The Mech Touch

Professor Benedict Cortez hooked up with the Unbound Humanity Faction.

The truth should have been obvious to Ves. Out of the twelve major factions of the Mech Trade Association, only two of them advocated for the removal of the rules and taboos that heavily constrained the behavior of mech designers and other humans for that matter.

On the whole, many of those restrictions such as the prohibition against using warships had been a godsend to a human population that had almost made itself extinct by recklessly employing weapons of mass destruction.

Many humans had proven with their deeds that they lacked too much restraint and responsibility to govern their own conduct. When people turned bad, the amount of destruction they could unleash with an armed battleship in their control was apocalyptic!

Yet… as human society recovered and people sobered up over the centuries, certain voices began to voice doubts whether these restrictions were still needed.

The longer most of humanity operated under its own shackles, the more it became unaccustomed to waging war at its highest level!

For obvious reasons, the Big Two did not want to lift the restrictions. Why should they? They were the most powerful organizations of human civilization. They were the de-facto sovereigns of humanity. The most valuable resources, talents, knowledge and other products of humanity fell into their hands, which not only empowered them, but also enriched them beyond anything the first-rate superstates had enjoyed.

With so many interests at stake, almost every member of the MTA sought to keep most of humanity in their cages.

Only a small number of radical or principled mechers had the courage to resist this distorted order.

Some of them believed that humanity had 'grown up' to a point where it could responsibly make use of stronger weapons. They believed that the human race must go back to the glory days of the Age of Stars and the Age of Conquest in order to maximize its potential.

Others just had more selfish reasons for lifting the restrictions. Mechs themselves were heavily restricted in what they could do. There were lots of mech designers like Professor Benedict who harbored wild dreams but found themselves unable to execute them because there were too many rules in the way!

Ves figured that Professor Benedict fell into the latter category. Ves hadn't interacted with the former Skull Architect a lot of times, but from what he could judge, the Senior obviously wanted to be able to do more in the open.

To be honest, Ves was also sympathetic towards this stance. He wouldn't have to hide so many illicit experiments if the MTA didn't impose so many rules on what mech designers were allowed to do in order to develop their mechs.

However, the more rational part of him actually supported the current order. He couldn't count the amount of times he had witnessed people going mad with power and acting completely without regard for the harm they caused to others.

If the MTA no longer enforced its admittedly patronizing rules over humanity, Ves easily predicted that half of the Milky Way would soon explode from all of the maddened people flinging nuclear bombs and antimatter bombs at each other!

After decades or centuries of restraining each other's hatred against each other, there were lots of states that wanted nothing more than to blow up their enemies!

Even the Greater Terran United Confederation and the New Rubarth Empire might start a titanic clash that might very well break human civilization in half in their pursuit to achieve absolute hegemony over the Milky Way!

Ves understood that many humans could easily transform into monsters when they let their greed and baser desires get the better of them. Though he didn't like the Big Two's heavy-handed policies that effectively trapped most space peasants in weak and mostly inconsequential states, he understood that most of the alternatives were much worse.

Therefore, he did not have a good opinion of the Unbound Humanity Faction.

From what he had learned of its ideology and stances after discovering its existence, the controversial faction did not really present a clear answer on what should happen next after lifting all of the laws and taboos that shackled humanity.

Should the MTA, which had lost most of its legitimacy and enforcement power, just sit back and watch the brush fires erupt all over human space?

There was no way that things would go well if humanity did not receive any subsequent guidance! However, the Unbounders were made up of a lot of different people who each had different reasons and motivations to support their common cause.

While they could all agree on lifting most of the rules, they were less united on what should happen next!

This was their biggest and also another reason why every other human hated them. Even Ves regarded Professor Benedict with a bit more vigilance than before.

Throughout their subsequent talks, the Senior clearly noticed the effect his revelation had on the patriarch of the Larkinson Clan.

"I wouldn't worry too much if I were you, Ves." The professor gave him a reassuring smile. "Although these MTA factions all dream big, in practice they are constantly held back to their many rivals. Compromise is the name of the game here. Only by setting aside their more radical desires can they find enough common ground with each other. This is crucial to gain support for major initiatives."

"I am already aware of that dynamic, professor."

"Then you should know that as long as the balance of power within the Galactic Mech Council continues to remain fractured, the MTA's policies will always follow a middle ground. There are hardly any opportunities for radicals such as the Unbounders to get taken seriously. They are essentially powerless to enact their own proposals."

"And you decided to join them knowing that the Unbounders are a joke in the MTA?"

