The Mech Touch

The final score abruptly widened to 4-2 in favor of Ves!

While the result was a bit predictable in hindsight, a lot of people still reacted negatively to this outcome.

"Are they even Lifers? How could they choose a metal mech over a biomech!"

"It's over for us if the mech pilots base their decisions on the win-loss records!"

"Traitors! Why didn't they give the Faerie Stinger a chance? It's clearly the better-looking of the two mechs!"

"I need to see what the fuss is all about. Are the Ferocious Piranha's truly special?"

The audience sounded more perplexed than angry for the moment. They never experienced the two mechs up close, so they found it very difficult to understand why the Ferocious Piranha merited so much praise.

Only by coming close to the mech in question would they be able to learn why Rez Killigan and Katarina Volsimar kicked the Faerie Stinger to the curb!

Once the discontent voices died down a bit, the show resumed.

Six mech pilots had issued their verdicts by now. Four still had to voice their opinions.

This did not leave Dr. Navarro with much of a margin for victory. If he wanted to win the design duel, he had to win over at least three of the following mech pilots!

The likelihood of that happening seemed very bleak, but Ves didn't rule out any possibility. An upset might very well happen if the remaining mech pilots all misinterpreted their orders and used flawed logic to come up with their answers.

This was the problem with receiving any feedback from mech pilots. Their highly-specialized mech academy training turned them into great mech pilots but not much else. They didn't learn any advanced sciences, learned nothing about culture and probably didn't even know how their own government worked!

Many states believed that mech pilots had to be pure soldiers. Forcing them to learn non-combat subjects not only reduced the time they spent on developing their fighting skills, but also inserted their minds with potentially-dangerous thoughts!

If mech pilots became more political or assertive, then they might very well pose a threat to their states one day!

Therefore, the overall consensus throughout human space was that mech pilots had to be raised as grunts. If they were subjected to any intellectual courses, then they should purely be geared towards turning them into qualified officers, not great scientists or other professions that required great thought.

For this reason, many mech pilots weren't exactly clever outside of battle. Unlike scientists and engineers who studied the scientific method and learned how to anticipate and compensate for many different biases that were capable of skewing the results, mech pilots didn't bother with all of that. They simply spoke what was on their mind regardless of whether their answer was related to the original question.

This was the accepted practice towards any study that involved mech pilots. Their initial answers were always the purest ones that best reflected their true feelings and thoughts.

Any attempt at coaching them or guiding them to answer a question more correctly would put undue influence on their judgement.

Therefore, despite all of the shortcomings related to the current approach, it was still considered better than the alternative.

After a brief pause, Carter Day spoke up next.

"In my first match, I lost with Mr. Larkinson's mech. In the second match, I lost with Dr. Navarro's mech. My experiences with both the Valkyrie Redeemer and the Frokyn could have been better. I.. I don't know if I'm the right judge for this, but what I have gone through while losing with both mechs is different."

The recently-graduated mech pilot looked quite bummed because of this. His two losses not only reflected poorly on his piloting skill, but also denied him the opportunity to experience the mechs at their best.

At least there was a bright side to this outcome. Carter Day displayed a sheepish smile.

"Mechs are supposed to win, but not every fight ends in your favor. What I have just gone through has taught me that mechs can make a huge difference when you are on the losing end. In this regard, I did not feel as if the Frokyn had my back. It failed to perform as well as in the first match, and that was a big letdown to me. I know it was in a rather exhausted state when I got my hands on it, but I expected more."

The male mech pilot shrugged. "I heard a few stories about the Valkyrie Redeemer model. It's supposed to be a mech that is exclusive to Hexer women, though this particular mech was altered. I don't know how the original version is supposed to work, but I think I know why Hexers fell in love with it. The Valkyrie Redeemer is like a second partner to me. Even though I lost badly against the Frokyn while I piloted it, I always felt as if my mech supported me to the very end. It made me fight harder and always kept me company to the very end."

Carter Day then proceeded to voice his most devastating words.

"When I piloted the Frokyn.. I lacked all of that. The biomech was pretty much dead to me. I was left on my own, and I can't get over that. The only mech that is alive of the two is the Valkyrie Redeemer. Hexer mech or not, the version I piloted is a pleasure to use! I wish I was a woman, though. I could have gotten much more out of it if I wasn't a man!"

His answer depressed the crowd even further. Carter Day's arguments were much better thought out, and that left the Lifers with little means to reject them. That left many people frustrated!

It didn't help that the Frokyn hadn't performed up to expectation during the second phase. The recency bias must have amplified his negative experience.

Ves smiled. He was on a roll now. Three mech pilots consecutively voted in favor of his mechs.

With five votes in total, it was impossible for him to lose the design duel at this point! The worst outcome that was possible at this moment would be to lose the next three votes, thereby resulting in a tie.

There was no way that would happen! Ves didn't believe that all of the remaining three mech pilots would choose to favor Dr. Navarro. Not when Ves' mechs achieved more wins than losses!

"As Mr. Day's opponent, my time with the Valkyrie Redeemer and the Frokyn went differently." Mireilla Linschoten spoke when it was her turn to issue her verdict. "I piloted the Frokyn when it was at its best and I piloted the Valkyrie Redeemer in a less-than-ideal state. Ordinarily, that should have given me a better impression of the former. I do have to admit that I think highly of the Frokyn's combat ability. It is one of the finest biomechs I've ever piloted. The ability to grow out all of that hair and use it to entangle and frustrate other melee mechs is very useful."

She sighed. "The Valkyrie Redeemer is better though. While I wish I had piloted it when it was at its best, what I managed to get is still convincing enough for me to become a fan of this model! While I'm not a Hexer, there's something about this mech that just brings out the best of me, not just as a mech pilot, but also as a woman. I think this is what a living mech should truly be like. No matter how powerful the Frokyn felt in my hands, the Valkyrie Redeemer actively worked with me to achieve victory, and I appreciate that. I think every mech pilot would feel better if their mechs supported them in battle!"

Mireilla Linschoten dealt another heavy blow to Dr. Navarro and the Lifers who rooted for him! With the eight mech pilot speaking out, the total score turned to 6-2. With this kind of disparity, it was impossible for Dr. Navarro made a comeback, and everyone was aware of this reality!

"Is this a mistake?"

"This can't be!"

"Traitors! Hang them all! They're no Lifers anymore. They're working for the enemy!"

Although this outcome was not an unanticipated one, Ves noticed that Dr. Navarro mournfully lowered his head. The biomech designer's reaction showed that he had genuinely tried to achieve victory. He had just picked the wrong opponent.

Of course, this wasn't enough for Ves to drop his suspicions towards Frederico Navarro. No matter how sincere he might have been, Navarro had to know that he was facing an uphill battle!

The show wasn't over yet. Even though victory and defeat had basically been decided at this point, two more mech pilots were waiting to voice their opinions.

What they were about to say could either widen the disparity between the two mech designers further or offer some redemption to Dr. Navarro.

Gwineth Ulser slowly stepped forward. "I think highly of both the Transcendent Punisher and the Swarm Monarch. Both have their good points. The Transcendent Punisher is a powerful heavy artillery mech, and I managed to win with it. However, there was just something about it that always rubbed me the wrong way. I felt as if I'm not the right mech pilot for it. I'm sure it's a great mech, but if it holds back because it doesn't like me, then I'm not sure if I want to condone this kind of machine."

She smiled. "The Swarm Monarch is a lot different. It's a biomech, and a multi-layered one at that. I think its features best represent the potential of biomechs. Even if those saboteur beetles got hacked for some reason, I don't hold it against the Swarm Monarch. In my opinion, a mech should be dependable and usable to every mech pilot with the right skills. If living mechs are capable of rejecting their own mech pilots, then I don't think that's good. I would rather pilot a silent mech like the Swarm Monarch that responds exactly according to my intentions."

Her answer was confusing. On one hand, she acknowledged that the Transcendent Punisher was likely the one that was more qualified to be called a living mech.

On the other hand, she explained her misgivings about Ves' interpretation of living mechs. Her concerns were valid. If Ves had designed more mechs, then he could have made use of more neutral mech models for this design duel, but because he was too young, he didn't have much choice! Adapting the Transcendent Punisher to a foreign mech pilot was the best he could do to fill up the fifth slot of his dueling mech roster.

Since Gwineth Ulser's reply wasn't entirely clear, someone had to decide how to adjust the score.

Master Cline broke the silence.

"I will interpret Madame Ulser's answer as a vote in favor of Dr. Navarro."

The biomech designer finally increased his score! Would Dr. Navarro be able to salvage his reputation further?

Everyone waited for the final mech pilot to issue her verdict. Ilse Lieberman had already listened to the answers of nine mech pilots. That caused her to approach this issue from multiple angles.

"I think the mech pilots who spoke before me already touched upon many of the points I wanted to say. They all have a point. Mr. Larkinson's mechs are truly amazing. I can even see why they are called living mechs. While I agree with what Ulser said about mechs, I don't see that as a reason to reject them. Mechs are our partners. As long as we treat them well, they will definitely return the favor when we need it most."

Her eyes turned a little dreamy. "I think that you need to develop a relationship with mechs like these. I really wish I had months to do so with the Transcendent Punisher. I would have probably fought a lot better if I did! As for the Swarm Monarch… I'm sorry, Dr. Navarro, but I don't see why it should be called alive. I know for certain that the mech will largely remain the same even if I invest months into developing a relationship with it. No matter if it's a biomech or a classical mech, nothing will come from befriending it as long as it's not designed by Mr. Larkinson!"

Her answer was loud and clear. She voiced her support for Ves, thereby changing the final score to 7-3 in favor of Ves!

This score happened to mirror the outcome of all of the matches!

Now that the mech pilots made their opinions known, the design duel had formally come to an end.

As much as Master Cline wanted a different outcome, he had no choice but to recognize reality.

"Of the ten mech pilots, seven of them have voted in favor of Mr. Larkinson. Three have offered their support for Dr. Navarro. The outcome is clear. Ves Larkinson… is the winner of this design duel."

A momentary silence ensued. The Lifers already received a lot of forewarning, but when it finally happened, they were still stunned!

Some of the conservative-leaning mech designers and officials immediately began to get angry! "I object!"