The Mech Touch

Ves held up the big coaster-sized golden coin and acted as if he was appraising an antique artifact.

"This is a pleasant-looking design." He said in front of his two chief ministers. "The logo of the Larkinson Clan, the head of the Golden Cat, is properly depicted and looks identical to the medallion on the front cover of the Larkinson Mandate."

He flipped the megalark coin. There were a few decorative elements on it that Ves did not bother to linger. The words ‘megalark' was spelled out in a bold embossed font. If that wasn't obvious enough for people to determine how much money it represented, it also presented a big fat ‘1000000' on its rear side.

He touched the surface of the large coin with his finger and let his skin and other senses gain a deeper impression of the object.

He waved the heavy coin around and looked at the two older men who undoubtedly supervised the planning and design of the Larkinson Clan's upcoming currency.

"Does this look like it is worth 1000 MTA credits to you?" Ves seriously asked. "I mean, how much does it cost to buy the materials and stamp them into a coin? It doesn't look nearly as expensive enough to buy an entire combat carrier's worth of mechs."

Raymond softly coughed. "The lark is a fiat currency. That means the coin is worth as much as we say it is worth. The materials used to make the coin is worth around a dozen or so larks, but that is irrelevant as long as it does the job. The lark mostly exists as a virtual currency anyway and every coin is registered so that there is no point to forging it. The coins themselves should be seen as a marketing stunt more than anything else. For all intents and purposes, the lark is an administrative and economic tool that is designed to regulate our internal economy better."

"I know all of that." Ves replied with a frown. "I don't fault your solution to the demands that you have posed. What I do have a problem with is the goals that you have been working with. All of this talk about focus testing and trying to come up with the safest, most inoffensive and most universal currency for our clansmen sounds boring."

Neither of the two chief ministers knew what to say to that. It was clear that Ves had entirely different goals in mind!

Ves sighed. These older gentlemen were just doing what they thought was best for the Larkinson Clan. They did not deserve a reprimand for doing their jobs.

"I blame myself for this." He said as he tapped the side of the coin against his desktop. "I spent way too much time on designing mechs and other matters and did not check up on what you guys were doing with our new legal tender."

Raymond was more affected by this implicit rebuke than most considering he took charge of much of the financial affairs of the clan.

"Please tell us your intentions, Ves. We could all use more clarity."

Ves tossed the big coin in the air and let it fall onto his desk, causing it to clatter as if it was a fallen toy.

"Let me ask you this, Raymond. Is the Larkinson Clan a boring clan?"

His great-uncle frowned. "I suppose not. Compared to other clans and family organizations, our history, our culture and our structure is unorthodox to say the least."

"The Larkinson Clan is a young organization that is founded by a young and opinionated leader." Novilon Purnesse added as if he was describing a third-party group. "In cases where a charismatic and wealthy leader has erected much of the rules, customs and institutions, the organization will inevitably become a reflection of the aforementioned individual's personality. Over time, the rise of other executives and the drive to professionalize the organization will bring it more in line with prevailing standards depending on how deeply it is integrated in a regional community."

Ves was impressed with this explanation. "If you know this much, then you should have an inkling of what I think. I know that you have all been trying to convert our irregular, ad-hoc way of working into a more formal and professional structure, and I am largely fine with that. We are not savages and we can't keep making up the rules as we go. Steps such as regularizing the bureaucracy of the clan and building up the staff of the Larkinson Army are necessities that will make our clan stronger."

He tapped the surface of the megalark coin with his finger.

"However, I don't want the Larkinson Clan to morph into a generic state or organization where everything we do comes straight out of the governance textbooks. We were originally a collection of misfits who split off from any existing state and organization so that we can pursue our own desires and ambitions without needing to conform to the rules of others. We are different, and we embrace that. From our living mechs to our various networks, we are strong exactly because we do things differently from the rest of human society."

His speech served as a reminder to the two chief ministers. He rectified their approach to their own duties and made sure they should not blindly pursue standardization.

Raymond looked at the coins that the Finance Ministry had invested a lot of effort in designing. The size of the coins, the material composition, the elements placed on the front and rear sides of the coin, the design on the edges were all the product of thousands of man-hours.

He had been quite proud of them before this meeting. Even if the coins weren't supposed to be used in daily transactions, their clean designs and dignified appearances could convey a great amount of legitimacy to the clan.

"We understand." The old man sighed. "Do you intend to intervene in this matter yourself?"