Professor Benedict grinned. "The Unbound Humanity Faction is still a genuine major MTA faction. It enjoys the support of at least several Star Designers and galactic mech councilors. The wealth, resources, power and authority it has at its disposal is far beyond what you can imagine. Even if it is among the smallest and least attractive among the twelve major factions, that is only relative to the MTA's own standards. To indigenous mech designers such as us, even the junk they throw in the trash chutes is worth a fortune!"

"I see."

Ves understood Professor Benedict's game a bit more. The man did not join the Unbound Humanity Faction because he was a true believer. It was more likely that he just wanted to take advantage of a faction and the Unbounders were the best ones that he could align with considering his own stances.

The fact that the Unbound Humanity Faction was so marginalized within the MTA made people who wished to associate it even more valuable! Professor Benedict was definitely trying to milk this relationship to the utmost, as evidenced by all of the extra combat carriers he secured for the Cross Clan.

However, there was one flaw to this plan.

"Are you sure the Unbounders will remain toothless? The balance of power can change. What if the faction you have joined has gained real power or support? What if it demands more cooperation from associates such as you? You might get pulled into a power struggle that is much more dangerous and consequential than you imagined."

"Hahaha! Doesn't that sound great?!" Professor Benedict grew excited at the thought. "I think you are mistaken about something, Ves. I don't necessarily dislike a disruption to the current order. It's the opposite. I like shakeups! Only by interrupting the status quo will ambitious people like you and I be able to find greater opportunities to climb up and pull down the established powers that get in our way."

"That sounds dangerous, professor."

"Dangers will come regardless of what we do. What is important is our ability to cope with them. The Crown Uprising, the opening of the Red Ocean, the popularization of phasewater and just a few of the disruptive events that are already changing human civilizations in ways that we cannot predict. Rather than fear these changes, we should embrace them if they come! This is one of the key lessons that I have learned throughout my career. Whether our society is stable or undergoing great upheaval, only the best will be able to adapt to multiple situations. No matter what will happen in the future, the ability to survive and thrive in different scenarios will be key to our ultimate success!"

Ves looked shocked at the older mech designer!

Although the man presented a rather extreme argument, it also contained many elements that he agreed with! Ves too prized the ability to adapt to changing circumstances. His Larkinson Clan certainly had to exercise this capability multiple times over its short existence.

That didn't mean he wanted the current order to start imploding. He would much rather live in a more stable and civilized society where he didn't need to watch out for lethal threats behind his back all the time. He wanted to design mechs and sell them to a prosperous market that was highly efficient and highly interconnected.

The current model of humanity might have many flaws, but it generated one of the best possible market circumstances for mech companies. Ves didn't think that he would be able to profit as much from his business activities if warships started to become popular again!

After Professor Benedict made his opinions clear, the two switched to lighter topics. They no longer talked about any heavy matters and instead discussed more modest subjects such as the growth of their clans and the future business activities of Professor Benedict's newly-founded equipment development company.

"How much progress have you made so far?" Ves asked. "When will your new company release its first component designs?"

"Not soon." Benedict shook his head. "We must start from scratch. We do not have any existing products to build upon. We must continue to hire more researchers and engineers and give them time to complete their projects. It will take years before we can release our first products. Our output will not be high at first as we will still be working out our approach. I estimate that we will only be able to pick up steam after we have passed our first decade."

"That's… a long time, especially in a place like the Red Ocean where everything moves quickly."

"I'm aware of the challenges. The competition is already formidable here and it is unlikely for our equipment development company to gain any traction in the local market. Nonetheless, it is important for our alliance to be able to develop and produce our own mech components and potentially other machines. Relying too much on external developers and suppliers is a vulnerability that might ruin us if the markets collapse."

Ves agreed with the Senior, but that did not necessarily mean he was willing to invest in a solution. What Professor Benedict was doing was extremely expensive and time-consuming. The Cross Clan might not even be able to pull it off in the end.

He was more than happy to let the Crossers take over this particular niche. The Larkinson Clan already had enough work on its hands.

"By the way, I heard you recruited a bunch of Journeymen back in Vulit. I haven't met with them yet. It would be nice if you could introduce them to me one day. We're all colleagues and we might even work alongside each other one day."

Professor Benedict grunted. "I just recruited them because I need extra hands. They are not particularly brilliant and can never compare to the likes of you. I will bring them along when it is convenient, but do not hold too many expectations. Not every Journeyman shines brightly after they have advanced. It takes great passion and motivation for us to keep working hard. You are still young, so it is not that difficult for you to push yourself to improve. Those that are older find it much more difficult to sustain their drive."

"I understand."