The Mech Touch

Though Shederin did not look pleased that Ves insisted on maintaining a more direct hold over the military wing of the Larkinson Clan, he did not speak out too much.

"While not ideal, the Larkinson Army will probably remain under control as long as you exercise enough diligence. I suggest that you still rely on the Ministry of Defense to assist you in that. The defense minister does not have to hold much authority over the military, but he or she should at least be able to perform inspections and act as a liaison between the soldiers and the civilian population."

Ves waved his hand. "That's okay. I don't want whoever gets to become the defense minister to arbitrarily fire my favorite generals and legion commanders or impose radical changes to our mech doctrines. My relationship with the military is very good given that I'm the principal source of all of their wonderful mechs."

Retaining direct control over the military was also a guarantee for him to remain in power. If the civilians ever got uppity, then the soldiers would likely back him up and serve as his main support group.

He realized that this might be key to remaining in power over the long-term. He had to retain the support of enough stakeholders in order to enjoy enough support.

What Purnesse was warning him about was that different parts of the Larkinson Clan might no longer support him as much as now. In order to account for this, Ves had to pay more attention to this and secure at least a minimum number of supporters to keep his position stable.

If one group of stakeholders no longer backed him up, he could just rely on another backer.

Though it sounded far too political for his liking, he had no choice but to 'play the game' as Shederin Purnesse mentioned from the beginning. Every large organization necessitated a balance of interests in order to stay stable. Ves was not arrogant to believe he would remain universally loved and respected forever.

"I've noticed that you outlined three different pillars." He remarked.

"Correct." Shederin Purnesse acknowledged. "One represents the civilian administration. Another represents the Larkinson Army. The last pillar stands for the Living Mech Corporation. As a clan dominated by your mech design activities, the LMC plays an indispensable role in financing the clan, thereby directly keeping it alive and well."

Ves ruefully smiled. "This might not be the case anymore as time goes on. Our clan is already hard at work trying to diversify its industries. It is not healthy for our growing clan to depend solely on selling mechs to earn its keep. The Larkinson Biotech Institute is already making strides towards adding a second income stream to our clan and I'm sure that we will host more companies in the future."

"That is very much possible, but for the time being, the Living Mech Corporation will continue to play an essential and outsized role to the Larkinsons for a long time to come. While it is still strictly a company that should solely be concerned about providing value to its shareholders, which in this case is essentially you, it is in itself a formidable institution in itself."

There were two vital aspects to the LMC. First was its ability to produce and sell a lot of mechs. The second was the ability to come up with new and innovative mech designs that served both the market and the Larkinson Army directly.

Ves had a guess where Shederin was taking this discussion. "You're referring to the Design Department."

"Of all of the people in our clan, no one possesses as much influence and power as you." The diplomat nodded. "In the greater scheme of things, your enduring prominence has also amplified the role and importance of the entire profession of mech designers in the clan. Unlike the Cross Clan where Patriarch Reginald Cross is able to suppress a Senior Mech Designer, such a notion would be unheard of in our clan. Even if one of our expert pilots breaks through to ace pilot one day, it is highly unlikely that this individual would be able to become the next patriarch."

Ves could read the implications of this statement. "The situation will become different if an expert designer gains prominence…"

He nodded. "Even if a talented mech designer such as Gloriana Wodin or Ketis Larkinson advanced to Master ahead of you, your position as patriarch won't necessarily be lost. However, it is undeniable that such a great mech designer will have an outsized influence over the rest of the clan. Their ability to design powerful mechs for the Larkinson Army, their immense earning potential and the ease in which they can earn MTA merits all means that they are qualified to set up their own organizations. In fact, it is traditional for Masters to do just that."

What Shederin alluded to was a potential future in which the Design Department might split up. This did not sound ideal to Ves, but once any mech designer advanced to Master, it would be very hard for Ves to keep them under control even if he was a Master himself.

The only reason why this hadn't happened yet at the Journeyman stage was because everyone needed each other to progress their design philosophies. There was a much greater incentive for collaboration than trying to go alone, but a day might come where the mech designers gained so much clout that they developed their own power bases.

However, now that Shederin pointed this out to Ves, he was no longer ignorant of what might happen and how he should address this issue.

"It's fine if our mech designers want to become more assertive." He said. "As a mech designer myself, I understand the need to develop a network of helpers and supporters. It is very difficult to advance a design philosophy when it has reached the Senior-level."

"This could easily grow into something more if you are not careful. Perhaps individuals such as your wife or your student will seek to gain more control over the clan itself. Just like you, they can gain the support of a portion of the stakeholders that we have already discussed in order to have their way."

This was already the case, in a sense. Juliet Stameros stood for the Penitent Sisters, but at the same time enjoyed their support as well. The relationship between Ketis and the Swordmaidens along with the large group of newly-joined Heavensworders was so tight that they could be considered a single entity in some cases!

"How would you deal with this issue?" Ves asked, as he had little idea himself beyond using his personal power to keep the others in check.

