American: Native Empire

When radio was spreading across the empire and beyond, a technology that could transmit and receive images as well as sound was also emerging. 

That is, television.

In fact, the foundation for television was already laid before radio came out.

It all started when the element selenium was discovered long ago.

“Hmm. This is an interesting substance.”

Scientists showed great interest in selenium. 

That was because selenium had a sensitive property that allowed current to flow when a small amount of light hit it.

The scientists who encountered this peculiar element thought.

“Can we use selenium to send images to distant places?”

If this was possible, it would be nothing short of a revolution.

However, this was quite a difficult task with the technology at the time. 

But there are always people who challenge themselves when they see a big success ahead.

Several scientists devised their own devices and succeeded in transmitting and receiving images. 

But these devices were imperfect. 

They worked too slowly to restore the image, so they could not get a proper picture.

Then, the situation changed with the sharp thorn.

“X-rays…”

Ever since the Dry Towel discovered this new ray, many scientists started related research. 

The sharp thorn also joined the research.

“If I research it, I’m sure I’ll make a major discovery.”

Was it thanks to the many scientists who researched cathode rays?

Not long after X-rays were discovered, it was revealed that the particles of cathode rays were electrons.

Around that time, the sharp thorn also achieved a result with cathode rays.

He coated a fluorescent material on the part where cathode rays were shot inside a glass tube. 

As a result, he discovered a very interesting phenomenon.

“What? It’s glowing?”

The coated fluorescent material was emitting light.

Seeing this phenomenon, the sharp thorn came up with a brilliant idea.

“…Can I use this to display images?”

Movies were already quite developed at that point. 

But that was a method of showing roll films quickly. 

On the other hand, his idea was to use electrons to display images.

If this succeeds…

“Maybe I can watch video broadcasts at home like radio…?”

Of course, it was just a fantasy, but the sharp thorn felt a strong premonition that he could succeed.

“Most of the great inventions start from fantasies, right?”

People who fantasize are ridiculed and pointed at, but among them, those who realize their fantasies become great people who remain in imperial history. 

The sharp thorn understood this logic well.

That’s why he changed his direction to research how to express visual information using cathode ray tubes.

And not long after, the sharp thorn’s research bore fruit.

“I did it!”

He created a device identical to the Braun tube in the original history.

It was the same as coating fluorescent material on the screen and using electrons that were shot. 

What he added was creating countless dots called pixels and controlling electrons to collide with the desired pixels.

The sharp thorn named this device after his name, Thorn Tube.

The reaction to this was quite hot.

“Oh…! A device that displays images, that’s amazing!”

It provided a clue that if electrical information about images was given, images could be sent quickly over long distances.

Moreover, at this time, radio broadcasting was spreading rapidly, so visual expression by electrons rather than sound attracted more attention.

People began to think like the sharp thorn that they could watch video broadcasts at home.

Thanks to that, he broke through the fierce competition and even received an imperial medal.

“Congratulations.”

“Th-thank you…!”

Kim Ki-woo patted the frozen shoulder of the sharp thorn and smiled kindly. 

He knew very well how great this video receiver would be as an invention.

That’s why Kim Ki-woo added this:

“I guarantee you. The Thorn Tube you made will surely be widely used all over the world someday.”

“R-really?”

“Of course. So be proud of yourself.”

“Yes, Your Majesty…”

Sharp Thorn was so moved by those words that he shed tears.

After the medal ceremony was over, he became a scholar at the Imperial University based on his achievements.

And he vowed.

‘As Your Majesty said, I will do my best to make the Thorn Tube available to the world.’

Your Majesty’s words had never been wrong. 

He was sure that Your Majesty’s words would come true even if he did nothing.

But he wanted to bring that day forward as soon as possible. 

Sharp Thorn thought that was the way to show his loyalty to Your Majesty.

Sharp Thorn racked his brains.

“How can I make the Thorn Tube popular?”

And he found the answer in the radio.

“People are rushing to buy radio receivers because radio broadcasting has taken root, right?”

He thought that the role of the radio receiver and the Thorn Tube he made were the same.

He concluded that if he met other conditions, the popularity of the Thorn Tube would naturally follow.

“To do that, I need a technology to capture images.”

He thought that the method of converting electrical signals into images on the Thorn Tube screen was the most ideal.

***

The Thorn Tube was a device made without much research on cathode rays. But making a device to capture images was a very difficult task.

In this situation, the Imperial University was a great help to Sharp Thorn.

“Image capture… That’s interesting.”

“If successful, it will be as revolutionary as a film roll.”

The Imperial University was where the camera was invented. 

Perhaps because of that, there were many scholars who were well-versed in related fields.

Sharp Thorn often had meetings with them and continued his research step by step.

