The Mech Touch

"Our colonial superstate remains strong." The Rubarthan prince claimed. "I have no doubt that our citizens will remain loyal and united no matter how the war progresses. That does not mean we are blind to the fact that our people will be tested many times as the Rubarthan Pact will enter a period of greater instability and uncertainty. We have learned that one of your inventions can soften the blows. We understand that you have already formed an agreement with the Red Association. If the mechers vouch for your work, then it should be good enough for us as well."

Ves smiled. The Rubarthans built up a considerable demand for his kinship networks.

For all of their attempts to downplay their desire for a kinship network of their own, the Rubarthans clearly wanted it bad.

This meant that Ves essentially had the upper hand in this negotiation!

Of course, that didn't mean that he could go crazy and demand that he be appointed as their new emperor in order to satisfy their demand!

Ves deeply wanted to exploit this advantage, but the problem was that he did not have a clear idea on how far he could go. He hadn't even figured out what sort of concessions he wanted to obtain the Rubarthans.

He was not that interested in obtaining real estate or territory. His clan would be able to buy plenty of facilities in the future so long as he expanded his business to the first-class mech market.

He was not interested in exchanging his kinship network for starships and other pieces of advanced tech.

Their reliability would always be in question as it was trivially easy for the Rubarthans to install a lot of listening devices and backdoors in their own products.

Ves could always ask for a lot of money or phasewater, he seriously doubted whether the sums were commensurate to the total value of a kinship network.

The Survivalists already managed to take advantage of him by persuading him to freely contribute his works in the name of red humanity's survival. It was difficult for him to resist this moral kidnapping.

This was a different circumstance. Ves had already done his duty to his race for the time being. If the Rubarthans wanted to make a separate deal, then they had to obtain his agreement.

The two had come a lot closer to the raised throne than before. It looked a lot more imposing up close. The craftsmen commissioned by the Rubarthans most definitely knew what they were doing.

Naturally, the Inferno Spear wasn't arrogant enough to sit on the throne. Right now, the Star Emperor was the only person who was qualified to do so, but whether this would last was anyone's guess.

"Please take a seat." The peak ace pilot offered.

They sat on a pair of smaller thrones that had been placed to the side and at a distinctly lower height.

This offered them a good view of the imposing throne room without giving off the impression that they wanted to take over the entire Pact.

"Please take a look at this document and verify whether they are accurate." Prince Antonius requested to Ves.

A new projection appeared that immediately looked familiar to Ves. As he started to skim over all of the legal terms and phrases, he recognized that the Rubarthans actually managed to get their hands on one of the contracts between Ves and the Red Association!

The document basically specified the 4 kinship networks that Ves agreed to make for the mechers for the purpose of making it available to the New elites.

Although the contract was predominantly filled with legal terms that covered an extensive range of contingencies, it also contained a fairly extensive technical description of a kinship network as well as the demands imposed by the mechers.

Anyone who managed to get their hands on this contract would not only understand the deal that Ves had made with the Red Association, but also gain an excellent understanding of how kinship networks worked and what Ves could do to change their mechanisms!

His mood started to drop when he realized how much bargaining power he had lost as a result of this leak.

It turned out that the Rubarthans weren't completely ignorant.

Ves shifted his eyes away from the projected document. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you managed to obtain a copy of this contract. It is authentic as far as I can recall. We can save a lot of time on explanations."

"That is true." The Inferno Spear smiled as he regained a bit of initiative. "Before we proceed, has the Destroyer of Worlds issued any verdict about kinship networks?"

Ves needed to think carefully on how to answer this question. Responding with a proper answer was not in his best interest as that would remove a lot of leverage.

However, if Ves veered too far away from the truth, then a highly perceptive ace pilot like the Inferno Spear would definitely detect that something was wrong!

"My contact with the Destroyer of Worlds is intermittent. There is much that I haven't discussed with her. Kinship networks were at an earlier stage of development at the time. Ideas have arisen about expanding their availability to a much greater population, but these were long-term aspirations that would probably take decades or even centuries to come into fruition."

Ves had indeed entertained these ideas in his mind. He did not feel the need to say that he never shared any of it with the Destroyer of Worlds.

"Does that mean that she has yet to issue any requests on how the kinship network for our colonial superstate should be configured?"

"No. It is too soon for that. If the mechers hadn't insisted on implementing this work for their New Elites Program, we wouldn't be having this conversation so soon. Still, I can imagine that your god pilot sincerely wants the citizens of the Rubarthan Pact to enjoy greater protection and guidance during these turbulent times."

