At the capital, Riz was en route to Bideford Research Center for an astronomy conference. After two years of receiving funding from the royal treasury, the astronomers finally had groundbreaking discoveries to show him today.
He looked out the window, the dark cloud had clumped in the sky and hung there ominously. Every so often, he heard the rumble of thunder. Rain then begins to fall, saturating the earth below in an instant. As the downpour grew more intense, droplets pelted the road and create puddles. As for people on the streets, they scramble to seek shelter from the deluge.
Shortly thereafter, he arrived at his destination. The architecture of the research centre is pretty simple and straightforward. It is basically a combination of cuboids and cube shapes, accompanied by some mini parks and greeneries.
As he walked toward the main entrance, the security guard promptly opened the door for him. Inside, several people from the field of astronomy were waiting for him. With respect and courtesy, they greet the king. "Good morning, Your Majesty."
Riz nodded and spoke to them, "Good morning, everyone. Let's head to the auditorium hall."
Together with the king, they travelled to the centre through the sparsely crowded hallway where their destination is located. Most of the researchers are in their own departments, running their own experiments.
Entering the hall, he sees approximately a hundred people or so waiting for his arrival. From their educated appearance and the way they carried themselves, he assumed the majority of them were probably experts in astronomy from various places.
The audience promptly stood up and bowed to him as a sign of respect.
Riz sat in the front row, on the ornate plushy chair prepared for him. Indeed, VIP treatment is the best.
After resting his back comfortably, he said with his authoritative tone. "Presenters, you may begin with your presentation."
"As you wish..." Clearing his throat first, the presenter starts with a question. "What time is it now? A seemingly simple question. We usually tell someone time by using dawn, morning, noon, afternoon, evening, night and so forth. However, this method is rather vague. But, what if there's a quantitative way to tell time accurately?"
The audience perked their ears in interest. Though Riz knows where the direction of this presentation is going beforehand, he couldn't help but be lured in by his bombardment of questions.
The presenter continues, "Depending on the region, time is slightly different. For example, while we are experiencing morning time in the capital, people on the far east of the continent are having lunch right now. Some of you may notice the difference in time and some don't. Because we travel at a low speed and at a short distance as well, our body adapts before we realize the phenomenon occurring. To start with, let me explain to you about this world..."
Everyone in the hall listens closely to the presenter explaining the heliocentric model. His idea was supported by mathematical calculations plastered on the board which Riz didn't want or desired to learn in detail. Just seeing tons of equations and wormy letters made his head spin. Lucky for the presenter, the audiences believe that the celestial bodies are somewhat spherical.
The presenter then proceeds by explaining the concept of the world's axial tilt or obliquity as astronomers call it. According to his finding, this world tilts by 20.43 degrees which is less than the Earth. The tilts have a significant impact on the seasonal pattern and climate.
Additionally, the presenter and his team accurately determined the world's circumference. It was slightly bigger than Earth at 44,005 kilometres. He proceeds by explaining the details of his calculation to the audience so they can understand. Apparently, the finding proves that the gravity and atmospheric pressure in this world slightly differ.
Nonetheless, Riz was satisfied with what the astronomers had shown him today. The money spent on them isn't wasted. It costs him a lot of money to build an observatory atop Maneas Mountain as per their request.
Before diving into the main topic of time, the presenter takes a short break, allowing the audience to digest the new information.
And so, total silence envelops the auditorium.
The concept he presented is foreign to many people in the auditorium. Well, most of them believe in the geocentric concept where the world is the centre of everything. Since most discoveries start with observation, it is understandable why astronomers are reluctant to accept the new concept.
The face of old astronomers twisted. Due to the presence of the king, they refrained from losing to their anger.
Although they don't want to agree, they can't refute the concept either. The new concept was backed by calculation as proof. Moreover, the one who presented this was astronomers from Bideford, the continental centre of knowledge.
Regardless of their opposition, Ryntum will follow heliocentrism. With the influence they had, it was easy to convince the neighbouring nation as well.
Half an hour later, the presenter is back on stage. "Respected audiences, I'm sure there are many questions you wish to ask. I assure you we'll resolve your doubt after this. Let's continue to the main topic of time. The world takes 24 hours to complete one rotation counterclockwise around its axis. Considering a full rotation is 360 degrees, we can safely say the world rotates 15 degrees every hour. Thus, making the total number of time zones in the world to be twenty-four."
The presenter pulls out the map, consisting of the map of the entire Jozia continent. A gasp of shock resounds in the auditorium. It was the most detailed map they had ever seen. Never had they thought the cartography to be this advanced.
But, the presenter is unconcerned by their amazement as he passionately explains, "Please take a look at the map. Our team has made imaginary lines we call longitude to divide the time zones. Each zone represents one hour. Using Bideford time as a reference, we can establish a universally coordinated time throughout the continent."
"Excuse me, young man. Why do you make this timezone so important? In the end, time is time."
"Timezones allow for a uniform standard time for a nation to follow. It means the operational time for government and commercial activities would be synchronized.
"If so, why do we need to use Bideford as a reference? What qualifies this place to be chosen?" Ask an academic among the audience. From his tone, Riz could sense a tinge of dissatisfaction.
"This..."
Riz spoke up. "Actually, his choice has no deep reason. He chose Bideford because he has complete data here. Also, we have no difficulty in enforcing it. Certainly, that alone wasn't enough to qualify Ryntum to use its own capital. However, rights can be established when no one claims them. I don't know where you come from but here, my people have long past the era of worrying about food. They had the opportunity to explore other fields which let Ryntum advance more than any nation. Time is precious and we have no intention of slowing down or waiting for anyone. No compulsion is imposed on anyone. Regardless of what your opinion is, Ryntum will implement it."
The king's words quelled the dissatisfied people. The majority of them plan to reject it as they see it as an exertion of influence. Nevertheless, nobody can restrict Ryntum from doing it and they are pretty sure some would follow.
Seeing no one said anything, Riz planned to depart from the auditorium.
Before he forgets, "What's your name, astronomers?"
"My name is Preston," The presenter pointed to his two other friends. "This is Ashton and Chloe."
"You guys don't have a family name?"
"W-We are commoners, Your Majesty." The trio sheepishly deny. They felt embarrassed about their origin. Riz's next words shock them to the core.
"Then, I'll grant you the family name." He thinks for a second before pointing at Preston, Ashton, and Chloe respectively. "Ponticus, Aristarchus and Copernicus."
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