The Mech Touch

"I understand that I have been trying your patience." Master Dervidian eventually said after he lectured to Ves for half an hour more. "I could not resist enlightening you to a cause that has many relations to your work. As you continue to move up in the mech industry, you will gradually come into contact with people who will associate your living mechs with transhumanism. You will not be caught flat-footed now that I have explained the essence of our cause. No matter what others may say about our faction, never forget that we are always working towards the betterment of our race."

Ves certainly gained a more thorough understanding of the Transhumanist Faction, but they weren't all positive.

"Uhm, I think I get it now. Can we… you know… proceed with discussing more relevant business?"

The Master slowly nodded. "I have given you enough lessons on a part of the Mech Trade Association that you were not familiar with before. You will need this information to navigate your future interactions with us. For reasons that will soon be known to you, our faction will be in regular contact with you and your people."

That sounded reassuring. Not.

There was nothing Ves could do if the Transhumanists insisted on butting into his life. The Survivalists may have already called dibs on him, but they could not prevent others from approaching him while extending a hand of friendship.

Although Ves did not develop a great impression of the Transhumanist Faction, Master Dervidian's behavior towards him showed that the Tranhumanists greatly valued him and his work.

In order to survive and be able to carry out his work with as few hindrances and interruptions as possible, Ves needed to cultivate as much support from the MTA as possible.

He would gain a lot more leeway to introduce more radical inventions if there were more mechers providing cover for him. He really wasn't in a position to reject the overtures from the Transhumanist Faction.

"Let us make our way to a more suitable meeting venue." Master Dervidian finally said as he briefly glanced down at the massive super whale. "Moby Dick here will stay put here. I will return later and conduct extensive studies on how this massive body is able to integrate so much phasewater and not collapse."

As the pair started to make their way out of the massive hall, Ves threw one last look at the super whale that tried but failed to escape from the Garimel System.

He had stayed here long enough to study Moby Dick's spirituality extensively.

Despite the massive creature's awesome might and size, Ves had the creeping suspicion that it may be less than what it appeared.

He had made several guesses on the identity of Moby Dick, but he didn't think that any of them were right now that he examined the creature's spirituality at this relatively close distance.

The super whale's physical characteristics partially resembled that of the Cerebral King, but Ves did not recognize any of the ancient fish-whale in Moby Dick's spirituality.

The massive beast did not possess the characteristics of an intelligent, long-lived tyrant like the mythical Flesh Conqueror.

Instead, Ves had the impression that Moby Dick possessed a new but feral spirituality!

He had encountered a similar case back in the Life Research Association. Was it coincidental that Moby Dick was also dominated by a newborn consciousness like Uranus?

What happened to the Cerebral King? What was the Flesh Conqueror's plan in setting all of this up? Ves seriously doubted that Moby Dick was supposed to turn into a brute devoid of wisdom and intelligence!

Oh well. It wasn't his problem. It was up to Master Dervidian and his researchers to puzzle all of this out. From the moment the Paracelsus Optimus entered the Garimel System, none of this was his responsibility anymore.

Master Dervidian eventually led Ves back to the battlecarrier through the same seamless teleportation process that did not give any warning.

Soon enough, they entered a rather plain compartment that vaguely resembled an interrogation room more than anything else. A table and two elegant chairs slowly rose up from the floor.

"Please take a seat, Mr. Larkinson. This is one of the most secure compartments on this ship. I have brought you here so that we can discuss matters that may touch upon controversial subjects or secrets that should not be spread. I think you should understand why the need for discretion is great."

Ves had a few ideas, yes. "I am eager to get this over with. Where do we begin?"

The gray-haired Master raised his hand and summoned a projection. It showed various clips of Task Force Fisherman plundering a lot of phasewater and harvesting dozens of organs from the bodies of slain Phasers.

"According to my understanding, our Association previously struck an agreement with you that grants you 2 weeks to make as much gains from the pocket space that you have discovered before we arrive to take possession of your discovery. In exchange for surrendering 90 percent of your spoils, we will grant you permission to keep the remainder as well as 15 million MTA merits as a reward for introducing us to this discovery. Is that correct?"

Ves nodded but leaned forward. "That is true, but I would like to note that we only made this deal with the assumption that my men and I would be exploring the Royal Tomb. What actually happened is that our Golden Skull Alliance entered a new space that we have taken to calling Purgatory. I've read the exact wording of the contract several times and it does not explicitly deal with a second pocket space that is completely separate from the Royal Tomb."

