The Mech Touch (Web Novel)

5970 What Are Hypers?

"Maaaw… maaaw… maaaw…"

"Mrow! Mrow!"

A black kitten continued to dangle from the mouth of the larger purple cat.

As overeager as she may be, What Yaika had done could have been incredibly dangerous for the juvenile companion spirit!

"Don't do that again." Ves admonished his daughter as he set her body to the ground while staring at her in the face. "Not all hyper materials are harmless. The samples I bought from the Red Association are rare and expensive for multiple reasons. A few of them are so dangerous that they can poison people just by proximity. The main reason why you can't sense their threat is because their activity is being suppressed by the special alloys used to make these boxes."

That reminded him that he needed to look into the containers. He had many uses for a material that possessed similar properties to the B-stone that he obtained a long time ago, especially one that was powerful enough to resist first-class weapon attacks.

"Okay. I will not go closer. I will be more careful, papa."

Andraste may be impulsive, but she wasn't stupid. Yaika just lost control due to getting attracted by something that smelled really enticing for whatever reason.

Whatever the mechers stuffed in that box had to be special in order to provoke such a reaction!

Ves was glad that he could teach his girl this lesson. If not, she might end up falling into a trap if she faced a similar situation in the future!

"Maaaaw!"

Blinky let go of Yaika's scruff now that the smaller kitten had regained control over herself.

Yaika then began to whine as Blinky decided that this was a great time to give his 'child' a bath!

"Maaaw! Maaaaw!"

"Mrow mrow mrow~"

In the meantime, Ves held Andraste's hand as he moved over to an elevated ramp that provided a clear view of the long table and the containers holding all of the samples.

Although not all of the hyper materials posed a threat to humans, it was better to be safe than sorry. Maintaining a healthy distance from high-grade hyper materials was a mandatory safety precaution.

Alexa Streon moved up the ramp as well.

Maia had emerged out of her head and observed the containers with rapt attention. As a companion spirit aspected towards the more nurturing side of life, the ragdoll cat was biased towards positive energy. She did not like the vibe of the suppressed samples. They felt far too ominous and hostile.

"Myah…"

Alexa spent a brief amount of time checking whether all of the safety precautions were in order.

"We can proceed at your instruction, sir."

"Open the first container."

"Inputting command."

The first container at the far left unlocked and began to slide open. A plain black metal bar began to float a small distance into the air, allowing the observers a clear view of the somewhat distant object.

Fortunately, Ves, his daughter and Alexa all possessed strong and augmented senses, so they had no problem with examining the metal alloy from this distance.

"Do you know what hyper materials are, pumpkin?"

Andraste leaned against her father's leg and furrowed her brows.

"My teachers and the textbooks barely mention anything about hypers. They are so new that people are still trying to figure everything out. One of the theories that is popular is that a special kind of material exists that resonates with different elemental E-energies. As long as there is a connection, that material begins to absorb E energy and gets changed by it to become more compatible with that element."

Ves smiled. "That is an interesting theory. What is your opinion, Alexa?"

As a proper Journeyman Mech Designer, Alexa had come into contact with much more extensive theories related to hyper technology.

"The theory mentioned by your daughter is unsubstantiated." The former Terran responded. "The truth is that we have not pinned down the true reason why hyper materials come into existence. A common hypothesis is that hypers are similar to exotics in that they are remnants of old and powerful organisms. Another hypothesis that is gaining traction is that materials that turn into hypers possess a common property that is not observable in realspace. It may be a trait that is hidden in another dimension. However, it is important to note that no one has yet to provide definitive proof for these assertions. It is best not to make any assumptions and work with hypers with the attitude of remaining cautious and keeping an open mind. Just because we have yet to detect any danger does not mean it is nonexistent. We must always maintain our awe towards unfamiliar phenomena."

Ves nodded in approval while Andraste did not really look that interested.

"I'm not a scientist, papa. I have no interest in learning science."

Ves tapped his daughter's adorable head. "Knowledge is power, my dear. Your learning ability is superior to many other people in the new frontier and the old galaxy. It would be an enormous waste for you to squander your superior conditions. Do you know how much I envied first-raters back when I was a kid? While it is true that you do not need to know how reality works in detail in order to be a good soldier, there are times where knowing how stuff works can save your lives. Besides, have you forgotten that Ketis is a mech designer as well as a swordmaster? She combines both knowledge and martial skill to excel in both of her professions."

His daughter still did not seem receptive to the idea. She had never been the academic sort, which Ves attributed to the designer genes that influenced her behavior. She showed much greater enthusiasm towards practicing her combat skills.

He sighed. His second daughter could be incorrigible at times.

"What do you think about hypers, papa? I bet you know much more about these weird materials than those snooty scientists."

