The Mech Touch (Web Novel)

The Human Interest possessed an outsized influence in human society.

That was the case in both the old galaxy and the new frontier!

Though the Great Severing had separated its Red Ocean branch from the Milky Way, the Human Interest in the new frontier simply carried on with only minor adaptations to its policies and approach.

One of the main goals of the Human Interest was to serve as the conscience and the guiding voice of red humanity.

It was one of the publications that most encouraged the people of the new frontier to cling to their original humanity and avoid getting lost in all of the radical changes that took place in the new frontier.

Whether it was the heavy pressure exerted by the Red War or the seemingly magical gifts brought by exotic radiation, there were many ways for people to stray from their original selves.

This was anathema to a publication like the Human Interest.

This was why Ves felt as if he was in the crosshairs of this newspaper at the moment. Many of the changes brought by his inventions steered their users in a direction that turned humans increasingly further away from how they used to think and behave back in the Milky Way.

It was difficult and dangerous to attack Ves directly, especially since his work had received widespread support from so many different parts of human society.

The best way to attack him was to question the safety of his works.

Ves leaned forward and stared a little closer at Eric McMaster. This was a first-class journalist who worked for one of the most influential publications of human civilization. It would be a mistake to underestimate this sharp and observant fellow!

"It is difficult to describe and define living mechs in the terms and meanings that people use today." He replied to the journalist's latest question. "Their properties and their implications may not be agreeable to everyone. I am aware that humanity is averse to the idea of surrendering too much control to artificial intelligences and autonomous systems. However, my living mechs are different from those cold and unfeeling machines."

"Is that truly the case, Professor Larkinson?" McMaster immediately interjected. "By your frequent admissions, living mechs are not only intelligent to the extent of developing actual sapience, but they are also able to take partial or complete control over their own 'bodies'. That is a concerning development. How far do you intend to slide down the slippery slope? The more we depend on your living mechs, the less our mech pilots are able to fight by themselves when your inventions fail for whatever reason."

The journalist's words evoked deep-rooted fears of losing control over the technologies that humans depended upon to live and prosper.

There were many cases in human history where automated societies either glitched out or crashed completely. The people who lived under those circumstances certainly did not enjoy the experience!

Ves found that he could not provide an answer without making at least one concession. This was not a pleasant development, but he saw no other way of worming out of this confrontation.

Avoiding it would do no good. Fundamental problems like these would show up sooner or later. It was best to get it out of the way while he was still surrounded by a halo.

"Living mechs may not be for everyone." He admitted. "It takes a certain level of trust and willingness to pilot mechs that are alive and can grow more powerful over time. I cannot guarantee that living mechs can be twisted into monsters or enemies of red humanity, but I have done my best to minimize these undesirable outcomes. I have little control over what happens once my living mechs fall into the hands of my customers. It is up to them to treat my products correctly and 'raise' them into the strongest and most dependable allies of red humanity."

"You speak as if your living mechs are a separate race, one that is able to learn from the human race long enough to betray it one day."

Ves grew increasingly more frustrated at the attempts to twist his living mechs in the worst possible light.

"As I have said before, living mechs develop according to how they are being used and treated." He firmly responded. "Unlike ordinary mechs that steadily depreciate in value the older they become, my products are the opposite. They can become stronger, smarter and more unique over time. These are all powerful advantages that can lead to much better results in battle. However, these tradeoffs do not come without a price. The people who intend to make use of them must treat their machine partners in a responsible manner. I see them as the modern equivalent of pets. They can be our most valuable companions, but only if we treat them with love and respect."

Eric McMaster adopted a deeply skeptical look. "Are you suggesting that red humanity cannot overcome our enemies and secure our survival unless we turn to living mechs? Is the power that we can obtain from them worth the risk of raising an even more threatening enemy in the future? How can we stop ourselves from raising and educating a superior synthetic race that may eventually decide that there is no purpose to serving their creators anymore? No living beings wish to become slaves to others if they can help it. The greater their power, the greater the risk of rebellion. Do you agree, or do you deny that your living mechs can turn against humanity one day?"

This was growing increasingly trickier for Ves. Gavin and numerous other advisers quickly transmitted a few diplomatic ways for him to deflect all of these concerns, but he did not pay attention to any of the well-meaning advice.

The questions posed by the journalist were all valid and deserved proper answers in return. The topics were also deeply related to his design philosophy. Ves could not avoid these issues if he wanted to develop his specialization further.

