Torch Relay
In short, the first Prometheus Prize successfully overshadowed the conflict between the Holy See and Austria. After the Prometheus Prize controversy gradually subsided, both the Holy See and Austria seemed to have forgotten what had happened and stopped making any further statements on the matter. As a result, no one mentioned the Holy See's excommunication of Emperor Fritz II anymore.
The Austria cardinals still addressed Fritz II as His Majesty, and Fritz II continued to participate in various religious activities, receiving blessings from church personnel in these activities—as if Austria had never actually had any conflict with the Holy See.
Meanwhile, public attention gradually shifted towards the upcoming Olympic Games. First, the newspaper * Science Truth Daily * began introducing Olympic Games main venue and the competition events.
A reporter from Science Truth Daily interviewed Mr. Lucien Bonaparte, who also serves as the president of the French Olympic Committee. Lucien showed them a huge model of the main stadium that was kept in his office.
"Look, this is what the main stadium will look like when it's completed. It's surrounded by stands, with a total of 80,000 seats. Adding these unsealed areas, the entire stadium can hold approximately 90,000 people."
What is this building?
"The Olympic flame," Lucien explained, "Will be lit at the site of the ancient Olympic Games, using a convex lens to focus sunlight, to symbolize this Olympic Games. This flame will then be relayed by different people through country after country, from Greece to Paris. In each country they pass through, the torchbearers will represent France, extending a call for peace and an invitation to participate in the Paris Olympic Games. If these countries accept the Olympic Truce and cease all hostilities for the two weeks of the Games, they will be eligible to send athletes to the Olympic Games."
The torchbearers will carry the torch along several routes. The first torchbearer will travel to Constantinople to extend an invitation to Turkey, then north into Russia, all the way to Saint Petersburg, where they will extend an invitation to Russia. Next, they will travel to Sweden, Prussia, and Denmark, followed by the Confederation of the Rhine and the Netherlands. From the Netherlands, they will board a ship and finally arrive in Britain, before returning to France Britain ship.
The second torchbearer will first travel to Austria, then to Northern Italian Republic, then to Spain and Portugal, before sailing to the United States and returning to France United States. The two torches will then meet at the Panthéon in Paris, before proceeding to the main stadium, where a representative elected by the people of Paris will light the main cauldron and officially begin the Olympic Games. The flame on the main cauldron will then burn continuously until the end of the Olympic Games.
"Minister Bonaparte, I must say, the torch relay is a truly creative undertaking. Lighting the torch travels throughout the entire civilized world, bringing peace to the whole world. This idea is fantastic! I imagine such an undertaking requires coordination from many countries, and the work must be incredibly complex," the reporter asked again.
"Yes, the work is very complex, but also very meaningful, so we all enjoy it immensely. Countries all over the civilized world strongly support this initiative. People in various countries are also full of enthusiasm for it, and the people of every country and city our torch relay will pass through are very supportive. We plan to recruit volunteers for this torch relay in the cities along the route, and we hope that more people can participate in this grand event. Even if you can't come to Paris to participate in the competition in person, you can still personally carry or escort the Olympic Games torch as you run."
"This is perfect. Also, I'd like to know, if I want to participate in the sports meet or the torch relay, where should I register?"
"Ah, you can register at the Olympic Games office in the Ministry of Ministry of Truth building, whether you're participating as an athlete or as a torchbearer. However, if there are too many applicants, we may have to decide who is eligible to participate through preliminary rounds or a lottery," Lucien replied.
"One last question. We've heard rumors that this Games will differ from the ancient Olympic Games in terms of the events. Is that true?"
"Ah, that's how it is," Lucien replied. "We respect tradition, but we must also recognize that times are changing. We can't simply copy everything from ancient times. Otherwise, should we be speaking in ancient Greece at the games and having the athletes completely naked, like they used to? That's obviously impossible. In ancient times, only men were entitled to watch the games, but now we must consider the feelings of female spectators. So, we've made some adjustments to the events..."
After the interview was published, all of Europe was abuzz once again, with almost everyone's attention drawn to the new Olympic Games. The governments of the countries the torch relay passed through announced their registration methods for participants. Of course, it's said that Turkey didn't select participants through a voluntary application and lottery system; they simply allowed volunteers from other countries to carry the torch along designated routes. This was because they considered the torch relay to have too much of an idolatrous, pagan connotation. However, considering their friendship with France —and these days, few countries in Europe dare to disregard their friendship with France —they allowed the torch relay to pass through Turkey and pledged to send a team to participate in the equestrian events of the Olympic Games.
In contrast, Russia has been more open, although due to its vast size, the torch relay in Russia been changed to a horseback relay. Russia will also send athletes to the Paris Olympics.
Austria also expressed its willingness to participate, with even Archduke Karl of Austria stating his desire to compete as an equestrian athlete. The number of applicants for the torch relay was so great that a lottery system had to be used to select participants.
As for the Confederation of the Rhine, they were so moved that they were singing praises to France with all their might. The people of the Confederation of the Rhine expressed that France was the beacon of democracy and freedom, that France's direction was the direction for all mankind to move forward, and that being an ally of France was the greatest honor. The Confederation of the Rhine unconditionally and fully supported this great undertaking.
