The Mech Touch

Chapter 6125  Recovery Options

When most people heard that an ace pilot incurred so much brain damage that their ability to interface with a mech had been compromised, they would probably react with shock and dismay.

When Ves and Ketis heard the news that Isobel's brain may never be able to interface with a mech like the Promethea ever again, their reactions were remarkably muted.

An inability to use a neural interface to connect to a mech was no longer a crippling injury to them.

Didn't Benjamin Larkinson manage to regain the ability to pilot a mech despite the fact that he had to retire half a century earlier due to suffering permanent brain damage?

Since an old geezer who was previously a single step away from death managed to regain the ability to pilot a mech, then there was a chance for Saint Isobel to make a comeback as well!

The existence of the Carmine System was technically supposed to be a secret from most Larkinsons, but they weren't stupid. It was hard to suppress the spread of rumors.

Ves was relatively okay with this. There was little harm in letting his clansmen talk and gossip among themselves. The only requirement he imposed on them was to keep confidential information out of the hands of the public. The Transhumanists did not want to ruin the public rollout of the Carmine System.

In any case, the existence of the Carmine System was not a secret to a select group of people in the Larkinson Clan. Ketis naturally had a right to know, and the vice director that took charge of the Larkinson Biotech Institute on behalf of Ranya Wodin also knew the details.

This was why none of them reacted too strongly to this adverse development. The only real consequence to this news was that Saint Isobel lost the ability to choose to form a Blood Pact with her living mech.

If she was able to retain her life, recover her fighting condition and retain the desire to go back into the fray, then Ves and Gloriana would most definitely prepare a suitable Carmine mech that fully matched her strengthened and altered condition.

Before he could begin to discuss the planning with his wife, Ves first needed to understand Saint Isobel's recovery prospects.

Vice director Maria Abselon approached this topic cautiously because she and the other surgeons encountered numerous complications over the course of treating Isobel's physical state.

"Let us discuss subsequent treatment." She spoke. "Under normal circumstances, it is absolutely possible to restore the body of a patient that has been reduced to Isobel's current state. If we employ first-class technology mastered by the Terran Alliance, then it should take three to four years to restore a baseline human to at least 90 percent of his or her peak condition. The recovery period and the restoration rate can heavily fluctuate when we take augmentations into account. Some can speed up the recovery, while others can slow them down."

"What is the psychological impact of regrowing an entirely new body?" Ketis asked with concern.

The biotech researcher spread her arms. "It depends. There is no simple answer to this question. Most humans who have received entire new bodies that are designed to be as close to their original physiologies as possible still suffer from a range of psychological disorders. The problem can grow more severe when they are gifted with newer bodies that are much less familiar to them. The lack of choice, the abrupt transition and the sense of alienation can all exacerbate the psychological problems."

"Do high-ranking pilots suffer from these issues as well?"

"They do, swordmaster. Do not think that expert pilots and ace pilots are immune to these human failings. Some of them are much more sensitive to this problem because they have developed a strong familiarity with their original bodies. They are oversensitive to any discrepancies and resent the loss of precision and control over their new limbs."

"I heard about that." Ves spoke. "This is one of the reasons why people are actually a lot more careful about augmenting high-ranking mech pilots. They are too accustomed to the bodies they already grew up with. This is why it is best to augment them before they step onto the path to godhood."

Maria nodded. "The good news is that these powerful soldiers are able to overcome these difficulties at a higher rate compared to ordinary individuals. Expert pilots and especially ace pilots have strong willpower and are unwilling to give up. What is important is that we give them enough hope. No matter how small the chance of recovery may be, as long as they can change their fate with their own power, they will work harder than any other human to better themselves. At most, it will take longer to restore their ability to fight."

That put a positive spin on this matter, though Ves inwardly winced at the thought of a prolonged recovery period.

It was common knowledge in the mech community that expert pilots and ace pilots developed quickly shortly after their breakthroughs. The sooner they could obtain a mech appropriate to their level of strength and begin to make use of it, the faster their resonance strength grew in the next couple of years!

If these powerful pilots did nothing but sit on their hands for three or four crucial years, they would waste this golden moment!

By the time they finally regained the ability to pilot mechs or received their long-awaited machines, their willpower already settled down and became a lot more solidified. It became several times harder for them to make progress, causing them to remain stuck at the lower end of their rank for a much longer period of time.

Ves did not want Saint Isobel to suffer in this way!

She needed to be restored sooner rather than later. It was a complete waste to have her stuck in recovery and rehabilitation for four whole years.

"How soon can she recover?" Ves impatiently asked.

"It depends on the treatment program." Maria Absalon carefully said. "Terran treatment typically takes up to 4 years, but it can be shortened if you are willing to increase your spending to make use of the best services, technologies and medical professionals. Even then, I do not expect you can restore Saint Isobel in less than 2 years. If you want to accelerate her recovery even further, there is only one group that surpasses the Terran Alliance in the treatment of high-ranking mech pilots."

