The Mech Touch

Both Ariadne Wodin and Reginald Cross were taken aback at the antics of the cats.

They two visitors already knew that the Larkinsons loved their pets. They had already crossed paths with numerous cats, dogs, birds, lizards and other animals.

Ves was also famed for his love of cats. Lucky was practically a permanent fixture by his side.

What was different this time was that another pet had entered the stage.

Compared to the solid, mechanical form of Lucky, Blinky appeared to be a very different kind of cat.

He was obviously not organic. Not with the way his body was slightly translucent and how his entire form glowed and shimmered in front of everyone's eyes.

The bright purple exterior did not have the consistency of fur, nor the solidity of metal. The strange light points trailing across Blinky's body made it appear even more mysterious.

The closest guess that the visitors could come up with was that Blinky was an electronic cat.

In other words, he looked like a projection.

Yet neither the Hexer leader nor the Crosser leader thought it was as simple as that.

As a spiritual entity with considerable strength, Blinky actually possessed a fairly strong presence. This presence that could not be fully described with words was actually the source of the phenomenon known as glows.

Though Blinky's glow was currently mixed and nuanced, Patriarch Reginald was able to perceive more.

As a strong expert pilot, he developed a greater sensitivity towards unusual phenomena, especially when it was related to the strengths that expert pilots employed in battle.

Blinky had become a much greater existence to him as he instinctively perceived the energy and other traits locked inside the purple cat.

Unfortunately, his Hexer counterpart wasn't able to perceive as much. She was still a normal person and did not possess the senses of an expert pilot.

Both guests sat at the two chairs on the opposite side of an oval conference table. Ves stood at the far end as he finished admonishing his two cats.

"Meow!"

Lucky flipped his tail and floated to an empty chair in order to take a nap or something.

Mrow.

Blinky dishearteningly returned to Ves' mind in order to figure out a better way to beat Lucky next time.

The two visitors did not miss the fact that Blinky literally disappeared into the head of a human!

Ves smirked as he saw how he successfully managed to surprise his fellow leaders. He deliberately exposed Blinky to them in order to showcase what he was capable of. Since they were on the cusp of ordering spiritual networks from him, they needed to know what they were dealing with. Introducing a spiritual entity like Blinky to them would allow them to know that the Larkinson Patriarch possessed unusual talents.

This was a deliberate choice on his part. Ves knew that he couldn't keep everything hidden forever and he was willing to take a risk and reveal a portion of his capabilities to his allies.

"Welcome to the Spirit of Bentheim. I hope you have gotten a good glimpse of how her crew operates." Ves began.

"Is it like this aboard every Larkinson ship?" The Hexer woman asked.

"Not quite. The newcomers all possess different cultures and we are still in the process of integrating them. Our clan is large and diverse, and many ships are dominated by specific sub-organizations under our umbrella. For example, the mood aboard a combat carrier of the Flagrant Vandals is a lot looser and more informal than the norm. The Swordmaiden and Heavensworders are far more serious and constantly engaged in one form of training or another."

"That sounds like a state."

Ves pressed his lips. "Somewhat."

"It's quite impressive how your clan can bring all of these different people together without suffering many of the problems associated with doing so." Patriarch Reginald spoke up. "No organization that operates as a clan would recruit as freely as you Larkinsons. Yet you show no hesitation in breaking this convention."

"That is because we have the capital to accelerate our recruitment efforts. We don't have to be as thorough in rooting out traitors and people with impure intentions towards our clan. I believe that this is why the two of you have come here today. Both of you want to enjoy the same benefits "

Ves boasted a bit more about the benefits of the Larkinson Clan's spiritual network. He touted the inherent trust it fostered among the clansmen, the monitoring of treacherous thoughts and the easy identification of traitors who were committed to harming the clan.

"I believe that both of you have learned that not even the most committed and long-standing members of your organizations can be fully trusted." Ves smirked. "The Crown Uprising has revealed that everyone has traitors in their ranks. Whether these sleeper agents are unwitting victims who have undergone deep psycho-programming or hardened radicals who have deeply disguised themselves, the fact of the matter is that both the Glory Seekers and the Cross Clan are compromised."

This was a heavy declaration and one that did not reflect well on his fellow leaders.

It wasn't their fault that crown terrorists lurked within their ranks. The Larkinson Clan could have easily ended up in the same position as well if not for the existence of its network!

After emphasizing the immediate value that his networks could bring, Ves finally addressed it directly.

"Colonel Ariadne, Patriarch Reginald, my special networks—"

"Marshal." The Hexer leaders spoke out.

"Pardon?"

"My new rank is marshal." Ariadne Wodin stated. "I received a promotion some time ago, though my role hasn't changed all that much. I am still in charge of the Glory Seekers."

