Vijay roughly understood what was happening within the Empire. He was well aware that while he was away, the Empire was slowly stepping into the Second Industrial Revolution, and because of his absence, he felt a lingering worry about the direction in which these various technologies might develop. It gave him the feeling of a father sent away on deployment, troubled by the thought that the daughter he had worked so hard to birth would grow up without his presence. But it could not be helped. He had to do what needed to be done.
If the Europeans had played into his game as expected, they would still be accumulating strength, and the final battle in the Mediterranean would only come after the Americas were fully lost, giving him the chance to witness the miracle of humanity, electrification and combustion engines with his own eyes. Yet once again, the Europeans proved the old truth that no plan is ever perfect, because something always goes wrong.
