The Mech Touch

The plan he had just come up with sounded like the greatest scam he had ever conceived!

"It's not a scam." He corrected himself. "It's a legitimate business venture!"

Ves only had to recall how eager the Lifers wanted to bask in the glows of the Aspect of Tranquility and the Aspect of Healing to know there was an enormous market appeal for the unique services he could provide.

The key was to package Lufa's glow in a form that was easy to produce, easy to distribute and would last as long as other statues.

The Sanctuary design fit all of these criteria, though it could be better.

"I designed this mech as a combat machine, after all. It's supposed to be a space knight that can negate glows and similar phenomena. Even if it is a defensive mech that can take some hits, it is not meant to be put in the hands of civilians or peaceful organizations who aren't always diligent in maintaining their machines."

Most outfits barring the poorests knew better than to neglect the mechs they bet their lives upon. Typical mechs required at least periodic servicing in order for all of its functions to remain in good shape.

Ves could already foresee that if he brought the current version of the Sanctuary to market without any modifications, then all of the civilian buyers would probably neglect this aspect!

Perhaps nothing might happen in the first ten years or so, but after that the Sanctuaries would increasingly suffer malfunctions that crippled some of their functions, reduced their mobility or caused it to collapse in front of a crowd of people who were enjoying their moment of tranquility!

It was clear that he had to modify the Sanctuary design in order to ensure it could withstand the test of time. Optimizing a mech for long-term dormancy required Ves to make different design choices that would make his Sanctuary a little different.

Ves once recalled he designed a few special edition mechs in the past that was similarly suitable to be put on display instead of on the battlefield.

"Hmm… if I am going back to the drawing board in order to modify the Sanctuary for peaceful use, I might as well overhaul some additional factors in the process.

He intended to make two mech versions of the Aspect of Tranquility and the Aspect of Healing. It was no problem for him to tweak the glows so that they induced the right effects. He also contemplated adding in some safety precautions in order to prevent people from developing severe addictions to Lufa's influence.

"These aren't the only changes I intend to make."

What Ves truly cared about was to improve their external appearances so that they became more effective at attracting spiritual energy donors. As the Aspects of Lufa proved, beauty was justice!

Though the Sanctuary already looked pleasing in its current iteration, its overall appearance tended to lean towards a sober and pure aesthetic. This was fine when Ves wanted it to convey a clear role on a chaotic battlefield, but the base model looked too plain for his liking when used for peaceful purposes.

"I think I can make it look grander."

He already developed a number of interesting ideas, but he did not whip out his design interface in order to apply them to his current design.

"I don't have to waste too much time on this side project."

Designing a couple of new variants of the Sanctuary design was not a core component of his self-augmentation plan. It was a follow-up project meant to shovel lots of 'fuel' into his new energy generator.

"I can worry about establishing a supply line later. I should invest the limited time I have available on completing my companion spirit to the best of my abilities."

He decided to delegate much of this work to his subordinates. In any case, the Design Department wasn't working on any significant projects right now, so his design teams should all have enough time to explore different ways to increase the Sanctuary's attraction.

He decided to call Miles Tovar. His projection soon came to life.

"What is your request, sir?"

"Do you recall the Sanctuary design?"

"Uhm, yes sir." The Apprentice Mech Designer answered. "Have you decided to release it on the market?"

Ves smirked. "Yes, but not in the way that you are thinking. I've changed my mind about how it ought to be used. Let me explain my thoughts and tell you what I need from the Design Department."

He explained his intention to repurpose the Sanctuary design to a skeptical-looking subordinate. He subsequently handed over some tasks to the design teams.

"Tell the other assistants to explore visual designs and motifs that are effective at attracting people from many different states and cultures. The broader the appeal, the better."

"That… is a difficult request for us to fulfill." The former member of the Tovar Family said with a frown. "Every mech market is different. For example, the LRA's mech market consists almost entirely of biomechs. Other states have other quirks that can cause the Sanctuary to receive a poor reception."

"Just do the best you can. I don't need the Sanctuary to sell well in every state, but it has to be able to reach a wide enough audience. Do you understand?"

"Yes… sir."

Even if he did not follow through with his intentions on making use of Lufa, this was still an interesting way to earn money if nothing else.

In any case, Ves made up his mind and added a spiritual fragment of Lufa to the list of ingredients.

He felt that blending Lufa in his companion spirit was a great choice, and not just because it had the potential to supply Ves with lots of fuel.

He valued Lufa's spiritual attributes. The ability to purify and restrain dangerous spiritual phenomena was extremely valuable in minimizing any chaotic aspects of his upcoming companion spirit.

At the very least, Ves believed he could make good use of this ingredient to keep the negative effects of the spiritual fragment of the Unending One in check.

In the most ideal case, Lufa's contribution would also increase the purity of his companion spirit, thereby allowing him to use more ingredients without suffering too many negative side effects.

With his choice on Lufa set, he felt he could add one or two major ingredients to the mix in order to round out his companion spirit.

