The Mech Touch - Chapter 6972
Chapter 6972: The Body of the Woodsap Mech
Ves ultimately concluded that if he wanted to expand the user base of the System, it was better to set his sights on his fellow Larkinsons.
He did not know too many outsiders who he could trust with a secret of this magnitude.
Rather than take any further unnecessary risks, it was best to keep this as in-house as possible.
That came with several disadvantages. Ves feared that the lack of diversity in perspectives might cause his expanding club to still remain too insular and blind to other possibilities.
However, this was an acceptable price to pay for a greater chance of maintaining confidentiality.
He was quite aware that the probability of leaks increased by a considerable rate with the addition of every additional mech designer.
From the moment he brought in Gloriana, Ves already knew in his heart that the secret would come out sooner rather than later.
Ves did not mind this very much so long as he had enough time to stand his own ground.
“I will need to become a Master Mech Designer at a minimum if I want to fend off most sources of trouble.”
While he would still attract a lot of unwelcome heat if he became known as the carrier of the Mech Designer System, his right to speak was much greater if he became a Master Mech Designer by that time.
Now that Gloriana had entered the fast track, Ves had to take his competition a lot more seriously than before.
This was why he soon set aside his considerations regarding the System and directed his attention to one of his ongoing mech design projects.
The Arboreal Project did not see much progress in the last few months. The main reason why the biomech design still remained in a very unfinished state was because the Elemental Carmine mech relied heavily on Transphasic Ebony Wood or TE Wood as its principal organic material.
This was a new material derived from the Ebony Wood once produced by the Emperor Tree. It possessed a lot of special properties that granted the first potential Woodsap mech a lot of unique advantages, but the problem was that the Larkinson Clan and the Devos Ancient Clan first had to master this new type of wood!
The biotech scientists of both organizations already spent months on researching, improving and optimizing TE Wood. The more time they spent on studying this material, the more data and insights they gained.
The most ideal scenario would be to give these biotech scientists several years to thoroughly understand every facet and trait of TE Wood in exhaustive detail.
Once they developed a fairly complete understanding of TE Wood, Ves could obtain all of their research results and readily apply all of the valuable insights into designing a Woodsap mech that fully utilized the advantages of this organic material.
Unfortunately for Ves, he could not waste so much time.
He may be willing to give the researchers more time to complete their studies if there was no hurry, but time had become especially valuable as of late.
Therefore, against his better judgment, he transmitted a notification to the science teams to hurry up and summarize their findings regardless of their completeness.
Ves could no longer wait any longer. He needed to make substantive progress in the Arboreal Project and strive to complete the design within a reasonable timeframe.
Since he was cooperating with the Devos Ancient Clan, he should be able to rely on its formidable infrastructure in order to speed up the project, so the ideal scenario was to complete the first functional prototype within 4 to 6 months.
It may take a few more months to test and refine the initial design until it reached an acceptable state of maturity.
Even then, Ves was very much aware that this would amount to another rush job.
This would not be the case if he designed an ordinary living mech, but the Arboreal Project was anything but normal.
If the mech design met all of his expectations, then it would become the first truly advanced Carmine mech in existence.
Not only would it enable norms to become mech pilots, but they would become forever changed by the organic mech they had bonded.
Based on what happened with Lanie Larkinson, Ves expected this transformation to become so profound that it could give the Terrans what they need to slow down or even stall the native alien offensive!
As Ves began to make the arrangements, he soon received a direct call request from a familiar collaborator.
The physical projection of Master Laila Rebecca Devos soon appeared inside his office compartment.
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“Good afternoon, Ves.” She briskly greeted him. “You have decided to advance the timeline of the Arboreal Project.”
“Yes. You should understand why I have made this decision. We could wait longer to gain a more thorough understanding of TE Wood, but by that time it is questionable whether the Terran Alliance still remains standing.”
The Terran Master Mech Designer frowned. She obviously did not like how defeatist that sounded.
Fortunately, Ves was not a Terran, so he was allowed to make such remarks.
“Your decision to speed up the Arboreal Project is inconvenient. It threatens to exclude a major advancement in the applicability of the first version of our Carmine biomech.”
Ves raised his eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”
“We have devoted a research team into investigating whether we can implement a replica of a human nervous system into a biomech based on TE Wood.” She explained. “This is not a new concept in biomech design. Since the beginning, many professionals have realized the possibility of turning an organic mech into a scaled-up copy of the human body. If such a biomech can be developed, then the mech pilot can effectively control his biomech as if it is little different from his real body.”
This went way further than what a Blood Pact was supposed to enable.
The Blood Pact only created a mystical data connection between the Carmine mech pilot and the Carmine mech.
It did not inherently make the mech easier to pilot, though many did have the illusion that this was the case.
