The Mech Touch (Web Novel)

5702 Crazy Survivalists

Design spirits.

That was Ves' brilliant idea.

Well, to call it brilliant was a stretch, but he was quite confident he could make it work.

Master Vayro Goldstein certainly had his own opinions on this subject. He did not exactly radiate approval when he heard Ves' proposal.

Design spirits had always been difficult for other mech designers to accept. They were not pieces of reproducible technologies, but living entities that were unique and difficult to control.

The fact that most of them did not possess a tangible and physical presence in the material realm frustrated many people's attempts to get a grip on these spiritual entities! They could neither get a hold of design spirits or make their own. The only way to make use of their power was to negotiate with them, but how can that be done when they had already established an excellent mutually beneficial cooperation with Ves?

"I do not think it is difficult for you to deduce that the Red Association does not fully approve of your extensive use and reliance on your so-called design spirits." The projection of the bald Master Mech Designer said. "Our Association is primarily invested in the advancement of sciences, the development of technologies and the creation of new innovations that can rise above individuals. Class IX design philosophies are known to have great hindrances in this aspect, but at least you have begun to pass on the basic principles of living mech design to others. You have yet to do so with design spirits, and we suspect that you have no intention of passing on their secrets anytime soon."

Ves awkwardly smiled back. "It is not impossible for others to create their own design spirits and attach them to their own mech designs somehow. So long as you have developed a design philosophy similar to mine and have a companion spirit that can perceive and manipulate E energy to a much greater extent than ordinary humans, you should already theoretically possess the ability to imitate my work. In fact, I can still figure out a way to make design spirits without relying on my design philosophy or companion spirit. I created my first one very early in my career. If a young Apprentice Mech Designer can do it, then you can do it as well."

The RA Master Mech Designer leaned forward on his desk and directed a pointed stare at his younger professional.

"I cannot. Believe me, I have tried, and so have others including the Polymath herself. If the embodiment of the universal concept of Truth in this dwarf galaxy cannot replicate this ability of yours, then that puts your statement into question. Are we that incompetent or have you left out an essential variable in your story?"

This conversation did not go in the direction that Ves desired. The Master was putting him in a difficult position.

Red Association possessed an eternal hunger for technologies that could make mechs stronger and better.

Nobody could deny the effectiveness of design spirits in enhancing the effective performance of mechs, even if they only worked indirectly through influencing the pilots.

Was it any surprise that the mechers wanted the secrets to their creation and application in their own mech design projects?

Ves had always known that the mechers would not tolerate the fact that he enjoyed a complete monopoly on them. Each day that passed where the majority of mechs did not have access to design spirits was another day that a lot more mech pilots died because their performance wasn't good enough.

Master Goldstein did not need to mention these consequences, because Ves was already clever enough to receive the underlying message.

This was why Ves did not like this situation at all. The Survivalist was essentially using moral kidnapping to persuade Ves to 'voluntarily' hand over his trade secrets relating to design spirits.

What was egregious about this tactic was that it was working. Ves genuinely started to feel guilty about keeping such a powerful benefit to himself.

He knew that a lot of mechs designed by many other people throughout the new frontier would definitely perform a lot better. This would have a substantial effect on the Red War. The ripple effects of this move could save the lives of billions if not trillions of people within years.

All he would have to do was to sacrifice his monopoly on design spirits.

It seemed that talking to Master Goldstein was not such a good idea after all. The Survivalist acted on the interests of the survival of his race and did not hesitate to break the unspoken accord that existed between Ves and the Association for many years.

What a devious fellow.

Ves was even clever enough to recognize that there was another layer to this inquiry.

This was a test.

How altruistic was he really?

To what extent was he willing to surrender his personal advantages in order to make a major contribution to the Red Association?

Was he 'loyal' enough to the Association, or would he turn his back on the mechers from the moment they started having a tough time?

All of these considerations and more swirled in his mind as he tried to use all of his processing power to analyze every angle of this situation.

There were so many implications to each decision that he could remain stuck for hours. Ves did not have that much time. He needed to supply a more immediate response or else his silence would serve as a telling answer in itself.

Since Ves was not able to make a clear and rational decision based on thorough, well-founded arguments, he decided to fall back to his old habits and let his gut reaction dictate his response.

"Design spirits… are powerful, but they can also be prone to abuse." Ves slowly replied. "I have always taken good care of my design spirits, but I am afraid that others might not be as attentive in managing their relationships with their own design spirits. They can also be dangerous, either overtly or covertly. I do not believe that most mech designers have the ability or the vigilance to properly monitor and control their own design spirits."

