The Mech Touch

Ves began to question whether it was a good idea to stay awake for an entire week.

He had learned so much on the first day that he needed time to think and internalize his gains.

"I'll keep going for now." He decided after a moment of thought. "If I get too tired to properly hold a presentation, then that might be a good idea for me to take a quick nap."

He would regret it if he missed a few sessions because he was too lazy to make better use of his time.

Ves had the illusion that valuable information had become a lot more accessible now that there were so many people handing it out for free. It would only be once he departed from this conference that he would go back to a reality where exclusive knowledge became a lot less accessible!

"Knowledge is power. The more 1 learn from all of these impressive speakers, the lower the chance 1 will be flying blind."

He needed to make sure he was at the top of the game, especially considering that it was almost time for him to lead his first session.

Now that the second day had arrived, Ves and Jovy moved over to a medium-sized compartment that had defaulted to a blank and empty state.

"Here is where you will hold your first closed session." Jovy stated as he called up an interface that could dynamically control the layout of the entire compartment. "Word about your companion spirits have already gotten around among the Survivalists, so hundreds of people have already signed up. I have already taken the initiative to invite a handful of my friends. I will introduce them to you later on if there is enough time."

Ves called up the same interface and began to specify changes that would turn the empty compartment into a modern lecture hall. He made a few adjustments in order to offer enough room for the companion spirit trees he brought to this conference.

By subtly changing the lighting so that a warmer light shone on the plants, he hoped to increase their mystique and attractiveness.

Once the ship's systems quietly delivered the trees from one of the Khamater Reign's storage compartments, Ves carefully checked each of their conditions to confirm that they were still in good condition.

He paid especially close attention to the state of every fruit dangling from the branches of the surprisingly fleshy tree.

"The appearance of your trees will unnerve your audience." Jovy remarked as he looked at the fleshy white trunks with distaste. "It is clear to see that their structures consist of repurposed alien organic tissue. It may be too much to ask for people to eat their fruits."

"It will be their loss, then. They can always obtain a customized companion spirit directly from me as long as they are willing to offer greater concessions."

The compartment soon completed its transformation. Since there was a bit of time left, Ves took the initiative to paint a few stylized and exaggerated images of different companion spirits on the bulkheads.

There was not enough time for him to depict spirits such as Blinky, Alexandria, Sharpie and Kiroshi in greater detail, but he personally thought that he did a good job at making them look impressive despite their stylized appearances.

He did not just sketch their appearances, but also added a few touches to the background to hint at their abilities and domains.

Ves even felt tempted to paint an image of Emma, but he thought better of it after a while.

"That does not look too bad." Jovy said as he studied the images of the different spirits. "You can definitely make a more memorable impression to your audience with the help of your art. However, I am afraid it will look as if you are trying too hard."

"I know, but 1 am fine with that. 1 need to stand out one way or another. My identity is not good enough, so I have to strengthen my case by relying on gimmicks. Whether I look like an amateur is not that important. As long as 1 can win over enough people who are receptive to my message, 1 should do okay."

People started to pass through the entrance after a short period of time.

The mechers and associates who wanted to attend this peculiar closed session all passed the requirements to attend it. Their badges either boasted a red dot, a purple dot or both.

Ves actually wanted to make it an open session in order to reach the widest possible audience, but he did not get to make up the rules.

By limiting attendance to people who were already initiated into certain secrets, Ves could speak more freely about the mechanics behind companion spirits. He could make a stronger case as his audience should be able to understand their benefits a lot better.

The seating order remained the same as ever. The younger and more ignorant guests sat at the front while the more senior and knowledgeable mechers sat at the rear.

People had already begun to talk with each other. The curious trees placed in the front and the strange images painted on the sides served as excellent conversation starters.

A lot of the attendees were quite clever. They could already infer from various clues that the fruits on these odd trees were supposed to give magical animals to people. The images painted by Ves were examples of what companion spirits could become.

More than a few of the arrivals looked and gestured at Jovy. He had already showcased his Eye of Providence numerous times. His peers wanted to find out if they could receive anything similar at an acceptable price.

A bit more people came than Ves initially expected. Almost 700 people came.

It was easy for Ves to tell that a decent chunk of them consisted of relatively young Journeymen and occasionally Seniors who sought to gain an advantage over their peers and rivals.

The Masters probably expressed little personal interest in these peculiar companion spirits because they had already built their own systems to further their progression.

