The Mech Touch

The feedback from Captain Rivington exposed a serious flaw.

Ves invested his time to craft several totems in the form of decent-sized statues in Lufa's likeness.

During the creation process, he constantly had the tranquil design spirit in mind, which meant that the finished products all possessed weak spiritual foundations that were nonetheless capable of holding a design spirit.

He thought that he created a way to encourage the refugees to let go of their past bonds and consider joining up with the Larkinson Clan.

Yet throughout this entire process, Ves never questioned the basic assumption of whether his target audience would even like his statue!

In any other state, Ves was extremely confident that his artistic abilities would be able to win the appreciation of the locals.

In the LRA, his usual art style fell completely flat! Now that he thought about it, not even his mechs earned as much appreciation from the public at the time of the design duel!

"These damn Lifers…"

These biotech-obsessed people were way too different for his liking. They were so abnormal compared to humans living in the rest of human space that they should have been classified as aliens!

There was a limit to how far a human could diverge from the norm of his race!

When Ves realized that his work had to be adapted to local sensibilities, Captain Rivington suggested that he call over a biomech technician.

A technician that used to work for the Roving Hunters reported to the workshop.

"You've called, sir?" A skinny man with pale hair asked.

"This is Dr. Robert Swindell." Rivington introduced. "Back when all of this happened, he was the specialist I always turned to whenever I needed to alter the appearance of one of my biomechs. He had a major influence on the current looks of the Taragon, Bluestar, Optimum and other mechs."

Ves looked at 'Doctor' Swindell with much more respect. While the newcomer looked nerdy enough to deserve this distinguished title, it was odd that someone who studied at one of the LRA's famed biotech-oriented institutions took on such a low position.

Dr. Swindell responded with a rueful smile. "There are famous universities and there are not-so-famous universities in our state. I attended one of the latter ones, sir. It still teaches all of the basics, but it's curriculum and teaching are not as extensive, partially so that students with no implants or low-quality implants can keep up. The majority of the graduates of my class went on to become biomech technicians. Only the most brilliant ones started a career in biomech design."

"Did the latter ones succeed?"

"No." The man who was slightly older than Ves replied. "They all failed to attract enough capital, let alone design a biomech that would attract enough customers. Everyone pretty much already knew this would happen, but we can always dream."

Ves smiled. "That is true. I admire their boldness."

That said, such an exceptionally poor record did not put Swindell's school in a good light.

"What do you specialize in, exactly?"

"Well, I studied enough biomech design to know the basics of how they are put together, sir. I have worked with enough biomechs to learn how I can shape their tissue. I can manipulate flesh and other organic tissue so that they retain most of their properties while taking on a different shape, color or texture."

"I see."

That sounded interesting. From how Ves understood it, Dr. Swindell trained himself into becoming a cosmetic surgeon for biomechs of sorts. This was doubtlessly a necessity for a competitive team that had to take great care in the appearances of their competitive mechs.

No one cheered for an ugly mech!

The most popular mechs in the arena always looked good. Each team aspired to be regarded as heroes or at least town favorites by presenting their mechs with as much beauty and flair as possible.

Ves asked a couple more questions to Dr. Swindell. The biomech technician explained the procedures he could perform and how extensively he could shape organic tissue to take on a desired shape.

Cosmetic alteration was a highly-developed field in human civilization. Even before the Age of Stars, humanity already came up with many ways to beautify someone's appearance. That trend continued on all the way up to the present day.

Therefore, Dr. Swindell was able to learn several different methods and techniques that could make a lot of changes without needing too much tech or sophisticated materials.

Ves pointed towards his four bare statues. "The reason why I requested your presence here is to find out whether you can help me with a problem. Can you cover these statues with living flesh and make them look as if they are actual angels in the flesh?"

The cosmetic specialist had already noticed the totems beforehand, but he wasn't close enough to be affected by their glows.

This was deliberate. Ves did not want Lufa's glow to affect Dr. Swindell's judgement.

"I can see that you have taken great care in their design and shaping. I love how you have emphasized the character of this fantasy angel, sir." The former Lifer spoke as one artist to another. "As for transforming their appearances.. I can do that, but not as well as I wish. If we were back in Ruuzon Arena, I would have access to much better facilities than now. As it is, whatever I can make will not be able to win any prizes."

"It doesn't have to be perfect." Ves spoke. "It just needs to look pleasing and convincing enough to gain the acceptance of the refugees outside."

"Ah. Now I see why you asked me to make them look organic, sir. If that's the case, then even a basic attempt is good enough. I doubt anyone here will be able to spot any shortcomings in the current situation."

Now that Dr. Swindell knew what Ves had in mind, they began to put their heads together in order to come up with a revised design for the totems.

Ves had never worked with a biotech specialist before, at least not in this capacity.

