The Mech Touch

"No. Absolutely not. This is out of the question, Anton."

"Why not, Master Rexen?!" Professor Anton became more agitated as his immediate supervisor shot down his experimental proposal. "I know it sounds risky, but we don't have to apply the results of my experiment to the expert mech if they fail to meet our demands. What is the harm in trying this out? I won't delay the progress of the design project at all. I will conduct all of the work and experimentation in my free time in any lab or facility that is available. Please grant me the opportunity to explore this idea. The performance boost that I can provide to expert mechs might reach as much as 5 to 10 percent if I succeed! Think about it. Our Blue Cavalry would definitely be able to increase its standing relative to the Sundered Phalanx."

Master Rexen did not look amused. The older man remained completely unmoved by the proposal from a Senior who had otherwise performed exemplary after returning from his sabbatical.

"Have you forgotten that you are working in the service of the Blue Cavalry and the state? Have you mistaken your identity to that of an independent entrepreneur? You are a public servant, not a maverick who can decide upon his own actions. The Blue Cavalry expects you to deliver a basic expert mech for Venerable Stixson within budget within a timely manner. The higher ups are not asking for anything more than that, and most certainly will not embrace this harebrained scheme of yours that will not only waste everyone's time, but also cause your simple project to balloon to the point where it most certainly exceeds the strict budget and time constraints that we have imposed."

Professor Anton grew frustrated. Why couldn't Master Rexen understand the great potential of his plan?!

He had worked days on this proposal. He had racked his brains for every possible lead he could find in order to potentially increase the efficiency and the performance of his expert mech design project by as much as 10 percent!

"Please reconsider, sir." Anton pleaded as he grew desperate. "How can we keep up with the competition from the other coalition partners and the Hexers if we do not put more effort into innovating our expert mechs? We should not let go of any opportunity to gain an advantage over our opponent. If you can just allow me to work more closely with Venerable Stixson and attempt to develop a revolutionary new method to increase the degree of symbiosis between the expert pilot and his expert mech, we can—"

Master Rexen visibly grew annoyed. "STOP. I will not tolerate this nonsense from you any further! Listen to yourself! Do you know how irrational you sound? Your proposal is filled with vague promises and unscientific terminology. If you want us to take your ideas seriously, then at least make an effort to sound serious. This is anything but what we would consider sound. No supervisor in his right mind would allow such a ramshackle experiment to proceed under his nose, and I will certainly not stand for this reckless adventurism."

"But—"

Master Rexen did not even allow Professor Anton to get another word out. He resolutely swiped the air with his palm as if he was cutting off his subordinate's entire chance to speak.

"I will hear no further of this, Anton! You are out of line! There is a time and place for research and development. Wait until you have built up more experience and hammered out your theories so that they are no longer based on spurious assumptions that you have grasped from thin air.

Professor Anton's theories were not based on thin air! Although he hadn't been able to prove all of his assumptions, he was convinced that his chain of logic was sound! Why couldn't a Master Mech Designer recognize the truth!?

"You are not the first mech designer who proposed to empower an expert mech by searching for a method to transfer the psionic qualities of an expert pilot to the machine in question." Master Rexen calmly spoke as he adopted a lecturing tone. "It is an idea that is regularly put forward by mech designers who think they can empower a mech with psionic properties. Are you aware of the results that they have obtained through their efforts?"

"No, Master. I tried to search the archives for any prior research, but neither our internal databases nor the MTA's own libraries have provided me with relevant information."

"There are reasons for that. First, the experiments have never come close to succeeding. They have all ended in failure. The greatest variable to them is the damage that they have wrought. At best, they wasted a large amount of money and time. At worst, their pseudoscientific approaches have produced actual harm to the expert pilots that they pretend to serve. That is the exact opposite of what mech designers such as ourselves stand for, and it is for good reason that the entirety of the mech industry has suppressed these inane research proposals."

The message was clear. Professor Anton would not be able to explore his fantastic train of thought because his research direction was effectively declared taboo!

"May I ask if there are any secret research labs that…"

Master Rexen contemptuously let out a snort. "Give it up, Anton. The only source of expert pilots in the Vermeer Group is the Blue Cavalry, and it will never embrace any experimental procedures that expose their assets to unnecessary and excessive risks. While I am not aware of every secret research lab operating within our borders, I can assure you that even the most shady of them will not entertain your idea."

"Why not, Master?"

