The Mech Touch

　　While it may not be justifiable for them to spend 4000 MTA credits to commission a designer baby, scrounging up a more modest sum like 1000 MTA credits was a lot more doable.

　　While Ketis promised to come up with the financing, the married pair also had to make a few important decisions.

　　"Girl or boy?"

　　"Boy." Ketis said.

　　"Girl." Joshua said.

　　Ranya crossed her arms. "You didn't talk about this before you arrived here? You can take your time to decide, but it's best to notify us as soon as possible. The preparation to develop a new designer baby will go a lot smoother if we know which one you desire."

　　The swordmaster furrowed her brows. "Why do you want a girl, Joshua?"

　　"I'm an only child. I never grew up with a sister, so I think it would be nice to raise a girl first. What about you, Ketis?"

　　"A boy would be a pleasant change for me." She answered. "I don't have anything against women, but I grew up in a woman's world among the Swordmaidens. I don't want to get too close to the Hexers so I think it would be great to focus on boys for a change. Besides, there's another good reason to aim for a boy this time."

　　"And what is that?"

　　Ketis turned to Ranya. "Ves and Gloriana are planning to conceive a girl for their second child, right?"

　　"That's private information."

　　"Heh, it's not much of a secret considering how much Gloriana brags about her present and future children. I think there's a lot of promise if we manage to raise a boy around the same time. If our two kids get along…"

　　The implications were obvious. They were also disturbing to Joshua.

　　"That sounds way too meddlesome, dear." Joshua replied. "If we raise a boy, I don't want his life to revolve around becoming the consort of one of the patriarch's children. Besides, the age differences do not matter as much. With how long all of our children get to live, it doesn't matter if one half of a pair is ten or even twenty years younger. Why must we insist on going through with this arranged marriage stuff? We don't live in a royal palace."

　　"The opportunity is there, Joshua. Why not take it? I will admit that it isn't likely that our two kids will get together, but it will be nice if it happens."

　　They both decided to get a boy at first. Ketis deeply wanted one and Joshua didn't have much of an objection to the choice. He could just wait a few years before he could spoil a baby daughter.

　　"Very well, then. A boy it is." Director Ranya confirmed as she made an internal note. "Do you have a plan for his future? As I've mentioned earlier, genetics do not determine everything, but they can provide extremely helpful boosts when they compliment whatever your child wants to do when he matures. It can mean the difference between becoming an average professional and becoming a leading figure. Just look at how Gloriana turned out. My former dynasty poured a lot of money into her development and the results have already exceeded expectations."

　　"I wouldn't call Gloriana a smashing success considering how much of it was only possible through the man she managed to capture…" Ketis said.

　　"You get the point. You may think of her what you will, but you should realize that out of every Gloriana, there are tens of thousands more female mech designers who have failed to advance to Journeymen. Her augmentations played a large role in that, though her strict upbringing also had a lot to do with it. There are many people who possess a lot of augmentations but have never accomplished anything in their lives. Child rearing is a comprehensive system that encompasses a lot of factors. Designer babies of different tiers need to be raised according to different strategies in order to achieve the best results."

　　All of this sounded like a maze to Venerable Joshua. He never thought that an ordinary process such as raising children could be so deliberate and complicated. He grew up in vastly simpler circumstances so he didn't have a good impression of what it would be like to raise his son in this fashion.

　　Ketis was able to understand Ranya a bit better. As a mech designer, she worked with complicated, interconnected systems every day.

　　"I think it would be best if our son can become a mech pilot or a swordmaster." Ketis said. "I don't mind it if he wants to become a mech designer either. It would be ideal if he chooses a profession in which we can train him and advise him on. What do you think, Joshua?"

　　Joshua looked more doubtful. "I haven't thought that far. Isn't there a more general enhancement package that doesn't push our child too closely into becoming a warrior or something?"

　　"There are certainly options, but they are always less efficient and effective than a more specialized approach." Director Ranya smoothly answered. "It's the same way with your mechs. Those machines that try to do everything are relatively mediocre at those jobs while a more specialized mech can perform a lot better when it does the job it is supposed to do. While one approach is not necessarily better than the other, I can tell you that parents that have chosen the general package usually regret it later on. If they were more decisive, they could have given their children a greater boost."

　　This was a difficult matter to decide. Joshua was much more reluctant to budge from his stance, but his wife made a persuasive case.

　　"Think of who we are." She told him. "We are not average people anymore. Your humble, down-to-earth impression is cute and all, but let's face it. With our status, capabilities and contributions, we are the new aristocrats of the Larkinson Clan. There is no reason why we should raise our children as if we are part of the rank-and-file. It's extremely likely that our son will follow after us, and since we are both warriors in a sense, we should go for a genetic package that is geared for combat."

