The Mech Touch

"As a mech designer who is now subject to special treatment from your competitors as well as others who are interested in replicating your design philosophy, how do you feel at this moment?"

"I… don't know. I feel awfully mixed, to say the least. A part of me is honored that my work is valued to this degree by some of the most authoritative groups of the mech industry. Another part of me is afraid that I am being targeted by people in power. Then there is a part of me that is horrified that a Master Mech Designer dares to experiment on expert pilots and that the MTA has actually allowed this to happen. The existence of this mech sword clearly violates the rules the Association has set on the treatment of high-ranking mech pilots."

"Those are dangerous words, Ves." Master Benedict said, though his smirk showed that he didn't really take them seriously either. "Master Huron and his backers have probably prepared reasonable excuses and rationalizations to explain what they have done to those that may be concerned about this experiment, but that is not really that important. What matters is that there is a more systematic attempt to deconstruct, reverse engineer, imitate or replace your design philosophy. What is your response to this development?"

"...I don't think I can do anything about it." Ves sighed. "I mean, the MTA is on it, right? As the ultimate authorities of the mech industry, there is no way a small figure like myself can fight against it. Besides, I don't think a design application as gruesome as this can ever achieve mainstream success. The MTA would be fools to standardize the practice of cutting off the heads of expert pilots and integrating them into mechs. At least in your case you don't need the high-ranking mech pilots to be alive when you harvest their skulls."

"Let's focus on the MTA for a moment. What do you think? Do you think the mechers are treating you unfairly?"

Ves simply shrugged. "As I've alluded to earlier, my bargaining power is too small for me to affect the decisions of the Association. I'm not that surprised that the mechers are willing to violate their own rules in order to advance their own interests. It is their prerogative to do so considering that they hold all of the power. I just find it questionable whether it is worthwhile for them to make an exception to the rules to make a plasma sword like this. I'm sure its original design was already sufficient for Saint Jeremiah Gauge. Why take this unnecessary step? From what I have observed in the earlier battle, the so-called living swords did not grant the Neo Amadeus a drastic improvement in combat effectiveness."

To be fair, it was difficult to judge how much the living aspect enhanced the performance of the Neo Amadeus when there were no clear comparisons available. This was a familiar problem with many innovations, and one that plagued Ves as well over the course of his career.

Master Benedict crossed his arms. "When it comes to experiments, achieving good results is not necessarily the only goal. The process is also important, and so are the discoveries made along the way. This is only an initial and extremely rough attempt at replicating the phenomenon known as living mechs. The reasons why the heads of expert pilots are used this time is because their strength is high, which makes it a lot easier to gather clear and distinct data. Subsequent experiments may be a lot less controversial. For example, Master Huron might employ heads taken from regular people or even clones that were grown in labs."

This was an established approach in the research sector. At the start, an inventor might not even know whether his radical new idea even worked. His goal at this stage was to prove his new concept, and to do that he needed to employ the best materials he could obtain in order to produce the strongest and most unambiguous results.

Just as with the plasma sword, other goals weren't as important. There was no need to focus on making the implementation as practical, cost-effective and in line with ethics at this early stage.

All of these improvements could come later, but only after the researcher was able to prove the validity of his theories.

Ves narrowed his eyes as he tried to dig deeper into how the plasma sword's unusual feature affected its combat power.

"Even if this is just a test balloon, it is an extreme one. I really don't know what the people from the MTA are thinking by letting this lunacy happen in the first place. I've heard that some of the factions of the MTA are more radical and obsessive than others, but I don't think that the Mech Supremacy Faction is so desperate that it is even willing to permit such an act."

Master Benedict held a different opinion.

"Hahaha. Your understanding of how the MTA works is not extensive enough."

"What do you mean by that, Master?"

The older man sneered. "I wouldn't be surprised if the Survivalists or the Transhumanists are involved in this operation. Their motivations to understand and crack your specialty are greater than normal because they possessed the greatest understanding of the potential of your work."

"What?! They wouldn't! I'm already cooperating with them! I have shared plenty of my trade secrets with them. The two factions only need to sit back and relax while I feed them with regular updates on my research progress. Why would they want to go behind my back and mess around with bootleg versions of living mechs?"

"There are many possible reasons why your supposed friends and backers might want to conduct their own research in your fields." Benedict answered. "For example, they may be concerned about whether you will remain available long enough to supply them with your research results. If you happen to die during the Trailblazer Expedition, how will living mechs continue to be developed? If you go crazy one day and shift your design philosophy in a completely different direction, how will the supporters of living mechs within the MTA be able to proceed?"

