The Mech Touch

Chapter 2941: Tainted Research

Different scientists developed different approaches to notation and documentation.

Some logged an abundance of data without organizing them too much. Their documents were filled with tables, spreadsheets, graphs and other forms of raw data. Someone who was well-versed in a particular field could easily read and decipher this complex data, but those who lacked the required expertise might as well be looking at pure gibberish! The flood of data could drown anyone trying to make sense of the chaos.

Others tried to be as short and curt as possible. Time was money and scientists only had a limited amount of time to devote to a given research project. If they had busy schedules, they couldn't afford to waste much time on recording, processing and analyzing data. Interpreting the research of this kind of academic was very difficult in a different way. The reader not only had to possess the right expertise, but also had to be clever enough to infer and deduct information that the researcher hadn't bothered to spell out in concrete terms.

What Ves faced right now was the latter situation. As soon as he shoved Dr. Perris aside and browsed through several different logs and research reports, he noted that the Supreme Sage did not document his thoughts in a presentable manner.

Sure, he was meticulous enough to form complete, grammatically-correct sentences. As one of the best classically-trained scientists in the galactic rim, it was impossible for such a great figure to be sloppy.

The problem that Ves faced was that the Supreme Sage made so much use of jargon, code words and self-invented terminology that a layman in the life sciences understood almost nothing of the contents!

Even a biomech designer like Avalon Perris was only able to interpret some general statements. Anything that had a direct relation with the processing of expert pilot brains was far too complicated to understand for a researcher who did not excel in human augmentation or expert pilot physiology.

Ves wasn't completely helpless, though. He was an engineer by trade and was accustomed to interpreting academic articles. This foundation allowed him to interpret at least some common aspects of academic discourse.

It was still damned hard for him to understand more than 5 percent of what he was reading.

Still, after Dr. Perris had given him some vital clues, he was able to understand some key phrases.

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[3439-CFR-A yield: 0.81 percent. Reduced efficiency after pre-injection of substance 11232343-KR; must obtain fresher source material.]

[Time pressure increased. Special Project 'V' stalled due to insufficient supply of 3439-CFR-A. Attempts to increase yield of Material 3439-CFR-A failed. Alternative: request more source material.]

[Material 3439-CFR-X: Failed product. Compatibility with Special Project 'V' reduced by 93 percent compared to 3439-CFR-X. Current framework of psionic power is more flawed than expected.]

Through interpreting brief sentences like these, Ves managed to gain a very broad impression on what the Supreme Sage managed to achieve with Project Cain. he also gained some insights on what he felt was lacking and the problems he wished to solve.

"It seems my guess is right." He murmured. "The production process of the key ingredient required to synthesize the valuable life-prolonging treatment serum is too inefficient. Much of the potential of the remains of an expert pilot is being wasted in the process. It can't be helped since the extraordinary qualities of demigods are too difficult to contain."

His own understanding of spirituality allowed him to view Project Cain from a different angle. He had his own explanation for what the Supreme Sage tried to do. The research documents he skimmed over pretty much confirmed his initial guesses.

What the Supreme Sage actually sought to harvest was the remnant spirituality and maybe also the willpower of expert pilots.

While it was impossible for conventional technology to actually capture and store this intangible energy without resorting to an obscure material like P-stones, there was actually a substitute.

The brain of a human anchored that person's spirituality. An expert pilot was no different. Though most of the will and spirituality dissipated from a corpse after death, at least some of it would always linger depending on several different variables, most notably how much time had passed between death and harvesting.

In effect, the brain of a person acted like a natural P-stone to that specific person's spirituality. While it was much less effective in acting as a container than a proper P-stone, the Supreme Sage may not have a choice.

Ves pitied the Supreme Sage. For all of his knowledge and accomplishments, his foundation in spirituality was incomparable to that of Ves. Since this great scientist was not a spiritual engineer, he suffered the punishment of trying to study and harness a phenomena that fell outside of his area of expertise!

It would be the same story if Ves attempted to design a biomech! Even if designing conventional mechs shared a lot of common ground with designing biomechs, the requirements were ultimately very different. He did not believe he could succeed in designing a functioning biomech with his current level of knowledge!

"It turns out the Supreme Sage isn't omniscient after all." He muttered. "It also doesn't appear he's affiliated with a certain band of insane researchers."

He always felt there was a chance that the Supreme Sage was affiliated with the Five Scrolls Compact. The cult was infamous for pushing the boundaries of everything related to biology. It would have been strange not to ascertain a possible relationship between the two. When Dr. Perris initially explained what she had learned about Project Cain, this suspicion shot up in his mind!

