Sitting Bull could almost taste it. In a matter of mere decades, Native American ships would be plying the waves, scouting out the rest of the world in the name of future conquests. These ships could not leave their coastal harbors, though, without some way of gaining sight of distant shores. Hence, the scientists of Green Wave and Tenochtitlan began work on the invention of the Telescope.
As the development of Optics continued, envoys approached the Palace at Mutal and informed the Maya that Sitting Bull would, indeed, accept Pacal's offer for Currency:
It was not a great deal, but it was acceptable. And the ability to appoint Royal Guards would certainly keep the populace content. Or at least less willing to express their discontentment.
The two American nations also demonstrated their mastery of Currency with what proved to be a lucrative deal for the vast herds of Deer that spread across the northern half of the supercontinent:
The Native American economy was no longer in any real danger of crashing, but any influx of capital, especially on that scale, would be more than welcome.
With the secrets of Monarchy mastered, Sitting Bull sent word to Zoroaster. Major political changes were needed. These changes, if noticed by the rank and file, would cause widespread Anarchy. No, a major festival was needed. As an added bonus, the lightened mood of a proper revel would increase productivity for a short time, likely leading to a quicker pace toward a breakthrough in Optics. Zoroaster kicked out his heels and got the party started:
Vast quantities of Corn, stored dutifully for years in Granaries, were distilled into potent Moonshine utilizing the brewing techniques that were somehow included in the Mayan Monarchy package. The people, as yet ignorant of Music, merely shouted and clapped arrhythmically.
The cacophany was deafening, and somewhat demeaning, but it meant that Sitting Bull could slip his governmental reforms through unnoticed:
When the Native American people woke up, heads aching from bruising hangovers, they found that Sitting Bull had been anointed their King, and that they had been systematically divided into various Castes. Many loggers were removed from their posts in the forests surrounding Hawkeye and sent to work in the overcrowded Library. Tenochtitlan, meanwhile, had all the infrastructure it was likely to need for many years, and the Native American army was sufficient to meet the people's current requirements. So the workers were removed from the Mines that ringed the city and sent to work as Merchants, utilizing the Market to increase their considerable profits.
With Optics researched, much logging was still being done across the empire. Sitting Bull relented and decided that the long-delayed Mathematics was worth researching:
It was, at this point, a fairly trivial thing to research, and it was key to any number of scientific advancements.
Meanwhile, Triremes that had been constructed in Seahawk and Brave were refitted into Caravels, complete with telescopes, and sent out to spot distant shores. It was time to discover this "Old World" that the spirits had spoken of so many millenia ago.
Pacal came by with a rather paltry offer for Optics:
This suggested to the always-suspicious Sitting Bull that the Maya were working furiously to replicate the Native American breakthrough. He was briefly tempted to give in, wanting to get something, at least, for his efforts. But rationality kept him in check. Native American scientists were ordered to study the secrets of Civil Service. With that, the long-in-the-tooth Dog Soldiers could upgrade to fearless, powerful Macemen.
By 860, Native American Explorers had found Gold in the southern tip of Japan:
And had met most of the Civilizations that made up the Old World. The northern Vikings, the African Ethiopians and Zulu, and the central Asian Turks, Babylonians, and Sumerians all remained unknown, but, by and large, the state of the world as a whole could be at least mostly grasped by this point.
So, with that, I decided that it was time to bring you all back in for discussion. We are now firmly on the world stage, and it's time to figure out out where we stand. Here's a look at our Domestic Advisor:
As you can see, Tenochtitlan is about to spawn a Great Person, likely a Merchant, though a Prophet is also a distinct possibility. I figure a Merchant takes the next boat to Eurasia and earns us some money, whereas a Prophet likely gets settled or saved for a second Golden Age. Hawkeye is right behind, though, with what is almost certainly a Scientist, which I'll probably use for Philosophy. I'm seriously considering sending the people of Mexico City back to the Mines and moving the Palace there. It would, of course, be an amazing Bureaucracy capital. Cahokia is, by now, largely a backwater that has served its purpose.
Here is our first look at the new Diplomacy Web:
As you can see, Pacal is still isolated, which is a good thing. Charlemagne doesn't like me, likely due to his being a fanatic, but he is a thrall of Justinian, so there's not much he can do about it. The Dutch are also a wholly owned subsidiary of the Celts. Basically, the Old World is Buddhist. Boudica and her lackey Willem are Jewish, but they nevertheless have fairly cordial relations with their neighbors, with nobody any worse than Cautious. Suryavarman, though, being the lone Hindu zealot, is another story. He seems to be
persona non grata in international circles. Wang Kon, too, isn't well liked, which suggests to me that he founded Hinduism (or at least adopted it early on) and is only a recent convert to the Buddhist bloc. Again, it's tough to say anything for sure with six Civs still missing from the puzzle, but I don't think I'm going too far out there so far.
So what do all these relationships mean in terms of raw trading ability?
Actually, it's not too bad. Hannibal and Justinian are clear tech leaders, but I think that by spreading Optics and Compass around to the right people I can be right back in this. And Philosophy seems to be pretty rare, too, so that might be some useful trade bait if I can bulb it.
Oh, one other thing. I can steal something cheap from Pacal if I want to...
I don't think it's worth doing, but I figured I'd throw it out there. So should I focus all Espionage on our Mayan neighbors? Or spread it around, get a feel for the world as a whole? How about trades? I'd really appreciate a couple of experts popping open the save and playing with our potential deals. Should I abandon the Way of the Spirits in the name of better relations with the Old World? Anything else I should be doing? It was kind of a short, weak round, but I'd like to know where to go from here.
The save:
