The Mech Touch

Faced with Calabast's tirade, Captain Daria-Maria did not respond with heated emotion.

Instead, she remained as cool as a reptile and let a few seconds pass by in silence in order to cool the heated atmosphere.

Ves and Lucky were both completely floored. Man and cat both lowered their jaw in shock!

Neither of them knew much about Calabast's origins. While Ves knew that Calabast used to be a Vraken, he had not been able to extract any further details from her. When a spy did not want to reveal more information, it was impossible for Ves to get her to open her mouth.

Yet in the span of a single heated outburst, Ves had a sense that he was learning about the true Calabast!

From what he heard, Calabast lived a pretty tough life. Even though she was born in one of the most powerful dynasties in the Komodo Star Sector, the Vrakens set insanely high standards to their descendents.

Due to the unwillingness of the Vrakens to retain any descendants that were less than excellent, every parent within the matriarchal dynasty hoped that their daughters would grow up into future leaders, heroes, researchers and other illustrious figures.

Yet how many Vrakens would succeed the tests set by their parents and other authority figures within their dynasty?

"Do you know how many sisters have failed the lifelong training programs set by the Vrakens?" Calabast turned to Ves. "I don't have access to the full figures. The higher-ups don't want us to know how many Vrakens drop out. Still, there are plenty of estimates. From what I have observed, the failure rate is likely around 70 percent! Only three out of ten descendants will retain the right to call themselves a Vraken! Everyone else will fail to keep up. Once the dynasty deems them failures, they'll be booted out, but not before shoving a lot of debt on their shoulders! Many failed Vrakens have to work for the rest of their lives in order to repay the millions or even billions of hex credits spent to train them and augment them into superwomen."

This was a shocking approach to raising the next generation of Vrakens!

Ves could not imagine what it would be like to live in a dynasty filled with taskmasters. It sounded as if every Vraken acted like Gloriana when it came to raising their daughters!

He turned his gaze to Captain Daria-Maria. As an unabashed member of the Vraken Matriarchal Dynasty, she had a duty to defend its policies.

"We Vrakens are more powerful, more influential and more prosperous than any other Hexer in our state. Do you think our supremacy can be sustained if we take it easy? It's impossible! The other matriarchal dynasties aren't vegetables. If we allow them to surpass us, our control over the Hegemony and the Hex Army will diminish. Who knows what kind of insane policies they will push. Only intelligence and rationality can save us against the Friday Coalition. In order to ensure that we are at our peak, we must be willing to sacrifice a portion of our happiness in order to preserve our state! Is this too much to ask?"

Calabast let out a sarcastic laugh. "Hahahaha! Do you hear that, Ves? She's vastly understating how much 'happiness' we Vrakens have to give up in order to rank at the top of our class. We not only have to compete against other Hexers, but also against our own sisters! No matter which Vraken wins the competition, many more Vrakens will lie broken beneath our feet. Even though my mother and other Vrakens forced us to 'spend time' with each other, we were never able to forge any actual friendships. From the moment we were smart enough to count numbers, our mothers taught us how to scheme against each other. In public, we were all smiles, but in private, we were so lonely!"

The more Ves heard about how the Vrakens raised their offspring, the more he felt repelled by their conduct. The practices sounded more and more inhumane by the second!

"Captain Vraken, I don't mean to pry, but if Calabast isn't lying, then growing up as a Vraken must be pretty miserable."

"It depends." Daria-Maria calmly replied. "Most Vrakens understand the need for excellence. We do our best to educate them once they are old enough to understand what is at stake. The other matriarchal dynasties may be deluded, but they aren't stupid. The Fridaymen are pretty formidable as well despite their many faults. If we want to continue our dominance, we must be better than anyone else. There is no other choice!"

"There is always a choice! You just don't want to give us one. None of us had any say in how we were being raised!" Calabast aggressively shot back.

"Calabast, why must you be so angry? Without spending so many hex credits in designing your genes, fortifying your growing body with customized nutrients, providing you with the best teachers of their craft and implanting you with the latest implants developed by our labs, how could you ever grow up in such an excellent intelligence operative? Our dynasty may be wealthy, but it is impossible to provide main branch or side branch descendants with our most luxurious treatment. Compared to the Fridaymen, we Vrakens are unquestionably superior!"

The resentful ex-Vraken gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. She was not happy at all with what she heard.

"You don't understand. You claim that every descendant receives the same care, but everyone knows that you main branch members get more benefits and privileges from your parents. How can side branch members such as myself possibly keep up with your standards while receiving only a fraction of the resources? It's insane! The rate of failure of main branch descendants is much lower than that of side branch descendants. The Vrakens treated you like a princess while treating the rest of us as your foot soldiers!"

