The Mech Touch

In the end, the Larkinson Clan agreed to hire Cormaunt Hempkamp.

Ves had no idea how Gloriana came across this colorful neural interface specialist.

Most people who chose to specialize in this restricted and controversial field self-selected themselves to an extent.

Those that possessed restless hearts and a burning desire to innovate generally specialized in less regulated fields!

Only a lunatic like Cormaunt Hempkamp would think of embracing neural interfaces while holding the same attitude!

Ves truly admired the man for holding this conviction even after getting beaten back multiple times.

However, he also knew that Hempkamp could be an exceedingly dangerous mech designer if left unchecked!

This was why Ves had to think a lot on how to handle such an explosive mech designer in his company.

"We are willing to accept your services if you wish to become a part of our company and our clan." Ves told the mech designer with a smile. "You have made the right choice to settle into the Larkinson Clan. We are a young organization where Journeymen like yourself can explore different ideas and pursue original research without getting bogged down by fossilized structures. That said, while we are rather light on rules, we have our own principles. You will need to abide by them as well as the additional orders that I feel compelled to impose on you in order to temper your experimentations."

Though Cormaunt Hempkamp grew pleased when he heard he no longer had to search for a mech company that would accept a problem case like him, he soon began to frown as Ves mentioned several additional measures.

"Do you subject additional rules and restrictions to every mech designer that joins your clan?"

"No, but then again, none of them have a toxic record like yours. I am not targeting you, Mr. Hempkamp. I am protecting my clan and the people that will pilot our future mechs. Do you recall the mech designer's creed?"

"Mech designers exist to serve mech pilots, not the other way around."

"Exactly. I don't know what impression you have on how we go about our business in our clan, but we always put the interests of our mech pilots in front of every other priority. Your desires, whether they are selfish or noble or both, must always abide by our bottom line."

This did not sit well with the neural interface specialist at all. "That is not exactly what I was expecting, sir. While I am not opposed to additional controls, I still need room to explore my ideas. I will go crazy if I cannot explore any of my ideas. I can do so much to improve your mechs if you let me loose. Trust me when I say that I know how to control myself. I am not as young as before and I have made more than enough mistakes to learn the necessary lessons."

That sounded credible. Not.

Ves understood exactly what kind of person Mr. Hempkamp was like. This was a person who was not only accustomed to bending the rules, he even saw them as a challenge to his work!

Though Ves developed a genuine interest in how his living mechs could synergize with Hempkamp's neural interfaces, that did not mean that he wanted to get implicated by the boundary-pushing mech designer's war crimes!

Ves tried to project as much authority as possible. "Listen to me, Mr. Hempkamp. I founded the Larkinson Clan. I founded the Living Mech Corporation. Once you get in, you answer to me. I am in charge of the Design Department. When I issue an order, I expect to be obeyed. While I am open to suggestions and tolerant towards different views, at the end of the day our mech design projects must all adhere to a common standard, which is decided by me. Is that clear?"

Hempkamp's expression worsened. He did not react well to authority and Ves' behavior clearly rubbed him the wrong way.

"Look, I am willing to abide by any rules as long as they are well-meant and appropriate for the situation. What I dislike the most are rules that make no sense and orders that are clearly issued in bad faith. I cannot tolerate getting bullied for the fourth time."

"You did not let me finish, Cormaunt." Ves spoke. "I did not approve of your entry into our clan only to cage you in and stifle your options. There is no point in hiring you. I can easily obtain the same benefits by hiring a more conservative neural interface specialist but without getting all of the baggage. The reason why I am willing to give you a chance is because I see promise in your ideas. I just don't think that your approach is the best for us. This is why I want you to work on a special regime."

"What regime do you have in mind, sir?" Hempkamp asked with a suspicious expression.

"Your first instruction is that you must document everything." Ves began. "No matter what you do, you must justify your actions and decisions with detailed and proper documentation. Don't just limit yourself to explaining the choices you have made. Make sure you detail the alternatives you were contemplating and the reasons why you have rejected them in the end. The more complete your data, the more we can follow your train of thought and support your work."

"And what if you do not support the projects that I am proposing?"F

"Then that is that. This is also your second instruction. If my wife or I say no to your idea, then I expect you to abide by my intentions. Do not proceed with performing experiments behind our backs. I won't hide the fact that you and everyone else is monitored through multiple means. If we sniff out any impropriety from you, then we will deal with you in a way that you will not find pleasant."

"..."

