The Mech Touch

"The Montebra is a proof of concept more than anything." Master Ginevra admitted after a brief moment of silence. "There is value in the design, but it is more useful for its technological demonstration than its marketability. It is my judgment that the Montebra is a poor fit to the current state of the mech market. Lancer mechs are best employed against other mechs as opposed to alien starships. Even starfighters are not that much of a priority as they can easily be defeated by other mech types."

"I don't entirely agree with that assessment." Ves retorted. "If we can channel the amazing electromagnetism properties of your Montrebra design in a more offensive and destructive capacity, we can develop a comprehensive new work that can overwhelm energy shields with powerful EMP-like discharges."

"I have considered that approach as well, but the strain on the mech is too great. Do you recall how my Montebras short-circuited many of their internals? The mechanisms that I have used to generate an explosive amount of energies in a short time interval are too rough and unstable. The power output is too inconsistent and it is not yet possible for my work to offer sufficient protection against radical changes in the environment."

It became clear that Master Ginevra did not look forward to collaborating with Ves. That disappointed him a lot.

"Is there anything about this potential collaboration that does not sit well with you, Master?"

"It comes at an inopportune moment." She said. "I have received multiple solicitations after the conclusion of the challenge match. I have received invitations to participate in much more interesting collaborative research and design projects that are much more relevant to my specialization. One of the most important priorities that I have set is to develop a much more efficient and scalable electrical energy to E energy generator. Multiple research teams are working on this issue, and their work will eventually resound throughout our society. Once we are able to produce any type of E energy on demand, the Hyper Generation shall truly take off. The Red Two may very well organize a mid-generation announcement in order to spread the results of our critical research."

"I see."

In other words, the proposal made by Ves was too small in scope to interest the woman.

The performance and the special properties of the Montebra had showcased a lot of useful and interesting experimental design applications. They put Master Ginevra on the map and attracted the interest of big research institutions.

Perhaps... she may have received a direct invitation from a research team hailing from the Red Association!

Even if Ves was a tier 3 galactic citizen with a lot of unique and interesting insights, what Master Ginevra cared about the most was advancing her own design philosophy.

She could make a lot more gains in this area if she started to work together with many other like-minded specialists!

Ultimately, Master Ginevra simply did not prioritize the Montebra design. She did not want to convert it into a mature product because it did not reflect her full design ambitions.

Ves knew what sort of mech designer he was exchanging with. Master Ginevra Hubert-Colmain was a hardcore research addict. She could happily spend several decades in a research lab without designing any mechs during this time.

After he realized this, he no longer insisted on active collaboration.

"Since that is the case, can I still work with the Montebra design by myself?" He asked. "I truly believe that I can take the foundation that you have set in your experimental mech design and transform it into a truly powerful electrical lancer mech."

The Master Mech Designer shook her head. "I am afraid that I cannot allow that to happen. The Montebra contains many dangerous and unstable design elements that should not be handled by non-specialists. The mech is designed to channel strong energy surges, but it is actually not very effective at it. I fear that my work will one day produce deadly accidents due to improper adaptation and manipulation of these advanced components."

It was much more difficult for Ves to maneuver around that argument. The Montebra was indeed a mech that lived on the edge.

He sighed. "Very well. It appears that I have no future with the Montebra design. I understand your perspective. You are quite protective of your work."

"When my latest technologies are ready for widespread adoption, then I will be happy to allow you and any other peer in the mech industry to apply them onto their own works. Until then, it is better to limit their usage in order to protect mech pilots from accidents stemming from the use of immature tech."

There were mech designers who readily applied new and experimental tech onto their latest mech designs.

There were also other mech designers that insisted on following the strictest safety standards in order to minimize the possibility of preventable accidents.

It was difficult for the two to get along if they collaborated on the same project.

Ves was still too young. He managed to invent a lot of fantastic stuff, but his high pace of innovation also made it difficult for him to wait long enough for his new tech to get tested.

Master Ginevra was 180 years old and already accrued a lot of patience over the years. She was more than willing to hold herself back for a decade or so in order to obtain greater results.

"We are too different from each other." Ves tiredly remarked.

"You are an anomaly, Professor Larkinson." Master Ginevra pointed out. "You are still a Senior, but the contributions you have made are disproportionately high. You have advanced to your current position far too quickly. Few if any mech designer of your generation can equal your many feats. While I am not principally opposed to collaborating with a Senior Mech Designer, you are so young and successful that it causes me to question whether I have made the best use of my time when I was your age."

