The Mech Touch

The Xenotechnician was the second Star Designer that Ves met in his life.

People always considered it a great honor to be in the proximity of one of the apex figures of humanity.

To be able to receive the attention of one of these honored figures and speak with them on and individual basis was a form of validation that could make a lot of individuals feel validated beyond any comparison!

Star Designers were not average individuals. They belonged to the tiny but extremely dignified group of True Gods of the human race.

Out of more human individuals than anyone could count, only the very best and the most persevering among them had managed to overcome all of the hurdles in their path and reach the end destination where they had fully shed all of their mortal weaknesses!

Though the Xenotechnician superficially gave off the impression of a gentle human grandfather who conveyed far more dignity and mystique than any other old geezer that Ves had met throughout his career, believing in this illusion was a big mistake!

Ves could not help but recall the instance where the Xenotechnician unveiled a glimpse of his awesome domain at the start of the conference.

The impossibly huge machine that harmoniously fused countless pieces of unknown human and alien technology together represented the true face of this living transcendent figure.

Though the Xenotechnician was not an enemy, Ves had to remind himself that this powerful and inscrutable designer was not a friend either.

The biggest question on his mind was why the Xenotechnician requested this meeting to begin with. Ves had no prior entanglements with this distinguished mech designer, and it seemed abrupt to call for a personal meeting.

The old man himself was not in a hurry to address the goal of this meeting. He started this meeting by holding a seemingly regular conversation.

Unlike the Polymath who valued efficiency above all, the Xenotechnician ironically displayed more humanity than his younger counterpart.

"You have attained so much in so few years. I applaud your initiative and your willingness to test the boundaries of what is possible. It is young men who are not satisfied with the status quo like yourself that are needed to take over the burden of leading our civilization in the future. As a man responsible for the clan that he has founded through his own efforts, are you content with leading your own clan?"

"I am." Ves simply replied.

"What do you enjoy the most about being the head of your Larkinson Clan?"

"I hold enough power over it to shape it however I like. While there are clear limitations to how I can make my subordinates act according to my intentions, I have been able to mold my clan into an organization that supports my efforts as a creator and protects me from my immediate enemies. My troops have always embraced my mechs with great enthusiasm. It brings me joy to see them utilizing my works as they are truly meant to be used."

The Xenotechnician smiled and leaned back on his seat. "Ah, you understand what it means to assume responsibility. I believe that gives you a good insight on what Clair wishes to accomplish by advocating for her Unity Plan. What is your opinion with regards to her ambitious and far-reaching reform package? Do you have confidence that she will be able to exercise her immense responsibilities, or get lost in the throes of power?"

Though Ves had plenty of words to say about the Polymath's ambitions, it was never a good idea to badmouth a Star Designer!

His diplomatic mind quickly spun as he rapidly tried to formulate a response that sounded harmless enough but also possessed enough substance to avoid making a fool of himself.

"Leading a small clan is much different from leading an entire civilization." Ves responded while trying to keep his cadence even. "I do not presume to understand the huge amount of intricacies and challenges of trying to forge every different human group and culture into a cohesive star nation. The example set by the Terran Empire during the early days of the Age of Conquest has taught us that it is practically impossible to keep so many people together for long. Then again, Her Excellency is known for her all-encompassing intelligence. She has most assuredly learned from the examples of the past and formulated additional measures to increase the success rate of her plan."

"Ah yes." The Xenotechnician's smile turned a little graver as he steepled his hands onto his work table. "Since you are a Senior Mech Designer, our Association has already exposed the existence of the Kingdom of Mechs to you. What do you think about her intentions to splinter this kingdom and gain sole control over this off-shoot?"

"I... do not think I am qualified to comment on this proposal. 1 am just a Senior Mech Designer. My understanding of the Kingdom of Mechs is too shallow. All of this goes way beyond my head. I can only speak on more general terms. My opinion is that even if she is able to gain the cooperation of the Star Designers back in the Milky Way, she will still have to attain the support of all of the local god pilots. If she can convince the likes of the Destroyer of Worlds and the Light of Sol to agree to her takeover, then she must be doing something right."

The Xenotechnician smiled a bit. "That is an interesting matter. Even I cannot determine what she is counting on to convince the majority of our human protectors to cease any attempt to stop her usurpation of power. Well, that is a topic that is not in your purview. Let us move on to a subject that is more directly relevant to you. The Polymath has certainly made an interesting request to you. 1 applaud you for maintaining your reserve in front of a Star Designer."