Ves also took notice of a modest group of mech pilots. They probably heard the stories about how companion spirits could directly improve their fighting capabilities and did not want to miss out on this strange new augmentation.

Only two expert pilots chose to attend this closed session, though.

Ves chalked that up to the fact that general cultivation was useless to mech pilots. They were already locked in their own paths and did not need to bother with anything else. There was no need to confuse them by telling them about other ways to grow stronger before the Red Association was ready to make a public announcement.

"Do you know who they are?" Ves quietly asked his friend.

"I can read a part of their records, but I cannot do anything more than that. I do not know them in person. The Association is too big for me to know everyone in person. It is interesting that their badges both have purple dots. They may be participants of a secret research project."

"Interesting."

Just before Ves began his presentation, the hall became a lot more silent when three figures successively passed through the entrance and took their seats at the very rear.

"Those are..."

Jovy schooled his expression. "Congratulations, Ves. You have managed to attract enough interest from the three sub-factions to attract their envoys. It is a good sign that each of them sent one over."

Ves was not familiar with any of the three Master Mech Designers who came on behalf of their respective patrons. They did not preside over any sessions themselves, but attended the ones that they thought would benefit the plans they supported.

He soon learned from Jovy that Master Xena Wintress was tied to the Xenotechnician, Master Henry Urbeck was tied to the Fist of Defiance while Master Tolarian Cerny was tied to the Polymath.

Ves had already met so many Master Mech Designers on the first day. He became a little overwhelmed by how many more powerful personalities he needed to deal with in this conference.

He recalled a few pieces of advice that he received before and quickly regained his composure. There was no need for him to care too much as he was not involved in any of the high-level politicking.

He was just a simple associate who wanted to make a few exchanges.

The entrance soon closed shut, signifying that it was not possible for others to catch up to the closed session anymore.

If they wanted to attend, then they should have gotten here in time. The mechers expected at least that much from their ranks and their hand-picked associates.

"Welcome everyone." Ves began with a smile. "In the following two hours, I shall be giving you all an introduction on companion spirits and what I have done to make them more accessible to the masses. While I have quietly worked on companion spirits for numerous years, a number of advancements are relatively recent. Some of my work has not undergone rigorous testing and can produce unpredictable and possibly even dangerous results."

That unnerved a few people, but not as much as Ves expected. Many people in the crowd had been in his shoes in the past. Research was not easy and scientists sometimes had to cut corners in order to meet deadlines.

Once he mentioned this obligatory warning, Ves could finally begin with his true presentation.

"Let me start from the beginning. What are companion spirits? I think it is best if I show you an example of one to begin with. Feel free to scan or analyze him with any means you have on hand so long as it is not too excessive."

"Mrow!"

Although Blinky was still in a recovering stage, he had enjoyed enough rest to at least appear healthy when he manifested in the open.

The purple Star Cat initially did not elicit a major reaction from the 700 or so people, but that soon changed once they confirmed that it was not a projection.

"One of my new sensors indicates that a vortex of E energy radiation has formed around this purple feline. There is power in this subject. I would love to bring him to my lab and conduct a battery of tests."

"I can feel this cat is alive and real. That's... impossible."

"Looking at this cat reminds me of the cosmos for whatever reason. There is more to him than is apparent on the surface."

Sure enough, the people who attended this session were not completely clueless and incompetent. Enough people with a purple dot were able to glean parts of what made Blinky and by extension other companion spirits special.

"Mrow-"

"This is not a projection." Ves stated as his incarnation crawled over his body like a frisky animal. "Blinky here is a construct that comes from myself. He is not produced by any technology, though he can interact with tech in various ways. What is important is that companion spirits like him are essentially second personalities of their principals. I am Blinky and Blinky is me. The reason why this is the case is because he has spawned from my mind as an extension of myself."

That did not provide much clarity to the audience, but they soon became distracted as Blinky flew forward and allowed the attendees at the front rows to interact with the cat more directly.

They all looked as curious as children as their arms passed straight through Blinky's intangible body.

The relatively junior mech designers and other people were able to gain a better impression of what companion spirits were like through these attempts.

"Amazing."

"It is as if my fingers have brushed the surface of his soul."

As Blinky steadily moved up the rear, he began to receive more focused attention from the higher-ranked dignitaries.

Even the Masters began to understand that this companion spirit was special, especially given as many of them were sensitive enough to feel that this deceptively cute pet actually practiced a strange but unusually powerful cultivation method!