Berengar sat in his own home, as one of his youngest children enthusiastically showed him something which he truly never believed he would see in this life. Though it was slow, undoubtedly due to its dial-up modem. Berengar's eyes were not deceiving him.
On his personal computer, which he kept in his office, Berengar witnessed the internet sprawl to life before his every eyes. Perhaps even the creators of this device did not know how substantial of an invention this truly was, and thus Berengar could only gawk in awe, as he searched through the only web browser which existed, typing in his own name to see what popped up.
Aside from a number of scholarly sources which were dedicated to the history of Berengar's rise to power, there were even a few fringe sites which made many wild claims about Berengar's past. Everything from he was a living deity reincarnated into the body of a man, to that he was an alien lifeform who had descended upon the earth, and shed its skin to appear as a human being with the intent of establishing a new and great society.
The ideas that some people had when left to their own devices had always acted a source of amusement to Berengar, especially when he clicked on the site which proclaimed that Berengar was in reality from the Alpha Centarii system, and was a normal member of an advanced alien race who had left his homeworld in pursuit of grand ambitions.
He honestly did not know how people thought of these wild ideas, but most certainly, drugs were involved. To which Berengar could only shake his head, and smile now that something which he had grown up with in his past life was a part of the one he now found himself in.
The teenage boy, who was Berengar's son, looked up at his father and sighed, thinking that perhaps the man was too old to properly understand the value of the internet. The subtle disdain in the boy's voice caused Berengar to give him a stern gaze, and a warning as his father.
"If you perhaps think that I am too old to understand the value that this invention provides to our society, then you are mistaken, boy. However, it is clear to me that certain limits must be put in place, so as to prevent the spread of stupid and nonsensical ideas such as this."
The boy looked at his father with shock before voicing his disagreement in the man's remarks.
"But father, would it not be best to allow people the right to say what they will, and allow society to weed out the bad ideas from the good?"
Berengar wore a bitter smile as he reflected to his past life, and how illogical, irrational, and sometimes outright stupid ideologies had taken over the internet, partially as a result of censorship of opposing views, but mostly because of human stupidity and with that in mind he quickly shook his head before lecturing his son on the reality of the world.
"You are much too naive boy, in an ideal world, we would allow people to do and say as they wish, so long as they are not physically harming anyone else. But that is not how the world works. The average human being is no better than a chimp when it comes to their intellectual capabilities, and are also too easily swayed by their emotions.
You can not trust human beings to make the logical and rational choice, as very few are capable of such action and thought. No, the masses need to be kept in check with a firm hand, or else society itself will unravel at the seams. After all, what is society? But the collection of human individuals.
This is why we do not permit the average man to have the ability to vote in political matters, because this will inevitably lead to the stupid and foolish being swayed by the corrupt and the wicked. So no, I will not permit anything and everything to be posted on this new invention. Instead, it will be heavily curated to promote the ideals which make a civilization strong.
If you disagree with my stance on this matter, then I challenge you to go out into the world, and have a conversation with the average man, have a conversation with twenty random men and women on the street, or perhaps a hundred and you will see what I mean.
You think this way, because since the day you were born, you have been surrounded by the elite of humanity, and not the dregs who are so common among our streets. You are a prince, and one day you may very well lead a nation of your own. Thus, you must know how to rule, and a ruler does not concern himself with the idiotic notions of the masses. He does what is best for his nation, nothing more, nothing less."
Despite the capricious nature of his father's words, the Prince understood the intent behind them. And had begun to reflect on his own worldview, and whether or not it had been skewed based upon the caliber of those he associated with.
As for Berengar, he continued to scroll through the internet, looking at a variety of websites. One thing was abundantly clear: he would need to assign a task force to approve the establishment of websites, and what they posted, or else it may very well lead to the cesspool that was known as social media.
Thus, in that instant, Berengar made a call to a certain department of his government, and declared the seizure of all servers and assets that led to the internet's development, and those which were required to maintain its infrastructure. As of this moment, the Internet had officially been nationalized by the German Empire, and would be kept in the capable hands of its leaders.
After scrolling taking control over the internet, Berengar began a purge of all material he be believed was harmful to society. Everything from pornography, to conspiracy websites, and those dedicated to discussing beliefs, which he found to be reprehensible on a moral level. What emerged in its place was an internet dedicated to the growth and expansion of knowledge, rather than the vanity of narcissistic sociopaths.
Months had passed since the German government took control over the internet, and during this time Berengar had barely accessed it. In truth, he had gotten over the addiction to the internet that so many people had in his past life, after living without it for thirty years.
He was not in any way tempted to access his web browser, except for intellectual pursuits, which appeared to be the way that most people were using it after the internet had been nationalized. However, Zara was on the internet almost every day, using instant messaging applications to speak with her coworkers in the German Space Program, where she coordinated their efforts to finalize their nuclear propulsion rocket design.
After a particularly dreadful day at work, Zara came home and downed a bottle of beer, where she approached her father for his opinion on a certain subject.
"Daddy, I have a question regarding your plans for mars. Assuming we do in fact manage to land a man on mars within the next ten to twenty years. What do you plan to do then? Mine it for resources? Or perhaps establish a colony?"
Berengar simply scoffed at his daughter's remarks before lecturing her on the viability of such a complex idea.
"It will be half a century before the Reich is capable of maintaining a colony on mars, or the moon for that matter. But mining operations are a good start. Though I may not be able to see it in my lifetime, I anticipate that in the coming century, the Reich will be able to effectively mine the asteroid belt which would relieve much of the material shortages that Earth will inevitably face if the human race does not expand into the stars.
Speaking of, I believe the internet, as it currently stands, will be able to greatly help in that regard. As of this moment, the vast knowledge which has been built up in the Reich is but a click away from those who are curious about it. Should the internet continue to be used as a tool of knowledge, rather than one of social engineering, then I see great things happening in the coming decades.
I look forward to seeing the progress you make with your nuclear propulsion rockets, and hope that before I die, I might be able to see mankind reach Mars. Continue with your hard work Zara, because every day you make your father a very proud man."
Zara slightly blushed when she heard her father's praise before responding to it with a wide smile on her pretty face.
"Don't you worry daddy, I will!"
Which will be receiving my primary attention from here on out. Thank you all for the support you have shown me, and I look forward to writing novels for you all for years to come!