"Oh. Congratulations, then." Ves blinked. "Anyway, the special network is a complicated and elaborate innovation that I have developed exclusively for the Larkinson Clan. While I can theoretically apply its model to your own organizations, you should know that it will cost quite a lot for me to establish it. This kind of intangible asset can't be made with ordinary materials. I have to use special resources that are very scarce and difficult to source."

That wasn't quite true anymore. Perhaps this used to be the case in the past, but the emergence of Blinky solved much of his energy problems. The only remaining materials that Ves might have trouble with was finding the right ingredients, but that was still a lot more manageable than the alternative.

"We are aware of the proprietary nature of your.. special.. networks." The recently-promoted marshal said. "However, we don't understand how it's made, nor what resources you need to make them. One of our goals for this visit is to part some of the veil and gain a greater understanding of these matters."

"That is… difficult." Ves deeply frowned. "It's not that I am hellbent on keeping my proprietary methods in the dark. It is just that you won't be able to see or understand anything without possessing a talent in this esoteric field. Did you see Blinky earlier?"

"You mean the glowing purple cat?"

"Yes. My new pet is just one of many examples of what I am talking about. If you don't understand anything about him, then you are not really qualified to delve further into this topic."

Patriarch Reginald looked as if he knew what Ves was talking about.

"The kid is right, marshal." The expert pilot affirmed. "I don't know too much about his specialty either, but I am aware that it goes beyond conventional technology. I bet this is the reason why Master Willix hovers around him so much. Anything that can interest the MTA is bound to be sensitive."

This remark actually strengthened the mystique of what Ves was capable of doing. Dragging in Master Willix and guessing that she endorsed it all was very useful in legitimizing his innovations!

"Then tell us what you can provide to us in a message that we can understand." Marshal Ariadne requested in a slightly impatient tone.

Ves waved his hand. He projected a rough diagram showing the hierarchy of the Larkinson Clan. It didn't go into details but it was enough to get his point across.

"Imagine that this is the Larkinson Clan. The names in the middle are all clansmen who have been with us for a long time. Those at the edge are not yet aligned with the mainstream of our clan. If nothing is done about them, they might drift apart or do something worse."

He waved his hand again, causing an animation to run that slowly brought the many names hovering around the edge to go closer to the center.

"One of the most important functions of my network is that it encourages closer alignment. While there are many details and nuances about this process, the short story is that it reduces differences over time. Not a lot, but enough to maintain harmony within our clan. This is actually why I like to call it a kinship network."

Kinship network was a new term that Ves had come up with after Calabast told him that he needed to label and differentiate his product.

It didn't matter before when Ves was the only one who really dealt with them, but now that he was selling it to others, he had to come up with a presentable name that did not reveal too much to others.

Ves briefly explained the other functions of the kinship network such as detecting malice from those attempting to join his clan, monitoring treacherous thoughts and so on. He did not dare to explain it all in too much detail so he mostly kept his explanations vague and short."

The two leaders still noticed a few important details, though.

"From my understanding of network systems, many of these functions can't be performed correctly unless there are people or intelligences in charge." Ariadne brought up. "Who or what controls your kinship networks?"

Ves smiled. "Ah, that is a rather important question. There is indeed an intelligence in place that sits at the center of our network. It is not me, nor a human or an AI for that matter. It is a special kind of existence that I have made for the purpose of uniting my clansmen and binding them together. Goldie, would you like to introduce yourself to our guests?"

Nyaaaaa.

Goldie materialized in front of Ves, catching Marshal Ariadne and Patriarch Reginald off-guard.

Compared to Blinky, Goldie's presence was a lot stronger. Not only that, her glow was very familiar to the guests as they had just felt it earlier from the Bright Warriors they walked past!

Several dots began to connect in the minds of the two leaders. They gazed at Goldie and instinctively knew that she was the heart of the Larkinson Clan!

Ves gently petted Goldie's head before scratching her chin. Though she overlooked over a hundred thousand Larkinsons, she did not show any strain of having to manage so many minds.

Nyaaa~

Goldie soon disappeared as Ves had already made his point without saying a lot.

It took some time before Patriarch Reginald asked a question.

"If we choose to acquire a kinship network from you, what kind of creature or intelligence will be in charge?"

"This is a very important and personal question for your clan." Ves carefully said. "I believe we should talk about this topic further in private. Suffice to say, I can customize one for you from scratch but I can also derive it out of an existing person or exobeast. Whatever you choose, the two most important criteria are that the nexus of your kinship network should be absolutely loyal and committed to your organization and that it represents the values and principles which you aspire to. This nexus can grow and change over time as your organizations develop further so you don't have to be afraid that it will fall out of alignment in the future."

In other words, kinship networks were alive.