The Mech Touch

The news was too much for Ves to take!

His mind completely blanked for a time. Master Willix seemed to expect such a reaction. Instead of shaking Ves out of his daze, she turned on her chair and fiddled with one of her lab machines.

A slot in the machine slid open, exposing a glowing liquid substance held in a stasis cage. A small bot flew down to pick it up and take it away.

Another bot appeared to deposit a similar material in the slot. Soon, the lab machine began to perform some unknown procedures.

It was only then that Ves pulled himself out of his shock. He looked at Master Willix with a lot of doubt.

"Is Mr. S. truly a Star Designer?" He whispered.

He knew that this wasn't true. The Ouroboros wasn't an impressive mech at all compared to other Terran mechs. How could the MTA possibly mistake the former dueling mech as the work of a Star Designer?

Ves needed to know the answer! If he knew what the MTA watched out for, he might be able to impersonate a Star Designer again in order to reinforce the lie that Mr. S. truly existed!

By building up Mr. S. as his secret unfathomable mentor, Ves gained an exceptional identity. While he had little ways to prove that he was apprenticed to a legendary Star Designer, it didn't matter as long as at least Master Willix bought into this story.

He had no desire to push his luck. Announcing to the galaxy that he enjoyed the tutelage of one of the pinnacle mech designers in the galaxy would only attract a ton of heat on him. With so many powerful people investigating his background, there was no way for him to maintain his lies!

Still, with how much attention Star Designers attracted, would he still be able to avoid this outcome at this point?

He grew concerned. "Master Willix, how sure are you about this conclusion?"

"It is a guess." She replied. "The Star Designer who examined the Ouroboros did not detect enough traces from Mr. S. to issue a definite judgement. Yet designing a mech that is capable of nurturing ace pilots into god pilots has never been done before. This is a completely unprecedented development, one that the MTA would gladly embrace if only Mr. S. came to us. It is a pity that he remains elusive and wanders the galaxy incognito to this day."

"Why would a Star Designer avoid the limelight?" Ves asked.

He knew why Mr. S. never went public. He didn't exist! He just wanted to hear what the MTA thought about it so that he could tell better lies.

Master Willix looked a bit more hesitant. "There are several possible reasons why Mr. S. is avoiding the MTA. The uncomfortable truth is that as much as our Association opens its doors to every mech designer, not everyone from our profession agrees with us. There are.. dissidents who reject some of our core tenets. There are also war criminals who have committed heinous crimes and even individuals who have colluded with aliens. They're more common than you think. You just haven't been exposed to them very much due to the relative isolation of the Komodo Star Sector."

Ves looked shocked! While he knew that there were always a couple of bad apples in a crowd, according to Master Willix, the number of deviants were quite concerning!

"And these people are allowed to exist?"

"The galaxy is big, Mr. Larkinson. There are too many ways to hide from us. There are sizable communities of dissident human organizations hiding outside human space. It is not realistic to root them all out. That said, don't overestimate their importance either. They are vermin who can only eke out an existence by remaining in the dark. They resist human order and have no value in today's society."

There must be quite some stories behind these so-called dissidents. Master Willix probably lumped in the Five Scrolls Compact in this group of people as well.

"So you think Mr. S. is one of these dissidents as well?"

"Likely so." Willix nodded with a bit more certainty than before. "There are aspects of the Ouroboros that are radically different from conventional mech design. The paradigms are so different that there is nothing comparable to them except from what I've seen in your own work. In any case, to the few people who are aware of the depth of the Ouroboros, Mr. S. may or may not be a Star Designer, but he is likely to be a dissident."

"I see. What does that mean for me? Am I in trouble because Mr. S. might be an irredeemable monster?"

"You do not need to be concerned." Master Willix reassuringly smiled. "Masters shall not be put to death for their disciples, and nor shall disciples be put to death for their Masters. Everyone shall be judged according to their own sin. There is no definite proof that Mr. S. is opposed to humanity. Besides, his great accomplishment is of such great importance to the future of mech design that many problems can be overlooked as long as he cooperates. It is unfortunate that he has never deigned to approach us. He must have his reasons."

From the yearning in her words, Ves had the illusion that even if Mr. S. broke some taboos such as blowing up a planet or two, the MTA would still be willing to cooperate with him! Anything that could increase the likelihood of ace pilots breaking through to the ultimate rank was of great value!

It turned out that the MTA had more in common with Ves than he thought. It didn't matter how many rules they violated. As long as they designed mechs that were good enough, anything could be forgiven!

"So what does this all mean for me, exactly? How many people know about Mr. S. and my possible ties with this possible Star Designer?"

