The Mech Touch (Web Novel)

5650 Why Am I Absent?

"We need a moment of time to discuss what must be done." Jovy announced at the end of the impromptu viewing session. "I suggest you settle down for the time being. In the meantime, we should cover up your latest mech. We do not want images of what you have painted on the surface to spread. You should be psychologically prepared that this may be the last time that anyone can view the artistry applied to your machine."

There was no other choice for Ves but to agree. "I understand. Certain pieces of information are too dangerous to spread. I am already happy that my work has contributed to society, although in a much different fashion than I anticipated."

Ves and Gloriana quietly moved to the site and sat down on floating seats. They called in a few snacks to fill up their stomachs.

As both of them tried to make sense of all of the strange and vivid glances of the future, each of them derived different conclusions from what they had seen.

Ves had a lot of material to go through, but the one that struck him the most at the moment was the dark and tragic illustration where a much older version of him received judgment from a tribunal presided by shadowy human figures.

He had so many questions about this event that he did not even know where to begin. How far in the future did this take place? A few decades? A few centuries? Maybe… longer?

If Ves was just a baseline human, then he would have guessed up to 20 years at most. He clearly looked a lot more mature and weathered in every way, but his physical aging had not advanced all that much.

Ves could grow a neatly trimmed beard right now and look up to 80 to 90 percent similar to how he appeared in the image!

However, it was difficult for him to make up for the remaining elements. There were many subtle details on how he acted, how he carried himself and how he still managed to look so damn badass despite being put in a state of helplessness!

Yet no matter how awesome his older self looked, Ves derived no enjoyment from it due to the simple fact that one of his worst nightmares had come true!

What he hated the most was other people having control over his own life. Ves had no idea how powerful he became during the time when this possible event took place, but he clearly had not attained enough power to create enough deterrence.

His future self screwed up big time!

The final prophetic vision spooked Ves so much that he became determined to never let this possible future come to pass.

He had started his first step right away.

Since the Sentencing of the War Criminal happened to a version of Ves that had grown out a beard, one of the ways to defy this exact prophecy from coming true was to keep his chin hairless forever.

Problem solved!

As Ves continued to stroke his hairless chin that was as smooth as a baby's bottom, his wife felt the need to voice her thoughts.

"Why am I not in any of those images, Ves?"

"Huh?"

Gloriana narrowed her eyes at him as she took another sip of her tea. "Do not play stupid, Ves. Filicide and The Sentencing of a War Criminal are most definitely centered around you. In the Service of the Golden Cat is tangibly related to you as I doubt you would allow aliens to worship your creation alongside humans. I suspect that you have played a hand in the scenarios depicted by a number of other prophetic visions as well. Why must your paintings only showcase your deeds and not mine or anyone else's? I would at least expect to see one of our wonderful and excellent children attain prominence. Instead, the only clear trace of them is seeing my son on the verge of getting shot by his own father!"

Though her complaints sounded a bit self-centered, she did raise a number of troubling questions.

Ves thought deeply.

"When Ylvaine cast his sight far and wide, he did not exert any conscious control over the process. Neither did I for that matter. The selection is largely random as far as I can tell. It is only our subconscious desires and other uncontrollable factors that has ultimately led to the selection of thirteen different possible scenes in the future. While I have no proof to back up my theories, I think there is one or multiple forces in the background that have secretly directed Ylvaine's foresight. Aside from that, I think he was only able to capture major turning points in human history. Have you noticed how most of the images describe events that are so massive that they can be recorded in the history books?"

From the return of red humanity to the Milky Way to the breaking of the greater beyonder gate, these were undeniable turning points that could change the futures of entire races and civilizations!

It made a certain amount of sense that when Ylvaine cast his vision far and wide, his sight would be more easily attracted to major events as opposed to minor ones.

That made Ves question whether the second and thirteenth prophetic visions abided by this rule as well.

If he assumed that the execution of his son and the sentencing of himself as a war criminal carried roughly the same weight as a black tide sweeping across half of the Red Ocean, then that said a lot about his future self!

Just as he dreamed, he had definitely become a big shot in the future!

Though he had not grown powerful enough to the point where he became omnipotent and incapable of making errors, he at least gained so much influence that he could not help but star in not one, but several prophecies!

