The Mech Touch (Web Novel)

5691 Are You Human, Or Are You Mech?

Ves could not justify the development of a Carmine mech that devoured its own mech pilot and went crazy in the process.

However, if the purpose of adding this extreme option to his Carmine mech was to give people a last-ditch chance to save a losing battle and prevent millions or even billions of vulnerable humans from getting slaughtered by the native aliens, then the calculus had completely changed!

Ves still had a lot of difficulty coming to grips with this idea. He knew that if he followed through with it, he would definitely spark a lot of controversy, which was exactly what he did not need at this moment.

A growing movement had formed against his living mechs. More and more people who remembered the many AI rebellions of the past started to get freaked out at the amount of third order living mechs that had begun to show up wherever his mechs were used.

Enough Fey Fiannas and Ultimatums had been sold that the earliest and most actively utilized mechs had already evolved beyond their rudimentary second order states!

Still, as long as he retained the backing of the RA, Ves knew that his products would remain unrestricted. At most, the mechers would make sure to give customers plenty of warnings in order to make sure they knew what they were getting into when they bought one of his products.

This was not important at the moment. There was still a lot of time before he had to stand before his first tribunal.

His current issue was whether it was a good idea for him to advance the development of the Carmine System in this direction.

It was too extreme.

The consequences to the mech pilot were far too serious.

It was an irreversible process.

Yet... the gains might be worth it. Assuming that it was possible to induce an artificial breakthrough, the resulting merger might cause the newly combined whole to temporarily gain the power of a foundation builder or even a domain shaper as was the case with the Yuri Machine!

There were even more benefits than this. Professor Vector Loban's eyes practically shone as he imagined all of the possibilities!

"Your Carmine mechs are wondrous machines, solely due the fact that they are not limited to mech pilots. Theoretically, any human should be able to form a Blood Pact with them, though we have yet to test the full range of possibilities. Regardless, there are many humans among us who are severely injured, disabled or nearing the absolute limit of their lifespans. Many of them are treasures of our civilization. Their loss will deprive us from a large accumulation of knowledge, wisdom and personal experience that cannot be replicated through other means. If you can allow them to transcend their mortal coils and combine their failing spirit with the younger and much more healthy spirit of a Carmine mech, they can attain a second life through a radical form of metamorphosis!"

So that was why Professor Loban continued to harp on this option!

The main benefit that the Transhumanist was striving for was not power, but longevity!

Ves knew that a lot of old mechers were extremely concerned about their lifespans. Many of them were multiple centuries old and had undergone so much genetic modification that ordinary limits no longer applied anymore.

The return of cultivation may have given these people brand-new options to extend their lifespans, but far too many methods were tainted by their association with the Five Scrolls Compact to earn the trust of the mechers.

The Red Association preferred to innovate new solutions rather than regress and blindly embrace the traditions of the past.

Mechs remained a strong focus for the mech designers and other members of the Association. To be able to turn themselves into mechs in human form was the dream of many people who had worked with them on a lifelong basis!

Ves faced a difficult situation. He did not really have this idea in mind when he came up with the idea of designing a mech that could be controlled by their pilots through alternate means.

A mech designer existed to serve mech pilots.

Even when it became possible to expand the range of people who could pilot a mech, Ves primarily intended to serve the needs of potentates with mech pilot training first and foremost.

It would be wrong for him to go off a tangent and serve the interests of old geezers who really should have died and left the future to the younger generation above that of his original target audience!

Of course, Ves would not have as many objections if there was no inherent conflict between the two goals.

What Ves needed to determine this time was to investigate whether he could replicate what had happened to Yuri Enfame and his Ultimatum.

As long as he was able to make this determination, he could choose whether to develop his precious Carmine System in a way that would ultimately cause the human to lose his body in the process!

"I need to speak with Yuri again." Ves told the Transhumanist. "I not only want to find out whether he is aware of the cause behind his... condition, but I also want to ascertain how rational he is and whether he is able to maintain sufficient separation from his flawed machine."

That caused Vector Loban to frown. "The Yuri Machine's rampage has subsided by now, but it remains in a volatile state as far as we have been able to ascertain."

"I am aware of the risks, but now should be the best time for us to approach the machine again. The Yuri Machine should have reached a state of exhaustion by now. Its mental and physical energy levels have dipped to their lowest points, which means that it will be easier for me to induce it into a more receptive state."

Ves did not bother to explain any further. Once he and the Transhumanist passed through the guarded chamber once again, the situation looked a lot more peaceful than before.

The Yuri Machine radiated clear exhaustion as it had clearly expended a lot of energy in a futile attempt to break past the azure energy shields locking it in place.

