The Mech Touch

The problem that Moltar suffered from was a rather simple problem for Ves to address.

If Moltar enjoyed the guidance of a proper mentor, then he wouldn't have developed a fixation for researching an endless amount of minor, existing solutions.

In the beginning, mech designers still had much more to learn in order to become more proficient at their craft.

Yet learning existing knowledge was not helpful in itself. It only set up a mech designer to become an excellent imitator and assistant.

To become a Master who succeeded in introducing something groundbreaking and innovative to the mech market, a mech designer needed to do more than passively absorbing other people's work.

Transitioning from absorbing knowledge to generating it was a difficult step for many to take. Some mech designers simply weren't suited to venture into the unknown and do the heavy work of pioneering a new research direction.

Right now, Ves could only say for sure that Moltar had been spending a lot of time as a learner. This did not indicate whether he would make for a good innovator. It was up to the young assistant mech designer himself to develop the necessary skills, habits and mindsets required of a good researcher.

Ves passed on a couple more tips and nuggets of advice. He constructed a set of instructions that would allow the fellow to smoothly take his first steps in performing his original research. Moltar grew more and more thoughtful as he finally realized his precarious direction.

"Thank you, patriarch." Moltar bowed sincerely. "I already feel I have already earned back the merit that I have spent."

"You're welcome, Mr. Ringer."

There was plenty of time left in their session, so they began to discuss other matters. Ves took a closer look at Moltar's old mech designs and provided his honest opinion as well as all of the points that the man should address in order to improve the quality of his output.

They also discussed Moltar's potential future role in the Larkinson Clan.

"While no one can ever say if an Apprentice is capable of becoming a Journeyman, let's consider what will happen if you ever manage to promote. What do you envision yourself doing?"

Moltar paused as he thought over his answer. "If I manage to invent something good that I can rely upon to push forward, I think I want to design mechs and publish that can disrupt signals right away. I am very envious of you and your partner for being able to meet the needs of millions of customers with your products. I can't imagine the amount of satisfaction you feel for being such a big influence to many people's lives."

That was for sure. Every mech designer was an artist and producer at heart. They rarely designed and created something purely for their own enjoyment. Only by receiving the validation of many other people would mech designers feel as if they accomplished something meaningful in their lives!

"The LMC offers any Journeyman the opportunity to propose and lead their own projects. Journeymen can be trusted to develop products that will not shame the LMC and the clan. While you still have a long way to go, know that there is a bright future ahead of you if you work hard enough."

The tutoring session soon came to end. Moltar had become filled with new thoughts and needed a lot of time to process what Ves conveyed to him. No matter what, the assistant benefited hugely from what he learned!

That said, as Moltar turned his back and exited the office in contentment, it remained to be seen whether he amounted to anything.

The benefit of hiring many mech designers was that Ves did not need to get hung up on the individual failure and success of his people. He just had to provide them with opportunities and see if any of them bloomed. It didn't matter who among the assistants eventually advanced to Journeyman.

"Well, that's not entirely right. I really want Ketis to become a Journeyman. She is my first true student."

He took pride in her development. Even if her specialty was very narrow and specialized, he approved her decision to pursue an extreme. He looked forward to seeing what she was capable of once she formed her design seed.

Throughout the day, Ves not only busied himself with design work, but also studied some reports.

It just so happened that Ranya Wodin filed a new status report. Ves decided to enter the isolated biolab recently added to the Scarlet Rose.

"Ranya." He greeted. "How are you doing?"

"I have made an interesting discovery!" She replied as she gestured towards a scanner. "When I studied the 'exhausted' sample of serum that you provided me some time ago, I spent a long time studying the dead components."

The sample she referred to was the tiny drop of life-prolonging treatment serum which Ves had robbed of its life-attributed spiritual energy.

He subsequently used it up during the ceremony that birthed the Superior Mother. The drop of liquid stopped glowing as much and it didn't swirl anymore either.

Ves thought it had turned into a husk after losing the lively energy that provided them with mysterious qualities. He did not hesitate long before passing it over to Ranya, who enthusiastically studied it in order to identify and find a way to replicate its ingredients.

"What progress have you made, exactly?"

"Well, I managed to identify the general traits of many of the plant components used to synthesize this serum. I am not able to match them to any exoplants in my database, but that is because they are too high-end. However, many exoplants have 'relatives' that are akin to different variants of a mech. After a lot of observation and analysis, I have managed to identify numerous lower-quality exoplants."

"What does this mean, exactly?" Ves frowned.