"I wouldn't say that." Ves responded with a chuckle. "I have my own theories, and I am pretty confident in them. That said, I am merely a Senior Mech Designer. I don't have enough credentials to claim that my views are true. In my opinion, hyper materials are neither the remains of long-dead beings of great power, nor possess any special properties in other dimensions. Hypers exist because I believe that there may be a touch of life in them, however faint."

"Huh?" Andraste looked astonished.

This was a much more radical theory than the ones circulating on the galactic net!

Even Alexa did a double take upon hearing this strange theory.

"My design philosophy is derived from yours, but I have not observed any form of life from the hypers that I have come into contact with." The female Journeyman responded. "Do you have any proof that can substantiate your personal theory?"

She was being remarkably polite. If she heard this theory from anyone else, she may have responded a lot harsher.

Scientists were not supposed to let their biases and feelings dictate the truth!

Only solid observations, logical theories and undeniable empirical data should determine whether a theory was viable enough to become accepted by the scientific community!

Though Ves considered himself to be an authentic scientist, he often found it difficult to abide by all of the rules.

"I can't provide any proof that would satisfy anyone." Ves plainly admitted. "I cannot claim to have sensed any actual life in every hyper material. My theory is merely the product of a couple of hunches combined with a number of spurious logical inferences. It is difficult to explain my reasoning without sounding crazy or delusional, so you don't have to take my word for it. In fact, I encourage you to conduct your own research and build your own theories. No matter whether they match my theories or not, at least you are making progress into developing your own unique contributions to society."

They did not persist in this talk. The nature and origin of hypers was a hotly debated topic that never seemed to end. It was pointless for the two of them to debate on this matter.

They soon turned their attention back to the floating metal bar that comprised a refined hyper material.

"According to virtual documents attached to this container, this is an experimental new hyper material that is made by alloying multiple different hypers and exotics together. It is derived from a single formula out of a series of hundreds of similar formulas. This is one of the more successful outcomes. The prices for the component materials are lower than the expected market price for this hyper alloy."

"What is it called?"

"It currently bears the name HHH-3432134-34REFRFF-3535-

NEF. The laboratory responsible for developing the associated formulas has yet to bestow a proper name to this hyper alloy."

Ves twitched his lips when he heard that. It was not unusual for new materials to bear an awfully long codename that was incredibly unwieldy to use in verbal communication.

"Andraste."

"Yes, papa?"

"Before I ask Alexa to summarize the known attributes and effects of this alloy, I want you to take a good look at this piece of metal. Can you use your senses to guess its properties?"

"I can't. I am too far away."

"Use Yaika's senses instead. Her nature as a companion spirit should make her a lot more sensitive towards hyper materials. Let me give you a tip. Try and observe the changes in E energy radiation."

As a hyper material, HHH-3432134-34REFRFF-3535-NEF most definitely had an effect on the E energy radiation that flowed in its vicinity. It wouldn't be a hyper material if it did not induce any E energy reactions.

Yaika, having just finished a quick bath, tried to extend her underdeveloped senses to ascertain what was taking place.

Not every E energy element became attracted to the hyper alloy bar. Only a few of them showed abnormal signs. The remaining E energy that possessed unrelated attributes continued to sail away as if there was nothing in their way.

"Maaw. Maaw."

"My companion spirit senses darkness." The young girl spoke. "She also feels cold. There is also noise, no, the opposite of noise. It is quiet. Cold. Not dead. It was never alive in the first place."

"Alexa?"

"HHH-3432134-34REFRFF-3535-NEF and its related alloy formulas are developed by a research institution affiliated with the Red Ocean. The purpose of this formula series is to develop an artificial hyper substance that can be used as substitutes of high-grade exotics in the development of stealth mechs. It tries to do so by combining multiple related attributes together to produce a higher-level compound effect."

"It seems that the research institution has failed to achieve its primary objective." Ves stated.

"That is so, but the alloy formula still holds value. It is at least capable of producing the effects of three hyper materials while taking the space of only two hyper materials. That is useful in itself, so the company responsible for developing this alloy is in the process of turning it into a commercial product."

This was a common occurrence in the materials sector. A lot of mech designers and material scientists tried to develop powerful new wonder materials, but rarely succeeded. Most of their experiments either produced outright failures or partial successes. The developers often chose to recoup their losses as much as possible by converting the latter into products. There were always people out there that might have enough use for something that was originally supposed to be an unqualified result.

"Do you think that this alloy is a good fit for the planned destructive phasing module?"

"Clearly not." Alexa immediately shook her head. "HHH-3432134-34REFRFF-3535-NEF is a viable option for the development of a stealth mech. It can also be applied to the overall frame of the Dark Zephyr Mark III to reduce the expert light skirmisher's emissions, which will make it harder for enemies to track and lock onto the machine. However, I would not choose this hyper material for this purpose. There are more suitable alternatives that can increase the performance of the Dark Zephyr."

"I agree. This alloy is useless for my current purpose. Let's put it back and check out the contents of the other crates."