"First, they simply won't do it. Second, even if there is the tiniest possibility that they are interested in this research direction, they would never entrust any of it to you. Your specialization is related to energy transmission systems and internal architecture. There is nothing in your record that gives anyone confidence that you are competent enough to succeed in this undertaking. You are a highly orthodox mech designer, and that makes you excellent in your current position. Experiments like these are normally performed by colleagues who possess more flexible minds and are more accustomed to thinking outside the box. You are not such a mech designer."

Professor Anton would have retorted that he had begun to move in this direction as well. His submitted research proposal was proof of that!

Unfortunately, Master Rexen was so rigid that he was not even willing to open any backdoors to Professor Anton.

The friendship and respect that they built up over the course of many completed projects meant nothing in the end.

The Senior Mech Designer left the office with a profound sense of disappointment. He was more passionate and enthused about his daring research proposal than he was with any of his prior projects.

What struck him the most was how betrayed he felt by the Master who guided him and taught him during all of these years.

"How could you… I trusted you, Master…"

Although Master Rexen was totally correct to squash any attempts to deviate from the mission and the requirements set by the Blue Cavalry, Professor Anton couldn't care less about that for the moment.

"Didn't Master Rexen realize his design philosophy by breaking a few rules at the time? Why isn't he willing to give me any slack?!"

Professor Anton's mood took a nosedive in the following days. His work efficiency dropped as he became consumed by dark thoughts.

As he looked out at the familiar design lab and the familiar mech designers who he led and worked alongside with for months and years, he no longer felt any pride and belonging in this place.

There was an invisible disconnect between him and his colleagues. He felt as if he was the only human in a gathering of aliens.

"I don't belong here anymore." He realized.

It became a struggle to conclude the design project for Venerable Stixson. No matter how much Professor Anton tried to rid himself of his distracting thoughts, he could not rid his mind of the experiment that he could have performed if his supervisor was a bit more generous towards his proposal.

Fortunately, the project had already reached an advanced stage. Professor Anton hardly needed to provide any essential input to the mech design. His subordinates had made adjustments and began to perform the necessary tasks by dedication among themselves.

Venerable Stixson eventually got the expert mech he needed, but not necessarily the one he wanted or deserved.

That made Professor Anton feel incredibly sour.

The increasingly more ambitious Senior eventually recovered a semblance of his mood after this period. He still felt alienated from his workplace and his fellow mech designers as he increasingly thought he belonged in a different design lab.

As a year went by without any major incidents, Professor Anton began to grow more concerned.

The interval between his last expert mech design project and the next one was growing increasingly larger.

Though Anton did not mind working on regular mech design projects, he felt that the only way for him to make meaningful progress was to sink his teeth into another expert mech design.

When he continually saw that the incoming orders for expert mech designs went to the other design teams and departments of the institution he was working for, he finally couldn't take it any longer.

He barged into Master Rexen's office and demanded an explanation.

"Do you want to know the reason why I have not assigned any expert mech design projects to you as of late? Look no further in a mirror to understand why I have grown reluctant to hand you this responsibility."

The Master waved his hand, causing a projection to appear that played back the security footage of the office.

Professor Anton could clearly see an agitated and emotional Senior Mech Designer storming inside the office before giving the man behind the desk a highly charged demand to receive the next assignment centered around an expert mech design!

"What is wrong with this?" Anton puzzlingly asked. "I am only trying to obtain my due. I have repeatedly told you that designing expert mechs is my current aim. My progression depends on it. I have contributed so much to our institution over the years. With the merits that I have built up, I should have long been eligible to receive another chance!"

The expression on Master Rexen's face was damning.

"You are emotionally compromised. If you cannot even recognize anything wrong in the footage, then the problem is clearly worse than I expected. Do you not realize how unprofessional you are behaving at the moment? I am sorry, my friend, but for the sake of your sanity and your future, I must ask you to restrain yourself and drop your unhelpful line of research. Go back to the drawing board and come up with a more proper and less controversial research topic. As long as your new idea is not excessive, I am willing to grant you allowances so that you can spend your time in a more productive fashion."

Suffice to say, Professor Anton did not leave the office in a good mood. Though he had always felt out of place in the institution, it was only now that he was willing to acknowledge that everyone around him had turned into hindrances that prevented him from attaining his true goal.

"If I cannot obtain what I need from this institution, then I clearly have to look elsewhere!"

Though he continued to show up on work when he was supposed to, he was already looking for another channel to conduct his desired research projects.

For a time, nothing happened. Professor Anton's progress was slow as he did not exactly know where to look.

He trawled through the galactic net and attended different conventions and symposiums in order to obliquely ask the mech designers he met if they knew of any 'opportunities'.

It was during one of those professional symposiums that a fellow mech designer finally granted him a lead.