The Mech Touch

"That was... something."

"I can understand the sentiment." Jovy said.

When the opening speeches came to an end, both Ves and Jovy decided to puil back and retire to a nearby restaurant.

Neither of them were particularly hungry, so they just ordered a pot of afternoon tea along with a few snacks.

As their order silently materialized on the delicate crystal table, Ves sank back into the unnaturally soft embrace of his recliner and tried to sort out his rampaging thoughts.

He was not the only person to do so. The restaurant was gradually filling up with groups of Survivalists and associates. They sat around their own tables and started to order a range of drinks ranging from alien fruit juice to heavy spirits.

"I just received a message from Master Goldstein." Jovy spoke after a minute. "He wants us to stop by his office and discuss your agenda."

"Okay. Anything else?"

"There are a few other topics that he wishes to discuss with you, but you will find out soon enough once you meet with him in person."

Ves threw a speculative look at Jovy. He recalled much of what the earlier three speakers had said. Each of their proposals shocked him to the core. The last one was particularly concerning due to how it might cause him to unwittingly get on the wrong side of one of the most powerful mech designers of red humanity!

This entire conference turned into an enormous mine field in his eyes. Ves felt as if a single wrong step might cause him to step onto an explosive and get blown to shreds. He did not know how he could put his mind on presenting his innovations and listening to the bright ideas of other mech designers.

The only piece of good news was that he did not have a say in the decision-making process. The cadre who formed much of the upper hierarchy of the faction received this precious honor.

Given how much power and influence a completely united Survivalist Faction could exert, the collective opinions of a few hundred people may very well decide the future course of all of red humanity!

"How is it going so far?" Ves curiously asked. "You've got connections. I'm sure you have been able to gauge where the wind is blowing."

The RA Senior's expression turned sour. "You overestimate my intelligence gathering capabilities. I do have an extensive network of friends and acquaintances. I can introduce you to a handful of them while we are aboard this ship. Not many of them have a good overview of what is taking place. The few that do are under strict orders not to leak out what they know. I can only make a few inferences based on what little information that I have managed to collect."

"So what are your findings?"

"It is still too early to make any solid judgments, Ves. Opinions can change and many of the voters will not easily reveal their leanings unless they are already in an existing camp. For now, I can only say that the Xenotechnician's Diplomacy Plan and the Fist of Defiance's Deep Strike Plan have each managed to gather a small pool of strong supporters. The former is mostly preferred by the older generations. The Survivalists who are as old as the Xenotechnician prefer to take the plan that is projected to have the highest chance of producing a positive outcome. As far as they are concerned, we need to completely remove the threat of extinction before we have the luxury of taking further action."

That was a sound approach, if also a cowardly one. It made complete sense for the old geezers who survived for several centuries and ideally wished to live longer in order to experience the glory of the Age of Dawn.

To them, red humanity might have to make a lot of concessions in order to cozy up to a few potentially friendly alien races, but as long as that helped to take off the heat, there would always be enough room to make a comeback!

"What about the Deep Strike Plan?"

Jovy smirked. "A lot of mech pilots, mech officers and other Survivalists with a penchant for war prefer to go on the offensive. Many of them have principles and values that make them highly unwilling to make any sort of concessions to the aliens. Even if the odds of winning are not great, they would rather put their all in the fight just so they can produce a miracle that might enable them to reverse the course of the war. However, they are not completely unreasonable. Each of them will obey instructions from above. The greater good of red humanity's survival cannot be imperiled by the reckless actions from a handful of stubborn fools."

Even the Fist of Defiance was willing to abide by the Survivalist Faction's consensus rules. If he could accept this arrangement, then so could his son and all of the other powerful fighters!

"Where does that leave the last plan, Jovy?"

"From what I am hearing, the Unity Plan has attracted the most supporters so far. The Survivalists who find the Diplomacy Plan and the Deep Strike Plan to be equally appalling have started to lean towards the Polymath's proposal for safe harbor, though I am not certain if they strongly believe in her either. It is bold of her to claim that she can single-handedly take control of our society. I am inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt seeing that she is so clever and knowledgeable, but the backlash we will incur from so many corners of our civilization will not be light."

The Terrans, the Rubarthans and many other groups would probably be pissed if the Polymath took away their autonomy, their pride, their heritage and their culture!

While a lot of people would undoubtedly acknowledge that the Polymath might have a good point about the need for people to cooperate more efficiently with each other, that would not take away the fact that the Survivalist Faction would probably become the most hated group in human space!

