Talk:Schnee Dust Company/@comment-28189972-20170419140746/@comment-4010415-20170419230913

"Nicholas Schnee was the son of a Dust miner turned soldier, born just after the Great War, and found himself at the perfect point in history to take full advantage of the world's next industrial revolution. The Kingdom of Mantle, soon to be Atlas, was in a transformative period. They found themselves on the forefront of technology, but realized they'd depleted nearly all of their natural resources to do so.

That's where Old Nick came in. Rather than watch his Kingdom become dependent on the aid of others, young Nicholas Schnee decided to spend his days at combat school, his nights working alongside his father in the dwindling Mantle mines, and anytime in between learning everything he could about anything he didn't know."

So, basically, Atlas was already developing more advanced technology, but without Nicholas, Atlas would've had to become dependent on Dust companies from other Kingdoms. Because he established a successful Dust company in Atlas, Atlas' scientists were able to turn to him for Dust instead, which, in turn, fueled the SDC's success.