The machine had received a few more dents, scratches and bleeding wounds, showing that it had harmed itself to an extent.

What was interesting was that the mech was slowly repairing its damaged state. It was easier for the machine to heal its organic parts, but it surprised Ves a lot when he noted that even its metallic components were slowly being restored!

The Yuri Machine held a lot of value as a living machine!

It reminded Ves of a high-level artifact more than anything. It even absorbed a human soul that could serve as an artifact spirit more or less!

As the pair moved closer, both of them could feel the agitation and need to wreck stuff apart from the volatile machine.

Its mutated Onyx Cannon was still smoking while its black tentacle undulated in a feisty fashion.

"Hello, Yuri. Are you still there? Please respond."

The projection of the former mech pilot appeared once again.

His state looked a lot worse than before. Different from his initial appearance, his second one looked as if he had half-degenerated into a savage!

The blood-shot eyes, the heaving breaths, the fingers bent into claws really did not sell the notion that Yuri had regained his composure.

[YOU! Where are the aliens? Take me out of this prison! The enemy deserves death!]

Ves and Loban exchanged glances with each other.

"The pilot has not recovered."

"It's okay. I am pretty sure I can restore a measure of his rationality. Lufa! Come and give me a hand!"

Ves opened up his mind to the Angel of Tranquility. A calming aura spread from his body as the design spirit exerted his pure and neutralizing influence.

One of the traits of Lufa's glow was that it was remarkably good at dampening aggression.

The Yuri Machine immediately became less agitated. Its Onyx Cannon no longer maintained its charge and its black tentacle started to relax.

Another useful part about Lufa's glow was that it could suppress spiritual activity and purge other spiritual influences.

Though Ves was not able to channel Lufa's glow hard enough to purify the entire chamber, he was still able to push aside a copious quantity of E energy that had been fueling the Yuri Machine's negative tendencies for an extended period of time!

Professor Loban looked impressed at what Ves had done. "I did not realize that the glow that you have used in your popular Pacificier mech line is capable of calming such a powerful machine."

"The most important factor in my favor is that the Yuri Machine is not resisting this effect." Ves explained as he continued to channel Lufa's glow. "The subject is powerful enough to resist the tranquility glow if it really wants to. I am glad to see that there is still an aspect to this machine that recognizes that the glow is doing it a lot of good."

Once the Yuri Machine had become a lot more relaxed, the projection of Yuri Enfame appeared on its own accord.

[Thank you, thank you, thank you! The glow that you are supplying to me has given us just enough relief from our pain. You cannot imagine how long we have been suffering all of this time. Each second we spend outside of this glow is another second where we are being tormented by our pain and our inability to understand what is taking place.] Yuri's clear and concise remark caused both Ves and Loban to become pleased at this outcome.

This was exactly what they wanted to see and hear!

Ves was sure that the mechers were already scrambling to obtain a few Pacificiers in order to keep the Yuri Machine calm and subdued.

In the meantime, Ves quickly took advantage of Yuri's sober state and started to ask his question.

"Who are you?"

[I am Yuri Enfame, mech pilot of the... PP. Why... why do I not remember?]

"Don't worry about that. Do you know what mech you were assigned to pilot?"

[Of course! I received the first pick of Ultimatums. I love my heavy artillery mech. It is so powerful yet so comfortable to pilot.]

"Are you aware of your current state?"

[I...] Yuri looked down at his projected body. [Something happened...]

Ves asked a few more questions to fresh Yuri's memories of what had happened during his last battle.

"Do you remember what has happened to your Ultimatum that caused it to devour your body?"

[No... I do not think so. I remember that I wanted to obtain much more power than I had at my disposal at the time. My mech... may have obliged my wish, but I do not sense from my mech that it has taken action by itself. I cannot explain what has happened.] "I see. If you happen to remember what has caused you to merge with your heavy artillery mech, please let me know. Your answer is important."

[Mmm.]

Ves asked one of the most important questions.

"Now that you are sober enough to consider your own condition, do you feel that there is any way for you to separate your human side from your mech side?"

[I... ugh... thinking about it brings back the pain. I... do not see how that is possible. I am... no longer human. I am... a mech... I think.]

"You are not a mech." Professor Loban interjected. "Never think that you are a mech or an object. You are a human that has become fundamentally altered due to circumstances outside of your control. So long as you are still able to demonstrate that you have retained a measure of your humanity, we will always treat you as one of our own. Please feel at ease. We shall try our best to undo the transformation that has caused you to turn into this form, but if that is not possible... we would be more than willing to give you a new home in one of our safe and cozy experimental facilities..."