His ego couldn't help but swell when he thought that he had succeeded in climbing higher. He should have become a Master Mech Designer at the very least. Was it possible that his bearded self in the final image had already become a Star Designer?

Of course, it could also be that the prophecies already leaned towards Ves because he was involved.

All in all, the prophetic visions showed so much, but left out even more information. It was extremely dangerous to try to fill up the gaps in the absence of further proof.

"I have decided." Gloriana said as her eyes grew firmer.

"Decided what, honey?"

"I have decided to be more proactive." She told Ves. "The future according to Ylvaine's foresight is not a future in which I would like to live in. Leaving aside cataclysmic events such as the deaths and the loss of control of several god pilots, I do not want to be weak, powerless and absent during periods where you are left to shoulder all of the burdens. Why am I not present in a moment where you were on the verge of pulling the trigger of your Amastendira?"

"There are many possible explanations. You may be working on a really important secret project. You may have evacuated from a dangerous war zone. It could also be that we have fallen out with each other at that time."

There was one other possibility that Ves did not mention. Gloriana… may have already died in those potential future timelines.

If there was one point of reassurance that Ves derived from these prophetic visions, it was that Ves had not done anything terribly stupid to the point where he lost his life!

The Cosmopolitans and his other enemies failed to assassinate him. That granted Ves a lot of relief. It at least showed him that his enemies did not send out a True God or employed a ridiculous superweapon to wipe him out by relying on overwhelming force.

His wife let out a deep breath. "Regardless of what happened that caused me to be left out of the picture, the future is still mutable as long as it has not yet occurred. That gives me a chance to change the variables and attain a better outcome for myself. Perhaps… I should take a page out of your book."

"Hm? What are you talking about, Gloriana?"

"The fact that you have risen so high while I have failed to catch up to you shows that your approach and your penchant for risk-taking may ultimately yield better results than the alternatives."

"Not everyone is cut out for taking risks, honey. It has worked out for me because I have built up my power and always have a backup solution at hand. Don't think that all you need to succeed is to make thoughtless gambles. You not only need to be ready to profit from your wins, but also scramble to limit the damage in case you have lost."

His wife was different from him. She may have traveled alongside Ves over the course of several expeditions, but she had never taken up any responsibility over them. She lacked the practice and the experience to navigate dangerous waters and temper her greed at the right moments.

"Our clan doesn't necessarily need two daredevils at the top." Ves cautiously said. "If you really want to make a greater impact on society, then you should focus on what you are good at. You are different from me. You have your own way of attaining greater success. My generous advice is to stick to your heart and follow your desires if you must."

These were sage words. Gloriana's enthusiasm tempered a bit as she acknowledged his logic. Ves was right that she could not blindly follow another person's path.

That brought a difficult question to the forefront. What was she good at, exactly?

She could design excellent custom mechs. She could fabricate high-quality mechs. She could keep her husband in check. She could cooperate with him to develop fantastic collaboration works. She tried to do her best to be an attentive and loving mother.

While Gloriana had long taken pride in all of these accomplishments, their magnitude and their impact on greater human society was… limited.

Unlike her much more flamboyant husband, she was incapable of earning greater fame by producing shocking feats on a frequent basis.

While Ves pulled out one gamechanger after another, Gloriana continued to quietly work on her mech designs and design philosophy in a predictable fashion.

She finally realized that being stable and predictable was not conducive to innovation and critical success.

If she wanted to reach the height that her husband had reached in those possible future timelines, then she needed to step up and be more proactive.

This was the only way she could think of that would enable her to keep up with him and possibly prevent him from killing her son one day!

As long as Gloriana continued to weigh heavily in his heart, he would never dare to hurt any of her precious children!

Her inner fire began to burn hotter as she assumed a greater mission. The life of her son was at stake! The more successful she became, the more she was able to restrain her husband and reel him in when he went too far!

Her thoughts strayed towards the Dark Zephyr. She already intended to implement a new design solution in the updated version of the expert light skirmisher, but she decided to be even more daring than before!

Now that she had gained her new Arachne 01 Implant Set and allowed her cognitive abilities to fully catch up to the likes of Alexa Streon, there was no reason for her to fall behind anymore!

Her eyes twinkled as she already began to reimagine the Dark Zephyr on a fundamental basis. In order for the living mech to attain a greater level of perfection, she needed to strengthen the mech frame to a degree that was unprecedented among the mechs of the Larkinson Clan!