The Mech Touch

After a long day of conducting experiments and analyzing the huge trove of data they provided, both Ves and Master Dervidian gained a much more comprehensive understanding of the properties of the transcendence glow.

"There is so much empirical data! This is more than I could have dreamed of! The high-quality test subjects have also made a huge difference!"

With such favorable circumstances, even a troglodyte would be able to learn a lot of lessons!

As for Ves, his gains were massive! He not only confirmed many theories and came up with a couple of new ones, but also developed several promising ideas to increase the transcendence glow's success rate while reducing its risk factor.

He had a feeling that he had achieved years worth of research progress in just a single day!

Though he still harbored mixed feelings about Master Dervidian and his controversial views, he could not deny that the superluminal drive specialist was a stellar researcher.

The accomplished mech designer not only had access to superior research facilities, but also possessed the intelligence and imagination to make the most of his favorable circumstances.

If Master Dervidian failed to complete the leap towards Star Designer in his life, then Ves felt it was wholly undeserved!

"This guy truly deserves all of the resources and privileges he has earned!"

Though Ves grew more and more envious at Master Dervidian's superior research conditions, he did not harbor any desire to grow closer to the MTA.

The Association was way more dangerous and complicated than he thought. He already learned to be on guard in the presence of the mechers, but the events he witnessed today strengthened his vigilance towards the powerful organization.

Its mech designers were a lot less innocent than he thought!

The situation was fine as long as Ves was on good terms with them, but how long would this remain the case?

If Ves suddenly fell out of favor with a powerful mech designer, he did not think his treatment would be any better than the hundreds of Terrans and Rubarthan test subjects that had lost their lives today!

He couldn't wait to get back to his fleet and distance himself from the Paracelsus Optimus!

Before the MTA let him go, he first had to conclude his private agreement with the Transhumanist Faction which Master Dervidian represented.

The Master Mech Designer led Ves back to the secure meeting compartment where they could finally conclude this extensive session.

"Well. The results we have gained today no longer leave any doubts to your claims." Master Dervidian said with a smile. "Compared to all of the other breakthrough solutions that I have had the pleasure of witnessing, I can tell you now that none of them ever come close to your Aspect of Transcendence. Not only does your invention produce an immediate increase in the chances of breakthroughs, but the risks and dangers are also much more controllable than those other extreme methods."

The MTA's research teams never gave up researching ways to allow mech pilots to advance at greater rates than normal.

Ves even guessed that the mechers already succeeded in developing a couple of methods, but never spread them out because they were too costly or produced too many side-effects.

However, if a core figure of the Transhumanist Faction talked like this, then Ves might have overestimated their research prowess!

All of this gave Ves greater assurances that he could gain more benefits from the other party. After all, the transcendence glow was just the beginning. As long as he continued to work on it while also progressing his design philosophy, it was not impossible to overturn the entire landscape of the mech community one day!

"It is a pity that you are still far from becoming a Master Mech Designer." Dervidian sighed in regret. "There is so much we can discuss and cooperate on if you have realized your design philosophy, but since that is not the case, we will have to defer those crucial talks in the far future. Hm, on second thought, it is not bad to take our time on this matter. Your invention is still too dangerous and immature to propagate it to the public."

Ves nodded in agreement. "I don't want to be responsible for unleashing a weapon that might be used to kill countless people. I'm rather relieved that you have managed to discover numerous solutions that can block the lethality of transcendence glow."

This was one of the bigger surprises of today. Master Dervidian conducted a series of experiments where he brought out many different kinds of protective technology.

The goal was to see whether there were any non-glow based methods to guard humans against the dangerous consequences of the transcendence glow.

While the protection generated from conventional human technology proved to be ineffective, certain pieces of alien technology produced different results!

For example, an energy shield generated by an extinct alien race from the Red Ocean was surprisingly able to completely block out much of the influence from the Aspect of Transcendence!

Although it did not prove to be totally effective, this was nonetheless a sign that certain aliens must have encountered similar phenomena in the past.

In fact, Master Dervidian even tested an experimental shielding system that was also effective at weakening glows.

The Master didn't say much about this system other than that it was in development to counter another possible threat.

The existence of all of these potential solutions caused Ves to become a lot more respectful of humanity's ability to harness technology to its advantage.

Though Ves found it a shame that his mechs might not be able to unscrupulously abuse all of his enemies by taking advantage of suppressive glows, he knew that it was for the better.

As Master Dervidian had mentioned earlier, if Ves was able to develop a new weapon system, then so could humanity's enemies!

"Let us proceed with crafting our agreement. Please inspect this draft contract and tell me your thoughts."

A projection appeared in front of Ves that displayed a long and extensive legal document.

Its format and contents looked similar to the contract that he had already signed with the Mech Trade Association earlier.

The difference this time was that Ves was cooperating with the MTA Transhumanist Faction this time.