"That is not our interpretation of this agreement." Master Dervidian looked amused. "Any reasonable observer would conclude that Purgatory and the Royal Tomb are related to each other. In fact, I would go as far as saying that they are two peas in a pod or two facets of the same coin. The ease in which the alien entity known as the Cerebral King managed to access the Royal Tomb shows that the two spaces are highly related to each other. You cannot state that Purgatory is completely unrelated. Even the entrances are superimposed upon each other."

Although the MTA Master raised a few logical points, there was no way that Ves wanted to acquiesce so easily!

His spoils were at stake! If he just let the MTA steal 90 percent of his hard-won plunder, then he might as well sell his mechs for free!

He coughed. "The ease in which an individual can move from one space to another does not mean that they are the same. We have already ascertained that the Royal Tomb is actually anchored near Garimel II while Purgatory is much closer to Garimel I. They are separated by several light-hours! How can they be the same if that's the case? If we follow your argument, then the Red Ocean is not a separate dwarf galaxy but a seamless extension of the Milky Way. After all, the greater beyonder gates located in Maryun Ultima in the old galaxy and Bridgehead One in the new frontier allows for direct and nearly instant travel between the two! However, I would think that no reasonable observer would claim that the Milky Way and the Red Ocean are one and the same."

"That is a clever reply." Master Dervidian admitted while looking amused. "The exact meaning of the contract is subject to interpretation. Since both of us cannot agree to a common interpretation, we should settle our differences in court. I should warn you that this is a cumbersome and time-consuming process, especially in a case of this magnitude. Might I remind you that a judge might not look favorably on you for the various actions you undertook while you led your troops in Purgatory. Our Association does not look kindly on trading valuable goods and knowledge to alien races. We look even poorly towards an act of gross negligence that almost released a powerful phase whale into the Red Ocean."

"I… knew you mechers would be able to handle any unfortunate incidents that might spill out." Ves slowly replied while trying his best not to look nervous. "With the Simile Halifax in my fleet and Mr. Armalon stating that your Association has already laid claim to the Royal Tomb, I figured that anything that might happen in the Garimel System will ultimately be your responsibility, not mine. I mean, you effectively tried to impose a 90 percent tax on my spoils. There is no reason for your Association to claim remuneration if you are not willing to discharge the responsibilities that go with it. Besides, you have shown great appreciation towards Moby Dick. The giant phase whale is no threat towards the MTA. It is a highly valuable research object that you have obtained for free!"

Ves was no lawyer, but even he felt that his arguments were a little spurious. There were lots of holes in his words that Master Dervidian could easily poke if he wished.

"We do value Moby Dick even if it took great firepower to subdue this escaping alien threat. I suppose it is also fair to expect us to help given that we have claimed the phase whale enclave for ourselves."

The older man's relatively relaxed tone and lack of force was rather telling. It was as if he was not that serious about representing the MTA's rights in this particular case.

This was a far cry from the MTA's earlier directives that Jovy was forced to convey to Ves two weeks earlier!

There was only one clear reason why the MTA made such a drastic change in attitude.

Ves was a lot more valuable now than before.

This assumption gave him the confidence to fight back and defend his interests in a more assertive manner than usual.

If the MTA still thought he was a relatively minor figure like before, then he would never have the guts to adopt this tone towards an important and authoritative MTA Master Mech Designer!

"Can't we just dispense with bringing this case to court and settle our differences right now?" Ves requested. "I will give you Moby Dick as well as the pocket spaces and whatever is left inside. In exchange, I hope that you will allow us to keep our modest gains from Purgatory. We have only obtained a couple of scraps during our brief explorations. The little bit of phasewater and organic materials are nothing compared to the immense quantity of resources that we haven't been able to touch."

Master Dervidian looked into Ves' eyes for a few seconds before he dismissively waved his hand.

"You make a good argument, although you are heavily underselling how much phasewhater you have managed to take away. I will be magnanimous today and agree to your expedient proposal. I will allow your Golden Skull Alliance to retain its full spoils, although I must insist that you exchange 90 percent of your phasewater into their equivalent worth in MTA merits. Our Association has an urgent demand for phasewater and we cannot allow so much of it to go to waste in your hands. You do not need to be afraid that we will disadvantage you. We will not force you to exchange your phasewater at a discount."

"Is it as simple as that?" Ves blinked in surprise.

This was too easy!

"Yes." The Master stated with confidence. "I have full authority to decide over this matter, so you do not need to fear that another department or decision-maker will override my verdict."

Ves expected the MTA to get its grubby hands on much of his plundered phasewater through one way or another, so he did not feel that upset about this verdict.

What he really wanted was to get a fair price for the phasewater that he would have to surrender, and Master Dervidian happened to oblige his wish!

This was a huge concession!

Losing all of that phasewater hurt, but the prospect of obtaining hundreds of millions MTA merits instantly wiped away his resentment!