"Okay, now that we have gotten that necessary stuff out of the way, let me present to you the carrot that we are willing to extend to you. As long as you abide by the two instructions I have mentioned before as well as our standard rules and regulations, I am willing to give you an independent lab where you can develop and explore anything you wish."

"An independent lab? Truly?!"

Hempkamp went from wary to enthusiastic. It was odd to see how the man could swing so rapidly in attitude!

"I am an innovator like you, so I know exactly what you need." Ves explained in a self-assured manner. "From what it sounds like, you ran afoul with your previous employers because they did not value your independent streak and sought to keep you on a short leash. I am not going to do that. I am aware that you need a certain amount of room to operate as you wish. I also understand that you don't work well in an environment where your work and schedule is being micromanaged by an overly controlling supervisor."

"You understand me better than I expected. I am gratified that you are willing to give me an independent lab. That is what I have always dreamt of obtaining. I don't want to be forced to work on tedious design work that anyone with a decent understanding of neural interfaces can do. I want to be able to engage in my research in an upright manner without getting burdened by too much banal work."

"I still expect you to contribute to some of our ongoing design projects, but I will make sure your workload isn't too heavy." Ves said. "What I expect in return is that you do all of your experiments in a proper fashion in one of the proper research labs that we provide. Do not scurry away to a shady lab or any other dubious venue in order to perform experiments that are way too problematic. Once you are in our clan, you will be a Larkinson. That means that you will partially represent us all to the outside community. I don't want you to do anything dishonorable that will reflect badly on the rest of our clan, do you understand?"

"I think I do, sir, but… how much leeway do I have in that independent lab you are talking about?"

Ves smiled. "I will make sure that your schedule is free enough for you to spend a certain amount of hours in your own lab. Once you enter your sanctum, you are largely free to choose and pursue your own research projects. Now, the amount of hours that you are allowed to spend in your lab is not fixed. It is conditional on your good behavior, excellent performance in our main design projects and so on. If you have been good, you get more hours to spend on your independent research. If you have been naugthy, then we will cut the amount of hours that you can spend in your design lab. Do you understand the purpose behind this arrangement?"

Hempkamp briefly frowned. "I think I do. You want to regulate my behavior by pushing the initiative in my lab, if I am guessing this right. I can accept that if that is how you intend to run things. It is nice to possess agency over my own work and allowances for once. If my hours are cut back, then I have no one but myself to blame."

That was exactly right. Previously, Hempkamp did not have any choices at all, so it was easy for him to blame his former bosses for the frustrations he suffered.

Well, he wouldn't be able to resort to this excuse so easily this time! By throwing the ball into Hempkamp's court, he would have to learn and exercise actual responsibility for once!

This was an essential development if Ves wanted to transform Cormaunt Hempkamp from a reckless mech designer into a less reckless mech designer.

Ves had no illusions that he could ever tame a crazy fellow like Hempkamp, but it was already enough to smooth out his rough edges and temper his most extreme impulses to an extent.

"Do I have to abide by any other special rules or arrangements?" The man asked in a tone that hinted that he was already willing to abide by the new regime.

"Yes. I have not forgotten about the fact that it is essential for you to test your neural interfaces on real mech pilots." Ves said as he tried to formulate his words carefully. "Now, I do not condone human experimentation. It is an abhorrent practice that has led to a great amount of unnecessary suffering. However, as barbaric as it may be, I understand that we do not live in a utopian society. Many forms of technology can never be fully proven unless they are put into practice."

"Does that mean…"

"I will grant you permission to hire external mech pilots to participate in your experiments. They must voluntarily agree to cooperate with your arrangements after receiving whatever money it takes to put them at your disposal. The money that you are allowed to utilize for this purpose should not come from your salary, but from a special research pool that you can fill up by contributing to our main mech designs. What this means is that as long as you do your job when working on regular design projects, you will get more leeway in performing your own experiments, understood?"

"I do. So the more I contribute, the greater my research budget?"

"That is correct. In any case, as long as your experiments have proven to be safe when using external mech pilots as test subjects, I will grant you permission to perform your subsequent trials of our own Larkinson mech pilots. Of course, the same rules apply as before. They must all agree to work with you on a voluntary basis and you will have to provide remuneration from the money you have previously earned. Is this an acceptable arrangement to you, Mr. Hempkamp."

"Oh, it is more than enough, sir. You have already given me more than enough room than I have ever received. If you will have me, I want to start as soon as possible!"

The Larkinson Clan gained its first true neural interface specialist after today. Whether Ves had made a mistake in taking in Cormaunt Hempkamp remained to be seen.