The Mech Touch

"Ugh, I can't forget about my future wife."

Though it would be nice to partner with a mech designer who specialized in nanomachine systems, Gloriana might not be okay with this solution.

She already hogged most of the physical development of their collaborative mech designs. Adding a third partner in the mix who encroached on her territory might not end well for everyone involved.

He shook his head. Even without partnering up with a specialist, Ves still believed that solutions such as ASMAS would eventually become accessible to him over time.

Right now, the Larkinson Clan had already grown to the point where it was ready to make use of second-class sh.i.p.s, second-class mechs and other second-class tech. Options that he previously considered unattainable such as positron beam weapons or mech-grade shield generators suddenly came within reach now that the LMC sold more and more mechs.

Ves felt proud for achieving this level of commercial success. Even if he didn't consider his bestsellers such as the Desolate Soldier and the Doom Guard in the best light these days, they at least provided the Larkinson Clan with the resources to transcend its third-class origin.

The same evolution should also apply to nanomachine systems. As his clan grew more prosperous and his proficiency in second-class mech design increased, it should be viable for him to design nanotech-based mechs.

"It might take years. It might take decades. In fact, if I want to start right away, I don't have to beg Gloriana to obtain a batch of pure ASMAS."

While ASMAS was prohibitively expensive, Ves could easily obtain another batch with the LMC's current level of earnings. He could even obtain enough ASMAS to build another self-growing mech by selling some of the loot that Task Force Predator had plundered!

If Ves ever reached a time where he was able to design a first-class mech, then that would be even better. At the highest level of mech design, nanomachine systems became a lot more affordable!

Ves already experienced the power of a mech that was able to adjust its shape spontaneously in battle during one of his Mastery experiences. Though gimmicky, the first-class nanomachine mech he witnessed truly made a strong impression in his mind.

"Should I convert to designing nanomachine mechs exclusively in the future?"

This was a difficult question. Though he felt that designing more mechs such as the Devil Tiger fit well with his design philosophy, there were still a lot of inherent weaknesses to this tech.

Though he had implemented some countermeasures such as binding the pure ASMAS to the design spirit, Ves always feared the possibility that one of his father's enemies might succeed in hacking the nanomachines!

The inherent vulnerability to hacking and tampering was the main reason why nanomachine systems failed to become mainstream. Just because Ves could apply some metaphysical tricks to make it more difficult for someone to tamper with them did not mean that this weakness was gone!

"I guess I'm stuck with making my mechs out of old-fashioned solid components."

The classic mech was the most reliable mech. Though many people attempted to 'evolve' the concept of mechs by developing unconventional products such as biomechs and lithic mechs, the market mostly preferred solid metal mechs since the beginning of the Age of Mechs.

Just earlier, he contemplated whether he should design his first nanotech-based mech after the Devil Tiger for his own clan. The Bright Warrior was a pretty good candidate for revision because it was already designed to change aspects of itself.

Instead of mounting different add-ons on it to alter its configuration, the mech could instead rely on its nanomachine-based frame to alter itself on demand!

"It sounds like a pretty good idea, and cost shouldn't be much of a concern if it remains exclusive to the Larkinson Clan."

The thought of entrusting the lives of most of his Larkinson mech pilots to fallible nanomachines did not sit well with Ves. At the very least, he did not believe he possessed a sufficient understanding of this branch of technology to rule out any shenanigans.

"This is what a mech designer who specializes in nanotech is for. It would be great to partner up with someone who is on top of this game." He muttered.

After a while, Ves stopped his idle musings and focused back to his main priority. He did not waste so much time on tinkering on this Desolate Soldier mech to dream about designing more nanomechs.

Solving the physical aging problem of his mechs was a long-term issue that he wouldn't be able to solve for a very long time. In the meantime, it wasn't as if his mechs were suffering.

"No one lives forever. If humans aren't immortal, then mechs shouldn't be much different."

He turned to its spiritual foundation and tried to find a way to mold it in a way that made it more adaptable to its user. How could he turn the mech into a machine that slowly developed a distinct personality that complemented its mech pilot?

The key was to feed it with an abundant amount of spiritual energy. The mech pilot might not be able to satisfy the mech's hunger, but the Solemn Guardian was a different story!

Aside from Qilanxo and Nyxie, the Solemn Guardian had the least to worry about lacking spiritual energy. So many mech pilots used the Desolate Soldier and its variants every day that the spiritual product had long reached its current level of saturation.

All of this meant that inducing the Solemn Guardian to 'donate' a portion of its spiritual energy shouldn't cause any harm.

"I guess now is as good a time as any to try and see what happens."

The Desolate Soldier mech he serviced had already reached its best possible condition. To Ves, it was more than ready to be experimented upon.

Ves approached the mech and placed his hand on its surface. He closed his eyes and tried to connect with both the mech and the Solemn Guardian.

It wasn't difficult. Every Desolate Soldier was connected to the duty-oriented spiritual product. The Solemn Guardian immediately sensed the presence of Ves.

