The Mech Touch

Ves felt more and more at ease as Master Termaneo Dervidian continued to show him around.

The Master did not hide his appreciation for Ves nor show too much arrogance or condescension.

This should not be a surprise to Ves. He had long exceeded the scope of a regular Journeyman. The capabilities he had shown along with the innovations he made already marked him out as a successful and productive inventor.

The MTA loved inventors!

Although there were a huge number of mech designers in the mech industry, only a miniscule proportion of them succeeded in making breakthroughs that could even arouse the interest of the upper echelon of the Mech Trade Association.

How could the mechers possibly present a dismissive or even insulting attitude towards these gems?

Indigenous or not, Ves had already gained the qualifications to be treated in a more serious and thoughtful manner by the MTA!

Perhaps the CFA might still treat Ves as if he was an odious fly buzzing around a pile of crap, but that was because the fleeters did not think highly of mechs in the first place.

The MTA was different! Mechs and mech pilots served as the core of its foundation, so any exceptional people that were able to make them stronger in any way needed to be won over even if it came at a considerable cost!

If Master Dervidian somehow left a bad impression and caused Ves to become more repulsed towards the MTA or a specific faction of it, then he would certainly receive a punishment for his mistakes.

Minister Shederin had already told Ves that the mechers might approach him with this attitude in mind, but Ves still found it surreal for him to receive such open appreciation from a high-ranking Master.

Although Ves was not a mech insider who possessed a clear understanding of the MTA's hierarchy, Jovy's vague explanation gave him the sense that Master Dervidian's status within the organization exceeded that of Master Willix.

It was not that hard to figure out why. Master Dervidian's work on minidrives had already achieved concrete results. With warp-based combat drives and FTL-based cruise drives already being put into operation in more and more places, the man already deserved great credit!

As for Master Willix, she was still in the process of chasing after her own big breakthrough in the remote Komodo Star Sector. What little she shared about her work to Ves made it sound as if she was willing to gamble an entire century of her life in order to complete a groundbreaking research project!

If she succeeded, she would be able to make a contribution that most likely equaled that of Master Dervidian!

If she failed, then she would essentially waste much of the years she spent on chasing after her illusive dream!

Even if she came away from all of this hard work and effort with a much greater understanding of several useful phenomena, the opportunity cost she incurred by forgoing many other opportunities to advance her career would undoubtedly be massive!

Perhaps this could mean the difference between advancing to Star Designer or remaining stuck as a Master Mech Designer for the rest of her extended lifespan.

Master Willix's situation proved to Ves that mech designers at this height were hardly done with making greater accomplishments. Realizing a design philosophy was no reason for Masters to become content and live out the rest of their lives in luxury.

There was a greater horizon up ahead and not even Masters working for the most powerful mech organization of human civilization dared to slack off in the slightest!

All of the clues that Ves had managed to gather up to this point prompted him to make a bold conclusion.

Master Dervidian… might be a Star Designer seed.

Although he was still relatively young as far as multi-century Masters were concerned, the man's accomplishments along with his great authority within the Association showed that he most likely entered its true core!

However, Master Dervidian did not show any of this to Ves. He presented himself in a more amiable and approachable fashion that was full of goodwill towards his guest.

This not only showed the MTA's great attention and appreciation towards a mech designer who was still an outsider all considered, but also emphasized the accomplished Master's personal interest in building up a relationship.

"It is a great shame that the Survivalists got to you first." Master Dervidian lamented for a moment as they neared the end of this brief but highly illuminating tour through the mech hangar. "You have seen the mechs here. We are proud of their performance and they are among the best standard mechs we can deploy against the phase whale race. However, when it comes to assisting the cultivation of their mech pilots, I am afraid these machines are significantly inferior compared to your clan's increasingly more developed second-class mechs."

Ves blinked. This was extremely high praise, especially coming from an MTA Master with a status as high as that of Dervidian!

He did not dare to let all of this praise and attention get over his head. No matter what, he was still an indigenous second-class Journeyman Mech Designer!

"I do not dare to claim that my mechs are the best in any area." Ves modestly replied. "I am still far away from realizing my design philosophy. I am still in the early stages of my design career. I still have to design a lot of mechs and refine my design solutions further before I feel I deserve any praise."

Dervidian shook his head. "You do not need to show any false modesty towards the MTA. We are all knowledgeable about mechs. What you have managed to create in a few years surpasses the lifetime works of many of my peers. Despite your low origins, your firm decision to pursue an unorthodox design philosophy has opened up a drastically different design field that has already delivered unique dividends."