"Well, we do not have to do much. You have already given your fellow mech designers enough opportunities by implementing your so-called Exemplar Plan. By giving your most prominent mech designers a share of the profits earned by the LMC, they have a strong incentive to remain within the current system. This is especially the case if most of the profits are generated by you instead of anyone else."

Out of all of the mech designers, Ves was by far the greatest earner of the LMC. Most if not all of its customers bought its mechs because of their glows or living aspects. Gloriana's design philosophy wasn't nearly as prominent in mass market mechs as custom mechs and Juliet's own specialization was not exciting enough to stand out in the market.

In fact, the only other mech designer who could rival Ves in sales was his own student Ketis. The Swordmaster had gained so many new capabilities due to her double breakthrough that she was able to design very potent sword-wielding mechs that practically rivaled his own products in value!

If she succeeded in realizing her crazy notion of allowing mech pilots to channel the empowered sword styles that she had instilled into her mech design, then she might very well be able to sell millions of mechs just like Ves!

While Ves was happy that his student was doing so well because of the assistance he provided to her in the past, there was no doubt that her standing within the clan would rise meteorically!

Though Ketis never thought about usurping Ves, that did not mean that he should remain complacent.

"I don't think your plan is as simple as that." Ves told Shederin. "The Exemplar Plan is enough to keep contributors happy, but if someone emerges who can equal or surpass me, I'm afraid how that will influence our clan."

Neither Shederin nor Novilon had an easy solution in mind. This was perhaps the thorniest problem they all faced.

"This is the consequence of imparting a culture that reveres mech designers above anyone else." Shederin noted. "The Larkinson Clan mirrors the Life Research Association to a disturbing degree. The only differences are that the latter enjoys a head start and admires biotech researchers instead of mech designers."

What the former ambassador was basically implying was that the entire premise of putting a specific profession or class of people on top of everyone else was a bad idea.

No matter if the ruling class consisted of self-righteous nobles, obsessive biotech researchers or greedy mech designers, none of them had the best interests of their constituents in mind.

Instead, they primarily pursued their own selfish interests. The fact that other people benefited from their rule was incidental rather than a primary goal.

"You must have something, right?" Ves didn't give up.

If Shederin had no solution at all, he wouldn't have included a third pillar in his expansive proposal.

The old man smiled. "Well, if you don't mind, I can give you a speculative plan that I am not entirely certain about."

He manipulated the projection to put focus on the Design Department, or more specifically its lead designers.

What Shederin Purnesse proceeded to do next caused Ves to feel a bit alarmed.

The old man directly flicked the names of the Journeyman out of the LMC and created new companies that cooperated with but also competed against the original mech company!

"Hey, what the hell is this?!"

"This is a long-term development, not a short-term one." Shederin tried to reassure Ves. "You can rest assured that the LMC will likely remain the only dominant mech company of the Larkinson Clan, but as time goes by, I believe your fellow lead designers will no longer remain content in following your instructions and designing the mechs you prioritize. They will want to pursue their own projects as well, as that is an essential part of their development."

"So we should just allow them to go and start their own companies?"

"Why not, sir? Before you become more distressed, think about when this will happen. I believe each of you will have already become Seniors or Masters at that time. Will you really be unable to manage on your own once you reach those ranks? From my understanding of your profession, you don't have to depend so much on the help of others to design a strong and successful mech. It helps if you collaborate with equally-strong partners, but this is not an essential criteria to design a good mech."

Ves backed down a bit. Shederin made a good point. Even now, Ves was confident he could deliver strong mech designs as always. He was just accustomed to delivering better products because of all of his collaborations. The Dark Zephyr wouldn't have nearly been as strong if Gloriana and so on weren't involved!

"So in this theoretical future, every highly-successful mech designer will split off and form their own commercial influence in the clan?"

"Yes. I don't believe this will affect the LMC in an overly negative fashion. Just because your colleagues wish to preside over their own companies doesn't stop you from continuing to collaborate with them. Also, it is much healthier for the Larkinson Army in the long-term if you and the LMC are no longer the source of all of its mechs. Not only will numerous mech companies be able to service specific groups better or fulfill needs that the LMC has always neglected, the increased diversity will prompt a greater competitive drive in each of you. Think about where the clan will stand in a century. If it has grown to encompass 100 million clansmen or even 100 billion clansmen, do you really think that just one mech company is enough to supply them all with mechs?"

Ves shook his head. "No."

"Then you should be prepared for this possible future. Don't suppress the emergence of competitors. Welcome them instead. We will all benefit if the LMC is no longer the sole source of external revenue for the clan. While your importance will diminish slightly, your design philosophy is still dominant enough to remain secure in your position. The main difference is that you can start to share your burdens and responsibilities to others."

A single mech designer could never provide all of the mechs for the Larkinson Clan in the future. In fact, this problem was already evident today. There were only so many mech design projects he could engage in at the same time, and that would never fulfill the needs of his increasingly diverse clan.