Chapter 7610 Artifact Exchange

Ves and Andraste had become much more acquainted with the novel new technologies introduced by the deathborn.

The selection of artifacts opened their eyes and gave them a taste of deathborn creations.

If these gadgets served as a somewhat accurate representation of the deathborn tech base, then it was clear that these undead ghosts did not make use of 'conventional' metals and electronics like red humanity.

However, as much as Ves grew fond of the research potential of these devices, it was still difficult for Ves to derive much satisfaction from possessing them. Any design applications derived from studying their working principles would probably take at least a few years to become available. Research institutions always worked with timetables that stretched across years. The more ambitious studies could easily drag on for decades or in rare cases centuries!

Although red humanity undoubtedly stood to harvest a lot of gains from thoroughly studying and digesting all of these deathborn technological remains, none of that provided much help to Ves in the short term!

The most surefire way to change this was to sell the Larkinson Clan's share of the very rich spoils.

Perhaps Ves may be a little too lacking in patience to wait so long, but other groups possessed this quality in abundance.

The Larkinsons could easily sell a few container's worth of deathborn junk to the Terran Alliance or other highly interested powers.

Ves had already heard that a strong bidding war had already erupted in the background. The higher-ups had already pre-allocated specific items and other goods to different research institutions.

The scientists working at these labs all felt grateful for being able to study novel alien technological objects, but they could never have enough.

They yearned for more. The eggheads preferably wanted to obtain multiple copies of the same type of item, or many objects that possessed shared functions and characteristics.

Having multiple similar items in their possession significantly increased their research speed and efficiency.

They directly gain more redundancy, allowing them to perform deeper and riskier examinations without the fear of breaking anything irreplaceable.

The researchers would also be able to derive more insights when studying small or large variations between similar alien technological applications.

There were many examples in human civilization's history where its researchers managed to achieve technological breakthroughs within record time due to securing a rich amount of alien spoils!

A research project centered around studying a single 'acceleration boot' might drag on for a decade due to the lack of samples.

However, if the same researchers gained access to 5 more acceleration boots, their progress might accelerate so much that they could achieve the same results within a single year!

Given how much everyone was in a hurry to strengthen their forces in this day and age, it was absolutely essential

That made the current spoils distribution so problematic. Every major power wanted to obtain at least one copy out of every family of deathborn artifacts. After all, nobody knew for certain whether the total value of an acceleration boot vastly exceeded that of a reinforcement band or vice versa.

The current examinations sought to shine a light on the objects in the hopes of clarifying their secrets, but they remained far too cursory for the time being.

Much of their secrets still remained shrouded in mystery.

This was a problem because none of the big players wanted to suffer a loss because they mistakenly looked down on a hidden gem.

Therefore, logic dictated that they should secure at least one item out of every distinct category of alien devices.

Yet that sparked another problem. Once they secured a single copy, they automatically began to yearn for additional ones.

After all, it took way too much time for their research teams to complete their work with just a single specimen!

This gave the Larkinson Clan an opportunity to sell its share of the spoils at a very high premium!

"My advice to you is to sell most of your spoils." The Farseer recommended. "Your Larkinson Clan lacks the foundation to conduct proper research on these exotic alien artifacts. I have heard a few good things about your research institutions, but I am not blind to their limitations. They lack the scale, funding, heritage and talent to match the output of the larger and more established institutions. Their only advantage is that they are strong in the sectors that your clan is good at, but those are narrow specializations."

As a scientist herself, her opinion held a lot of validity. Ves knew quite well that his research institutions excelled at refining companion spirit trees and other subjects related to his work. They had also become quite decent at developing components for his current and some of his upcoming lineup of mech products.

Yet his in-house R&D institutions still had a long way to go before they could get close to matching the competence of the top research institutions of the Red Three and other major players!

Given such a disparity, Ves felt it was more worthwhile to exchange these deathborn artifacts for strategic resources.

"I do not mind a trade. Our clan isn't short on cash or phasewater as far as I know." He said. "What we do need are more exclusive knowledge, starships, shipyards, RF Warship Tokens and certain kinds of super-class materials that we can readily use to upgrade our ace mechs. We are not too concerned about our long-term future right now. It is much more important to strengthen our positioning in the short and medium term, for that we need stuff that is useful today or tomorrow."

"Since we are both a part of the Red Collective, I hope that you can give your fellow collies priority in your exchanges. Our other departments have provided significant aid to the Phase Lord Department in the past, and many of them are still doing so to this day. Multiple human phase lords have died so that we may be able to benefit from their sacrifice. The other departments are not callous enough to ask for compensation in the value that has been lost after they have died, but that does not change the reality that each of those giants has been nurtured with the help of the entire Collective."

The Farseer attempted to guilt Ves into giving the RC a discount.

It was not easy for Ves to refuse this obligation. He had not attempted to quantify every transaction that took place, but he still possessed a broad sense of how much benefits he received and how many favors he had given in return.

He had to admit that the RC had done slightly more to Ves and the Phase Lord Department than the opposite.

Though Ves originally intended to repay this generosity on a gradual basis in the next 10 or so years, it was a lot better to square his 'debts' within a year.

"I am not opposed to trading away the bulk of these deathborn items, but I am not the only decision-maker in my clan. Other Larkinsons have bled and died to secure these blood-soaked treasures. I will need to discuss the details with my Saint Commander in order to form a decision. She should have the same read on the situation, so I do not think she will reject an exchange. The only matter of debate is choosing the artifacts that we are willing to let go. After all, many of these items hold value beyond their research potential."

The round disk contained a lot of deathborn texts and other information that could help the Larkinsons understand the language of the latest hostile alien species.

The reinforcement band was a potential life safer for Andraste.

Ketis may be able to progress her design philosophy while simultaneously advancing her swordmaster cultivation by studying the jinx sword.

Not everything had to be handed over to a research institution in order to secure an advantage!

"I shall make sure to inform the relevant people at the Astral Octagon about the intentions of your clan." Andrea Vos said. "The various departments have all accumulated knowledge and goods of high value that they would be willing to offer to you. Several of them are more than happy to teach you new E-energy applications."

Ves smiled back. "You guys would just love to trade knowledge. It is not as if you guys are losing out on much if you share some of your secrets with my clan and I. The diffusion of knowledge cannot be stopped."

Secrets had a tendency to spread no matter what. The more they spread, the harder it was to keep them bottled up. Ves believed that any research related to the deathborn artifacts was bound to spread across the new frontier in waves.

The big players would definitely gain a first-mover advantage, but their inability to protect the exclusivity of their derived technologies meant that their allies and rivals would produce imitations within a mech generation or less.

After that, the secrets could no longer be regarded as such anymore. The new technologies would gradually lose their shine as they diffused across the rest of human society. Many of them may even become commodified, which meant that they became as boring and unremarkable as FTL drives.

Of course, this process had a lot of nuances. The delay in acquiring and mastering the alien-derived technologies was crucial to many parties!

Ves could accept that he and his clan may not be able to be the first to take advantage of these amazing new technologies, but they should at least be second or third in line!