Her grudge ran deep. So much so that Captain Daria-Maria saw that it was pointless to continue this argument.

"Let's not air any of our dirty laundry any further." She took a step back. "What is done is done. You seem to have found your own happiness in the Larkinson Clan. As long as you do not waste your training and avoid spilling our secrets to your new family, I have no problem with your decision. I do recommend you get in touch with your mother, however. No matter what you thought about her, she genuinely loves you. Otherwise, she wouldn't have worked so hard to raise you into a successful Vraken."

The captain nodded to Ves before she marched back to the captain's seat.

Ves continued to hug his frightened cat as Calabast slowly regained her composure.

He didn't know whether Calabast had shown her true self this time. When she ranted about her indignities, her emotions were riled up. Her grievances appeared to be genuine.

Should he believe her, though? What if it was all an act? He could never tell whether Calabast was truly genuine. He did not dare to trust his eyes, ears, judgement, instincts and spiritual perception. Calabast had already demonstrated several times that she could completely present a different image from herself.

This was why he still reserved a bit of judgement. Calabast was a grown woman who was incredibly astute and not a person who allowed her emotions to get the better of her. There was no way her grievances against the Vrakens would ever cause her to lose control so easily.

She was almost certainly pretending. To what extent did she amplify her resentment? What was her objective?

"Sorry about that, Ves." Calabast brushed her stylish black uniform. "I showed you my ugly side today. I doubt you want to be confronted by two arguing women on your big day."

"I don't mind. I like to see who you really are behind your mask. I just think it's a pity that it takes another Vrakenn to pry open your mouth about your past."

She gave him a rueful smile. "I'm not a Vraken anymore. Don't lump me in the same group as the good captain. One of the greatest failings of the Vraken Matriarchal Dynasty is that it treats every descendent the same. To put it in more familiar terms to you, we are investments. We either have value to them or not. This is not necessarily wrong, but the Vrakens set the bar way too high. Those who cannot meet their expectations are ruthlessly discarded. Not even their mothers will treat them with more than a passing regard once their daughters fail!"

"That is.."

"Heartless? Cruel? Inhumane? You'd be right if you mention any of those words! What is worse is that many Vrakens don't even question this practice. Not even I knew that the way we were raised is horribly wrong. It was only once I became an intelligence operative and went on assignment in other states that I have learned how the rest of the galaxy raises its children."

"I see. That must have been quite a revelation to you. The Hexer way of life is too strict."

"Exactly." Calabast sighed. "Well, now you know what I had to go through. I won't say anything more about it. I don't have any desire to revisit all of the tests that I had to pass. I just hope that you will never adopt this awful model in the Larkinson Clan. Our children deserve better."

"Hey, you don't need to persuade me. I fully agree with your stance. I would never want to treat the younger generation as investment vehicles. They're children. They should have fun and receive lots of love from their parents."

"I believe you, Ves, but that does not mean our clan will be as you say. Don't you realize that the incentive structure that you have erected is already inching towards the Vraken approach?"

"What? That's not true! Kinship and family is of utmost importance to us! I have personally witnessed some of the schools that our fellow clansmen have set up on the 12th deck. All of the children attending them are filled with happiness."

"Perhaps in the start, that is the case." She said. "What about the future? The Larkinson Clan is a meritocracy. There are many channels to obtain resources and promote up the ladder. I believe you have good intentions when you set up programs like the Larkinson Merit Exchange. However, have you ever thought about how much competition you will stoke among your clansmen? Once parents learn that if their children are able to obtain more resources if they perform better, the poor kids will certainly come under a lot of pressure!"

"I think you're exaggerating, Calabast. That won't happen, especially now that you have pointed out this possible outcome. I do not want our future clansmen to grow up into useless bums, so it is impossible for me to strip all of the incentive systems. All I can tell you is that we are open to your suggestions. If you want us to go down a different path from the Vraken Matriarchal Dynasty, then you should share your personal insights to the Larkinson Assembly. Let your personal struggles be a lesson to those who are responsible for shaping our policies. Are you willing to share your story?"

"..Maybe. I am a very private person by nature."

"I'm not asking you to spill all of your childhood secrets." He reassured her. "You're my intelligence chief. You hold a lot of weight in the clan. People will listen to you if you speak on this subject. If that's not enough, I will put my own weight behind your testimony. This is the best way to prevent your fears from coming true."

Calabast clearly looked reluctant. "I will share my warning to the others, but it is up to them to implement reforms. All I can tell you now is that if the clan continues its current trend, it is very doubtful if I can ever consider it my home!"