"It means that I will possibly be able to fulfill one of the goals you've set! As long as I research these specific plant species further, I may be able to develop a formula for a more modest serum! While I don't dare to claim that I can prolong someone's life by a century, a few decades or so is very much within reach!"

Now Ves became interested. This was actually something that a very small number of biotech companies outside of the Big Two had already accomplished. However, they always charged ridiculously high prices to stave off death by just a couple of decades!

The only reason those companies were able to get away with charging so much was because the extra life could be obtained by spending money instead of merits.

"How economical would it be to develop this homebrew formula? Do you think it is viable enough to offer this solution to every clansman?"

Ranya's enthusiasm faded a little. "That is still a work in progress. The lower-quality exoplants may not be as inaccessible as their high-grade cousins, but they are still very pricy! Not only that, they originated from many unique alien environments and each of them can only grow under very different conditions. If you can get this far, then synthesizing the correct formula is also a huge challenge. From my studies, I have heard stories about how the synthesis of life-prolonging treatment serum has a ridiculously high failure rate. The higher the grade, the smaller the yield! Although I can't confirm this, I have also heard that the lower grades of serum are essentially partial failures. They don't quite make the cut and can only rejuvenate the lives of those who haven't undergone this treatment!"

Those were some bold claims! Instinctively, Ves felt that her logic was sound, but he did not dare to take her speculation too seriously. He was not a biotech researcher and was not well-versed in biology. Ranya herself was only the equivalent of a Novice or Apprentice in her profession, so she was hardly an authority when it came to something as sophisticated as life-prolonging treatment serums.

Despite the challenges that Ranya had to overcome, Ves still viewed her current work with lots of promise.

While it might be unlikely for her to succeed in a short amount of time, Ves was willing to wait. It would be great if she developed a way to extend the lives of his clansmen without spending too much money.

As long as every clansman was able to live ten or twenty years longer, they would continue to contribute to the clan by the same amount of time!

This would allow Ves to squeeze much more work out of every member of the clan! The importance of this couldn't be overstated!

After Ranya and Ves finished their discussion, they moved on to other topics.

"How is the Larkinson Biotech Institute?"

"I left most of the administrative work to a bunch of vice directors that I have appointed." Ranya casually said. "Don't worry. Even if I'm not there to address every single issue, the Institute is still developing on track."

As the director of the Institute, she was supposed to act much more conscientious. However, she was more of a pure researcher type than someone who enjoyed bossing people around. She was similar to Ves in that regard. It didn't surprise him at all that she chose to delegate many of her responsibilities to others.

As someone who relied heavily on delegation himself, Ves couldn't very well criticize Ranya for doing the same.

"How much progress have you made on your other projects?"

She frowned. "Not much, to be honest. I have too many projects vying for my time."

"That is what the Larkinson Biotech Institute is for. Haven't you hired other biotech researchers to assist you in your research?"

"We mostly focused on expanding our Gene Department and Implant Department. You wanted us to quickly develop the capabilities of providing second-class augmentations to the members of our clan. We've accomplished your target, but at the cost of neglecting our other responsibilities."

That was true. Ves couldn't fault her too much considering that he set these priorities. "Now that those departments are up and running, I hope you don't neglect the research role of the Institute any further. Understood?"

"Yes, sir. I'll instruct the vice directors to recruit more researchers and specialists."

Once they discussed work-related matters, the conversation strayed in a more personal direction.

"You've been in the clan for a few months now. How do you feel about your new life so far? As a Hexer, it must be very challenging to adjust to a radically different culture."

Dr. Ranya looked a little askance at Ves. She did not wish to reveal her inner thoughts at all, but she still had to say something.

"The clan is.. interesting. I would have thought that mixing so many people from different backgrounds would inevitably lead to chaos, but the combination of your strong presence along with this strange sense of kinship that I share with other clansmen has been remarkably effective in making everyone fit in. Even I'm surprised how easily I have come to like certain aspects about the clan. I feel proud whenever I call myself a Larkinson. I never thought that I would reach this point so soon."

Ves smiled inwardly. If even a Hexer like Ranya mellowed out after she joined the Larkinson Clan, then that meant the Larkinson Network was doing its job!

He had always speculated that the Larkinson Network and its relation to the Golden Cat would have this effect. Witnessing such an effective result made him glad that this experiment succeeded!

"Do you ever wish you could return to the Hegemony and become a proper Wodin?"

"No." Ranya answered without hesitation. "Though I initially looked down on you Larkinsons and your values, I have come to like what you stand for. To be honest, I don't even know I can still call myself a Hexer. I have spent too much time with nice, competent and capable men that I really can't accept Hexer orthodoxy anymore."

Ves was pleasantly surprised by what he heard!