The Mech Touch (Web Novel)

5758 An Enlightened Scientific Discipline

Ves had done it again!

An event he participated in had gone viral!

Nobody expected the broadcast for the public inquiry on living mechs to explode in popularity all of a sudden.

After all, it was not a mech tournament where cool mechs violently clashed against each other.

Although the Dragon King's Palace provided a resplendent and magnificent backdrop to the debate, the fact of the matter was that people initially expected the speeches to drag on for hours.

While Ves had initially given the public a droning lecture on the basics of living mechs, the youngest speaker in this historic event had detonated a bomb that was reverberating throughout human-occupied space at an increasing intensity!

Suddenly, the veil that had always hidden the characteristics of a phenomenon known as cultivation had been ripped apart!

Lieutenant-Commander Astrid Jameson's name went down in history as the whistleblower who recklessly exposed a vast conspiracy that had fooled humanity for centuries, if not longer!

The distinct lack of denials from the Red Two did not go unnoticed.

The fact that the mechers and the fleeters felt necessitated to schedule an emergency public announcement immediately after the public inquiry had reached its conclusion showed how dire the situation had become.

Ves was sure that a lot of people discreetly received a lot of messages and alerts through their comms or cranial implants.

He had received a flood of messages himself from many different parties, the vast majority of whom he never met or heard before.

It became so overwhelming that he had outright blocked all incoming messages. He could not afford to be distracted at this point. Revelations or not, he still had to make a case for his living mechs. If Ves truly needed to be informed about a new development, then his advisors and staffers would let him know.

Right now, Ves tried his best to confine his awareness to the grand hall of the Dragon King's Palace.

The underwater environment, the masterwork dragon statues and the genetically modified fish that leisurely swam in every direction without a care in the cosmos made it easier for Ves to mentally isolate himself from external influences.

While he was tangentially aware that a rapidly growing amount of people tuned into the live broadcast of this event, the huge separation between himself and the ordinary people spread throughout the new frontier meant he wouldn't have to face their doubts, their curiosity, their hopes and their desires.

Ves felt fortunate that he didn't have to deal with the headaches that came with being a deity cultivator.

He already had enough of a taste of that through Vulcan.

His dwarven incarnation had to deal with a lot of crazy beliefs from deluded Vulcanites. It helped that Vulcan was also far better equipped to handle all of the attention.

Ves did not possess that advantage, but he was not as sensitive towards spiritual feedback either. There was something inherent about the mech design profession that specifically blocked this uncontrollable source of influence. He suspected that his design seed or flame or whatever might even use it as fuel to power other mysterious processes.

The Progenitors of Mechs deliberately sought to shape mech designers into support personnel.

Allowing this new profession to gain a lot of personal power by becoming more popular went against the spirit of their ethos.

The extreme specialization envisioned by the Progenitors was meant to bake large-scale cooperation in human society by making people dependent on each other.

The revival threatened to break this model.

Many cultivation methods were inherently selfish, so much so that they had almost brought the human race down.

Right now, a lot of people's attention was drawn towards the young woman who had completely upended human society.

Despite receiving a sanction, Lieutenant-Commander Astrid Jameson was still allowed to witness the proceedings from the side. She just wasn't allowed to step into the speaking pit anymore.

From the periodic changes in her expression, she was definitely communicating with plenty of people through her cranial implant.

The chances that anything serious would happen to her was slim, though. Her lineage alone was sufficient to protect her career.

In fact, Ves even suspected that Astrid's move was not the result of an impulsive decision by a hot-blooded young officer, but was instead an important component of a more calculated strategy devised by her superiors.

The shadow of Fleet Admiral Amelie Jameson loomed over her descendant.

Everything Ves learned about the Fifth Enforcement Fleet made it clear that it bore the strongest hatred and animosity towards cultivation and other weirdness.

Perhaps the fleeters of the Fifth Fleet had witnessed the quiet encroachment of cultivation throughout the new frontier for months, and grew progressively more concerned where humanity was heading towards.

The rise of living mechs was just one of the symptoms. The reckless spread of unverified cultivation methods over the galactic net and the rapid expansion of the Hunting Association was causing a lot of humans to come into contact with dangerous phenomena.

It was one thing to engage in cultivation while knowing all of the associated risks.

It was another thing to do the same while remaining ignorant of the significance of this action!

The Jamesons probably thought that they were doing their duty to protect the humans under their charge by disclosing a hidden threat.

Ves could already feel the tension and uncertainty spreading from the spectators in the underwater hall.

They had all become confronted by a mysterious phenomenon that not only contradicted conventional human understanding, but had also been lurking in the background for who knew how many years!

The unflattering description given by Astrid Jameson did not exactly paint the field of cultivation in a good light.

As much as Ves wanted to leave the job of addressing this highly contentious topic to the Red Two, the lazy bastards only planned to provide an official explanation several days later.

