The Mech Touch

Chapter 6388 Ves the Pet Project

One day before the start of the increasingly more hyped product reveal, Ves received an important guest at the Palace of Mechanical Marvels.

Ves suspended his supervision and met with the guest on an upper floor,

Down below, he could clearly see the various historical exhibits showing a portion of the seminal works that defined the Age of Mechs.

From half-broken and salvaged knight mechs to a rare surviving copy of a famous superlarge quintuple combination mech, the mech museum offered visitors a glimpse of the wonders that mech designers came up with in the past.

Not every invention became successful enough to gain widespread adoption, but that did not stop them from influencing the direction of the mech industry and make other products stronger.

Mech designers only had a relatively short time to build up a legacy, but they managed to become extraordinarily productive during the Age of Mechs.

Under their collective efforts, mechs had become stronger, more efficient and more intertwined with human society than ever before.

It was hard to imagine that mechs could lose their popularity at this point. Not even the rise of cultivation and the imminent founding of the Red Collective could damage the eagerness for people to admire and worship mechs.

The only reason why mechs failed to expand its footprint into people's lives was because only a fraction of humans possessed the genetic aptitude to pilot mechs.

Whether the 3.5 percent figure was accurate or not, there was no denying that the heavy limitations of neural interface technology disqualified many hopeful children from pursuing a career in mech piloting.

While this requirement also ensured that most states wouldn't become overmilitarized, it had ruined the dreams of far too many people.

How many of these hopefuls possessed the seeds of greatness that made them no less talented or capable than the likes of the Chosen Human?

Yet because of a single disqualifying trait, so many humans never got the opportunity to prove their mettle.

As Ves looked down at the historical exhibits, he became increasingly more cognizant. that his invention would change everything.

He did not possess enough foresight and understanding of human society to account for all of the disruption his Carmine mechs would cause, but that was okay.

The mechers possessed plenty of intelligent people who could account for all of the shocks his invention would produce once it became known to the public.

This was why the Survivalist Faction and the Transhumanist Faction needed Ves to keep his Carmine System a secret for so long. The mechers had been frantically working to prepare red humanity for the introduction of the Carmine System. "You are doing well for yourself." Master Dervidian noted with a pleased expression as he lifted up a delicate tea cup and took a gentle sip of his exotic brew. "The Battle of Mazepan has not shaken your resolve. That is good. Many parties are watching you and evaluating you. Even now, they continue to devise more ways to test your qualities to see whether you will fail their high expectations."

Ves frowned. What the Transhumanist just said spoiled his mood. He did not even bother to drink his tea, not that it did anything to quench his thirst anyway due to the size of his true body. "I am not too happy with the Evolution Witch and those other figures who are hovering above my head. Why do they have to meddle with my life so much? Can't they just leave me alone and invest their valuable time in their own projects?"

Master Dervidian ruefully chuckled at that. "Oh, Ves. Your excellence is exactly the reason why they have decided that you are valuable enough to merit their attention. You may not like to hear this, but you have become one of their latest pet projects. The individuals who outrank you cannot help but test you and temper you in order to ensure that you have what it takes to become a competent and responsible steward of red humanity. If they ever retire from their leadership roles, they want to know that the next generation of leaders can take over their mantle without abusing their newfound power." That only made Ves feel even more disgusted at this behavior. "Am I the only one who receives so much 'special treatment' from the bigwigs, Master?" "Yes... and no. Other emerging leaders usually come from established institutions that have developed a mature and time-tested talent development system. Talented mechers such as Professor Jovy Armalon and scions of Terran ancient clans such as Lady Alexa Streon have been raised and educated to exacting standards. Their training does not end after graduation. Once they enter the workforce, their employers will continue to test their limits and realize their potential. Through this semi-structured training regime, many talents eventually reach their limits and exhaust their potential. What matters is that a minority will find a way to break past their bottlenecks and continue to excel in the face of difficulties. These are the promising young leaders that we most look forward to taking over after the passing of our generations."

As the patriarch of a large and growing clan himself, Ves kind of understood this approach. He admittedly employed a bit of this to the Larkinson Clan.

However, he felt he was being a lot more fair about the process. Ves had always emphasized transparency. He hated it when people played games and toyed with the lives of others.

As far as he was concerned, the Larkinson Clan should offer plenty of opportunities for talents to excel and promote themselves, but never force any of its clansmen to embrace a life of stress and constant performance.

This was why Ves also insisted that only the main branches of the Larkinson Clan should put pressure on the clansmen to unlock and realize their potential.

If there were any Larkinsons that just wanted to do their duty and relax in their free time, then they were free to join one of the many planetary side branches. Life in those idyllic branches was much slower and less consumed by competition.

Of course, the members of the side branches shouldn't expect to earn as much either. The rewards had to be commensurate with risks and responsibilities.

