The Mech Touch

5690 Emergency Option

While a fast destroyer was far from the biggest and strongest warship that the Red Association had at its disposal, it was still a vessel that was built to fight in the main battles of the Red War.

She was built during the Hyper Generation but had undergone a quick refit that replaced many of her systems with hyper technology equivalents.

When the Yuri Machine opened fire, the out-of-control monstrosity expected to breach its way out of this unfamiliar cage!

Instead, the extremely powerful azure energy shields that surrounded it from every direction fully managed to withstand the power of its mutated Onyx Cannon!

Different from its other armaments, its Onyx Cannon had become subjected to largely focused evolution. It was the Ultimatum model's primary instrument of destruction, and it was also the weapon system that Yuri Enfame and his living mech cared about the most.

This resulted in focused evolution that not only caused the weapon to increase its caliber, but also increased its maximum charge quantity, enabling it to fling a projectile with greater speed and force than normal.

If that was not enough, the Yuri Machine had become so steeped in the power of destruction that it was able to absorb and channel a lot more destruction E energy than any ordinary living mech!

Yet despite all of this formidable power, the azure energy shields still remained intact after getting struck up close.

Even the shockwaves failed to spread beyond the confines of the energy cage!

Though Ves and Professor Loban retreated just to be safe, neither of them were at risk from the Yuri Machine. The vastly superior tech, materials and scale of the warship's defensive systems crushed any hope for the rogue machine to wreck anything.

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Even so, this was hardly an ideal situation. The personality of Yuri clearly sustained a lot of damage, so much so that he was still suffering the same ailments as the rest of the monstrous machine!

BOOOOM!

The Yuri Machine kept moving and bumping against the azure energy shields while at the same time lashing out with all of its weapons systems.

Even its giant hair follicle started to slap at the energy barriers while accomplishing nothing in the process!

Ves looked ugly at this sight. Yuri had sounded so cognizant at first, but he eventually became lost in his memories of fighting against the cosmopolitans and the native aliens.

"How do you suggest we proceed, Professor Larkinson?" Vector Loban asked.

"Let's just tire him out." Ves suggested. "If you can keep this up, then do so. I think it is best to make the Yuri Machine realize that no one here is out to get it. There are no enemies and your ship is not its enemy. Once it has lost its steam, it should hopefully sober up and realize that it is not on the battlefield anymore."

They moved to a nearby compartment while the Yuri Machine continued to fire its Onyx Cannon in another useless attempt to break past the transphasic hyper energy shield.

Even if the mech was able to channel a lot more destruction energy, the base performance of the Onyx Cannon was still constrained by its second-class roots.

The fast destroyer's energy shields on the other hand were produced by genuine first-class warship-grade generators!

The difference in energy levels were simply too high for the Yuri Machine to overcome!

The situation might have become more concerning if the mutated mech demonstrated the same amount of power as its initial outburst during the battle, but that was clearly a temporary breakthrough event. Its normal strength was closer to that of an expert mech rather than an ace mech.

Even though Ves' first attempt to talk to Yuri Enfame had failed, he still made substantial gains.

Professor Loboan looked hopeful. "We are happy that you have made visible progress. We had... other options available to us, but we were optimistic about your chances to retrieve at least a part of Yuri's original personality. So long as a semblance of him remains intact, there is hope for a greater recovery. We may not be able to restore what he has lost, but with proper guidance and education, he may regain his humanity by embracing his new life."

These words reminded Ves that the Yuri Machine still held a lot of value to the Transhumanists.

"Are you guys still trying to turn yourselves into mechs after you have witnessed how this can go wrong?"

"We cannot stop and doubt our goals just because we have encountered a number of setbacks. We have been striving for our ambition for centuries. We can afford to bide our time and explore many different research directions. This is hardly the only catalyst that is able to bring us closer to our ascension."

"There are other ways to gain power and longevity, you know." Ves pointed out. "The availability of E energy has made it possible to engage in cultivation once again. More and more people have begun to practice it. Even those that do not consciously engage in it are subconsciously growing stronger due to constant exposure to exotic radiation."

"We are well aware of that, Professor Larkinson. Our faction has been exploring this new and promising field since the beginning of the Age of Dawn. However, we are well aware of all of the faults of ancient cultivation approaches. We do not seek to return to the past and become another version of the Five Scrolls Compact. Our strength lies in our modern understanding of advanced technologies and our ability to develop advanced solutions. Rather than seek to transform ourselves into flawed beings, we can do better by combining both old and new theories to produce superior results that can easily exceed anything the ancients have attained. The Progenitors of Mechs have already shown us the way forward. Humanity's best path towards evolution is inextricably tied to mechs."