"I took a lot of risks that happened to pay off. I also do not deserve all of the credit. I have merely added a little progress to what the mech industry has already achieved." Ves smiled as he continued to downplay his accomplishments.

No matter what, he did not want to reveal any hint that he had managed to make so much progress with the help of an assisting tool as miraculous as the Mech Designer System!

He had no illusions about what would happen if Master Dervidian discovered that his guest came in touch with the Metal Scroll.

Ves would instantly turn from an honored talent that needed to be won over to a prisoner whose secrets needed to be pried away!

This latent threat was enough to keep him sober and prevent his head from growing too big from Master Dervidian's constant appreciation.

The older man let out another sigh as he gazed down at Ves.

"With how much your work pays attention to the mech pilot side of the equation, you truly would have been a great fit for our Transhumanist Faction. It is regrettable that we normally do not pay much attention to the periphery of human space. Too many of us believe that we can only advance our cause by focusing on the most prosperous and developed regions of human space."

"I don't blame them." Ves replied. "The level of development in the galactic rim is really poor. Now that I have entered the Red Ocean, I finally learned what I have been missing out upon. There are so many more possibilities in regions that have access to much more funding, resources and better researchers."

"If all of those factors are the sole determinants of success, then our Mech Trade Association would have long allowed our mechs to surpass warships." Master Dervidian shook his head another time. "We pour an unimaginable sum of money, resources and manpower in research fields that have already been pushed to their extremes. We frequently ignore diminishing returns in the hopes that beating a dead horse a hundred times will yield a different result than the previous ninety-nine times. Cases like yours make me believe that we are not allocating our resources wisely enough. In my opinion, we continue to throw good money after bad. We should be much more open-minded towards investing in research that aims to open up new and different avenues of human evolution."

This conversation was starting to get political, and that made Ves nervous. He did not want to commit to any side and make needless enemies with those who held the opposite opinion.

"Not every ambitious research project is able to succeed." Ves answered in a clear-minded tone. "Even if they do, the gains rarely justify the time and resources put into them. I know that I have met my fair share of skeptics that do not understand my work at all or think that my assumptions are so crazy that they are never able to believe that I can deliver on my promises. I don't mind this response. Our mech industry has always been about proving our worth through our work. It is only up until now that I have managed to present a few design solutions that are able to catch the attention of your Association."

The Master threw Ves a look that indicated that Dervidian greatly valued those 'design solutions'.

"That is true, but our Association is not monolithic. In the end, it is the Survivalists who managed to recognize your work first. This is not a surprise as the Survivalists are always paying attention to humanity's external threats. I can say that you are in good company. Although they have a reputation for scaremongering, their intentions are noble and they are always earnest in their dealings. People who are convinced that the human race is only one calamity away from extinction have no time for scheming."

Ves nodded in agreement. That was also one of the reasons why he felt at ease with his continued association with the Survivalist Faction.

People like Jovy Armalon, Master Moira Willix and the Polymath were all fairly predictable and easy to figure out. Their mission was clear and they all dedicated themselves towards the same cause.

As long as Ves placed himself in a position where he advanced their interests, he would never have to worry about getting discarded or betrayed.

Despite Master Dervidian's claims that the Transhumanist Faction was a much more fitting home for Ves, its internal situation was probably a lot more complicated.

Unlike the Survivalists who only cared about the continuation of their race, the Transhumanists probably pursued countless different ideas on how to advance human evolution!

There was no single method to make humans better. From education to different forms of augmentation, there were many proven and unproven ways to make people stronger and more capable than others.

With so much variety, cliques would inevitably form within the Transhumanist Faction. Perhaps Master Dervidian represented his own subfaction as his notions about advancing human evolution by enabling people to perform superluminal travel with their naked bodies was an extreme idea!

Ves turned towards his guide. "Master, can you give me a more thorough explanation of what you Transhumanists do and how you fit within the MTA? On the surface, it isn't entirely clear why you are part of an organization that centers around mechs. I would imagine it would make much more sense if you form your own group that solely dedicates itself towards your mission. Doesn't that make more sense?"

The Master did not exhibit any unusual reactions, but his momentary silence was telling.

In truth, an organization that was dedicated towards the ascension of humanity already existed. Its origins far preceded that of the Mech Trade Association and it also happened to have made a lot more accomplishments throughout its long but hidden history!

That organization happened to be called the Five Scrolls Compact!

Although Ves understood it was risky to step on this landmine, he deliberately did so because of a good reason.

He wanted to test Master Dervidian's response and get a better idea of how the Transhumanists were related to this infamous cult!