However, it did not change the fact that Carmine mech pilots actually had to learn how to pilot a war machine if they wanted to utilize their bonded Carmine mechs to the fullest.
If the control system changed to the point where the Carmine mech pilot was actually able to inhabit the Carmine mech to the point the latter behaved exactly like his own body, but larger, then that would represent a paradigm shift!
“I see. If your research team can make this happen, then that will massively lower the learning curve of piloting the Woodsap mech!” Ves reacted in surprise.
Master Laila Devos leaned forward. “The Yellow Jacket mechs have sparked a revolution. For the first time, norms can pilot mechs regardless of their genetic aptitude. However, there are those among us who do not think that you have made mechs accessible enough to the common folk. You have left this job unfinished. Far too many people are being hindered from becoming qualified soldiers that are ready to deploy on the battlefield because they are unable to control their Yellow Jackets effectively enough. They lack training.”
This was the first time that anyone told Ves that his Carmine mechs were ‘incomplete’.
It would have been outrageous for anyone to claim that a mech that was able to turn any human into a mech pilot was not feature complete, but the Terran Master dared to make this statement!
Of course, the two were friends who had already grown familiar with each other’s temperament, so Ves did not feel insulted by this remark.
A good mech designer must always have the realization that a mech could always be better.
If a machine had become so perfect that there was no conceivable way to improve it anymore, then there was little point for mech designers to continue working.
While Ves did not think his Carmine mechs were only half-complete, he did not think they were finished either. He wouldn’t have come up with the Elemental Carmine mech concept otherwise.
What he did not expect was for the Devosans to have a different idea on how to improve his Carmine mechs!
“Why do you want to apply this change?” He asked. “Shouldn’t it be enough to grant first-class or even second-class C and D-grade mech pilots the ability to pilot the equivalent of a first-class multipurpose biomech?”
The older woman shook her head. “No. It is not enough anymore. We are not content with enabling our first exclusive Carmine biomech to turn into an upmarket and organic version of the Yellow Jacket. What we desire the most is to incorporate a selection of our finest biotechnology and biomech applications into the Arboreal Project. We do not want to become known as your assistants or technical consultants. We want to be your true and equal partner, and that means that we must introduce enough innovations that people will not forget our contribution when we finally release the results of the Arboreal Project.”
What an ambitious goal. Ves fully recognized how difficult it was for the Terrans to earn a respectable amount of credit under the circumstances.
The star of the show was clearly the Elemental Carmine System. By replacing regular human blood with the sap of TE Wood, the future pilots of the Arboreal Project would gain their own form of extraordinary power.
The Terrans faced an uphill battle if they attempted to match the amazing qualities of a Woodsap mech with their own biotech attainments.
“I have to admit that your idea sounds intriguing.” Ves admitted. “Since you Terrans have already developed such a solution, why haven’t I heard about it before?”
“There was little point to it at the time. Think about it, Ves. The reason for improving the control system of a biomech is to make it easier and faster for humans who are not trained in mech piloting to be able to move it as they desire right from the beginning. However, only potentates can pilot the modified biomechs. There was no reason in the past to treat them as conscripts and attempt to rush them into combat when they can all become proper mech pilots after a decade or longer of proper training.”
“I see. The modified biomechs ended up as a solution looking for a problem.” Ves concluded.
“Exactly. It is only now that the right problem has arrived. Carmine mechs enable any human to pilot them, but they still need at least 4 to 5 years of intensive training at minimum to reach an acceptable standard, and that is when you have simplified the configurations of the machines in question. The solution that we are proposing will remove the need for all of this training. Our ultimate goal is to convert the best and most elite infantry soldiers in our service into Woodsap mech pilots that can instantly translate their existing combat training into effectively using their new biomechs on the battlefield. They only require a handful of months of theoretical training courses that deal specifically with mech combat that can easily be completed in advance.”
Ves understood what the Terrans sought out of the Arboreal Project. They recognized the potential of the Yellow Jacket and other Carmine mechs to turn ordinary citizens into effective combatants.
Yet they were too impatient to wait a handful of years for even the most prepared Carmine mech pilots to get ready for battle.
If the Arboreal Project was able to incorporate a control system that turned the act of piloting a Carmine mech into a more direct simulation of controlling a human body, then that could save the Terrans valuable time in raising large amounts of Carmine mech units!
“This idea has a lot of potential.” Ves grew awed by the audacity of this vision of the Arboreal Project.
“As the Father of Carmine mechs, you are destined to develop many different variations of your greatest work up to this date.” Master Laila Devos spoke. “Nevertheless, we believe that turning your only Carmine biomech into a more accurate surrogate for the human body can turn into an unforgettable contribution to our society. Only biotechnology can make this happen, and we happen to excel in this field. Let us help you define the Arboreal Project. We are merely asking you to be more patient and wait until we have developed a more refined control system that is compatible with TE Wood.”
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