Ves was sure that if the mechers and the fleeters really wanted to, they could suspend the broadcast of the public inquiry and address the public right away.

Yet the powers that be did no such thing. They remained in the background and seemed content to allow Ves to blather on about living mechs and his apparent ties to the world of cultivation.

When Ves briefly turned around to face Jovy and Vector, both RA Seniors apologetically shook their heads.

Their superior had tied their hands. Ves had to defend his position without any additional support.

On the one hand, it showed that the Survivalists and the Transhumanists believed that Ves was competent enough to handle this evolving affair.

On the other hand, it showed that the mechers had chosen to employ a shrewd strategy.

No matter what Ves said, his words did not have anything to do with the Red Association, at least on the surface. This granted the latter a useful element of separation.

Ves felt as if the mechers treated him as a guinea pig. His main purpose was to test the public's attitude towards cultivation. If he made any mistakes, then the mechers would learn from his lessons and make sure not to repeat them when they held their big speech later.

It was a profoundly utilitarian response towards this unfolding controversy, and it did not exactly make him feel good about this situation.

At least he was free to spin any tale he liked. The Red Association's deliberate move to appear separate meant that they had no justification to control his speech.

Since this was the case, he might as well take advantage of the leeway that he was given.

As Ves continued to explain that cultivation was not that scary, he made deliberate attempts to tie this phenomenon to the mech pilot and mech designer professions.

He could not allow Astrid's accusation that cultivation was akin to witchcraft and superstition to stand.

The best way for him to do so was to expose and correct the public's deep-rooted cognitive dissonance on the truth about the extraordinary mech professions.

As Ves stood in the center of the speaking pit, he activated another projection that showed the highlights of Operation Night Jazz.

"Do you remember the joint strike against the Tide Stations of the Red Cabal? Many brave soldiers ventured deep into alien territory to fight against the powerful alien defenders. The most inspirational moments came when our valiant god pilots dueled against the ancient phase whales."

The footage showed amazing pieces of footage. From the First Flame's transformation into a mythical Phoenix, to the Destroyer of World's immensely devastating blow against one of the top leaders of the Red Cabal, pretty much every human had already rewatched the awesome footage several times!

Yet now that the circumstances had changed, people began to see these wondrous reality-defying feats from a completely different angle.

"The lieutenant-commander over there has attempted to paint cultivation as an evil force that can only corrupt and doom the human race." Ves spoke with open contempt towards this claim. "That is only a one-sided view. I do not deny that power can corrupt, but it can also produce wonders without equal. Just like the mechs and warships that we are familiar with, it is not the weapon that is dangerous, but the people who wield them. While human society previously struggled to keep power out of the hands of those unfit to harness them, we have improved by a lot since then. The contemporary mech community has done an excellent job in ensuring that only the most valiant, principled and dedicated mech pilots are bestowed with extraordinary might."

The projection continued to show a myriad of footage of the god pilots performing amazing feats throughout the border regions. Their God Kingdoms suppressed entire alien armadas while their god mechs smashed through all opposition without any meaningful resistance.

"Who better to take inspiration from than our most powerful champions? Our god pilots are living, breathing examples that absolute power does not necessarily lead to absolute tyranny. They are products of enlightenment rather than ignorance. They are the inheritors of the people who sought to build a better future for humanity. Since their emergence, every god pilot has never failed to abide by their oaths and protect humanity in whatever way they can. If you reject the phenomenon known as cultivation as a whole, then you reject the very existence of god pilots! Do you really think it is a good idea for our vulnerable and isolated society in the Red Ocean will be able to last without the protection of 8 heroic god pilots?"

A lot of people's expressions changed.

Perhaps Astrid's negative portrayal had caused a lot of people to develop a negative impression of 'witchcraft' and 'sorcery'.

However, it was impossible for them to reconcile this negative impression with their intensely strong respect and worship towards the god pilots.

It was well known that these all-powerful heroes had been doing their best to protect human civilization from the alien menace!

Faced with a conflict between two opposing viewpoints, a lot of people chose to favor the perspective that viewed god pilots as selfless entities who possessed the power of a god but the heart of a dedicated soldier.

Ves smirked as he sensed the mood shift from the spectators. His ploy had worked.

"Make no mistake. What I call cultivation science can be upgraded and reimagined just like any other scientific field. We have come a long way since ancient times. Archaic traditions that dressed cultivation in mysticism have rightfully lost ground during the end of the Age of Conquest. This has given all of us the room we need to study and make use of this phenomenon as a scientific discipline. Instead of fearing progress, we should embrace it. The only point I agree with my detractors is that people should not engage in this promising new field without restraint. We must remain careful and stick to a methodical approach in order to prevent us from destroying ourselves from within yet again. So long as we handle this power responsibly, we can gain the strength we need to defeat the native aliens, all without developing a reliance on scarce resources such as phasewater!"