"The mechers."

"Just so, sir. The Red Association is the unquestionable authority in the research of all variables related to expert pilots and ace pilots. Depending on your budget and demands, it may be possible to restore Saint Isobel back to 95 percent of her old peak condition within a single year. The speed and efficacy of the treatment is heavily reliant on the lead doctors and biotech experts assigned to the project. If you have any friendly contacts or favors, then this is the time to make use of them. The mechers value every ace pilot and will most definitely take this case seriously, but they will not easily mobilize the old and highly experienced authorities in this field."

"I understand."

Ves could afford the price. He still recalled that he was able to cash in a big favor. He could also seek out the Evolution Witch to negotiate a deal with the Transhumanist Faction.

However, was it truly necessary to turn to the mechers to bring Saint Isobel back to normal?

He had several reasons to feel reluctant about turning to the mechers. His conflicted expression did not hide his thoughts.

"What are you thinking about, Ves?" Ketis asked with a suspicious look.

"I… do not think we should rely so much on external parties to restore one of our most important military assets. Look, I will send her to the Red Association if we have to, but I at least want to know if we have options for treating her inhouse. Vice director, please explain to us whether the LBI is equipped to restore Saint Isobel."

"We can do it, but there are elevated risks, sir. Part of it has to do with a complication that we have ascertained. During the process of treating her condition, we have detected random bursts of elevated heat. We believe that her weak and unstable willpower is passively attempting to produce flames in the environment. The reason why nothing worse has happened is because she has lost too much strength. We fear that if she recovers, this problem will become magnified. The current phenomena only amounts to random increases in temperature. If Saint Isobel returns to her peak condition, it may be possible for her to produce flames similar to the ones generated by her mech. If that ever happens, she will pose a persistent threat to herself, the people around her and the environment."

Both Ves and Ketis grew a lot more serious when they heard that. Saint Isobel had clearly taken a very dangerous turn in her evolution. She wouldn't have started a fire in her own cockpit and allowed her body to get burned if she retained any sense!

Though Isobel ultimately succeeded in breaking through, it was clear that she incurred a range of sequelae due to her extreme choices.

"What are your suggestions?" Ves plainly asked.

"We develop a new body for the Saint that is expressly designed to contain her condition. We must add an extra function to her body that can inhibit her tendency to produce flames around her. The body must also become much more resistant to fire than her original physiology. This will at least prevent her from harming herself. We do not have a clear idea on how this can be done for this particular case, so we cannot guarantee that we will be successful in developing a fireproof body. We may need to ask for technical support from multiple different scientists."

"I see."

The vice director did not sound too confident. The Larkinson Biotech Institute may have improved rapidly over the years, but it was a complete fantasy to think his own doctors could match the capabilities of the Terrans and the mechers!

That did not mean that Ves gave up on doing it in-house.

He already began to entertain a few interesting ideas.

"Is there any way I can help with this project?"

"Most definitely, sir." Maria Abselon smiled. "If we choose to develop a cybernetic body that comprises both organic and metallic organs, your expertise may become relevant to us. It is particularly interesting if we make heavy use of hyper technology in the development of Isobel's transhuman body. She may become stronger and more difficult to kill. She may be able to suppress her unstable command over her fire, or amplify it so that she can fight much more effectively outside of the cockpit of her mech. You can even implement alternate interfacing technology, although I cannot make any judgments about their effectiveness. You will need to consult an expert in this field."

They talked a bit more about the possibilities. The LBI might not be the best, but it had become pretty impressive over the years.

The Larkinsons could choose from a lot of different possibilities.

They could play it safe and focus on accident prevention.

They could play it fast and whip up something really basic to complete Saint Isobel's restoration as quickly as possible.

They could also go all-out and develop the most powerful and feature-rich transhuman cybernetic body for the Larkinson Clan's second ace pilot.

The problem was that the clan may be able to choose between one of these options, but not all three at the same time.

Ves needed to settle on a priority and have the Larkinson Biotech Institute focus on it above all other considerations.

"Can we communicate with Saint Isobel?" Ketis spoke up again. "We shouldn't be the ones to make this choice. It is best if we can have her input."

"I am afraid that will not be possible, ma'am. It is already very lucky for us that Saint Isobel is able to cling to her life. She is in a very weak state at the moment. Her brain needs a long period of careful treatment and lengthy recovery. Even then, Isobel may not be able to 'wake up' and gain awareness of her own conditions. In short, Saint Isobel Kotin does not have the competency and the capacity to make medical decisions on her own. She is unmarried and does not have any relatives in the clan. Patriarch, you have the authority to decide on her behalf."

"I see."

That placed a heavy burden on his shoulders.