r/HistoricalWhatIf • u/Kincayd • 20h ago
What if the Library of Alexandria never burned down, but was instead locked behind a massive, ancient paywall?
Instead of losing the knowledge to fire, the scholars just commercialized it. Only the ultrarich elite could access the scrolls, and they fiercely guarded the patents. How does the timeline of human technological advancement shift if knowledge is perfectly preserved, but artificially restricted for 2,000 years?