The Mech Touch

As the parade of mechs continued to delight and amaze the massive crowds and viewers watching the popular live broadcasts, Tristan's mood was no longer as joyous as before.

He did not know why Professor Zin Galbraith picked this day of all times to talk about the realities of preparing for war, but Tristan no longer felt as hopeful and uplifting as before.

The university professor did not talk about these sordid topics because he wanted to torture the younger mech designer, though.

"You are a rarer breed of mech designer of your generation than most of your peers." The older man said as he drank from his third glass of wine. "You have a good pedigree and a solid foundation in mech design, but you have also participated in a real war between mechs at a closer proximity. The experiences that you have accrued in the old galaxy will serve you well in Davute. You should know what is in store and how the mech industry will shift as the war intensifies. I expect much from you. The nature of the work that you do will also become more relevant to the mech companies that seek to expand their range of low-cost mechs but cannot figure out the right alloys to increase the value propositions of their products."

Tristan should feel happy about the increased demand for his services, but he couldn't bring himself to look forward to his rising prospects.

"One of the reasons why I gave up my citizenship to the Friday Coalition was to distance myself from wars fought at an enormous scale. I had hoped Davute would be different, but from what you are telling me, the coming conflict will be just as bad."

"Few places in the Red Ocean will become exempt from war." Professor Galbraith remarked. "Over in the neighboring Magair Middle Zone, the Friday Colonies and the Hex Federation are also dancing towards a reprisal of their earlier competition for dominance. They are just being slower at it because neither side believes the time is right."

As a former Fridayman, Tristan understood those circumstances well. The Komodo War had taught much to the two states about how much preparation mattered. The more they overlooked important variables, the greater the impact on their ability to fight down the line.

Tristan nodded. "Logistics matters. Having more manpower and resources than the other side will make it a lot easier to persist in a war. The side that runs out of mechs and soldiers first is the one that will no longer be able to launch any further offensive operations."

It all came down to numbers in the end. Davute, Karlash, the Friday Colonies and the Hex Federation were all preparing to field as many mechs as possible.

No matter whether they were high-end mechs or low-end mechs, any additional machine on the battlefield was one more factor that could affect the outcome of a battle.

Tristan recalled the young and earnest mech pilots he met before. Whether they fought for the Fortune Legion, the Blue Cavalry or the Sundered Phalanx did not matter that much to him. They were all Fridaymen who fought to free the Komodo War from the tyranny of the Hexers and keep the coalition safe.

He knew that a third of those pilots no longer had the opportunity to return to their families. Many of those soldiers had actually been killed by charging Valkyrie mechs whose glows granted them a major psychological advantage on a stressful battlefield.

Tristan always had mixed feelings towards Ves for arming the Hexers with his astonishingly effective mech designs.

When Professor Galbraith glanced at the Journeyman, the older mech designer already had a good inkling about what the younger mech designer was going through. He encountered many similar situations during his years as a teacher.

"We are mech designers, Tristan. We are not social workers nor medical doctors. We create engines of destruction for a living. Our work isn't as noble as you have imagined back when you learned your craft in a peaceful environment under a Master Mech Designer. What you have experienced during one war and will experience again during the next one are much more accurate representations of our work. If you want to get further in mech design and advance to Senior, then you will need to accept and embrace this role."

The man… was right. Tristan realized now that Galbraith deliberately noticed this fault in himself and sought to correct it through a confrontational approach.

Still, even though Tristan knew that it was for the best, the former Fridayman still couldn't get over the memories of all of the deaths and tragedies that had befallen so many people.

He had seen enough bodies to build an entire mountain in Davute!

"I know you mean well, professor, but what I have experienced… was death and destruction on an industrial scale. I have pried upon the stuck hatches of crumpled mechs so that whatever left of the pilots can be scraped off and put into coffins so that we can send them off with a semblance of respect. I have dug out the broken remains of civilians who tried to escape the ravages of combat by fleeing to an emergency shelter only to have the roof collapse on top of their heads. I do not think that any human was meant to witness the sights that I have seen."

"Yet you did, and I believe that you will ultimately become a better mech designer for it." Professor Galbraith said with sympathy in his voice. "Those mech designers who have never been confronted by the realities of their work will either continue to work with an incomplete understanding of what mechs can truly do, or they will get overtaken by reality at a much later stage of their careers, which means that they are much less capable of adapting to this setback."

Tristan did not particularly appreciate the bloody lessons that he had learned against his will. His expression reflected his unwillingness.

"I am still struggling to get my career back on track years after the Komodo War has ended." He spoke. "I would have been able to push my design philosophy much further if not for all of the disruptions I have experienced."