Yet… unless the documentation was all fake, which Ves didn't think was the case, the Supreme Sage exhibited an obvious lack of understanding towards spirituality!

There were only a few scattered references towards psionic power. This key term happened to be the most preferred way the Mech Trade Association liked to talk about this phenomenon.

Together with all of the high-end lab machines and lab equipment that the Supreme Sage redeemed from the same organization, it was clear that the great researchers definitely maintained a working relationship with at least one of the Big Two!

The problem was that Ves was not able to infer how they were. This working relationship could simply amount to the Supreme Sage earning lots of merits by submitting valuable research results and using his earnings to procure powerful research equipment.

However, the Supreme Sage may have actually gotten in touch with the higher-ups of the MTA. Perhaps he had become a valued and important external collaborator who assisted in the research of very high-level projects.

While the MTA doubtlessly employed a lot of top-tier researchers, that didn't mean that outside help was redundant. The Supreme Sage possessed a very different background and perspective on the sciences. If the MTA's internal research teams were stuck on a difficult problem, it made sense to look for a second opinion and collaborate with an outsider in the hopes of achieving a breakthrough.

"Which possibility is the case here?" He muttered as he continued to look for certain key words that might provide the answer he was looking for. "Is the Supreme Sage merely a convenient collaborator for the MTA or is he a core partner to the MTA's internal research teams?"

He failed to find an answer in the research documents stored in the local database.

Regardless of the answer, Ves felt the probability that the Supreme Sage was tied to the Five Scrolls Compact was minimal. Even if the great scientist turned out to be a ruthless, amoral researcher who did not hesitate to use expert pilots as raw materials, lack of ethics was hardly a quality that was exclusive to the cultists. Plenty of other scientists who were related to the Compacts engaged in horrendous studies!

"It's just a coincidence that the Supreme Sage is both a biotech researcher and greedy to find a way to make himself live longer." He dismissively muttered. "There are many other people and organizations in the galaxy who are trying to accomplish the same goal."

Now that he thought about it, he felt it was too improbable that the Supreme Sage had any relations with the Compact. Since the old man actively transacted and collaborated with the MTA to an extent, how could the mechers not do their due diligence?

Ves guessed that the Big Two constantly scrutinized every biotech researcher in order to determine they remain uninvolved with the cult! If there was any sign that the researcher in question was in cahoots with the Compact, then he had no doubt that the Big Two would take action to eliminate the violator in question!

"The Supreme Sage shouldn't be that stupid."

He quickly ended his examination. He wasn't able to derive any more useful information and already gained an overall impression of Project Cain's role in the pinnacle lab.

To the Supreme Sage, Project Cain was merely a means to an end. Its main purpose was to supply a spiritually-infused ingredient for Special Project 'V'.

Ves saw numerous references to this specific project. Different from regular projects, anything called 'Special Project' was probably one of the core focuses of the Supreme Sage!

"I also stumbled upon a mention of Special Project 'U' earlier. Is that another major research endeavor?"

He felt as if he was only seeing the tip of the iceberg when it came to the research being performed in this pinnacle lab. Perhaps he might be able to discover the rest of the details as he headed deeper into the facility.

"Our goal is clear." He spoke to his team. "The data here suggests that this pinnacle lab not only holds high-grade life-prolonging serum, but might actually be used to produce it. While I'm not sure whether the serum produced by the Supreme Sage is an authentic product, even an imitation is of great value to me. Right now, we must find the research lab where Special Project 'V' is based in order to obtain any serum the Supreme Sage might have produced before his death. I hope he hasn't used it all up or something."

Before he left, he extended a data cord from his Unending Regalia and connected it to a slot in the terminal. He transferred all of the files in the local database to one of the secure data chips mounted in his combat armor.

"What.. what are you doing, sir?" Dr. Perris recovered a bit from her shock.

"I am securing valuable research data."

"What? Why!? This is tainted research! The Supreme Sage has committed a great evil! If any of this data gets leaked, the consequences will be dire! We can't do this, sir! It is evil for us to take advantage of the defilement of these honorable expert pilots!"

Ves remained determined. Since the strange access pass he received from his living gem granted him total access to any local systems, there was no way he was going to miss this opportunity!

Tainted research or not, anything related to the study life-prolonging treatment serum was priceless in his eyes!

He briefly smiled back at her. "You're looking at this situation from the wrong angle. While I do not deny that the Supreme Sage has committed a great injustice, we should not let the sacrifices of these expert pilots go to waste. We should make sure that we do right by them, and the best way to do that is to find a good use of the research results that the Supreme Sage has obtained. In our hands, we can do a lot good with this data. It might even be enough to counteract the crimes committed here. Doesn't that sound great?"