Ves nodded. "Yes. Not every idea sounds awful to me. I think I am already getting accustomed to the word ‘lark' to describe our coin. It sounds unique enough to make sure that everyone else who comes across our currency will know it is a part of our identity. The notion of using the metric system to divide the different denominations is also a decent idea. We don't need to make it anymore complicated than necessary."

He turned his attention to the four different coins that Raymond had presented to him earlier.

"What I do have a problem with is the symbolism, meaning and value of the lark and more specifically the coins. I really can't stand them. They're so bland and uninspiring that they offend my designer sensibilities. For my entire career, I have worked to differentiate my mechs from the competition as much as possible. Generic designs are taboo in my book."

He quickly picked up the smallest black coin. "Just look at this so-called millilark coin. It's a small black token that depicts the logo of the Larkinson Clan on one side and a number on the other side. The small flourishes are boring and uninspired. Yet what really gets to me is that these coins have no life! Can you imagine it? Our clan has pioneered living mechs and living products. Why the hell do we have to resort to boring coins that are no different from that of other states?"

"What do you have in mind, then?" Raymond tentatively asked.

"It's simple. First, I want to redesign these coins myself. They need to look more unique and reflective of our Larkinson style. There is no need for them to look too bland and dignified. Second, I want to make each and every coin alive. This is non-negotiable. I want every Larkinson to get in touch with them to feel how special it is for them to be a member of our clan. I want outsiders to envy us and learn by feeling the coins how special we are. In fact, I have an even better idea."

Novilon Purnesse looked wary at Ves. What kind of crazy idea did he come up with now?

"And what is that, sir?"

Ves grinned. "I just thought about it. Why can't we turn these coins into a valuable product? They can do more than represent a specific amount of fiat currency. By making them alive and instilling them with special properties, we can sell them to others and raise a lot of money this way! As long as the coins are valuable, useful or desirable enough, we can work towards reducing our clan's debt burden!"

"…"

"How can we do that?" Raymond puzzlingly frowned. "It sounds to me as if you want to make coins with the property of totems. As far as we know, each of your so-called totems require your personal input in order to be made. While it should not be a problem for you to make a couple of hundred coins, as our clan grows larger it is not tenable for you to keep producing coins in person. Your time is much more valuable than that and it is better that we shift responsibility over to our central bank or another specialized institution."

The old man was right. Ves liked his new idea, but that didn't mean it was practical. He did not want to get stuck with minting coins every other day!

Ves rubbed his smooth-shaven chin in thought. "I need to think about this. For now, leave these coins with me. Also, pass on the relevant documents related to this project. I want to read up more about our currency so I have a better idea of what I need to pay attention to and what requirements it needs to meet. I'll try to rush this as fast as possible since I have other projects on the agenda. I'll notify you of my results in a few days."

He quickly dismissed the two chief ministers shortly afterwards. He was in no mood to deal with other subjects when he was presented with such an interesting and important challenge.

Ves picked up the megalark coin again and flipped it around a few times.

He actually found it to be a bit decent, but there were numerous different aspects about it that he didn't like.

"Why would a coin be worth 1000 MTA credits? That's way too exaggerated. What if someone drops it in a garbage chute by accident?"

Even the mechers themselves did not spend that much money without blinking!

Although it was not an exaggerated sum of money by first-rate standards, it was not a sum of money that they would spend in order to buy a cup of coffee!

Another issue that he had a problem with was that the coin was not truly valuable. There was no reason to make use of coins at all when a cheap composite bill could do the job as well.

Pretty much every modern state utilized the fiat currency system to represent the value of their legal tender. It was a trust-based system that essentially encouraged the people that used it to pretend that it was actually valuable.

"Trust, huh?"

Although this was a successful system that had been used in many ages in humanity's history, it was also boring and standard to Ves. While there was nothing wrong with adopting a standard template, he felt this was a great opportunity for his clan to reinforce its unique identity and stand out further from the pack.

What state or organization minted coins that were not only alive, but also possessed intrinsic value on their own?

The ultimate goal that Ves had in mind was to design and mass produce coins that were genuinely worth as much money as their face value!

In other words, this project is partially a reversion to the ancient convention of using precious metals as legal tender. A coin that claimed that it was worth 1 lark must actually hold that value even if the Larkinson Clan abolished its currency!

"The question is… can I do this?" Ves wondered.