The Mech Touch (Web Novel)

5633 The Romance of Mechs!

"The act of procreation should not be treated as a clinical procedure." Ves explained his thoughts. "It should be a sacred process where the acts will result in a miracle that comes in the form of a precious new life. You do not have to follow my advice, but I strongly believe that there should be a strong sense of ritual to your reproduction process. The love and other strong emotions evoked by two living mechs that are deeply enamored with each other should enable them to impart much more strength in the product of their union, thereby resulting in a stronger overall result."

Alexa tried to process her mentor's arguments as best as possible.

His words accused her of focusing too much of her work on the living mechs themselves, thereby causing her to neglect the feelings of her mech pilots.

She did not entirely agree with this assessment.

"I think I have put sufficient effort into serving the needs of the owners and users of my products. The Project S2 is meant to fight with little to no obstruction from its reproductive modules during ordinary times. Once the male and female variants are ready to produce a child mech, the deed should be completed in the least cumbersome fashion as possible. The more the reproduction process reduces the combat effectiveness of my mechs, the more the human mech pilots will become adversely affected by the added complications. Even if a mech force is able to set the 'pregnant' S2's aside, that still puts a number of combat assets out of commission for a time."

"I do not disagree that adding more burdens to the reproduction process will result in greater limitations, but the same can be said for humans as well." Ves retorted. "When human females decide to have children the traditional way, they are often afforded both pregnancy leave and maternity leave. These are accepted forms of accommodation because we humans find it important to give parents the time to nurture their babies."

As a woman, Alexa understood quite well how valuable this was for humans. That did not mean that this dynamic should be the same for living mechs.

"With all do respect, sir, I think you are going too far in anthropomorphising your living mechs. Previously, you have always treated them with a balanced approach. You treat them as living beings when appropriate, but you never lose sight of the fact that they are combat machines that are built for purpose. This suggestion of yours crosses the line that you have previously set. You are asking me to make unnecessary changes that directly reduce the performance of my mechs in order to satisfy human whims. You suggest that these additional measures will improve human sentiments and lead to better output, but you have no proof to back up your assertions. It is a great risk to implement these changes."

She had a point. Just as Alexa had no real data to back up her many assumptions, Ves also did not have any proof he could pull out to convince her that his opinion carried actual weight.

However, Ves designed living mechs for many years. He created a lot of design spirits and other living products as well. He possessed a much greater insight and comprehension of life and creation than an Apprentice Mech Designer who had only recently dipped her toes in a field that he had single-

handedly pioneered.

Even if he did not have any direct data related to the procreation of living mechs, he could still make a lot of inferences based on his existing understanding.

Ves waved at the projection that showed off both variants of the S2.

"Your academic understanding of mechs and related technologies is impressive, but I feel that you are a bit deficient when it comes to understanding the mech pilots who entrust their lives to them. Ever since you joined my clan, you have rarely interacted with the mech pilots of our clan. That is partially my fault, as we have spent much of our time in the design lab as opposed to the expeditionary fleet where many of our mech pilots are grappling with my products every day."

The woman frowned. "What is your point, sir?"

"I think your work lacks flavor and personality." Ves bluntly said. "Don't get me wrong. They are fine on a technical level, but mechs are far more than just the sum of their parts. Where is the romance in your mech design? Your works lack a certain soul that makes it more difficult for them to raise their potential. Basing your design choices on practical and technical concerns is not wrong, but leaving aside the emotional components is a huge mistake in my opinion."

"How so, sir? I still do not understand your insistence on placing irrational considerations over rational considerations." Alexa helplessly said.

"Think about the basics of mechs. They are machines that are never meant to fight on their own. They borrow the strengths of mech pilots because only humans can add qualities that can elevate their performance. What you should know is that the various advantages of mech pilots are mostly irrational in nature. I am a firm believer in the assumption that human potential is unlimited. They can start from ordinary mech pilots and continually break their own limits until they ascend to the rank of god pilot. What is important is that out of all high-ranking mech pilots, none of them are rational! Each of them derive their superhuman power from values such as love, pride, sacrifice and other noble concepts. This is the romance of mechs! This is the source of growth and evolution of mechs and mech pilots! Why are you overlooking this powerful force when designing your mechs?"

Ves had not taught that many lessons to Alexa, but that was because she was so damn educated that she already figured out a lot of stuff by herself.

