The Mech Touch

Though Ves was not that happy about being able to spread his luminar crystal weapons outside of his clan, he at least understood why the MTA maintained this stance.

The galaxy was old and plenty of other powerful alien civilizations had risen up in the past. During the Age of Conquest, humanity had even beaten a bunch of them. One of the ways the human race managed to get ahead was by stealing alien technology and reverse-engineering the hell out of it. This was the fastest and most convenient way to narrow the technological gap between the races.

Yet just because others came up with better technology didn't mean that humanity should blindly adopt alien paradigms. The only tech that humans could truly rely on was tech that they fully mastered. As long as alien tech remained inscrutable, it was never safe to rely too much on it. Who knew if some alien empire was able to exploit humanity's blind reliance on alien devices one day.

The best way to prevent this situation from backfiring was to avoid the proliferation of alien technology from the start.

Many humans were already aware that humanity always discouraged the adoption of alien ideas, culture and other aspects. A lot of space in human society used to be occupied by many other alien civilizations, but the conquerors wiped out every trace of them in order to avoid any human developing any mistaken sympathy for their enemies.

This attitude also extended to the use of alien technology. From a certain perspective, Ves and the Larkinson Clan violated the prevailing consensus. Not only did they move out of lockstep with the rest of humanity, their growing reliance on luminar crystal technology also left them open to any future attacks that used their own luminar crystals as attack vectors!

Ves had to admit that the MTA was quite justified in restricting the spread of luminar crystal technology. Even though the weapons that he developed were unquestionably more powerful than their equivalents on the market, there was no denying that much of that power was based on alien internal circuitry patterns, whose principles and production methods were too obscure.

Thinking about the knowledge on luminar crystal technology that he had redeemed from the system, he understood a lot better why the MTA research teams approached the alien tech from a materials science perspective.

This was the MTA's best way to expand its understanding of luminar crystal technology through human paradigms.

Unlike Ves who simply wanted to equip his mechs with the strongest weapons regardless of how he achieved his objective, the MTA research teams were trying to advance human technology by using alien tech as a reference.

The MTA never intended to fully reconstruct luminar crystal technology. The MTA researchers instead aimed to develop 'human crystal technology' that humanity could fully comprehend and master!

Understanding this perspective was extremely important to Ves. The only way he could get ahead was by working within the framework of rules set by the MTA and the rest of human civilization.

Of course, if he saw an opportunity to cheat, he would definitely do so without hesitation!

Right now, Ves first had to solve a potentially serious problem. He could not properly explain how he managed to obtain knowledge that was clearly derived from classified research that Master Willix had definitely withheld from him. The current versions of the luminar crystal rifle made so much use of the MTA's research that there was no way that Ves could deny the connection.

If Ves claimed that he obtained the research from another source, then Master Willix would definitely follow up on that. She would not be satisfied until she knew who broke the rules of the MTA and supplied him with forbidden knowledge!

If he claimed that he came up with the formulas that resulted in stronger luminar crystals, then he would have to supply the full research logs and notes that proved he performed independent research. Of course, all of these logs and files didn't exist because Ves never performed this research in the first place!

In the end, Ves decided to lean on a familiar tactic.

He innocently shrugged. "Who do you think supplied me with the classified research documents? Not every mech designer agrees with humanity's strict approach towards alien technology."

Master Willix fell very quiet at this moment. A lot of wheels started to turn in her mind.

Ves inwardly grew nervous. He had just attempted a massive bluff. It was now up to his target to develop the right conclusions from his deliberate choice of words.

The MTA Master eventually frowned. "I understand. I was afraid of this. It is highly regrettable that Mr. S. has sided with the cosmopolitans. We live in a competitive galaxy rather than a cooperative galaxy. The cosmopolitan ideals are much more appropriate if the alien empires that once ruled the space around us were friendly and generous towards other races, but history has not played out in this fashion. It is far too late for mankind to change its stance and seek coexistence and unity with the alien civilizations that still remain. The feuds that we have started during the Age of Conquest will never end until only one civilization is left."

Ves tried very hard not to comment on what she was saying or show his ignorance. He never heard about these so-called cosmopolitans before. The fact that Master Willix apparently grouped Mr. S. in this category according to the clues she pieced together was a complete coincidence!

After Master Willix came up with a conclusion that made logical sense to her, her eyes turned sharp.

"Are you an adherent of the Cosmopolitan Movement, Mr. Larkinson?"

While Ves tried his best to defend himself, Gloriana had turned into a complete bystander. She merely stood and listened to them both without doing anything to help Ves out of his predicament.

To be fair, it wasn't as if she could save him anyway.

