In the summer of 2023 I was simultaneously facing the two most high-pressure commissions of my entire career. The first was to complete Giacomo Puccini's final opera 'Turandot' for Washington National Opera--a huge challenge to fill the maestro's shoes, especially for a first-time opera composer like myself. The second commission, however, was equally daunting, but in a different way: I had to compose the theme to Civilization VII, and somehow match the bar I had set for myself with my previous Civilization themes: "Baba Yetu" and "Sogno di Volare".