The Mech Touch

The MTA branch on Cinach VI might not be as impressive as Centerpoint, but it was filled with advanced technology.

Wherever Ves turned his corner, he spotted advanced devices that might easy be worth as much as a factory ship!

Of course, there was no way Ves would ever think about grabbing them and smuggling them away. The security arrangements inside the base must be incredibly ridiculous as well, so much so that he was sure that his speech, body language, mannerisms and other aspects about him were under constant scrutiny!

Fortunately for a habitual liar like him, he possessed a trump card that hopefully fooled all of those AIs analyzing all of his micro-expressions.

The 'crazy hat' that Ves put on his head was so convincing that it changed his behavior down to the root! Whether it was his facial tics, his posture, the emotion in his voice or his argumentation, he truly did appear to believe in the utter nonsense he spewed whenever prompted!

"So let me reiterate your theory." Master Moira Willix gazed up at the Doom Guard mech that rested just a couple of steps away. "You have somehow managed to beseech two 'proto-gods' to enter your mech design and thereby provoke a 'divine' struggle for supremacy?"

Despite her extremely close proximity to the mech, she showed no hint of discomfort at all! While Ves and Gloriana both experienced a wave of terror that cut straight to bone, the Master Mech Designer acted as if a gentle breeze caressed her skin!

What was even worse in Ves' opinion was that Master Willix wasn't the only one who showed immunity to the Doom Guard's composite terror glow. At least a dozen other mechers floated around the mech without showing any signs of growing crazy!

This was impossible! While Ves could accept that a Master Mech Designer possessed the sheer spiritual strength to withstand all of that pressure, what about those other people? Were they Masters as well? No way! Their uniforms and behavior suggested that they were all subordinate to Master Willix!

Was it because they were rational mech designers? Perhaps. Ves didn't dare to concentrate his mind and perform any spiritual manipulation in front of Willix, but it might be that the people crawling all over the Doom Guard might have drained all of their passion!

Rational mech designers were extremely good at ignoring their emotions. This might also include emotions induced by external factors!

Of course, an alternate and more simpler answer would be that these elite specimens of humanity had trained their mental resilience attributes to ridiculous levels. They faced much worse horrors and learned to deal with them! A mere Doom Guard might be child's play in their eyes!

Whatever the case, Ves was deeply uncomfortable at how the MTA took so much interest in his mech designs.

Sure, they contained something intrinsic that probably no other mech designer in the galaxy managed to accomplish, but was it interesting enough to attract the repeated attention of a vaunted Master?

Ves felt persecuted by the MTA! Why couldn't this powerful organization that was tasked with defending the entire human race spend its time on huge, galaxy-wide affairs? Why must a powerful Master whose time was literally worth more than the net worth of the Larkinson Clan travel all the way to Cinach VI to inspect a single Doom Guard?

Had he become Moira Willix's latest toy? Was this a Master Mech Designer's form of twisted entertainment?

He hated every second of this situation!

Of course, he buried his seething emotions deep in his mind. Outwardly, he looked as pleasant and honored as ever to be in the presence of a revered Master.

"What you have just described is not a theory. It is the truth!" He raised his hands in imitation of all of those True Believers that had recently joined his clan! "The proto-gods that I have created or enticed for my mech designs are all powerful in their own way! However, even mortals can harness the gods! Within my Doom Guard design, I have enticed a great predator and an unknown enigma to enter, only for them to subsequently get locked in a struggle for supremacy! A mountain can never contain two tigers!"

The Master looked intrigued.

"That sounds very precarious, Mr. Larkinson. How is it possible that you have managed to fool these unfathomable beings whose powers are reportedly beyond mortal ken?"

Ves grinned with absolute confidence! "Because I only abuse the weakest gods! Do you think I'm crazy enough to challenge the greater gods? Hell no! While my ambition is to turn my mechs into gods, I am far from reaching this point. I can only take a step back and create flawed imitations through earnest prayer and sacrifice, or I lure existing divinities to my mech designs. Regardless of their origins, these beings are hardly invincible, hence why my partner and I refer to them as proto-gods."

His girlfriend helpfully concurred with his explanation. "Ves is always in control. Every mech we design, we become more proficient at harnessing the power of proto-gods. It won't be long before we are able to play in the big leagues and turn our mechs into true gods! At that point, our mechs will finally ascend and be capable of challenging the greatest battleships of the CFA!"

What the hell!? Ves tried his best not to sputter! It was one thing to claim that they were trying to create 'living gods', but to claim that their work would be able to surpass the strongest weapon platforms of humanity was entirely different!

Fortunately, Gloriana uttered her claims inside an MTA base instead of a CFA base!

Master Willix and some of the people around them chuckled in a good-natured manner.

"Designing mechs that are capable of making battleships obsolete is the common mission of every mech designer." She spoke in an encouraging manner. "I envy your optimism. The courage and ambition you youngsters possess makes me hopeful for the future of our profession. I look forward to seeing how far you can take your unconventional ideas."

