The Mech Touch

The aquatic ecosystems of Makairo IV were almost just as diverse as the ones on the surface.

Different depths, temperatures, ocean currents, soil environments, tectonic activity and other variables generated a diverse amount of life that each evolved in many different ways.

Ves thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to get close to some of these aquatic exobeasts and examine the unique conditions they adapted to. Life always found a way and the endless variety of alien species throughout the cosmos showed that it was quite persistent and resilient.

Although the submersible vessel was not exceptionally fast or possessed a huge range, the aquatic territories close to Rozentan still offered plenty of attractive sites.

They first visited a diverse and colorful coral region that was not too far away from the island settlement.

Many different submersible vessels had already arrived at the sites to allow the groups of tourists to observe the alien corals and aquatic creatures that were trying to make a living in this underwater jungle.

"Wow! So ugly!"

Aurelia had never seen anything like it before and delighted in all of the new and exotic sights. Her eyes remained wide as she looked at the amplified views that highlighted the different interactions between the native creatures.

Due to convergent evolution, most fish on the planet vaguely resembled the ones from Old Earth, but the different chemicals and other environmental circumstances still produced noticeable differences.

The fish were considerably larger on average, with many of them growing as big as horses if not more.

The creepy and disgusting-looking invertebrates looked less familiar to humans. There were no ordinary crabs, shrimps or clams in sight.

Instead, there was a host of other weird-looking aquatic exobeasts. They ranged from mollusks that extended a thousand tentacles from their shell to a school of fish that protected itself by generating a cloud of toxins that did not disperse due to the presence of a weak electromagnetic field.

It was incredibly interesting to see how so many alien species evolved in so many interesting and unique ways in order to carve out a living in their habitats.

"Are you enjoying yourself so far?" Ves asked his wife as she kept staring out at the different creatures living in this coral environment.

"The sea creatures are indeed interesting, but I haven't been able to grasp any of the inspiration that you've talked about."

"We have only started our vacation, honey. Don't be in such a hurry and expect to get struck by an epiphany right away. You need to get into tune with the foreign environment and continue to absorb new and unfamiliar experiences."

"I will try to do so, but I'm not too impressed at the moment."

Though Gloriana was still looking for inspiration, Ves and Aurelia had no trouble enjoying the sights.

Ves was sensitive towards all forms of life so he experienced biodiversity on a completely different level. His other senses could detect life all around him, but especially captured the rich and intertwined relationships that kept the alien coral region alive and stable.

Aurelia had inherited a part of her father's affinity towards life, so she was also capable of seeing beneath the surface of all of the pretty and not-so-pretty aquatic life.

As a father, Ves took his doll-like daughter in her arms and explained his thoughts on what they were able to observe.

"Can we go out and touch the pretty fish?"

"No, baby. That is too dangerous. Humans like us aren't meant to swim in these waters. There is bad stuff in this alien ocean that will poison your body and make you feel really painful."

"Pretty fish! Can I take them home, papa?"

"Sure, but let's wait until you have grown a little older. We can build a big aquarium back at home so you can look and take care of your own collection of fish. It will be fun!"

The Larkinsons did not stay at this coral region too long. After sailing over a few of the richest and most biodiverse areas, the submersible and its escort moved away and dove towards the deeper regions of the alien ocean.

Half a day went by as the submersible visited other interesting underwater regions.

They dropped by a fissure that was covered with active vents that constantly spewed hot gasses. They existed so long that entire aquatic animal kingdoms had evolved around them to take advantage of the energy and substances that were constantly being dumped into the environment.

"These sea creatures are so different from anything else we've seen so far." Gloriana observed. "I might not be an exobiologist, but I can see that these species can only exist in this resource-rich environment. Those hydrothermal vents won't last forever. Sooner or later, they will stop supplying the ecosystem with heat and nutrients. What will happen to the sea creatures if that happens?"

Ves shrugged. "They go extinct. There are little other prospects for these species to survive in a post-vent environment seeing as they evolved to such an extent that their survival ability in other environments have atrophied. It is quite ironic as these fish, worms and other weird creatures have adapted extremely well to the energy-rich environment to the point where they managed to crowd out weaker species that were much more frugal with regards to taking advantage of the current conditions."

"So the strongest species in a specific environment always die first if the ecology has changed, is that it?" Gloriana questioned.

"Yup. The biggest winners of an era always seem to collapse first because of their overspecialization. It's actually the weaker exobeasts that were forced to adapt to more diverse and difficult environments that eventually survive these sorts of calamities. They are no strangers to hardship as competition from the more dominant species has left them unable to live comfortable lives."

Both mech designers fell silent for a time. They both recognized that this phenomena could be applied to more than the sea creatures of Makairo IV.