Ves began to understand what Master Benedict was trying to convey. "I see…"

"It makes a lot of sense to increase redundancy and perform additional research in the new and promising field you have opened up. The fact that living mechs are so dependent on a single point of failure is bad practice. Don't forget what kind of organization the MTA truly is. The advancement of technology, especially in relation to mechs, trumps everything else. Rules and morality take a backseat when progress is at stake."

That indeed fell in line with Ves' own impression of the MTA. His expression became more thoughtful at this time.

"Strangely enough, I don't feel as bothered with this treatment as before." He said.

"Why the change?"

Ves smirked. "If the MTA cares so much about living mechs that it is willing to encourage or allow additional research in my own field, then that is a sign that I am finally beginning to fulfill my grand vision of the mech industry. One of the goals that I am pursuing is to turn living mechs into the new status quo of the mech community. It is a lot easier to make them ubiquitous when the Association itself puts its entire institutional weight behind my work."

Master Benedict knocked Ves' chestplate with his own covered fist. "Don't get too conceited. You're still a Journeyman. You are too young and junior to bear this weight. Have you forgotten about the power balance we talked about earlier? You do not have much leverage. The MTA can favor your work in one day and prohibit it the next day. It can also impose a lot of additional rules or demands that make it much harder for you to do what you want."

That was indeed a great concern to Ves. For now, the MTA had been remarkably generous towards him. The mechers did not impose too many burdens on him and generally allowed him to design all kinds of living mechs, even ones that had the potential to change and disrupt existing human society.

His most successful commercial products such as the Ferocious Piranha line, the Pacifier line, the War Squire line, the Hymenoptera line and so on already introduced drastic changes to society in a considerable part of the Red Ocean.

If Ves continued to progress his design philosophy, he could impact human society so much that he could easily amass influence comparable to that of Master Termaneo Dervidian!

However, the problem with that was that the MTA or at least parts of it might not necessarily want Ves to gain such a voice in human society.

The greater his weight in society, the greater his threat towards certain interest groups.

All of these complicated matters were too heavy for Ves. Though he didn't want to spare any thought on them, the reality of the situation left him with little choice. The existence of the abnormal plasma sword served as a warning to him that other people were almost certainly plotting around him no matter whether he was cooperative or not. It would be foolish for him to go back to burying his head in the sand.

He turned towards the older man. Just like the unknown mechers that supported Master Huron's research, Master Benedict most definitely had his own agenda. It wasn't a coincidence that he brought this topic and steered it in this specific direction.

"What do you think I should do, Benedict?" He asked with a hint of suspicion.

"Relax, Ves. I have my own ambitions. I am merely concerned as a friend of yours. My experience with the MTA is richer than yours. Though I have never received so much favor and attention from the mechers as you, I have a deeper comprehension of the pitfalls of dealing with them. My personal experiences along with my discussions with fellow colleagues has taught me that 'indigenous' mech designers such as you and I operate on the whims of the Association."

Ves did not look impressed. "You're not saying anything new."

"I wasn't finished, Ves. You need to look beyond the surface and think about the implications of what I have said. What I mean by that statement is that you need to put more effort into navigating the web of interests within the MTA. It is best if the mechers think so little of your work that they will ignore you just like they ignore most mech designers. That is clearly not the case, though. You have already caught their attention. This means that the only way for you to go forward is to actively cultivate a friendship and alliance with a strong backer within the MTA."

"I've already done that, Benedict. I impressed the Survivalists and the Transhumanists and received their backing and protection in return."

"Those relationships are too shallow." The Master Mech Designer shook his head in disapproval. "Take this plasma sword for example. In truth, you are correct that it is unlikely that the two factions would approve of this experiment. However, they are not as monolithic as you think. Every MTA faction is divided into many powerful individuals and interest groups. Only one notable Master Mech Designer or Star Designer can start an initiative like this without needing to obtain the approval of the rest of a faction."

"So Master Huron was allowed to do what he wished because he obtained the favor of a single bigshot?"

Master Benedict nodded. "That is correct. As long as the consequences aren't too big, it is possible for powerful individuals within the MTA to pursue their own initiatives. If you want to go further with trying to protect your rights and further your goal of popularizing living mechs, then you will need to develop a close friendship with a powerful figure within the Association. It is not enough to be on good terms with the two factions that you are already associated with. The absence of deep commitments mean that the Survivalists and the Transhumanists can always turn their backs on you from the moment your usefulness has come to an end."

"I… see…"