"Let's see what else I can work with." He murmured as he mentally listed his available spiritual assets. "I can't casually replace my first companion spirit with another one, so I better make this right from the start. I don't want to have any regrets when I make my choices today."

He first ran down his list of design spirits. As spiritually-strong entities that were useful enough for him to attach to his mech designs, they all possessed useful powers and attributes.

Whether they were helpful to him was another matter, though.

"Vescas. I already forgot about this one."

"Solemn Guardian. Hell no! Pursuing duty above all else is the most important reason I parted ways with the Larkinson Family."

"Bravo. Pass. I'm already a man!"

"The Golden Cat. Hmmm…"

He paused at this choice. He did not necessarily need to rely on her to supply with fuel when Lufa had the potential to tap into a much greater population of humans.

There wasn't much left aside from this benefit. Goldie was still young and immature, so she did not possess a lot of strong traits. Ves couldn't really figure what concrete benefits she could bring if he borrowed her strength to create his companion spirit.

"Maybe my new companion will take the form of a cat or something."

This was actually a nice outcome to Ves, but he did not want his companion spirit to become influences by the Larkinson values that the Golden Cat espoused.

The Larkinson Clan was the Larkinson Clan. Ves was Ves. They were two separate entities who both operated in different ways.

After a bit of thought, he decided to make use of Goldie as a minor ingredient. He only really wanted to borrow a portion of her strength in order to turn his companion spirit into a cat and to develop a small connection to the Larkinson Network.

"Let's continue down the list. Zeigra. No. I don't need to pour any more fuel on the fire. My reckless tendencies are already bad enough. I'll probably become outright suicidal if my aggression increases any further!"

Zeigra was an uncontrollably angry design spirit that did not have the best impression of Ves. The pride, fury and aggression of the former Crown Cat might be suitable for warriors, but mech designers didn't need these traits.

"Ylvaine. Nope nope nope!"

"Qilanxo. Hmmmm."

Her protective and space manipulation abilities were very formidable. The exobeast was one of his most powerful and definitely the oldest design spirit in his collection. Ves felt very tempted to request another spiritual fragment from his friendly spiritual ally.

If he was able to make good use of this fragment, he might be able to unlock some of those protective abilities himself. Even without a shield generator, he might be able to project a protective barrier around his body that was not inferior!

Ves shook his head. "My companion spirit will get too muddled, though. Qilanxo doesn't quite fit in with the other ingredients. If I truly want protection, then I should build a dedicated defensive tool."

He wanted to make his companion spirit as strong as possible, and the best way to do that was to set a single purpose and make sure that every subsequent decision supported it. Adding Lufa's spiritual fragment made sense because combining it with the Unending One's spiritual fragment would result in an energy generator that came with a reliable supply of spiritual fuel.

It was difficult to imagine whether Qilanxo was able to add additional synergies to his companion spirit. Perhaps it could borrow the output of the energy generator to sustain a powerful defensive shield, but this brought him to his earlier point.

Technology could already fulfill this function, though he conceded that there might be cases where others might strip him of his equipment.

Eventually, he decided to forgo this choice. The introduction of Qilanxo added a lot of additional complexity and increased the chance that the growth of his companion spirit might deviate from his intended plan.

He resumed his selection.

"The Superior Mother. Nope. I don't need to explain why."

Even if the Hexer design spirit possessed a strong connection to Cynthia Larkinson, Ves was deeply afraid that his companion spirit would become too assertive as a result.

He did not want to get bossed around by yet another entity!

"Then… that leaves the Illustrious One."

Ves felt that this was an intriguing idea. For some reason, he had multiple entanglements with the extinct sentient alien species known as the luminars or crystal builders. These tiny humanoids developed a dazzling crystal-based technology base and manipulated light and energy to a degree that not even the MTA managed to decipher their methods.

The Illustrious One was a potent design spirit in itself. It inherited many aspects of the Blinding One, who was a remarkable existence as well. The dark god may actually be the only remnant of his once-prosperous race who had managed to survive all the way up to the Age of Mechs until he picked a fight with Ves and his mother.

It made little sense to add a spiritual fragment Illustrious One to the list of ingredients, though. He already possessed the Amastendira, which was already powerful enough to remain relevant for at least several decades.

Even if its power level eventually could not keep up with his demands, he could always build a new weapon.

Still, the irrational part of him wanted to throw the Illustrious One in the mix anyway.

Perhaps he used to be a member of the luminar race in a past life.

Perhaps he felt he might have a use of light-manipulation capabilities one day.

Perhaps he just wanted to borrow the Illustrious One's mysterious charm to look cool.

Though it made little rational sense to him to consider this choice, he decided to put it in consideration.

"If I don't have any better choices, I'll go back to this option and let my feelings decide."

Now that he had gone through his list of design spirits, Ves began to set his sights towards other, more unconventional sources of spiritual ingredients.

"What if… I borrow a fragment from one of my expert pilots?"