"Is the generational gap that much of a deal?"

The older woman looked at Ves with an exasperated expression.

"Masters such as myself are expected to be rational and objective enough to set aside any emotions that are not productive to the situation at hand. The reality is that we are still humans. Do you know how many mech designers of the older generation are jealous of your talent and accomplishments? Coming into direct contact with a brilliant prodigy such as you highlights their own inadequacies. This is especially the case when you have outshined them in their current states. You are a record-breaking tier 3 galactic citizen, while I am only a tier 6 galactic citizen. I can assure you that many other Masters whose galactic citizenships are much lower feel even more uncomfortable in your presence."

Ves did not expect to be confronted about this. He genuinely grew perplexed for a moment.

He was very much aware that he was an outlier in this regard, but he expected other Master Mech Designers to possess the age and maturity to look past these silly impulses.

Evidently, he expected too much from them. Their jealousy and feelings of inadequacy whenever they compared themselves to Ves clearly hindered them from seeking to collaborate with him on all kinds of interesting projects.

It was strange. Ves never really got the sense that Master Benedict Cortez and Master Decimus Horst wrestled with their conflicting feelings when they collaborated with him in the past.

Then again, they were very different mech designers.

Ves had developed a close friendship with Master Benedict Cortez. Both of them also benefited a lot from each other when they worked on groundbreaking mechs such as the Phobos.

Master Decimus Horst was a lot more tolerant and patient with Ves. He was an academic and an educator. He was a lot more serious and passionate about teaching the craft to the younger generation. That was also why he patiently taught Ves a lot of useful knowledge about heavy artillery mechs over the course of their collaboration.

What Ves needed to realize was that the two aforementioned Masters were the exception rather than the rule. He should not blindly assume that other high-ranking mech designers were willing to get outshined by a much younger but also much more talented colleague.

"Look to your own generation, professor. Few mech designers at your age have managed to advance to the rank of Senior Mech Designer, but the ones that have managed to do so are undoubtedly brilliant in their own fields of specializations. They are intelligent enough to develop their strengths to an extensive degree, but they are also young enough to hold the same ambitions and while also possessing the right amount of ignorance to blindly charge forward without fully understanding the repercussions of their design choices."

She made it sound as if young and fast-progressing mech designers like Ves were a bunch of reckless fools who would only egg each other on if they started to group together.

"Thank you... for your advice."

Master Ginevra gave him a patronizing smile. "I was young once too, many years ago. You are living your golden years as a mech designer. What is especially favorable to you is that you still possess the youthful energy that is typically associated with Journeymen, but you have also gained the competence that characterizes Seniors. That is a powerful combination, and it is one of the reasons why fast breakthroughs are so valued in our industry. Cherish your remaining time as a member of the younger generation, because it will not last. If you are able to break through fast enough, you may be able to extend this magical period."

Ves had no intention of wasting his time. He already held this mindset long before he exchanged with Ginevra Hubert-Colmain.

"What is it like to reach your age?" He curiously asked. "You emphasize the differences between my generation and yours so much that it is actually making me a little afraid of growing older."

"Aging is a natural process of life." Ginevra sighed. "Life-prolonging treatments and other tech has allowed us to extend that process, but that does not stop our mentalities from undergoing extensive generational shifts that causes us to look at our lives and the reality around us in a different manner. It is... harder for us to become passionate and fired up about anything. If we are unable to make any significant progress in developing our design philosophy, we simply cannot sustain our level of excitement. We become more detached from the moment and regard everything around us with an analytical or calculating mindset."

"So you are becoming more rational."

"Not completely, no. As I have mentioned before, we are still prone to negative feelings such as envy and jealousy. What matters is that it has become difficult for us to rely on our emotions to motivate us into working harder and breaking past our limits. This is also one of the reasons why mech pilots have a much lower chance of making any further breakthroughs once they become over a century old. We tend to believe that the future belongs to the younger generations. That reduces our drive to work harder."

"I see."

The lesson he received this time was a little general, but Ves valued it just as much as the technical knowledge shared by Master Ginevra.

Ves felt it may be better for him to reduce his interactions with Master Mech Designers. They were all a lot older and different from himself, making it harder to work together as equals.

It was much better to stick to mech designers around his own age like his wife and the other lead designers of the Design Department.

Now that he thought about it, he indeed felt a lot more comfortable and at ease whenever he collaborated with the likes of Ketis and Sara Voiken.

Though Ves had distanced himself from them by advancing to Senior early, they still got along with each other pretty well since they were close enough in age.