Ves was not so sure about that. The Transhumanists were all made out of mechers, so it was given that they were all biased towards mechs.Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs ɴovᴇlꜰɪre.ɴet

Was it truly the best idea to seek a more accessible way for humans to transcend their limitations by merging with mechs?

"I don't think the Yuri Machine is a good example to take lessons from. It has gained a lot of power, but its rapid growth process was too uncontrolled. I think it is clear that the lack of strong willpower is one of the reasons why it has become so messy. The Yuri Machine is the product of an accident rather than any deliberate intent. Even if you try to replicate it, there is a good chance that the results will also be subject to contamination."

"Any problem can be solved." Professor Loban said in a dismissive tone. "The condition of the Yuri Machine has striking parallels with your Carmine mechs. In both cases, the living mech and the mech pilot has developed a permanent bond. You could argue that the Yuri Machine is a future, if flawed, evolution of a Carmine mech. Do you agree with this statement?"

Ves could see what the Transhumanist was getting at. There was indeed a bit of convergence between the Yuri Machine and his Carmine mechs.

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"Your characterization is not completely wrong, but not completely correct either. I don't consider the Yuri Machine to be an evolution of a Carmine mech. It has become something else entirely. In my ideal model of a Carmine mech, the mech and mech pilot will continue to develop a closer relationship with each other, but they should always maintain their distinct identities. What they have established is a partnership that works best when they work together as different entities. The synergy they can produce is much greater than if they merge completely to the point where they have become one and the same."

Professor Loban nodded in understanding. "I see. It is not surprising that you chose to pay attention to this aspect. However, it can be argued that god pilots fall outside of your ideal state. They are always in total control."

"That is because they emerged before living mechs was a clear and distinct concept." Ves retorted. "The mech pilot is dominant because the mech was never supposed to possess a strong personality. This is different for my living mechs. I have explicitly designed them to serve as an equal partner to their human pilots. This should ideally be sustained all the way to god pilot. I cannot say what will happen once they merge with each other, but I suppose it is possible that the end result may look like a much more perfect and balanced version of the initial state of the Yuri Machine. However, if I am in charge, I would still like for the mech and mech pilot to remain distinct enough."

"Understood. This is a good ideal to pursue. Is it still possible for you to design a Carmine mech that can artificially induce a greater fusion that will ultimately result in a far-reaching physical and non-physical fusion between the mech and mech pilot?"

The Transhumanist sure possessed a lot of interest in Carmine mechs. Did he want to conduct experiments where human test subjects merged with their mechs just to see whether the former still remained distinct enough to live on as humans who happened to occupy the bodies of a mech?

"The development of the Carmine System has yet to reach the stage where it can induce such a fusion." Ves carefully answered. "Even if it was possible, I am seriously questioning whether it is desirable to add this function to my Carmine mechs. The mech pilot will have to sacrifice a lot just to permanently occupy the body of a mech. How will he possibly be able to live a normal life? Will the transformed 'mech' be treated as a human or an object?"

"We can address these issues at any time. What is important is whether this potential evolution of the Carmine System can produce a similar outbreak of strength to that of the Yuri Machine after its initial formation. Think of what has happened during this battle. The Pellicky Praetorians and their mercenary allies had been forced into an impossible situation. With alien warships at the front and cosmopolitan-aligned mechs pressing up from the rear, the defeat of the mercenary defenders had become a certainty. The anomalous transformation of the Ultimatum mech has changed everything. The Yuri Machine almost single-handedly turned this battle around and has snatched victory from the jaws of defeat."

"What are you getting at, Professor Loban?"

"Do you not see? Think of how many times this circumstance can be repeated if it is possible to replicate the transformation of the Yuri Machine! If you can successfully replicate this transformation process and embed it into your Carmine mechs as an intrinsic feature, then each Carmine mech pilot will have an emergency option at their disposal that can turn their own battles around. Think about it. Would you rather resign yourself to total defeat where all humans will lose their lives, or would you rather make the courageous decision to sacrifice your life as a human and embrace the machine in the hopes of fighting for a chance for your friends and comrades to live?"

That... was an astonishing idea!

Ves widened his eyes as he considered this extreme proposal.

Though it sounded problematic in several ways, it was completely beneficial from a utilitarian standpoint!

Red humanity was at war. People were struggling to contain the continuous alien incursions. Every defeat represented a massive loss of soldiers, mechs and starships.

If an evolved Carmine mech was able to give all of these losing forces a backup option, it may be possible to prevent much further losses so long as the Carmine mech pilot agreed to sacrifice his own wellbeing!

Now that the idea had entered his mind, Ves couldn't get rid of it. He felt it was his duty to explore whether it was possible to design such a mech.

"I need to take a closer look at the Yuri Machine."