Ming Dynasty and New Rome and Infinite Magic Machine

Chapter 1647 Script
"Huh? Acting out these things in front of the camera, isn't that a bit too avant-garde?"

Victoria was somewhat at a loss. After all, Shangluo's demands seemed rather unreasonable to her.
"You want me to eat this lollipop, and then you'll take a bite?"

"The script requires it. The script requires it."

"How did the script become like this? It wasn't like this when I was looking at it just now."

She looked at Yanqiu behind Shangluo. Yanqiu looked up at her and said, "You weren't originally in the script. If we're going to add scenes, this is the only way. You'll have to have some kind of relationship with the main character to be able to join in."

"Having sex?! What kind of sex?"

"Oh, it's a dramatic relationship. You have to be connected to the main character before you can join in. Otherwise, where would you fit in the story?"

"But I'm really... a little embarrassed."

“Then I can arrange other roles for you.” Yanqiu flipped through the script. “Hmm, how about a reporter role?”

“No. I must play myself. It’s not that I’m stubborn, but the Roman Emperor is divine and unique. I cannot play anyone other than myself, unless I play a god who is equally divine and unique.”

"Ah, I understand." Yanqiu nodded. "I understand now that you've said that."

As an entertainer, Yanqiu knew this rule—the emperor's public image had a certain scope of activity, and it couldn't be anything too outrageous.

Although Zhu Xianxi himself had no interest in drama, his image in the newspapers was fixed.

To be precise, his political spectrum is defined as "center-left psychic acceleration," a self-defined image. That is, "using psychic energy to accelerate social progress while maintaining ethical boundaries."

In the current situation, it would be more appropriate to call them Ascensionists, since ascension is just around the corner.

The political spectrum of Roman emperors was also well-defined.

There were several factions within Rome: the Virtual Ascensionists, the Mechanical Ascensionists, and the Psionic Ascensionists.

The Neo-Antochists, who summarized all their practices, were mechanical ascensionists, and they perished in the Big Bang. Their ultimate achievement was the creation of the Columbia Automaton, whose name means "white dove." In Roman culture, the white dove symbolizes "love and purity," and it is a sacred object of Venus, the goddess of wisdom. To some extent, the Columbia Automaton does indeed act with "love and purity" as its goal, hoping to provide for the world by producing bread. Their Vulcan core is named after "Vulcan," the god of fire and Venus's husband.

Colombian Automata is actually pretty good in every way. But the only problem is that they're not Romans—they're not even human, not carbon-based life forms.

There is also the psychic-ascended Elven court, ruled by the Elvenking Oberon, who are Rome's shadow. Of course, this is no longer Rome, and they are currently waging a full-scale war against it.

Rome was once divided into three factions: the Muses and Neo-Antiochians sided with the psychic ascension faction, and the Romans had three paths to choose from. However, amidst a series of internal struggles, the virtual ascension faction became the only surviving path. This was the only path that did not conflict with the path of Aurora, and it also aligned with Rome's future.

Victoria's stance must absolutely not deviate from the "virtual ascension" line. All public statements concerning the Emperor must be restricted—ideally, none at all. Because if the Emperor were to appear here, and in a capacity other than Emperor, every word he uttered would be interpreted as a shift in policy.

That would cause a huge mess.

"Speaking of which route did the Oracle of Delphi stand on before?"

[Previously, Delphi and Syracuse were proponents of mechanical ascension, hence the Vulcan core is our invention. Of course, in the end, everyone supported someone else they didn't originally want to support. Political unity was paramount. Within the Senate, only virtual and mechanical ascension remained, so Constantinople and Neo-Antioch naturally sided with either side. As for Victoria herself, I can't say. What she personally thought wasn't important; what mattered was what the Roman emperor wanted. Anyway, it was good enough that she did nothing.]

"So, this is what 'holy and unique' means, right?"

[Yes, it's a divine uniqueness in two senses. Firstly, Victoria couldn't speak carelessly; secondly, she couldn't play other roles. This was simpler for other Roman emperors, but more difficult for Victoria. Because other Roman emperors could make their own decisions, while she had to maintain consistency with her father, which imposed more restrictions.]

"So she can only play herself. And when she's playing herself, she can't do anything too outrageous?"

That's right. But dating isn't considered inappropriate behavior.

"Huh? Doesn't that count?"

[If we're going to consider it, Victoria should have refused from the outset on the grounds of 'divine uniqueness,' instead of refusing when asked to play other roles. Perhaps this is a matter of perspective? We believe that a Roman emperor should not only possess personal charisma but also sexual appeal. Ideally, he should be every man's woman and every woman's man.]

"???"

[Caesar started it all, Caesar did it, Caesar really did it. So the Romans actually preferred to be ruled by beautiful young women or boys; old men didn't meet the standards of a Roman emperor—which is why Agassiz abdicated, and why he approved of your further relationship with Victoria.]

Caesar himself was a direct embodiment of this concept. His romantic escapades in his youth are another story.

The biggest news he made after he came of age was that he went to Egypt, slept in the same bed with the Pharaoh, and got the Egyptian Pharaoh pregnant.

An Egyptian pharaoh bearing children for a foreign monarch was unprecedented in history. Caesar accomplished this feat—and because the title of pharaoh was later abolished, it was never used again.

Their son, Caesarion, was a direct embodiment of this concept, the true harmony of life in orthodox Rome. It is said that Caesarion also possessed remarkable personal charisma and quickly displayed habits similar to his father's.

"I need a moment to process this. Do I really have to say this?" This gave Shang Luo a mental shock. Not because it was wrong, but because after careful consideration, he realized it seemed to be true.

(End of this chapter)