"I can see that." The Inferno Spear did not dispute this claim. "As I have spoken earlier, time is of the essence. Others might be willing to take their time, but our state sees no reason to delay on this matter. We would like you to supply a kinship network for our state as soon as feasibly possible. It would be ideal if it can be erected in a month so that we can begin our tests without too much delay. Are you willing and capable of offering a kinship network with the same specifications as the ones that you have already agreed to provide to the Red Association?"

Ves blinked. That was awfully fast!

He already had a hunch that the Rubarthans wanted to attain quick results during this opening talk, but this was beyond his expectations!

Even if the Rubarthans wanted to speed up the process of establishing a relationship with Ves, they should at least take this step by step in order to ensure that everything was done properly.

The Inferno Spear and a significant number of Rubarthan leaders didn't appear to possess the patience for that. They had immediately made a proposal that would affect their entire society to a comprehensive degree!

This was a bold choice and one that came with a considerable degree of risk, though not too much.

There were already working examples of kinship networks that had operated for multiple years.

The Larkinson Network as well as the worship of the Superior Mother presented two distinct cases on how kinship networks affected people!

With proper control and supervision, the Rubarthans probably thought that they could stay on top of any unexpected developments.

Though Ves disliked how much control he had to give up to the mechers when supplying his kinship networks, he knew that the Rubarthans weren't stupid enough to be lenient on this issue.

He needed to find another way to gain the upper hand in this negotiation, and he already had an idea in mind that would allow him to have the last laugh.

"I can supply you with what I need, but it will be challenging to fulfill all of your demands in a fairly short timespan." Ves answered as if taking on this burden was a large and exhaustive undertaking. "What is important is the entity being used to anchor the kinship network. It has to be the right kind of energy-based life form to support its operations. It also has to be malleable enough to 'install' a kinship network. Furthermore, since we are so short on time, the entity has to be available and close at hand in order to quickly fulfill your order."

That caused the Inferno Spear and all of the people behind him to frown and think about what they just heard.

"Is it possible for companion spirits or powerful humans to assume this role?"

"The only kinship networks that I have managed to create are entities that are close to me." He said. "Companion spirits are similar enough to them that they may be able to support a kinship network, but unless they have grown strong enough, they will be unable to support a network that connects to billions if not trillions of Rubarthan citizens. That said, basing a network directly off a human will not end well. Just trust me on that. More powerful candidates such as the Destroyer of Worlds or Emma may be able to handle the load, but the problem is that they are so stupendously powerful that it is impossible for me to upgrade them with a kinship network. I will get destroyed by their overwhelming power before I can get close enough!"

That ruled out a lot of options for the Rubarthans.

"What sort of energy-based life forms are eligible to form a kinship network, then?"

"Well, you can look at existing examples that have worked reliably for years. The Golden Cat is the living personification of my family and my clan. The Superior Mother is the supreme deity of the Hex Federation, though she is also considered my mother in a weird way. While it may be possible to base a kinship network on strange and unfamiliar entities, I cannot guarantee their stability or reliability. There are good reasons why the Survivalists settled on kinship networks on four different energy-based life forms that I have known and cooperated with for years. I know them well enough to leverage their strengths, and they have cooperated with humans for enough years to develop a solid symbiotic relationship with our race."

As Ves continued his explanations, he deliberately spun a narrative that he hoped would steer his audience towards a specific conclusion.

Ves grew a little tense as he tried to figure out how much the Rubarthans knew about his kinship networks.

He had noticed that the contract that the Rubarthans managed to steal from the Association did not mention anything about creating ancestral spirits from scratch!

It was not the sort of information that was relevant enough to add to the contract. Since Ves and the mechers had already agreed to form kinship networks around the Solemn Guardian, Zeigra, Helena and Bravo, there was no reason to mention alternatives since they had already been rejected!

The mechers had probably written a more extensive report on kinship networks that most certainly included this crucial detail, but it was still in question whether the Rubarthans managed to obtain a copy of this confidential document as well!

This was the crucial junction of this negotiation.

If the Rubarthans knew that Ves could create a custom ancestral spirit to administer their desired kinship network, then they would certainly issue this request at this time!

However, if the Rubarthans were misled by the stolen contract and assumed that kinship networks could only be formed out of a limited selection of existing spirits, then they would not mention this possibility at all during this talk!

Ves even began to suspect whether the Survivalists had deliberately conspired to pass on the contract to the Rubarthans while keeping more crucial information well out of reach!

Had the Xenotechnician or the Polymath foreseen this negotiation?

He could not rule out this possibility!

All he cared about was whether the Rubarthans fell for this trick.

After several more seconds of silence, the Inferno Spear finally issued his reply.

"Please present a list of eligible choices. We would like to understand what we can choose from. If the list is too limited or restrictive, then we will have to reconsider our entire request. Oh, before I forget, make certain that the choices will be able to gain the approval of the Destroyer of Worlds. It will not do to upset her and test her patience."