They continued to discuss the mech while various people scoured the Doom Guard from top to bottom. Ves recognized that they performed very thorough scans, for what purpose he didn't know.

At the very least, material scanners wouldn't pick up anything special about their mech. Leaving aside the spiritual shenanigans, the Doom Guard was a relatively clean and simple striker mech. It was practically a toy compared to a modern first-class multipurpose mech!

However, from the way the mechers performed their inspection with utmost seriousness, it didn't seem they were looking down on the mech. That seemed strange to Ves. Where was the elite condescension that superior humans held towards inferior creations?

Soon enough, they proceeded with conducting some advanced tests. Just like the trials conducted by the Rim Guardians, the facility they were in was capable of generating a physical projection setting that simulated reality to a very accurate degree!

The testing site even negated gravity entirely while sucking out all of the air in order to simulate a space environment!

Paired with an MTA mech pilot who appeared to be minimally-affected by the glow, the Doom Guard mech performed quite well.

Gloriana frequently narrated the mech's technical performance aspects while the mech demonstrated its mobility and firepower in a simulated obstacle course.

Nothing about the technical performance of the mech was impressive. Nonetheless, the relatively high degree of optimization and lack of flaws still earned Willix's appreciation.

"I can tell that you have made good use of the gains you have made to refine your work." Master Willix complimented Gloriana. "I can sense the total dedication of your design philosophy in this mech. The pursuit of perfection is one of the most difficult paths to pursue, but nothing is impossible. You will need to do your best to hold on your conviction no matter how difficult it is for you to progress. I know many colleagues who developed similar ambitions, but faced too many obstacles along the way."

"What happened to them, Master?"

"They either adapted or died." Willix bluntly answered, emphasizing the great difficulties they faced. "The weaker ones compromised their design philosophies, making them less absolute and contingent on surpassing insurmountable barriers. Once they made this adjustment, a portion of them have managed to advance to Master and enjoy long and successful careers."

Gloriana frowned. "In exchange, they gave up on their original dream. They turned their back on their mission!"

"There are plenty of mech designers who held the same stance as you. They showed true sincerity and dedication in their work. Sadly, I don't believe that any of them has managed to realize their design philosophies and advance to Master. They all died sooner than the colleagues they consider cowards."

In other words, as long as Gloriana kept advancing, she would eventually bump into a bottleneck and face the same dilemma!

If gaining power and living a few centuries longer mattered more to her, then she could always 'sell out' and hollow out her design philosophy with some effort.

However, if her goal and ambition as a mech designer was more important than everything else, then she should never doubt herself and keep trying to accomplish the impossible!

No matter how many setbacks she suffered, she had to keep struggling even if there was no end in sight!

Though Gloriana understood her chances, she still believed that she would be able to succeed where others failed!

She proudly raised her chin. "Everyone around me advised me to pursue a different specialty, but I was never raised to accept defeat! My mother wanted me to become perfect in as many ways as possible, and I did my best to meet her expectations! When I became a mech designer, I harbored the intention to do the same as my mother, but apply her mission to my work! Designing the perfect vessel for any mech pilot is my way of honoring my mother's love and legacy!"

The pure passion and emotion radiating from her voice and body left no doubt to the truth of her statement. Even Ves looked surprised as he never really heard her explain her exact motivation for pursuing such a difficult path!

"We humans are shaped by our parents and predecessors." Master Willix reflected. "Each generation passes on their accumulations to the next generation. That has been the rule for humanity and many other alien races. In fact, I can even state that out of all of the races of the galaxy, we humans have become the most successful of them all because of how much we emphasize the passing of knowledge and wisdom to our children."

Ves looked confused. "How so?"

"Humans aren't the most remarkable race in the galaxy, at least in the earlier ages. Before the advent of widespread genetic modification, before the development of safe and highly capable implants, most of us had to settle with our baseline capabilities. How could our meager strength and intelligence ever match against the Seven Apex Races?"

"We cheated. We swindled. We betrayed."

"That is what the history books will tell you, Mr. Larkinson, but the truth.. is not so simple." Willix shook her head. "Regardless of the details, there is one trait that has allowed humans like us to become the dominant race in the galaxy while the Seven Apex Races have either gone extinct or been driven out of their former empires."

"And that is..?"

The Master smiled wider. "Our willingness to teach. It takes a certain amount of altruism to stop hoarding knowledge. We humans may be selfish most of the time, but we also hold the capacity to see beyond our individual needs and do what is right for the entire group. Innovation was and still is one of the keys to our ascension to power. The problem is that a single human can exhibit only so much ingenuity. If we truly wish to prosper, then we must be willing to pass on our knowledge to those who can inherit our mantle in the future."

Ves supposed that Master Willix's parable must be conveying some profound life lesson. It was too bad he couldn't figure out the underlying message!