September 30, 1914.
Rhine City welcomed a new group of guests. Since the outbreak of the European War, Washington and the Rhine had become focal points frequently visited by both camps.
This delegation to Rhine City was jointly composed of the Ottoman, Germany, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After the war broke out, East Africa's importance to the Central Powers camp had become increasingly prominent, especially as a source of overseas supplies; East Africa had virtually monopolized most strategic materials in trade with the three nations.
By 1914, Rhine City's total population had smoothly surpassed six hundred thousand. A large number of corporate headquarters and government offices were located there, while other industrial and agricultural sectors displayed vigorous vitality. Together with cities such as New Frankfurt City, Kabwe, and Lusaka, it formed another core of Central East Africa's economy.
In the heart of Rhine City, classical and ultra-modern buildings complemented one another in a scattered yet orderly arrangement. After the city's economy was liberalized, huge numbers of people poured into the capital. Traffic flowed endlessly through the streets, and crowds came and went, revealing both the profound foundations of the city's culture and its thriving vigor.
This was exceedingly rare. After all, East Africa had never been a country with a deep historical heritage, yet East African cities led by Rhine City had used architecture, art, and design to give East Africa something in common with European cities steeped in history.
It was also utterly different from the style of American modern architecture, especially New York's exaggerated form of skyscrapers in every shape and color, a dense forest of steel and concrete.
East Africa had its own distinctive understanding of certain modern buildings, deeply stamped with Ernst's aesthetic sensibilities from the cities of the Far East in his previous life. At