The Senior Mech Designer at the table shook his head. "Be thankful that you have managed to overcome this test in your earlier years. Let me give you an important piece of advice, Tristan. If you let your morality and dislikes get in the way of your main pursuit, then how can you possibly expect to excel in this profession? Mech design has never been a clean line of work and you need to accept that, but that does not mean you can make it virtuous as long as you do so for the right reasons."

"And how can I possibly do that, sir?"

"By designing better mechs than your opponents." Professor Galbraith succinctly said as he flagged a sommelier bot to fill his glass for the fourth time. "Better mech designs does not necessarily make a war end faster, but it can be a powerful contributing factor under the right circumstances. Let us take a closer look at the mechs on parade. Let us evaluate whether our colleagues based in Davute are up to the task."

Tristan was eager to shift the topic away from his traumas, so he studied the mechs flying or marching below the floating diamond structure with renewed enthusiasm.

Several different parade columns had already marched by at this time. At this time, an odd processing of pink mechs marched down the avenue. A different theme song along with a projected display of flowers and girlish frills made it clear that the mechs were explicitly targeted towards women!

Whatever Tristan expected to observe during this high-profile parade, a procession of girlish mechs with distinctly feminine contours wasn't on the list!

For a few seconds, he wondered if a Hexer mech designer had moved to Davute.

"The mechs down below are products of Sileena Dynamics, a medium-sized mech company founded by Professor Sileena Vichard." The older man explained. "What are your first impressions of these colorful machines?"

Tristan found it hard to look past the shockingly pink appearances of the mechs and study their technical properties from a more objective viewpoint.

"These mechs… are too undersized to my liking." He said. "Back during the Komodo War, the Hex Army initially fielded a lot of mech models that were as thin and sleek as the waistlines of the ideal woman even if they weren't light mechs. The Hexer soldiers quickly ditched them due to their fragility and lower performance. Their speed and maneuverability may be superior, but in massive battles where mechs get pushed into circumstances where they will get hit regardless of what they do, that is not that great of an advantage."

Galbraith smiled in satisfaction when he heard this answer. "Those are valid observations, but do not linger on the details. Take in the broad picture and think about what this means for Professor Vichard and her mech company."

Initially, Tristan didn't really know what to say, but his earlier discussion with Professor Galbraith had clued him in on what sort of a conclusion he must draw from seeing the products of Sileena Dynamics.

"A pink color scheme is not that consequential." He slowly said. "Any customer can reapply a different coating to the mechs of their choosing at a minimal cost. Showing off these mechs in pink is a great marketing move and will definitely make a lot of female pilots and buyers remember the products of Sileena Dynamics the next day. What is less practical is the obsession with forcing so many designs to adopt the same kind of curvature to their exteriors. It doesn't work as well for medium mechs, though admittedly Professor Vichard is putting a lot of effort into making it work."

"Your points are all correct. I happen to have met Sileena in person during a conference. She is not a Hexer and does not appear to have strong ties with the Hex Federation, but femininity is important to her. She wants her works to reflect her ideals, and that has led her to begin an unrelenting pursuit to design female-oriented machines that can fight just as well if not better than mechs that possess more blocky contours."

Tristan frowned. "I respect her choices and her determination to make a distinct style of mechs more effective in combat. The mech industry is big enough to accommodate her products. She has also made it work well enough to advance to Senior. It is just…"

"Come on. Tell me your honest opinion."

"Frankly, this is ridiculous." Tristan spoke. "There are more worthwhile ways to make mechs better, such as trying to incorporate a new technological innovation or improving the basic properties of mechs. Obsessing over a physical attribute that is as frivolous as feminine mech shapes is just stupid."

"You are not alone in that, Mr. Wesseling. I happen to feel the same way." Professor Galbraith smiled. "Do you think that a Senior Mech Designer like this can make it further in her mech career?"

Tristan immediately shook his head. "No way. Professor Vichard is focusing on form over function. That is nice if she wants to capture the market for display mechs, but most of her pink mechs will get chewed up once they actually get deployed in the frontlines of the upcoming war.  She… doesn't have my experiences to draw upon. If she did, then she would know that the aesthetics of a mech are not as important as their actual combat strength."

"The products sold by Sileena Dynamics are the works of a mech designer that has never known true war." Professor Galbraith pushed his point. "You could have become similar to Professor Sileena Vichard if you continued to maintain an illusionary impression of mechs just as her. That you did not adopt an approach that is similar to hers is to your credit. Do you appreciate your experiences more now that you have seen the difference?"

The former Fridayman mech designer felt a lot more ambivalent after receiving this lesson.

"I… don't know, sir. I need to think about it. This is deep material."

"Take your time. Some mech designers can take years or decades to reconcile their opinions. Do not be in a hurry to make progress. Take your time and set your own pace. Becoming a better mech designer is never as straightforward as you think. Your journey is riddled with challenges. Successfully overcoming them is what separates a Senior or Master from a Journeyman."