　　Joshua sighed. "Fine. Let's do it your way then. To be honest, I hope our son will become a mech pilot. I can personally tutor him on piloting mechs."

　　"And I can teach him how to wield a sword as well." Ketis grinned in an anticipatory manner. "No matter what, our proud boy should be able to handle himself in a fight."

　　Neither parents recoiled at the thought of allowing their child to fight on the battlefield. Warfare was an intrinsic part of humanity and its culture as a whole revered the warriors who fought on behalf of others.

　　The Larkinson Clan also developed a warrior culture where its defenders, who played important roles, were always revered. Fighting for the clan was both an expectation and a duty.

　　Now that the couple decided to clear the way for their first child to become a warrior, Ranya accessed a database and picked out suitable choices.

　　"The most premier package that you can buy at roughly 4000 MTA credits is Witshaw & Yeneca's new Formula K-220505-TIL." She informed the couple. "There are many variations and other related formulas that slightly emphasize certain strengths over others, but this one fits the situation extremely well as long as you can afford the service."

　　"What makes this formula better than the other ones?" Joshua asked.

　　"In short, it is a comprehensive designer baby plan that seeks to raise powerful melee mech pilots. Whether they can become an expert pilot or not, any baby grown according to this formula will enjoy significant advantages of those of modest birth like yourself, Venerable Joshua."

　　The man in question did not think much of it. "We all become more than human once we advance to expert pilot. The differences between augmentations become a lot less important by then. Besides, we can always catch up on the implants and gene treatments that we previously lacked."

　　"That's true, but the cost and effectiveness of those later augmentations are severely reduced compared to when you can get them at birth or as part of a predetermined plan." Ranya replied. "If you want your son to become an expert pilot one day, then you should embrace this formula. Not only will it make him better in the period before he becomes a demigod, but he will gain numerous small but helpful advantages over other expert pilot once he has reached this level."

　　"What advantages can we expect?"

　　"Think of heightened reaction times, reinforced body structure, accelerated recovery, high metabolism, highly-reinforced brain and nerves, slightly higher chance of obtaining the right genetic aptitude, faster thinking speed and reaction speed, heightened concentration and improved memory."

　　Both Joshua and Ketis looked impressed! As soldiers and warriors themselves, they could envision a lot of advantages for their son if he chose to follow in their footsteps.

　　"You've mentioned both body and mind-related improvements. Will our child be strong in both aspects?"

　　"That's not possible unless your budget is a lot higher." Director Ranya shook her head. "You should take into account that Formula K-220505-TIL mostly emphasizes physical improvements over cognitive improvements. The only reason to make the mech pilot smarter is to help him learn all of the theoretical knowledge required to pilot first-class mechs. What truly matters is that the body is capable of keeping up with the speed and stresses of battle."

　　Ketis placed her hand on Joshua's arm. "I think this is a good package. It sounds helpful even if our son doesn't end up having the right aptitude. I can still do my best to train him into a swordmaster."

　　"I'm curious about the other variants. What other options do we have, director?"

　　Ranya Wodin briefly outlined the other formulas.

　　There were ones that sought to boost the sociability and the intellect of the mech pilot so that the designer baby could become a highly capable mech officer one day.

　　There were also ones that sought to pave the way to excel in different specializations.

　　For example, an augmentation package that was geared towards raising rifleman mech pilots would boost attributes related to precision, visual analysis, pattern recognition and consistency.

　　The formula that Ranya had selected was already oriented towards melee specializations. In these situations, the non-physical improvements were more aggressive in nature.

　　After considering the alternatives, the prospective parents settled on Formula K-220505-TIL as their goal. It was truly a good enhancement package and aligns best with their own wishes.

　　As Ranya posed other questions to the pair, their exploratory session suddenly paused when the Dragon's Den sounded an alarm.

　　Joshua quickly sprung up to his feet. "We've moved up to orange alert!"

　　Orange alert sat between yellow alert and red alert. It essentially signaled to the Larkinsons that while their fleet wasn't under attack, there were enough indications that battle may be imminent.

　　It was always better to be safe than sorry in these circumstances!

　　His wife also developed a sharper demeanor as she acknowledged the danger that they might be in. "Let's continue this discussion later, Ranya. We may have a battle to fight."

　　"Yes. Of course." The biotech expert and leader nodded. "I should go as well. My researchers will worry themselves to death if someone doesn't hold their hands at this time."

　　A thousand additional mechs had already deployed by the time that Joshua and Ketis boarded a shuttle back to the Spirit of Bentheim. More were clearly on the way as the Larkinson Clan did not want to get caught with its pants down!