Even if she did not understand a theory or an instruction right away, she only needed a small hint in order to set her on the right path.

This was the first time since she joined the Larkinson Clan where her vaunted cleverness failed to put her in sync with her teacher!

This was because the lesson this time did not revolve around logical and falsifiable theories.

Ves' arguments were largely based on metaphysical theories and assumptions!

That made it difficult for him to convince Alexa that he was right.

He let out a sigh.

"Only you are in control of your design philosophy. It is not my intention to impose my style on you, but I think you should put serious consideration in how your works affect your target audience on an emotional level. Designing the S2 in a more human fashion is not a counterproductive act in my opinion. It will cause your products to resemble humans even more, which will subsequently promote greater emotional attachment and commitment from mech pilots. It would be even better if the initial process of conception is much closer to the human method. Every living mech interfaces with a mech pilot for so many hours that the former learns a lot about the latter. More than that, a living mech will begin to develop the same desires as its human partner. I think that your products will derive a much greater sense of dedication and fulfillment if they can engage in a more relatable form of love-

making."

His words caused Alexa to look at him with a flat stare. Did he know how ridiculous his suggestion sounded?

"Are you being serious about designing living mechs with the express intention of allowing them to make love with each other as if they are humans?! Such acts only take place in the most lurid places of the galactic net!"

Ves innocently raised his palms. "Don't misunderstand me, Alexa! I am not making this suggestion because I want to indulge in my fantasies or anything! What I am trying to convey is that you need to consider the feelings of everyone involved. It is not just the mech pilots that you should please, but also the living mechs themselves. Each of them are alive, which means that each of them have their own wants and needs. Don't you think it is a dream come true if living mechs are able to imitate their human partners in the act of creating a new life?"

His words were finally beginning to affect his student. Alexa did not look as confused as before.

Though she did not have a lot of experience interacting with living mechs, she knew them well enough that the smarter and more developed among them had become remarkable human in nature.

Ves grinned when he saw that he had breached past her wall.

"Let me give you a suggestion before you go through with fabricating the S2's. You should try and make contact with existing living mechs and solicit their opinions. What do they think? Are you sure they are willing to procreate in the clinical manner that you have originally proposed, or are they much more interested in imitating the humans that they care about the most? Your design philosophy introduces a massive factor in their lives, so the least you can do is inquire whether existing living mechs welcome your contribution."

The young Apprentice's expression softened. "Mhmm. This is a good suggestion. I should have done this in advance."

"You can use our channels to contact the third order living mechs that are currently stationed in the expeditionary fleet. They are smart, old and expressive enough to provide comprehensive answers to your questions. Better yet, if you can do so, try and contact your grandfather as well. Let us see what the Ouroboros thinks about your design philosophy."

Alexa clearly thought that these were excellent suggestions!

"I will do so at the first possible opportunity."

"Maybe you should wait until you have designed an alternative version of the S2. Try to design the male and female variant in a way that causes them to resemble the human form a bit more." Ves suggested. "You don't have to copy every human secondary sexual characteristic in your mech designs, but your works should at least share a much closer resemblance to the humans who are supposed to pilot them. Living mechs do not just want to become strong. They also want to experience the fullness of what life can offer to them. They have been living vicariously through their mech pilots each time they are interfacing with each other. I think it is time to give mechs a more direct way to experience one of the wonders of life."

Perhaps Ves might have crossed a line and imposed too many of his own values and opinions on his student, but he felt it would be a serious shortcoming if Alexa just proceeded with her current interpretation of her design philosophy.

His student ultimately sighed. "I suppose I will have to delay my advancement to Journeyman by a couple of weeks if not months. It will take time to design the alternative forms of the Project S2. It will take even more time to fabricate them and put them to the test."

"It is worth it." Ves said. "You do not want to start off as a high-ranking mech designer on a flawed footing. It is best to take your time and make absolutely sure that you have formulated the right design philosophy for yourself and your target audience. Even if my advice turns out to be incorrect, you at least managed to confirm this by conducting your own investigation."

Neither of the two minded the additional delay.

Alexa had taken years to search for a potential solution for the Ouroboros. She could have advanced a long time ago if she settled for a more accessible design philosophy.

Besides, she truly grew curious about Ves' theories and assumptions. Was there any truth behind the romance of mechs? She felt compelled to find her own answer to this question!