The Mech Touch - Chapter 7052
Chapter 7052: They Grow Up So Fast
“Splat! I got you, big sis!” Andraste happily exclaimed as she held a colorful pistol which just sprayed a harmless beam of light at her sister.
Just as she was about to secure her victory, a certain mechanical cat jumped in her direction and stole away her toy gun!
“Meow!”
“Ooof! No fair, Lucky! Marvaine, help me out!”
“I don’t want to.” The little boy stubbornly shook her head and instead began to shoot his smaller toy gun in her direction. “I am paying you back for what you did!”
Andraste’s barely managed to dodge the attack with the help of her reflexes. “You traitor! You little snot! Wait until I get back my weapon!”
As the kids continued to fool around in the stateroom, both Ves and Gloriana watched over them with smiles on their faces.
“They grow up so quickly.” Ves sighed.
“Aurelia is about to turn 10 years old in around 2 weeks.” The contented mother reminded her husband. “I would like for us to stay in Yernstall long enough to organize a proper birthday party for our eldest. There is nothing wrong with how we previously celebrated the birthdays of our kids, but reaching the age of 10 is a major turning point in a human’s life. That is usually the date where children learn whether they satisfy the most important condition to pilot a mech. The results from the genetic aptitude test usually determines whether they attend a mech academy or a normal school. At least that was the case in the past.”
There were many indications that this old tradition had crumbled, and Ves happened to be the primary person responsible for this change.
Unlike most changes, many people welcomed what Ves had done to them and their children.
His Carmine mechs had freed red humanity from the shackles of the genetic aptitude tyranny.
All children who became 10 years old now had an alternative option available to them. Even if they were limited to piloting just a single mech for their entire careers, this was still a far better option than the only other alternative available!
Aurelia had a chance to become a mech pilot. Technically speaking, she had two chances as both she and her companion spirit could theoretically take up this vocation at the same time.
However, Ves already knew that Aurelia lacked the passion and drive for piloting mechs.
That was largely because of the way he and Gloriana had raised their eldest daughter.
From her designer genes to the deliberate attempts to shape her into a leader, both Ves and Gloriana wanted their firstborn child to pursue a career that placed her far away from the battlefield.
Whether Aurelia would obediently follow the arrangements of her parents remained to be seen.
In any case, regardless of the results of the genetic aptitude test, she could still spend her time on learning how to pilot a mech on a part-time basis.
The only difference was whether she would be doing it with a regular mech or a Carmine mech.
Gloriana looked thoughtfully at Aurelia as she commanded her younger brother and the cats to gang up on Andraste. They all fell into a messy pile while giggling and laughing.
“I wonder what her genetic aptitude will be. Aurelia ceased to be a normal designer baby for many years now. The geneticists and pediatricians of the Larkinson Biotech Institute frequently suffer headaches because of the many abnormalities that occur during the growth of our children. You called them primordial humans. I am not too certain whether they truly match the characteristics of supposed ancient humans who lived and breathed E energy like natural qi cultivators, but… everything they have demonstrated so far is so far beyond what other children conceived and born after the start of the Age of Dawn have shown.”
The babies conceived after the Great Severing already deviated from the previous generation of children in many different ways.
These children were blessed — though some would say cursed — with E energy radiation coursing through their cells from the very beginning.
This had many consequences, one of which was that they were always spiritually stronger and a little more intelligent than what they should have been at their ages.
Another consequence was that they developed natural affinities for certain E energy attributes at a very early stage.
This could even lead to problems such as a child with an affinity for fire having a higher body temperature than normal.
So far, the deviations were relatively benign or harmless, but there were many medical professions that it might not stay that way in the future.
If normal red human children had to go through this experience, then the effects were much worse for Ves and Gloriana’s own children!
The good news was that Ves had plenty of ways to address any problems as they might emerge.
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If he could not fix a particular problem, then his mother or his design spirits might have an answer.
“I genuinely have no idea what kind of genetic aptitude they will develop.” Ves said. “I am actually afraid that the changes brought by E energy radiation may prove detrimental to them. We still do not know all of the factors that determine whether you have the right genetic aptitude to pilot a mech, but there is an unknown chance that several of those factors will get messed up by the mutations brought by E energy radiation. What if the light from Messier 87 somehow changes our children as well as other people’s children with a high sensitivity to E energy in a way that stops them from developing the right genetic aptitude?”
