse, the religious elements within the realm are quite divided despite the new laws that Eli had created. As I mentioned in my prior chapters there's a major religious issue with the Anglican church, which is dominated by Protestant nobles. 

Of course, you already can tell from the mention of the Baltic sea that it is the Russian faction acting behind the scenes. This is the introduction of another major faction in the alternate timeline with advanced technologies as you can tell from their communication jamming, espionage, assassination, and "invisibility" devices (Think cloaking device).

I mentioned a few characters in this chapter as well, who play important roles in Elizabethan history like Henry Cary (Elizabeth's Lord Chamberlain), Nicholas Bacon (the Lord Chancellor), and his son the famous Francis Bacon (Chancellor for James I and father of the Scientific Revolution in our history). There are a lot of plot points I am playing with in this chapter. 

This week's law of Power is the 18th law, "Do not build a fortress to protect yourself, isolation is dangerous", Eli made the mistake in trusting various established mechanism and traditional practices to secure the royal family and peace in English society. An industrial revolution in history also disrupted the ancient order of things as well, creating major social reforms and unrest. Even if you pay people well, greed cannot be removed.

References:

1. Callbacks were made to the Battle of Heath Woods with John Cary, the teenage soldier who was a fan of ale. He's technically a fictionalized version of the historic son of Mary Boleyn and William Cary; though, she was rumored to have an affair with William Stafford.

2. Francis Bacon is an interesting character, even though he's just a kid right now. He became a major figure in scientific history and it is rumored that he and William Shakespeare were close (Will is 5 at the moment and Francis Bacon is 8, just in case people were wondering. If I pursue that route, it's age-appropriate, though Anne Hathaway is going to show up. If I go down that route, maybe we can finally understand Shakespeare's final words on why she was only "Second-best bedmate with furniture"  )

3. Harry's death is going to be explored in a side story, I am not sure if I should make it an interlude or a short story. I also want to explore how each side-character sees the uprising in London and its consequences across the kingdom. Eli/Jamie/John are at Parliament, Francis/Takeychiyo/Will/Francis Bacon/others are Whitehall Palace, Harry was at White Tower, Robert is at Port of London near the River Thames' Estuary with Puck/Edward/Ambrose/their child, Frances Howard is in Cornwall, and the triplets are with the bulk of the Royal Army in the north. There are 4-5 short stories at least surrounding this major plot point.