In the past, the Mech Trade Association had always tried its best to present itself in a benevolent and fairly unobtrusive light. This was a deliberate strategy meant to prevent people from regarding the powerful organization as a tyrannical authority.

What the Polymath was trying to push would completely upend this strategy!

From the moment she crowned herself as the empress of a new red human empire, she would undoubtedly be branded a tyrant!

While Ves did not really care about how people thought about this Star Designer, it was a different story if his status as an associate of her faction branded him as an accomplice to the new regime!

Of course, there were also upsides to this development. If his good relationship with the Survivalist Faction translated into greater access and privileges, he might not feel it was all that to be on the side of the reigning authority.

Ultimately, every plan had its upsides and downsides. Ves was confident that he and his clan would be able to benefit from all of them so long as he carefully navigated the unfolding situation.

He still couldn't make up his mind which one he preferred to be honest.

It would be good to have a few powerful alien races on humanity's side.

Ves was greedy for all of the rich spoils he could obtain by raiding the underprotected star systems of his adversaries.

Living in a society ruled by a technocrat that no longer tolerated any stupidity sounded pretty nice.

It might be better that he did not have any say in which plan the Survivalist Faction eventually embraced. Ves truly did not want to bear this crushingly heavy responsibility.

"The remainder of the conference will take place under the shadow of this vote." Jovy felt the need to inform Ves. "Every other invention of proposal will be judged by how much they can contribute to any of the three plans. One of the ways in which the camps can build up more support for their causes is to find more support among the solutions introduced over the course of this week."

"What does that mean for us, exactly?"

"You should expect subordinates and envoys from the Xenotechnician, the Fist of Defiance and the Polymath to pay attention to attend every presentation or briefing in the hopes of finding anything that can strengthen the case of their patron."

That caused Ves' expression to sour. "That means that everything will turn political, whether we want it or not. 1 take it that my own presentations can't escape this development."

"I am afraid so, Ves. I am sorry for that. I can tell you are not overly enthused to get caught up in this competition. You should expect greater scrutiny."

"What about you, Jovy? You are on the side of the Polymath, right? Will you begin to advocate that red humanity needs stronger direction?"

The RA Senior laughed. "That is not exactly true. I do cooperate with her people from time to time, but I am not really qualified enough to truly run with them. I will have to realize my design philosophy before I can truly take part in their circle. You don't have to be afraid that I will be ordered to steer you to any side. It would also be inappropriate for me to do so given that I have a responsibility to guide you throughout this week."

Ves was not quite sure whether he should believe everything that Jovy said, but he was willing to put his trust in his friend.

"Hey, that little pet of yours should be able to see what most people cannot see. What does providence have to say about this situation?"

The other mech designer shook his head. "Providence is quite apprehensive to say the least. The Khamatar Reign has become the site of a great debate that will have enormous implications to every single life in the Red Ocean. Not only that, but the two Star Designers are still in close proximity. I do not think it is a good idea to encroach upon their boundaries."

"Hm, you're right. It is better not to tempt fate. Is your eye able to see other stuff, then?"

"I have caught bits and pieces of information." Jovy replied in a more relaxed tone. "You will attract a notable amount of attention once you begin to present your work to different audiences. Don't think that you will be able to blend among the other associates for long. You can't avoid it by downplaying your work. We Survivalists are nothing but intelligent and resourceful."

"I see. Thank you for telling me that. I will make sure not to conflate my words."

Once they finished their tea, they stood up and left the restaurant compartment.

Both of them navigated the halls and corridors of the enormous research battlecarrier and finally entered an upscale section that had been converted into office spaces for the guests that had need of working spaces.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Larkinson, or should I say Professor Larkinson." The bald Master greeted him in a business-like tone.

"Hello, Master Goldstein. I'm still not used to getting called by my title."

"You should acclimate to it as soon as possible, then. Our professional circle normally does not acknowledge mundane titles such as patriarch, lord or king because they have little to no bearing on your work as a mech designer. Becoming a university professor is different. Every teacher is respected among our kind. For you to be able to take this step is an indication that you are starting to get ready to bear greater responsibilities."

"I quite like it, actually." Ves smiled as he sat down. "Teaching a bunch of eager young mech designers partially reminds me of my own days as a student. My situation was a lot different at the time, but there is a lot about mech design that remains constant no matter the class."