The two communicated on a spiritual level. Neither of them resorted to words or other human means of communication.

Instead, they conveyed their meaning to each other on a more abstract level. It was very difficult for Ves to describe what he was doing, but it was very effective in making the Solemn Guardian understand what he wanted.

As one of his personal creations, the Solemn Guardian was an obedient design spirit. Since its existence centered around duty, it was very committed to loyalty. The Solemn Guardian was one of the design spirits that Ves was least worried about rebelling or leaving.

Once the Solemn Guardian understood his intentions, Ves moved on to his next step.

He began to extend his influence to the individual spiritual foundation of the Desolate Soldier mech he was touching. He carefully attempted to alter it in order to make it more responsible for the changes to come.

After several minutes, the bond between the mech and its design spirit became active.

A relatively hefty amount of spiritual energy poured into the mech's spiritual foundation!

"Too fast! Slow down!" Ves alarmingly shouted!

The Desolate Soldier mech couldn't take so much energy at once! Once the Solemn Guardian reduced the flow, Ves noticed that the spiritual foundation no longer looked like it was about to crack.

The mech absorbed all of the energy without spilling it. This was good. The bad news was that Ves failed to discern any changes. Though the spiritual foundation of the mech grew deeper, he didn't feel as if its life was blooming from a sapling into a tree.

"It feels like I'm cultivating a clone. No matter how healthy it becomes, its still deficient when it comes to personality!"

This experiment at least proved that he couldn't artificially age his mechs just by pumping them with an excess of spiritual energy. Even if the Desolate Soldier mech was able to accept the input from the Solemn Guardian due to their close connection, the former did not actually undergo any evolution.

"It looks like life has to develop naturally." He concluded.

This was not entirely out of his expectations. Eventually, the Solemn Guardian seemed to hit some sort of limits and stopped pumping the mech with spiritual energy.

Compared to before, Ves sensed a degree of solidity and energy he hadn't sensed before. Even if the mech's character hadn't developed at all, its overall strength had grown somehow.

"Before, this mech was a mosquito. Now, it's a c.o.c.kroach. Aside from getting bigger, it hasn't gotten any smarter. They're both stupid bugs."

Ves was curious at the result. All of that spiritual energy pumped into the spiritual foundation of this particular mech had to result in something, right?

The only way to find out was to stuff a mech pilot inside and turn it on to see what happened.

He activated his comm and ordered his security officers to bring a prisoner from the brig. He had already transferred some captured pirate mech pilots to the Scarlet Rose for just this occasion.

While the guards brought his next test subject, Ves prepared the mech for his upcoming experiment.

"I can't very well allow my test subject to take control of his mech and destroy my ship from the inside!"

He began to open up some parts of the mechs again to physically remove or deactivate some of the control mechanisms. He also entered the c.o.c.kpit to modify the programming of the mech.

As an added precaution, he activated the workshop's heavy-duty clamps to forcefully keep the mech in place.

Once he was done, he retreated from the machine and greetest his next test subject.

"MMMFPHFMMFFM!" A muffled pirate raged at Ves. "MMFMMFM!"

The former Dry Snake turned captive did not exactly consent to participating in this experiment.

No matter. Pirates weren't entitled to human rights.

"Put him in the c.o.c.kpit and make sure to restrain him to the piloting chair. You can leave after that." He commanded.

"Yes, sir."

The two security officers dragged the prisoner to a lifter platform which elevated them to the opening of the c.o.c.kpit.

After slipping inside, the two guards reemerged without the prisoner. Ves approached a workstation connected to the Desolate Soldier mech and confirmed the prisoner was held firmly in place.

"Alright, let's see how our test subject fares." Ves grinned.

Ves activated the mech from remote. As the machine slowly booted up, the captive restrained to the piloting seat began to tug and hurl his entire body for some reason.

"There is no reason to worry." Ves transmitted to the c.o.c.kpit. "Calm down and don't resist. Just interface the mech and everything will be over soon."

"MMHMMHPHMM!"

The mech pilot did not do as he said. Instead, the pirate captive thrashed more and more. Ves began to check the telemetry and noticed that the pilot's stress levels and other physiological signs kept rising without stop.

Not only that, but the spiritual activity inside the mech seemed to grow more volatile as well. Ever since the pirate mech pilot started interfacing with the altered Desolate Soldier, something very weird was happening.

"Wait a minute. This is heading into dangerous territory!"

Before Ves could interrupt the start-up procedure, the pirate let out an agonizing muffled cry!

"MMMFFWMEFWMEWOWW—"

Through his spiritual senses, Ves sensed the spiritual activity inside the mech had spiked!

Bang!

At the same time, the projection of the interior of the mech turned bloody as the head of the captive mech pilot exploded!

The mech abruptly interrupted its start-up procedure on its own. Without a mech pilot, here was no meaning for the mech to come online.

Its mech pilot was dead.

"..."

Ves stared at the bloody chunks of bone and brain matter splattered all over the consoles and interior of the c.o.c.kpit.

"GODDAMMIT! NOT AGAIN!"