His wife furrowed her brows. “To be honest, I have been fearing that this may happen as well. Primordial humans appear to be highly suited to specialize in qi cultivation, but that may come at the cost of losing their talent and predisposition into becoming proper mech pilots. The only reason why I am not more concerned about this is because there are no signs that this has happened so far. We will have to wait until the tenth anniversary of the Great Severing to be certain, but the children who have become 10 years old in the last few years have yet to show any discrepancies when it comes to the rate of conversion into potentates.”
This may grow into a huge issue for red humanity in the future. Ves was no expert in these matters, but he cared a lot about how this might affect his own children.
Marvaine may be most affected due to his young age. He was growing up in a time when his young body became exposed to exotic radiation for most of his short life. All of that energy had to be affecting him in ways that nobody could predict.
Ves stared at his youngest child and his only son.
The little boy was oblivious to the concerns of his parents. He giggled as Andraste had caught him in her grip and began to tickle him in revenge for his ‘betrayal’.
“I have no idea how our children will end up, but I can promise you that I will do everything in my power to make them grow up happy, healthy and strong. Even if that means turning them into something other than human, no limit is too much as far as they are concerned.”
His wife leaned her head against his shoulder. “I should normally feel concerned about those words, but I do not. I agree with you. I hope that such circumstances will never arise, but if the worst might happen, then do what you must.”
The parents soon turned their discussion to less weighty subjects.
They eagerly discussed ideas for Aurelia’s big birthday party. As their foremost heir and a potential future leader of the Larkinson Clan, her 10th birthday could be turned into a grand social occasion. They could invite all kinds of prominent leaders as well as their own children if they had any. It would be best if they were in the same age bracket.
“This is another reason why we should stay in Yernstall long enough to celebrate Aurelia’s birthday in the central star node.” Gloriana argued. “Yernstall has become the de facto center of our civilization. Bridgehead One no longer qualifies due to obvious reasons. Its positioning is also not too good. If we complete our preparations quickly, we can send out the most invitations in advance. That will give our guests plenty of time to decide whether they wish to make the journey to Yernstall if they are located further away.”
Ves was not as eager as his wife to invite so many members of high society to Aurelia’s birthday. He was afraid that other events might overshadow his daughter’s big day.
However, the pros outweigh the cons. Gathering so many prominent people together would make it easier for him to conclude deals and grow more familiar with the leaders with real sway.
“We should make sure to send a number of invitations to the Cybernetic Empire as well.” Ves suggested. “The Cybers have been rather distant to most of us so far. Aside from the three warfleets, I don’t know if anyone else from the Cybernetic Empire has moved out of Bridgehead One. We may as well give them an excuse to travel to Yernstall and mingle with the people that they have been separated from for so many years.”
His wife did not have too many objections towards this. In fact, if they were able to bring over Cybers, then that would be a significant diplomatic accomplishment.
After settling on a preliminary plan, they began to prepare.
They sought out venues where to hold the birthday party and booked it on fairly short notice.
This was a problem as many of the grander venues that met Ves and Gloriana’s standards were usually booked months if not years in advance.
However, as soon as Ves made his status clear, a lot of objections no longer mattered anymore.
It was an honor for any venue to host a party organized by a tier 3 galactic citizen, and the Father of Carmine mechs in particular!
Ves also did not have to be afraid that not enough people would come and attend the party.
In fact, he was suffering from the opposite problem.
So many people wanted to become a part of this festive occasion that they were willing to pay quite a price in order to receive a coveted invitation!
Both Ves and Gloriana were not entirely happy about this. Both of them wanted this party to center around their daughter as opposed to themselves.
This was why they decided to be a little more sparing when sending out invitations. They also encouraged the others to bring their children or other kids that they found promising. Aurelia could always use more friends, and her birthday party was an excellent occasion for her to expand her network.
“What are you thinking about, Ves?” Gloriana asked when Ves remained still for a few minutes.
“I was thinking about doing something special to mark this occasion.” He said. “If I want to turn this birthday party into a memorable occasion for everyone, then we can put in a bit of extra effort.”
His wife narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “What are you thinking about, Ves?”
“I have been thinking about the birthday present I wanted to give her. Remember the Flower Parasol that I obtained from ‘somewhere’?”
“I do…”
“Well, I have always intended to gift it to Aurelia, but I don’t want to give it to her in its current form. The artifact is quite powerful and has quite a personality, but… I feel like I should be able to do more.”
“Are you intending to upgrade it? Do you even know how? What if you accidentally break a vital component?”
“Don’t underestimate me. One of my incarnations is an excellent crafter. Together, I am sure we can figure out how to meaningfully upgrade the Flower Parasol. By the time I am ready to hand it over to our eldest daughter, it will definitely be the centerpiece of her birthday!”
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