"Sit, Francisco," Heyne said, his tone firm, though not unkind. "If you are to choose, you must first understand both the poisons and the remedies of the past. Let us consider the autocracies of the East and the republics of the West."
He gestured toward a map of ancient Persia spread across the table.
"The autocracy," he continued, "is like a bolt of lightning. Under a Great King—a Cyrus, a Darius—a civilization may be raised within a single generation. Roads are laid, armies provisioned, and the law imposed without hesitation. It is efficient, Francisco. In lands such as yours, where the Spanish Crown moves slowly and decays by the year, an autocracy under your father's authority could establish order before the next moon has passed."
"But," Blumenbach interjected, leaning forward slightly, "it is also a house of glass."
He tapped the edge of the table with quiet emphasis.