As for Britain, Britain reaction was quite interesting. Having been outmaneuvered by the France in science, they were somewhat disheartened. But now, with the France pulling off this stunt, the Britain were energized, seeing it as an opportunity to revitalize their national prestige and show the France Britain prowess. Therefore, while not many signed up for the torch relay, a considerable number registered for the Games, forcing the Britain to prepare for several rounds of elimination. This, of course, did indeed lead to the Britain performing exceptionally well in the subsequent competitions.
Other countries were also very willing to cooperate. Even the Holy See performed well.
It is said that the Sultan of Turkey expressed that the torch relay seemed to have a pagan, idolatrous aspect, because after news broke that his own people were not allowed to participate, some journalists, always looking for a big story, went to a bishop of the Holy See to raise this issue.
"Are the Greece gods just bewitching demons?"
"Yes, child, you must know that there is no salvation except Jesus. There is no other god in this world except the Holy Trinity. All those who claim to be gods are actually evil spirits. The evil spirits of Greece are no exception," the bishop replied.
The teaching assistant's answer was, of course, perfectly correct. This is the most basic tenet of Catholicism. If even this is not upheld, what kind of Catholicism is it? Even in later generations, due to the political correctness of religious freedom, Catholicism rarely expresses this view in public. However, doctrinalally, they still believe that figures like Buddha and Lao Tzu are all evil spirits.
The reporter then followed up with, "Sir Bishop, you know that the ancient Olympic Games originated from sacrificial rites against pagan spirits, activities that were later banned by the Holy See. Now, the France are reviving such pagan activities. Doesn't this violate the basic doctrines of Catholicism and lead them down the path of idolatry?"
The moment the bishop heard the reporter mention the Olympic Games, he immediately knew the guy had ulterior motives. As for whether the France had betrayed God's teachings and gone astray, is that even a question? Any devout believer would know that's the case. But the problem is, everyone knows this, but everyone can only think about it in their minds; absolutely no one can say it aloud. If they did, it would cause a huge uproar. You might even see the entire Holy See move to Avignon again. So, you reporters are really too...
"My child, the ancient Olympic Games were certainly a cult's ritual, but that doesn't mean the modern Olympic Games are the same." Fortunately, His Holiness the Pope had long been wary of these ubiquitous reporters. Over the years, His Holiness the Pope had been teaching everyone to beware of fire, thieves, and reporters. When the France first conceived of the Olympic Games, His Holiness the Pope had already prepared a set of answers and, through internal church channels, had submitted them to various dioceses for study. So, when faced with such a question, the bishop immediately began to explain according to the training materials.
"You see, winemaking, especially the production of wine, whether in Greece or Italy, was associated with pagan evil spirits. But after Jesus Christ distributed wine to his disciples, didn't this pagan evil spirit also become part of the sacred ritual? The same goes for the Olympic Games."
My child, you see, before Jesus went to the cross for humanity, everything about humanity was corrupt and sinful, but after Jesus redeemed humanity with his precious blood, everything was different. Amen!
"Amen!" the reporter could only echo the bishop's words.
"The original sin has been washed away, the original unclean things have become clean, like wine, like..." The bishop switched to preaching mode and began his sermon. Given the bishop's talent and habits, when he started speaking like this, it probably wouldn't end for at least an hour or two. What's even more striking is that in this mode, almost every sentence the bishop uttered was followed by an "Amen" or "Praise God," at which point the reporter could only quickly put down his pen, make the sign of the cross, and add his own "Amen" and "Praise God."
The bishop spoke for over two hours, citing various classical texts, and finally concluded that although the France "Olympic Games" may outwardly resemble the Olympic Games of pagan spirits, they are fundamentally different. The Paris Olympics are, without a doubt, a Christ Olympic Games. This is like pagan wine and Christ wine; they may look and taste the same, but they are fundamentally different.
After confusing the reporters with a series of complex logical transformations, the bishop finally came to a conclusion he had to reach: the "Paris Olympics" organized by the France was a Christ Olympic Games, Olympic Games that could glorify the Lord.
Finally, he told the reporter:
"His Holiness the Pope has received an invitation from His Excellency Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of France, to personally visit France to offer his blessings for the Olympic Games before their opening Olympic Games next year. From this day forward, the Olympic Games will undoubtedly become a shared festival and celebration for Catholicism worldwide."
The news that the Pope would personally attend the Olympic Games immediately attracted widespread attention, and the Holy See was once again on the front page of various newspapers.
A reporter then inquired with the Pope about the information revealed by the bishop. The Pope, with even greater insight, pointed out that the Olympic Games unite all believers in God, enabling them to stop fighting and care for one another—nothing could be more in line with the spirit of Jesus, so he naturally wanted to make such a wonderful thing happen.
The Pope's statement naturally made headlines in many newspapers, including many Austria ones. Since the conflict between Austria and the Holy See, anything related to the Holy See has rarely made headlines in Austria newspapers. And even when the Holy See does appear in the newspapers, it is mostly as a target of criticism.
But this time, even Austria newspapers agreed with the Holy See's view. Of course, some newspapers still lamented: Why is the Pope so understanding when dealing with France? And then... that newspaper went out of business for rectification.