"Do you think that mechs are much like the aquatic wildlife here?" Gloriana asked as she waved her hand at the surrounding sea area. "After the end of the Age of Conquest, humanity has entered a period where the Big Two forcefully took away everyone's warships and weapons of mass destruction. Mechs were able to rise up in the void that emerged. To me, these mechs are just like the sea creatures before us. They have both emerged due to special circumstances. Both are prone to getting extinct once the environments they have adapted to have changed."

Ves slowly nodded. "This is not an unfair comparison. However, I still believe that life can be surprisingly resilient. The Age of Mechs may have created an artificial environment that allowed mechs to flourish, but this is also a critical incubation period that allows mech designers like you and I to develop and improve the tech that forms the basis of our work. As long as we work hard enough and increase the power and versatility of mechs, I believe that they can still justify their existence even after warships have made a comeback."

"I've heard rumors that the current status quo might not last much longer."

"I've heard those rumors as well, Gloriana. I don't know how accurate they are. I can't see the MTA ever agreeing to such a change though the CFA might think differently about this matter. What I do know is that if this change comes to pass, it won't necessarily be the most dominant mech models that will survive the transition, but the ones that are versatile and have already shown they can still serve their purpose in other areas."

"Like the law enforcement mech you have been working on. That is a product that no warship can replace."

Ves smiled and nodded. "That's a good example. There are also industrial mechs and landbound mechs that can still perform many useful functions even if warships reign in space again."

"Do you think that spaceborn combat mechs will go extinct as a result?"

"That's a big and open question. No one can say with certainty what will happen. It really depends on how extensively the Big Two are willing to relax the rules. If they only take baby steps and won't allow private parties to field warships bigger than a destroyer, then there should still be room for combat mechs in space. They will have to get accustomed to fighting at longer distances, I think. It will be too difficult for melee mechs to remain relevant as most of them will just get shredded on approach."

Gloriana frowned. "The C-Man will be a melee mech. An expert melee mech, but one that is still hampered by its inability to retaliate at range. Do you think such a mech can remain useful as well?"

"High-ranking mechs are special existences." Ves told her. "While you are right to feel concerned about ordinary melee mechs, I think that expert pilots such as Venerable Dise and Venerable Vincent will be fine. Their machines are fast and resilient enough to resist massed firepower while they get close due to the powerful properties of their resonance shields. Once they reach their targets, they are absolutely capable of carving warships apart as these big and lumbering vessels cannot bring their most powerful weapons to bear anymore."

He was right to an extent. While larger and more powerful warships probably possessed enough offensive firepower to overwhelm resonance shields by relying on brute force, the smaller ones would find it much more difficult to achieve this outcome.

For a moment, Gloriana let her thoughts wander. Could she take something from this discussion and apply it to her C-Man Project?

As a pure expert brawler mech, the C-Man was a creation that quintessentially fit with the Age of Mechs.

She explicitly designed it for the purpose of achieving absolute superiority in high-level expert mech duels.

While she was confident that her work would be able to put up a good fight against opposing expert mechs, what of the other enemies that they might encounter in the future?

There were terrible alien beasts and unfathomably powerful alien warships lurking in the deeper and less explored regions of the Red Ocean.

How could the C-Man put up a fight and remain relevant when it was out of its element?

Gloriana belatedly discovered that her expert mech design might not have developed in the right direction.

It was just like the alien species that had grown around the hydrothermal vents. The C-Man was strong against a single specific opponent but could easily be abused as soon as it confronted other kinds of powerful enemies!

"How would you make a smart metal mech more useful in a battle against an alien warfleet?"

Ves shrugged again. "I don't know. Our clan doesn't have much experience with that. Our only experience with fighting against genuine alien warships was when we attacked the pakklaton refugee fleet. However, that doesn't really count because the vessels were all suffering from voribug infestations. I don't know if we can even survive a confrontation against a proper alien warfleet. The major races of the Red Ocean are all strong and are capable of unleashing devastating firepower. A mech must either be extremely fast or extremely sturdy in order to be of use. Do you think your C-Man fares well in either of these areas?"

"I… think so." Gloriana reluctantly replied. "We plan to pair the C-Man with a combat drive, so it can traverse larger distances at superluminal speeds. This is an excellent way for the expert mech to approach a dangerous enemy. The C-Man can also endure a lot of firepower by energizing its TESMAS. As long as its surface is receiving full power, the expert mech can survive nearly anything an enemy fleet can dish out, at least for a time."

"Both of the functions you've mentioned are extremely expensive. What you have described is an unsustainable way to make a mech relevant in a time where warships have made a comeback. I think you should find a different angle to focus on. There ought to be a way to make the C-Man useful against alien opponents."

Gloriana still felt lost.