Before he dived in the details, Ves asked an important question.

"I don't have any objections to cooperation with your faction, but will the Survivalists be okay with this arrangement?"

"You do not need to be concerned about that, Mr. Larkinson. We are in regular contact with the Survivalists and we have already agreed on the extent of our cooperation with you. The reason why they referred us to you in the first place is because they wisely recognize that they do not have the expertise to maximize what you can offer."

"I see."

This made a lot of sense. The Polymath might be well-versed in every discipline, but she was only one person.

In contrast, the Transhumanist Faction was filled with capable researchers who conducted a lot of research on pilot breakthroughs!

Ves dove into the draft contract and tried to interpret the complicated legal terms into more understandable meanings.

It quickly became clear that the Transhumanists firmly wanted to pull Ves into their orbit!

The proposed cooperation went beyond a simple technological exchange. This contract formed a true basis of an alliance between the two sides.

Once Ves signed this contract, it wasn't so easy to disentangle himself from the Transhumanists before!

This realization caused him to question the wisdom of becoming bosom buddies with this faction.

On one hand, getting entangled with the Transhumanists meant that he would also make enemies with those who were opposed to this camp. Ves did not have any desire to piss off more people than necessary!

On the other hand, building more support within the MTA was a necessity to him. The closer he came to reaching his ambitions, the more he needed the backing of different groups of people.

Obtaining the support of a powerful MTA faction also provided him with a lot more assurances that the mechers wouldn't turn against him one day!

The last point alone was powerful enough for Ves to proceed with this cooperation.

He continued to read the terms and thought that many of them looked good.

He briefly paused when he stumbled upon a surprising and far-reaching clause.

"Sir? It says here that your faction will upgrade my galactic citizenship from tier 10 to tier 6."

"That is correct."

"It's just… what difference does this make?" Ves asked. "Forgive me for saying this, but I became a tier 10 galactic citizen a long time ago. Ever since then, I hardly notice any difference in my treatment. Aside from a few minor perks, it appears that no one is treating me any differently."

Master Dervidian shook his head. "This is indeed a regrettable circumstance. When we originally formed the galactic citizenship system, we intended to bring order to human civilization by more concretely defining a person's worth and contribution to our society. In the beginning, it worked as intended, but over the centuries, it has grown increasingly hollow, especially at the bottom tier. There are too many humans and institutions that no longer give tier 10 galactic citizens the basic respect and courtesy they deserve."

Rules were dead but people were alive. Ves thought that the current state of low-tier galactic citizens had deteriorated so much that there was no point to call them like this anymore.

If different people were willing to kill a 'galactic citizen' like Ves without any hesitation, then he would rather drop the pretense and go back to calling himself a space peasant!

"Will there be any meaningful changes if you turn me into a tier 6 galactic citizen?" Ves skeptically asked.

"The differences are massive." The Master seriously answered. "The full details are too many for me to explain in this brief session. I will transfer a number of documents to you so that you can familiarize yourself with the full rights and privileges of a tier 6 galactic citizen. Do not look down on it just because there are 5 more tiers ahead of it. It becomes exponentially harder for both mechers such as myself and indigenous humans such as you to climb any higher. Correspondingly, the treatment you receive from our Association becomes exponentially greater."

"What tier are you in at the moment?"

"I have recently been promoted to a tier 3 galactic citizen. This was a major event. Many prominent members of the galactic community congratulated me for my rise." Dervidian grinned.

Ves was impressed! Although he had no idea what a tier 3 galactic citizen could do, he recognized that it was not common for people to reach this height!

His estimation of Master Dervidian's status within the MTA was not wrong.

"Can you tell me the tier of Master Moira Willix?"

"She is a tier 4 galactic citizen."

That was still quite high! Ves had already noticed that Master Willix wielded a substantial amount of power and authority within the Association.

"What of Mr. Jovy Armalon?"

"He is currently a tier 6 galactic citizen, just as you will be if you sign this contract."

Ves raised an eyebrow. This was remarkably high!

"Is that normal?"

"No. A Journeyman from our Association is still a developing mech designer in our eyes. The reason why we value him more than usual is due to pioneering a new field in mech design. He has also started making valuable contributions to our understanding of probability manipulation. His existing accomplishments along with his future potential has merited him a rare promotion."

Jovy was apparently a much bigger deal than Ves expected!

"Can you look up the citizenship tier of Master Carmin Olson? She's a Master Mech Designer from a state called the Friday Coalition."

"I am already familiar with your former Master. She is a tier 8 galactic citizen, which is a normal development for an indigenouos mech designer who has not made any major accomplishments as of yet. This is already a good tier."

Ves found the situation rather funny all of a sudden. If he agreed to this deal, he could instantly surpass Master Olson and become a more valuable asset to the MTA in a single leap!

This was a remarkable accomplishment, especially when he was still a Journeyman!