It helped that they weren't working on a mech. Making a statue was countless times simpler. They didn't have to worry about moving parts or trying to make sure that any cosmetic features could withstand a certain amount of damage.

"If durability is not a concern, then my job is much easier." Dr. Swindell smiled. "Harder flesh and tissue is much harder to shape and manipulate. You can't believe how many hours it takes to form abs onto an uncovered biomech or how much time it takes to precision-grind a piece of bone plating."

Under these conditions, Dr. Swindell quickly formed a plan. When Ves studied the projected sketch of his statues, he became impressed by how lifelike Lufa's depiction looked. The revised design truly had the capacity to make people believe as if a real angel had come!

"From what I've been told, our base doesn't possess the facilities and materials needed to perform many biotech-related procedures. Are you able to realize this new design with our current means?"

"The problem isn't as bad as it sounds." The cosmetic specialist confidently replied. "It is indeed true that it is difficult to work on biomechs and so on, but this is different. I can borrow some of the machines and tools from the infirmary to clone the required tissue. The quality of materials required to form all of the flesh, skin and other organic matter does not have to be high. In fact, if there is no suitable feeder stock, we can even feed the tissue generating machines with nutrient packs."

Ves looked astonished. "Are you serious?"

"It's true, sir. Nutrient packs consist of industrially-processed organic matter. When someone eats one, those nutrients get turned into the building blocks of blood cells, hair, nails and other organic tissue. The tissue generating machines simply perform the same process but with the middle steps cut out."

He didn't know that generating tissue was this convenient. It sounded as if it would be no problem to transform his statues into a brand new form of totem that he had never realized!

"Let's get to work then. I'll adjust the statues while you generate the required tissue. If there is anything you need, whether it is permission to use the medical equipment or materials needed to generate the tissue, then just ask."

Once Dr. Swindell moved to perform his own task, Ves turned back to his statues and began to slim them down.

The current proportions of his statues depicted Lufa in his actual form. This was fine if Ves didn't want to add anything to it, but now that he intended to use it as a base for organic tissue, it had to be cut down to size.

Otherwise, the fleshy Lufas that would appear at the end would look fat and bloated!

This was a simple enough process to Ves. Even though it hurt to mutilate his own artworks, he told himself that it was for the greater good. The end product would look much nicer after he completed this necessary step.

In order to facilitate the process of adhering organic tissue to his statues, he cut them in certain ways. Dr. Swindell had already gone over where and how he should hollow out certain portions of the base.

After that, Ves didn't have much to do. It took a lot more time to generate the required tissue, so he diverted his attention to upgrading and optimizing his mechs.

A day later, Ves returned to the workshop to see Dr. Swindell with a few tanks of biotissue floating by his side.

"Can we proceed?" Ves asked.

"Yes, sir. I have grown all of the materials we need. Do keep in mind that most of this tissue won't last very long. This is because I've accelerated their growth while using very basic materials as input. After three months, the softest and lightest flesh will begin to decay. Your statues will look quite gruesome as time goes on if this process continues."

"It doesn't matter. Three months is more than enough."

Once they began to work, Dr. Swindell quickly became immersed in Lufa's glow.

"Whoah. You didn't tell me that I would get affected by some sort of calming field."

"Will your work be affected by this mood?"

"I'm not used to working like this, but I can manage. I think."

Though Dr. Swindell behaved a bit hesitant at first, once he began to affix and bold some organic tissue onto a statue, he quickly found his groove.

Lufa's glow caused the man to enter into a zen-like mood. While it was hard to evoke any passion under these circumstances, it was very hard to make mistakes.

Ves did not stay idle throughout this time. He wanted to involve himself as much as possible. He knew that if he left the final step to someone else, the statue's spiritual foundation would likely diminish.

In addition, he suspected that the statue would treat the flesh layer like an article of clothing instead of a part of its body!

The flesh that covered the base had to be imparted with life as well in order to form a seamless whole with the rest. To do that, Ves had to be involved in every step of the way no matter how bad he was with shaping flesh!

Though Dr. Swindell was uncomfortable with Ves trying to help, they quickly formed an arrangement.

Ves didn't actually have to perform any difficult or sensitive steps. It was already enough for him to act as an assistant and follow some very simple steps.

After half a day of manual work, which Ves had insisted upon, the new totems had finally taken on their drastically different forms!

Ves and Dr. Swindle stepped backwards in order to behold their efforts.

"They're.." The biomech technicians uttered. "They're unreal. I never thought that they would have this effect."

Even Ves was impressed by the outcome of making an organic totem!

"They look.. as if they are truly about to soar into the sky."

Resting before them were four large angels. Their supple flesh looked tender and their clothes enhanced the impression that they were all alive.

What was even more notable about this collection was that each organic statue was different! They not only adopted different postures, but also varied in their glows!

The result was that each fleshy incarnation of Lufa provided a slightly different form of sanctuary!