Little Kourosh, on the threshold of his fifth year of a life full of wonders, had dedicated himself to one of his most ambitious and fundamental intellectual projects: the compilation of "The Comprehensive Dictionary of New Persian." In his paper-making workshop, which had now become a cradle of hidden innovations, he was not only producing paper and writing tools but was now in the process of creating the first paper book of humankind in this part of the world; a massive and unparalleled work that was to contain all the words of his invented language and link them with the vocabularies of the ancient and complex languages of Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian. This book was not just a dictionary, but a bridge between the past and the future, and a great step on the path of the revolution of knowledge and mass literacy that Kourosh dreamed of.
This process was an immensely arduous task, requiring boundless concentration, deep knowledge, and unparalleled perseverance. Kourosh, relying on his unique eidetic memory and his modern linguistic knowledge brought from the twenty-first century, wrote down the words of the New Persian language that had formed in his mind, each representing a simple sound, on the newly produced papers. Then, with the help of his trusted nurses and some young scribes who collaborated with him in the workshop and were amazed by his intelligence, he found the equivalents of these words in the complex cuneiform systems. This work involved matching vocabularies with the Sumerian, Akkadian, and their Babylonian and Assyrian dialects, as well as the Old Persian cuneiform that was common before his time, and each word required hours of research and comparison.
The nurses and young scribes were often astonished by the scope of the work and Kourosh's obsessive precision. They could not understand how this child could remember hundreds of words and find their equivalents on ancient clay tablets, as if he already had all this knowledge in his heart. For them, Kourosh had turned this exhausting task into a "great game of word discovery"; a game in which every found word was considered a treasure and encouraged them to continue their work. But behind this childish game, Kourosh's goal was to create a bridge between the past and the future, and between the complex and difficult ancient languages and his simple and efficient invented language; a bridge that could free knowledge from the monopoly of a few.
"The Comprehensive Dictionary of New Persian" was not just a simple dictionary for translating words, but a linguistic and cultural masterpiece. Kourosh wanted this book to be a complete and unparalleled reference that would allow anyone, regardless of their social class, to learn the new language easily and also have access to the old knowledge. For each word, he considered not only the precise meaning but also its applications, possible roots, and sometimes even references to its cultural concepts, with the aim of standardizing the language and preventing the dispersion of dialects that could lead to disunity. This book was the backbone of the linguistic integrity of the future empire.
The main challenge was organizing this vast amount of information in the format of a paper book; a book that had to be both practical and durable enough. He carefully numbered the pages and designated separate sections for each letter of the alphabet, as if he had compressed an entire library into one small volume. This structure, derived from the principles of modern librarianship and advanced indexing, allowed anyone to quickly find the words they were looking for and access knowledge. Every sheet of paper that was filled with words was a great step on the path to the freedom of knowledge and enlightenment; a step that could change the world.
Kourosh knew well that the importance of this dictionary went beyond a simple linguistic tool. This book was a treasury of words that could fill the linguistic gaps between the different peoples of his future empire and give everyone a common language for communication. It was a powerful weapon in the war against ignorance and illiteracy, a weapon that could spread literacy among the masses and bring them to awareness; an awareness that would strengthen the foundations of a just and stable government. This book not only taught words but was also a path to cultural unity and solidarity.
This project was the first example of a real paper book in this region of the world; a work created by the hands of a genius child and inspired by the future. Unlike the heavy and fragile clay tablets or the imported and expensive papyri that were only used for sacred or royal texts, "The Comprehensive Dictionary of New Persian" was a symbol of accessibility and practicality. This work was not just a technological innovation; it was the dawn of a new era in the dissemination of knowledge, the foundation of a literate and informed society, and the beginning of a path to unprecedented progress that Kourosh dreamed of.