"Uhm, I'm here, right? I'm nowhere near any of the members of the Cosmopolitan Movement. I'm just a mech designer. All of these political and ideological struggles are way over my head."

"Yet you consciously put effort into developing luminar crystal technology in its original direction." She pointed out. "I also recall that you host a religious cult with cosmopolitan leanings. There is a reason why the Ylvainan Faith has failed to maintain their presence in their origin star sector."

The implications of those last words were quite terrifying. However, Ves had to take care of himself first.

"I didn't seek out the Ylvainans. They just fell in with me after going through some difficult ordeals. I needed all of the help I can get and I don't pay much attention to their kooky beliefs. I'm still a secularist. As for my focus on this particular tech, it is nothing more than an attempt to strengthen my clan given the resources that I have at my disposal. If you ask me, I would rather equip the Sentry Project with a first-class rifle, but that is not possible, so I can only choose the next-best option. I just need power. It doesn't matter to me if it comes in a human or alien package."

It seemed that he conveyed enough sincerity for Master Willix to lessen her suspicion.

"Hmmm. I see." She pursed her lips. "Your decision is not unwarranted. However, that does not mean I approve of your choice. Do you know why I am allowing you to keep your innovations?"

Ves thought about it for a moment. The answer was quite clear if he followed the thread of this conversation.

"You are hoping that I will be able to crack the secrets of luminar crystal technology in my own way. As long as I find a way to translate the alien technological paradigms in a form that is compatible with human technology, then my work will contribute to a human weapon system that we can fully harness!"

Master Willix finally smiled. "You understand your role. That is good. Never forget that mech designers only exist to add value to our society. We can overlook numerous smaller matters as long as you contribute to the advancement of humanity. Your success in developing this light beam attack method is of interest to us. We wish for you to continue to achieve results on this front."

"I'm not an energy weapon specialist, ma'am. I merely came up with my latest invention because I needed to pair the Sentry Project with a powerful weapon. The only reason why I was able to develop it in the first place was because I possess an advantage over your Association's research teams."

"And what is this advantage, exactly?" Willix raised her eyebrow.

"Eeehh, it's complicated. Let's discuss that later." Ves nervously replied.

In truth, he hadn't figured out how he should explain his own advancements in luminar crystal technology. He knew he had to come up with an answer quickly or else he would get in a lot of trouble!

"I do not see a reason for your clan to retain the usage of luminar crystal weapons and light beam weapons if you do not deliver any new advancements."

"I am not giving up on it, Ma'am! I am just warning you that my progress will probably not be quick. I'm trying to solve this problem by raising a mech designer who can specialize in this area, but it will take at least a decade before he is good enough to perform his own research."

Master Willix didn't seem to mind. "A decade is not a long time. We can wait that long, at least."

"Also, the expert mech design projects that I am working on right now won't be the last time I will make use of luminar crystal weapons. I will probably design plenty of ranged mechs after this, and most of them will be equipped with this weapon system. I will probably be able to make some gradual progress on this front."

Once Ves reassured Master Willix that he was not going to sit idle on this tech, she no longer threatened to take away his exemption.

Now came the hard part.

"I have waited long enough, Mr. Larkinson. It is time for you to provide me with an explanation on what you have discovered and how you are able to produce your useful light beam crystals."

"Uhmmm…"

Ves was stumped for a moment. The reason why he was able to make the latter was because of three essential elements.

First, he borrowed the power of the crystal cube.

Second, he borrowed the perspective of the Illustrious One.

Third, he leveraged his own spiritual capabilities.

None of the three were easily transferable to others. Ves did not want to lose the crystal cube. This was his overriding priority. He tried to come up with a solution that did not involve giving away this crucial asset.

He quickly developed an improvised plan and decided to execute it despite his misgivings.

"The key to developing stronger and more exotic luminar crystals is to make use of psionic power."

Master Willix became a lot more attentive all of a sudden.

"Explain."

Ves activated a projection that showed a typical luminar crystal. "The internal circuitry patterns that you see here are based around psionic power…"

The MTA already knew or suspected some of what he said, but he provided enough new insights that Master Willix genuinely became intrigued.

"Interesting. Then what method do you employ to develop these circuitry patterns and make a coherent product such as a light beam crystal?"

That.. was a lot more difficult for Ves to answer.

"I.. eh… borrow from unusual help."

"Will I be able to reproduce your method?"

"That… I'm not sure… it's rather complicated… you can probably make crystals that are close to mine in power, but without leveraging psionic power during the production process, it will come out weaker than it should. It's lacking a critical ingredient."

This was anything but sufficient to Master Willix. Ves had to think up a real solution quick or else he might have to say goodbye to all of those MTA merits!