The Mech Touch

The Dullahan Project was probably the biggest and most exciting experimental project that Ves had come up with in years.

Ves grew more and more excited about it the more he thought about it. The Dullahan Project was not just an ad-hoc attempt to make Venerable Jannzi happy by giving her an expert mech that possessed a relation to her old Shield of Samar.

He saw it more as an opportunity to work on living mechs in a deeper and more profound way than before.

Rather than designing and making a new living mech like he had done in the past, he intended to work around an existing living mech, or at least a remnant of it, and try to see whether he could breathe new life in one of his perished works!

Just as he expected, the vision he presented completely exceeded Venerable Jannzi's expectation and cognition. She looked floored as she tried to imagine what sort of mech she might end up with if Ves completed the Dullahan Project according to his current intentions.

Jannzi found it difficult to understand this strange new project. The mix between new and old was jarring to her. Only a mech designer as crazy and radical as Ves would come up with a design concept that combined a relatively new and fresh expert space knight design with the surviving head of her familiar Shield of Samar.

It was not without reason that she accused Ves of designing a Frankenstein mech. The draft design he had drawn in front of her eyes pretty much fit the definition of such a machine!

Ves did not blame her for reacting in this manner. It was highly unusual to design a mech that essentially recycled old parts. Any decent mech designer knew that a mech that incorporated design solutions meant for another product rarely fit together that well.

Ves didn't worry too much about this problem, though. He was confident in his ability to make it work despite the additional challenges brought by this combination. He and Gloriana were both well-equipped to solve the many new tangible and intangible issues over the course of the project.

The main client was not as certain, however.

"Why?"

"The answer is complicated." Ves steadily replied. "The Dullahan Project is a result of trying to reconcile your demands with what is technologically feasible with our current capabilities. I have already explained why it is not possible for you to regain your old Shield of Samar. It's gone for the most part. Rather than remaining stuck in the past, I think it is best that we move on from this loss and try to work out a way to go forward."

"Are you trying to force a break from the past?" Jannzi looked suspicious.

Ves gave her a generous smile. "I'm not saying that. The fact that I have preserved the head of your old mech in the new design is a clear indication that I still respect your demands. I just don't think it is healthy or desirable to reproduce the last iteration of the Shield of Samar as closely as possible. From a philosophical standpoint, doing so does not constitute moving forward at all. I see it more as a regression. You need to accept what has happened to you and your old partner and find a way to be the expert pilot that the Shield of Samar can be proud of. Ask yourself this. Would your old living mech prefer it if you keep moping about all day, or would it rather have you pick yourself up again and regain your drive to fight?"

The female expert pilot's eyes teared up as she thought about what she said. Her emotions grew heavy but the cloud of depression that emanated from her body had lifted to an extent.

His efforts were working. If he just wanted to develop another expert mech for Venerable Jannzi, he didn't have to come up with such a complicated concept or explain so much of his perspective to the expert pilot.

The reason why he was being so patient and wordy to her was because he wanted to light a fire in her tired engine and end her mourning phase as quickly as possible.

What was lost was lost. Ves didn't think it was productive for Jannzi to remain so attached to an expert mech that had fallen in battle. Designing a mech that deliberately looked and functioned differently was an attempt to induce a mental shift that allowed her to come to terms with her loss.

"This sounds more like an elaborate psychological treatment to me." Jannzi answered with a lot of skepticism remaining in her voice. "I don't like being manipulated and I especially don't like being manipulated by you. I haven't forgotten your Devil Tongue moniker even though few people have called you that in recent years. I know how you work, Ves."

Ves raised his palm in objection. "Don't be too hasty to dismiss my idea. It is genuinely good for you. I'm not trying to lure you into a trap or anything."

"Why do I have the feeling that this is exactly what you are trying to do?" Jannzi guardedly asked.

He sighed in exasperation. He never liked to argue with Jannzi. She was just so stubborn and unwilling to agree to his opinions.

"Let me put the Dullahan Project into context for you, then. The key word to the Dullahan Project is rebirth."

"Rebirth?"

"Yes, rebirth." Ves confirmed with a nod. "What I am explicitly not attempting to do is to bring back your old Shield of Samar alive in its original form. It's impossible for the reasons that I have already explained before. Doing that constitutes revival, which is different from what I have in mind."

Rebirth and revival. The two words possessed similar meanings, but to Ves they represented two completely different directions.