"You can leave that concern to us. Regulating technologies is one of our primary mandates." Master Goldstein smoothly replied. "We are not incapable of dealing with entities that have no bodies. We are just unfamiliar with the unconventional methods that you have pioneered."

"I get it, but unleashing design spirits to a larger group of people is like handing them weapons of mass destruction. Sure, they can use powerful forces to create an amazing power reactor, but they can also develop deadly superweapons that can annihilate entire cities."

The Master Mech Designer sighed. "We are not ignorant of the dangers. We do harbor many concerns about the uncontrolled proliferation of dangerous spirits that may go rogue and cause great harm to our society one day. However, you should know quite well that red humanity is in a precarious state at this time. The Red War may have just begun in earnest, but our estimation of its future trajectory is not optimistic. If we want to win this conflict, we must make corrective actions sooner rather than later. This is precisely the time where you break the glass and pull the emergency lever. No matter what accidents might befall us when we have chosen to take desperate measures, these outcomes are still better than total extinction."

The older man's argument reminded Ves of Professor Loban's description of the Survivalist Faction.

During times of peace and prosperity, the Survivalists behaved as the guardians of the current orders. They opposed radical measures for fear of threatening the prevailing order.

During times of death and woe, the Survivalists went through a complete transformation. They became more radical and proactive than they had in centuries as they were willing to do whatever it took to guarantee the continuation of the human race!

Ves began to question whether it was wise of him to continue to remain so chummy with the Survivalists.

Each and every member prioritized the overall interests of humanity as a collective above their own personal interests.

He had gotten that sense from them since he started to befriend Master Moira Willix many years prior.

Even the Polymath, for all of her twisted ideas, only sought to stage a coup and forcibly crown herself as the empress of red humanity in the belief that her direct rule was the most beneficial course of action for the entire collective!

Ves liked the Transhumanists because they were crazy in an obvious way. Their motives were simple and clear. They just wanted to shed their weak human forms and turn themselves into powerful mechs with as much of their original human minds intact as possible. He could work with that easily enough.

The Survivalists on the other hand exhibited a much more difficult variation of crazy. They were extremists when it came to the survival of the human race and could be just as fanatical as a Compact cultist whenever a topic was even tangentially related to their overarching goal!

If there was one lesson that Ves had learned about the Survivalists, it was that they either saw people as allies or enemies to their ultimate cause.

The Polymath may have behaved abnormally when she successfully cut off the Red Kingdom and almost established her dominion over red humanity, but her attitude was actually a lot more reflective of the mechers than most outsiders realized.

Ves could not forget all of the approving faces among the delegates during the end of the Survivalist conference.

The way that the Polymath was willing to become an enemy to every other Starr Designer and god pilot also reflected how extensively the Survivalists were willing to go against anyone who stood in their way.

Given all of these factors, Ves found it difficult to resist the pressure exerted by the projection of the friendly Master Mech Designer.

"There are multiple categories of design spirits." Ves decided to explain. "There are ones that I created through methods that I cannot fully explain. They are products derived from my talent and are probably incredibly difficult to replicate. There are also design spirits that are powerful entities or used to be back when they were alive. They may have physical bodies as is the case with Arnold, or they may not have one, which is the case for most of my design spirits. I suppose I can teach you the basics of how to turn an powerful person or beast into a design spirit."

That predictably triggered a pleased expression from Master Goldstein.

"This would be a marvelous contribution, Ves. Do not be concerned. I will personally ensure that you will be appropriately rewarded for your gift of knowledge. I am even at your disposal if you wish to obtain my input when you embark on the design of your ambitious support mech."

"Not so fast, Master. Receiving a lesson on how to turn an existing entity into a design spirit doesn't necessarily mean you can contract them for this purpose and begin to add their glows to your mech designs right away. There is another condition that you must satisfy before you can make this happen."

"What is the matter?" Master Goldstein frowned.

"My assumptions may be incorrect, but as far as I know, a design spirit can only effectively be attached to a living mech design. The reason why is… complicated, but the simplest description I can give you is that according to my own theories, I am actually forming a contract between two living existences."

"Is that so? Then that reduces the value of your gift. Its usage may remain severely restricted in the foreseeable future as the amount of people who are willing and able to design living mechs are too few and far in between."

Master Golstein looked deflated when he heard this caveat. He did not think that Ves was lying about this, so it seemed that there was no way to make design spirits universal, at least for the time being.