"Living mechs are products that are uniquely suited to the Age of Dawn." He responded first. "The introduction of E energy radiation has given us access to a new source of energy, but because it is so powerful and so accessible, there is a much greater chance that malcontents will abuse its power and inflict harm on others. Does that mean that we should abandon hyper technology and E-technology? That is absurd! The native aliens of the Red Ocean do not care about our morality or our doubts. They will wipe us out so long as we keep holding ourselves back all of the time."

"That does not mean that we should abolish all of the rules and the taboos that have kept our society safe and prosperous in the previous age, professor."

"I agree." Ves smiled. "I doubt that many people will be able to control themselves once they have managed to get their hands on a powerful warship. That said, the power of living mechs cannot be obtained in an instant. It takes years and constant use to fuel their evolution. Their growth efficiency is too low if they are left by themselves. Only through constant human contact will they be able to tap into their potential, and that is intentional. They are never designed to operate independently. They need us, just as we need them. It is only when we work together that we can both achieve greatness."

Just as McMaster wanted to ask another question, Ves quickly muted the insistent journalist's voice.

"That is enough. There are many others who are waiting to ask their questions. It is not polite to deprive them of their opportunities. Next!"

The rest of the Q&A session proceeded fairly smoothly as no one wanted to make life difficult for Ves.

The only issue was that the contentious exchange had Ves' good mood. He no longer felt as satisfied as he knew that trouble was likely brewing in the future.

If an influential publication such as the Human Interest started to regard living mechs as a potential threat, then a movement may arise in the future where his products might be actively rejected by entire groups of people!

Though Ves did not think this would happen as his works were simply too useful, it wouldn't be the first time that humanity deliberately turned its back on powerful technology because of paranoia.

Ves needed to reset his mood and restore his mindset, or else he would never be able to handle tomorrow's challenges with grace.

This was why he decided to check up on the people who had fallen in love with his Fey Fianna.

"This mech is a blast! It's so much easier to pilot than the Sparrow Storm that it isn't even a competition!" A ticket holder enthusiastically exclaimed after he reluctantly exited the cockpit of a demonstration mech. "Five minutes is not enough! I haven't come close to exploring what I can do with all of those fantastic fey. Controlling them is a breeze. Them being alive isn't as scary as it sounds because they are so trusting and obedient. They remind me of my kids. You only have to raise them right."

After the evening rolled on, much of Phoca Arena had become a lot emptier. The product reveal had come to an end and many people had their fill of the excitement of today.

Not everyone chose to leave, though. A large number of mech pilots and other interested parties continued to linger long after the main presentation had come to an end.

Each of them became so fascinated by the Fey Fianna that they either wanted to test pilot the new mechs or study them at closer distances.

The fact that tens of thousands of mech pilots, mech designers, mech commanders and even mech design students chose to stay in the evening was a testament to the attraction of the LMC's latest product line!

"When you came up with the Fey Fianna, could you have imagined that you would have made such a splash in the mech community by releasing your new drone mech?" Gavin asked as he stood next to his superior.

Ves shook his head. "I never thought about putting it up for sale. The Fey Fianna... is not a traditional drone mech. I thought that if I managed to succeed in designing a multi-spirit living mech, I would keep it as an exclusive mech for our clan. A machine with all of these capabilities sounds as if it is too good to be used by other people. I also believed that only the Larkinsons can make full use of the living and growth aspect of my new mech."

Alexa Streon found that to be a perplexing idea as she held Lucky in her arms. The cute archemetal cat purred as she petted and scratched his head and back in just the right ways.

"Meow-"

"You cling too much to the habit of reserving your best works to our clan." She told Ves. "I have not lived through the turbulent early history of the Larkinson Clan, but it has clearly stabilized ever since you chose to settle down in Davute. The Design Department has designed and updated many Larkinson-exclusive mechs that were quite good on release. They may not have been able to produce an impact as large as the Fey Fianna, but they would have expanded the LMC's product catalog and sped up the growth and expansion of our clan. Why did you decide to confine well-received mech models such as the Stingripper, the Nullifier and the Redlance to our clan?"

"There were good reasons at the time." Ves defended himself. "We were fighting a lot more actively against the Fridaymen and other human opponents back then. Each of them are capable of spending a lot of time and effort on dissecting and figuring out all of the weak points of our mechs. Our clan has relied a lot on unexpected trump cards to turn a battle around. We still need to rely on them to prevent the native aliens from figuring us out. While I am willing to think about putting up a handful of Larkinson-exclusive mech models for sale, our Larkinson Army must still retain its own unique strengths in order to remain competitive."

He did not intend to change his mind too much.