"Let me ask you something first. What do you want, Mr. Larkinson?"

"I just want to get back on track and design mechs while leading my clan to prosperity. No offense, Master Willix, but I don't want to limit myself by becoming a part of your Association. I would suffocate if I have to live like Jovy Armalon."

Master Willix did not exhibit any disapproval, which reassured Ves somewhat.

"I think you have made your stance very clear. To be honest, I believe this is for the best. You are indeed a mech designer who gains the most out of stimulating experiences. Bringing you into our fold not only restricts that, but also attracts too much attention from too many factions and groups within the MTA."

"If Mr. S. is skeptical towards the MTA, he probably won't like that either."

"That too." She acknowledged. "The will of every Master or Star Designer must be respected. Since he has evidently selected an ordinary mech designer such as you towards a design philosophy related to his field of research, he must have his reasons. Maybe an excessive degree of interference on our Association's part will ruin his arrangements and prevent you from developing the applications he seeks from you. There is too much at stake to gamble on a possible solution to a problem that has plagued Mr. S. for at least a century."

Ves inwardly chuckled. Master Willix grossly overanalyzed his circumstances. He hardly needed to say anything as she had already constructed an elaborate story that explained everything!

Still, he grew curious at the problem that Master Willix was referring to. Was there a flaw in his work?

Master Willix noticed his confusion. She generously explained what she thought.

"According to the judgement of the Star Designer who examined the Ouroboros, the mech is indeed capable of nurturing a god pilot. It is just that the process is very gradual. At his current rate of progress, General Streon will have a chance of making the ultimate transformation after at least 200 years have passed."

"200 years! That's way too long!"

That was half of the current duration of the Age of Mechs. 200 years might be half the lifetime of the most powerful people in the galaxy, but it was an eternity to everyone else. Since Axelar Streon obtained the Ouroboros a century ago, his total growth period actually amounted to 300 years, which was even more excessive!

"This is still an important achievement, Mr. Larkinson. On one hand, Mr. S. has achieved something brilliant by opening up a more reliable pathway to god pilot. On the other hand, his solution is considerably flawed. It may be because of this reason why Mr. S. has not come forward yet. Masters and Star Designers are exceedingly careful about their innovations. If they do not believe it is mature enough to propagate, they will continue to work on them until they reach the necessary standard. Anything less is an insult to their reputation."

"Okay..?"

"This is where mech designers such as you come in. You're not constrained by the rules and customs of high-ranking mech designers. It is more permissible for you to experiment freely and play fast and loose with the rules. Your youth and different perspective might yield surprising results that your hidden mentor, for all of his brilliance, could have never developed by himself. Perhaps you may be one of his hopes of solving this time issue."

Ves blinked. "Just one of his hopes? Are there more like me in the galaxy?"

"Did he pass on his design philosophy to someone during one of his time travel jaunts?

"As far as we are aware of, you are the only dark child we've discovered so far. However, from how Mr. S. travels, it is likely that he has guided multiple dark childs into following a research direction that is related to his own. This is how powerful mech designers usually operate when faced with a difficult and unsolvable problem. Only one of you need to succeed, but the more people he has taught, the greater the chance that he will obtain his desired result."

Well, if that was what Master Willix and the MTA thought, then Ves would certainly try to reinforce this impression in the future! This false story provided a lot of convenience to him. He would be a fool if he didn't take advantage of this misunderstanding!

"Well, I would have loved to meet some fellow like-minded colleagues. I've been groping in the dark for years. I haven't received any actual guidance."

"There is little point to that if Mr. S. seeks a solution that is out of the box. While we do not know how Mr. S. selects his disciples, it is fairly clear that his research direction is very difficult to get into. Similar to how Mr. Armalon is one of the rare mech designers who is suited to specialized in probability manipulation, you must possess a vital trait as well. That alongside the creativity and ingenuity that you have demonstrated means that your value is not small."

If Mr. S. was truly the Star Designer that Master Willix described, then Ves would feel very proud of himself.

As it was, he felt it was a bit redundant to pat himself on the back. Besides, he still didn't know why the Ouroboros caused other powerful mech designers to mistake it as the work of a pinnacle mech designer!

"This is a lot to take in." Ves truthfully admitted. "I hardly know what to think about the possibility that I might be of use to a Star Designer."

"We don't know for certain whether that is the case. The best solution is if you can get me into touch with Mr. S. We can clear many ambiguities as long as I can speak with him directly."

"That's not possible."

"A pity." Master Willix regretfully shook her head. "We will have to proceed with assumptions if that is the case. I will try my best to deal with you in a manner that is in the best interest of all of the parties involved."

Ves straightened his back. This was the critical moment.