He persevered in making a transmitter that could capture images electronically. 

Of course, countless failures followed him.

He was also experimenting with the transmitter that day.

“I hope it succeeds this time…”

Sharp Thorn muttered his hope and fixed the transmitter on a picture hanging on the wall. 

If this transmitter worked properly, an image should appear on the receiver in the next room.

He moved to the next room with anxiety. And he closed his eyes tightly and turned on the receiver.

Zzzz…

Then a familiar mechanical sound came. 

Sharp Thorn slowly opened his eyes.

“…Huh!”

And he was startled.

“It’s working! It’s an image! Hahaha!”

A fairly clear image was projected on the receiver, and it was obviously the picture that the transmitter was pointing at.

That’s how television was developed.

Afterwards, Sharp Thorn applied for a patent for television. 

In the meantime, he also established the transmission and reception methods for television.

After this process was somewhat finished.

Sharp Thorn wondered.

‘How can I make television popular?’

He didn’t bother to start a company using television.

 Anyway, as television spread, huge royalties would follow.

The original purpose of being enthusiastic about research was also to popularize the Thorn Tube.

And he also got a hint from radio for this.

‘Just like when radio stations opened, if Your Majesty appears on television, demand will skyrocket in an instant…’

Didn’t countless people make a fuss about getting radio receivers to hear Your Majesty’s voice?

But this time it’s one step further with images. 

It meant that they could see Your Majesty’s movements with their own eyes.

This would be a very powerful temptation. It might cause an even bigger sensation than the radio.

Sharp Thorn continued to spread his wings of imagination.

“It doesn’t seem impossible. There’s already the precedent of the radio, right?”

If His Majesty had been reluctant to expose himself to the public, he wouldn’t have appeared on the radio broadcast. 

Moreover, as expected, His Majesty seemed to have a great interest in the activation of mass media.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have bothered to give a speech on the first broadcast on the day of the opening of the capital radio station.

Of course, no matter how much he was a scholar of the Imperial University who received the imperial medal, he had no way to express his opinion directly to Kim Kiwoo, who was called the whole of the empire.

That’s why Sharp Thorn went to see the department head and voiced his opinion.

“…Are you saying that you want to use His Majesty, the great emperor, for your own selfishness? Are you in your right mind?”

But the response he got was not at all friendly. 

The department head saw Sharp Thorn as a person blinded by greed.

No matter how much Sharp Thorn tried to persuade him, he was adamant. 

In the end, the meeting with the department head ended without much benefit. Rather, only bad rumors about him circulated.

However, the situation changed drastically by the Imperial University president who heard such rumors.

“Hmm. There’s enough reason for that.”

The president did not deny Sharp Thorn’s idea. 

He was probably someone who had met Kim Kiwoo regularly as he became the president of the Imperial University.

So he knew Kim Kiwoo’s interest in mass media to some extent.

The president immediately called Sharp Thorn and had a conversation with him.

“…Is that really true?”

“That’s right. I’ll try to report it once. Of course, the decision is up to His Majesty, so you might be rejected.”

“I understand that. That’s enough for me.”

“Then wait and see. I’ll let you know when the result comes out.”

“Yes, Mr. President!”

After that, the president kept his promise. 

He submitted a report using his authority as the president of the Imperial University.

Kim Kiwoo, who received this report, was very interested.

“Hahaha! What a bold guy.”

“I will punish the president and Sharp Thorn who dared to make such a proposal to His Majesty…”

“Stop it. Don’t jump to conclusions.”

Kim Kiwoo stopped the minister of internal affairs who was about to punish the two people. 

The minister’s high loyalty sometimes went too far like this.

Well, not only him but also many other ministers were similar.

“Don’t think about anything silly and go do your work.”

“…Yes, Your Majesty.”

After the minister of internal affairs left the office,

Kim Kiwoo seriously considered appearing on television.

‘Certainly, if I appear on television like I did on radio, many imperial citizens will like it.’

The reaction to this seemed no less than that of radio.

‘Thanks to my radio speech, radios were distributed very quickly.’

Of course, there was a lot of merit in solid content such as radio dramas, news, and talk shows, but what made people buy radios for the first time was his speech.

As a result, many radio stations were created in no time and radios became popularized.

‘The popularization of television is no less than that of radio. There’s no reason why it can’t be done.’

In the end, Kim Kiwoo made a decision.

Just like he did with radio broadcasting, he decided to fully support television broadcasting.

Of course, television development had just finished. 

There were still many processes left to distribute televisions and broadcast them.

But these were things that would be done fairly easily once they started supporting them at the government level. 

The important thing was his decision.

And once he made a decision, he was confident that television popularization would be completed in no time.