The Evolution Witch, the Huntsman and all of those other high-and-mighty figures apparently engaged in the same activity, but at a much grander scope.

Red humanity was much bigger and more important than the Larkinson Clan, so the tier 1 galactic citizens imposed much higher expectations to the best of emerging young leaders.

The more outstanding Ves became, the more those bigwigs acknowledged that Ves deserved a place in this exclusive club!

The problem that Ves had with this unwritten arrangement was that nobody ever asked him whether he wanted to receive this kind of treatment!

What really happened was that the Evolution Witch forced him to become the Deputy Chief Councilor of the Interim Leadership Council. That was probably the signal flare that unofficially announced his participation in this high-level rat race.

If the damned Evolution Witch did not force Ves to prematurely take part in high-level politics, he bet that there was a large probability that the ambush would have never occurred!

The journey from New Constantinople to Yernstall should have turned into an uneventful trip.

Ves sneered. "So the fact that I essentially rose up from nowhere and don't have a big state or organization to supervise my growth means that I am fair game to all of those meddlesome god pilots and Star Designers?"

The RA Master Mech Designer did not deny this. "The short answer is yes. We are aware that you have a prominent mother, but... since she has not taken the initiative to prepare you for your future responsibilities, other prominent individuals have taken upon themselves to do her job. This may sound unseemly to you, but it is more common than you think. What you need to remember is that the aforementioned tier 1 galactic citizens have good intentions when they invest in your life and career. It is not their intention to torment you. You will become better off as long as you satisfy their expectations. Haven't you managed to claim a rare and much-coveted phasewater production system after your latest battle? This is a treasure that you can never attain through normal means."

He may be right about this, but Ves felt anything but goodwill towards all of this meddling. He refused to accept that those tier 1 galactic citizens harbored good intentions towards him! As far as he was concerned, those bigwigs were just bored and wanted to have fun by torturing their juniors. "I don't need a PPS so soon." Ves grumbled and crossed his arms. "It will be years or decades before I am eligible to promote to a greater phase lord. My original plan was to patiently build up my retinue of first-class ace mechs and sic them onto any greater phase lord that is stupid enough to fight my greatest champions instead of fleeing on the spot. I don't need any help from others to obtain my own phasewater production system."

Master Dervidian clearly saw that Ves felt far too upset to accept this explanation, so the older mech designer did not insist any further. He had come forward to explain the behavior of some of his superiors, but that did not mean he was obligated to defend their actions. "I can tell you that the Evolution Witch is particularly satisfied with your performance. When you meet with Her Holiness after she has concluded her planned announcement, she is willing to grant you a more thorough explanation. You are a crucial element in not just one, but several of her plans. Since you desire to obtain clarity, she will try to oblige you at that time."

Though Ves felt skeptical towards this promise, it was acceptable enough to melt a portion of his hostility. "Fine. She better have a good story when the time comes. Are you aware of what she is planning to announce?" "I am." Master Dervidian curtly nodded. "She has recently disclosed one of her projects to a small group of confidantes. Her plan is... highly disruptive, perhaps even more so than the unveiling of your Carmine System. Unlike your work, we do not have much advance warning to prepare the rest of our society for the widespread changes that will follow after she has initiated her plan, but I think that our society will be eager to embrace this upcoming development."

That aroused Ves' interest. "Oh? Can you tell me what she is working on besides fighting the native aliens?" "Your name is not on the list, so I am not allowed to divulge any information. You will have to learn the news at the same time as everyone else. It is only a week, so be patient. If the Evolution Witch successfully executes her ambitious plan, then she may very well end up saving red humanity from extinction." "That sounds like a big deal." Ves looked both impressed and wary. "Please tell me that she doesn't intend to pull off another Polymath or anything." Dervidian laughed. "Oh, not at all! We would not remain silent if that was the case. We are not as unreasonable as the Survivalists. I can promise you that the Evolution Witch does not seek to subvert or take over our civilization. What she has in mind will genuinely benefit us all. In fact, you have played a small but indispensable role in this endeavor. This is one of the other reasons why she favors you to an increasing degree." "That sounds... nice." "This will be a week of change. The first revolution will begin tomorrow when you finally present your Carmine System to society at large. Since your invention threatens to upend the oldest and most established rules of the mech industry, be prepared to face a large amount of skepticism and challenges. There will be individuals who will seek to put your Carmine mechs to the test."

Ves frowned at that. "My Carmine mechs aren't exactly... premium. Their Carmine pilots are not professional either. They won't perform all that well compared to conventional machines controlled by professional mech pilots." "There is no need for concern. Everyone will take the limitations of Carmine mechs into account. We shall make sure the challenges will not be excessive. What matters is that your work can prove that the basic concept works. People will already become satisfied if a norm can pilot a mech. There is no immediate demand that a norm can perform well enough to defeat a potentate. You can work on that in the future."