To revive a broken mech was to restore it to its former glory. This would have been suitable for the Shield of Samar if it had broken down in battle in a more conventional manner.

Rebirth on the other hand was to take whatever scraps was left of a broken mech and use some of it as the basis for a new machine that was fundamentally different in many ways.

Though Jannzi correctly doubted whether the latter had anything to do with the original Shield of Samar, it was a bold forward-looking vision that thematically offered her a way forward.

Though Ves wrapped up his concept in a different coat, it appeared his attempts to gain Jannzi trust and understanding had failed. She still looked confused as ever.

"I really don't know how you come up with all of these weird concepts and ideas." The expert pilot remarked.

"Okay, let me dumb down my words so that you can understand my meaning. Let's suppose the Shield of Samar is… was… your husband."

The woman snorted. "You do know I'm married, right? I'm not as young as I used to be. As much as I like Sammie, I don't consider my living mech to be my lover. I'm not that crazy, you know."

"Just work with me, Jannzi. Anyway, you and the Shield and Samar were doing well together until your spouse died in battle."

"Is there a point to this story?"

"Be patient and let me finish. Look, the reason why I set this story up this way is to emphasize that much of your original living mech is simply lost. Both its material and intangible qualities are either lost or have become damaged beyond recognition. What I am trying to tell you is that rather than taking your husband's dead body and attempting to bring it back to life through some sort of unholy ritual, it is better to take what little your partner has left behind and use it as a seed to plant new life."

Comprehension finally dawned on Jannzi's face.

"That sounds more like reproduction rather than rebirth."

"Oh, no. That is where this analogy breaks down." Ves quickly replied. "This new mech that I have not sketched is not meant to be a child from you and your expert mech. Mechs aren't physically human and they can't reproduce. What I am attempting to do instead is to take the remaining essence of the Shield of Samar and use it to plant a seed that will bloom into a new mech."

Planting a seed in order to grow a new mech. That was probably the most accurate description that Ves could provide to Jannzi.

"I think I understand now." Jannzi said. "Whatever I get at the end can still be called the Shield of Samar, but it won't be the same anymore depending on how you tackle your new project."

"What you need to understand is that I can't completely control the outcome of this project. What makes life wonderful is that it can grow and develop in many different directions. The downside to that is that we can't necessarily choose how your reborn mech will look like. I only have partial control over the variables that determine the outcome of the Dullahan Project."

"Why did you choose this codename for this project? What is a dullahan?"

Ves chuckled. "A dullahan is an ancient myth about an undead knight that rides around and haunts people for whatever reason. What is special about this dullahan is that he is originally a knight on a horse whose head somehow got chopped off his body. Somehow, the knight didn't die from that, but has gained another life as an undead creature that rides around while carrying his separated head in his arms."

"That… is a disturbing image. I do not want you to turn my Shield of Samar into an undead monstrosity that does more harm than good."

"Oh, don't misunderstand me. That is exactly the opposite of what I am attempting to do. I wouldn't have put the head of your old expert mech onto the torso of your new one if I was trying to faithfully reproduce this myth. The codename is simply a loose reference to this story. There is no further thought behind this association."

Jannzi relaxed a bit. "I have no problem with this as long as this is the case. Can you tell me more about how much of my old Shield of Samar will stay the same once you are done with your work?"

"As I've said, I can't control the process, so there is no way I can give you a definite answer to your inquiry." Ves steadily replied. "The only thing I can say about this is that I am aiming to achieve a rebirth. Everything that is too old and weak about your old living mech has already been shed or will inevitably fall off during the transformation process. You view it as a purification cycle. The result of this is that we will be left with the strongest and purest essence of the Shield of Samar. This will serve as the seed that allows your living mech to start anew on a much stronger footing than before."

"That… sounds like reincarnation."

Ves chuckled again. "We can use a lot of different high-minded words that start with the letter R. What is important is that your Shield of Samar will be able to live again in a new form and a new incarnation. Perhaps you can call it nirvana. Just like how a phoenix can rise from its ashes, your Shield of Samar has never really died. It just came back to you again in a youthful and updated form."

As Ves kept explaining these ideas to Jannzi, he became more invested in this nirvana concept.

He had a feeling that if he succeeded in giving the Shield of Samar a new life in this manner, he might be able to unlock a powerful new possibility that could give a lot more living mechs a way to move forward after they fell, became obsolete or were no longer wanted for whatever reason!