"Uhh... what?"

Ves straightened his back as he felt both confused and afraid by what he just heard.

How did the Xenotechnician know about all of that?!

There was no way the Polymath would allow one of her chief rivals within the Survivalist Faction to listen in on her private meeting with Ves!

The Xenotechnician smirked as he dramatically raised his hand and snapped his wrinkled fingers.

[...1 am giving you a chance to make up for this mistake right now. Can you adapt your kinship network to connect all of red humanity in a mutually supportive metaphysical web?]

[...1 have projected that the success rate of my Unity Plan will increase by at least 12.36 percent if you agree to provide us with a kinship network This success rate will rise to 21.93 percent if I can directly administer it...]

[...By removing distrust and providing greater incentives to form a united front, we can resolve the threat of the native aliens and prepare our civilization...]

(...When the lives of trillions of red humans are at stake, you cannot afford to let your feelings dictate your decisions...]

Ves was completely taken aback as the Xenotechnician casually played back a clear and high fidelity recording of his conversation with the Polymath.

Despite the fact that he and the younger Star Designer spoke in a private and highly secure office that was completely under her control, her much older peer apparently defeated all of her fancy tech, probably without managing to tip her off during the entire meeting!

"H-How?"

The Xenotechnician chuckled like a grandfather who found the antics of his grandchildren to be amusing.

"Clair is the greatest genius that our modern civilization has produced. 1 do not dispute her intellectual prowess. However, she is far too young and inexperienced to support her ambitions. I may not be able to match her raw cognition, but 1 have lived three times longer than her. I have built up an immense accumulation, more than either you or Clair can imagine."

"But... but..."

"Technology also encompasses far more than the logical and decipherable tech that humanity has currently mastered." The Xenotechnician generously explained. "You should understand this well given that you have delved deeper into the signature technologies of different alien races such as luminar crystal technology and phasewater technology."

Ves understood what the Xenotechnician conveyed. "You mean... you managed to eavesdrop on my meeting with the Polymath by relying on an alien device?"

"Is it so inconceivable to imagine that I am in possession of exotic alien tech that enables me to penetrate any security measure and directly listen in on a private conversation? I find it curious that you never seriously took this possibility into account. This is a grave mistake, and one that humans are all too prone to make. We do not have a monopoly on high technology, Professor Larkinson. Too many researchers are so obsessed with trying to pluck the low-hanging fruit that we are too readily willing to dismiss the alien tech that cannot easily be deciphered. Not every potent alien tech has to be converted to a human format in order to be of use. Do you not agree?"

The Xenotechnician's capabilities were frightening and unknown. Ves developed a whole new respect towards this old man who possessed a lot of strange ideas.

"Maybe." Ves replied in a noncommittal tone. "My situation is different from yours. I am just a second-class Senior Mech Designer. 1 don't have the endless amount of manpower and resources to reserve engineer every useful piece of alien tech. 1 would have imagined that your Association is a lot better on this front."

"Aliens are not as weak or incompetent as they have been portrayed in the media." The Xenotechnician shook his head in disapproval. "Whether it is in the Milky Way or the Red Ocean, each major race has their own geniuses, their own signature technologies and their own spurts of brilliance. It takes far more time and resources to completely decipher the more difficult pieces of powerful alien technologies, especially if we have only managed to obtain incomplete scraps from ancient ruins. I have spent many ordinary lifetimes to understand the best creations of many different alien minds, and I have only scratched the surface of what our Association has managed to discover over the years."

That sounded amazing. Ves would have loved to get a glimpse of those powerful alien technologies himself. He envied the Xenotechnician for being able to access and study any interesting discovery related to interesting and exotic alien inventions!

"The public rarely if ever gets to hear about all of this alien tech." Ves remarked with a touch of disappointment in his voice. "People like us get the impression that you mechers and fleeters are all too eager to cart everything alien out of sight and lock it all into a vault."

The Xenotechnician's smirk turned into a patronizing smile as he made his point. "This is an arrogant and overly cautious approach. Clair may not have set this policy, but she is the product of the environment that this attitude has bred. She is so fixated on clear technologies that she can fully and master that she unjustly dismisses the value of any opaque alien tech that does not conform to her logic and theoretical frameworks. The arrogance. 1 may be old, but I am not ignorant enough to underestimate alien ingenuity. It is the opposite in fact. 1 respect and occasionally even fear what aliens can do with their varied minds."

Ves almost couldn't believe what he heard. The Xenotechnician readily criticized his fellow Star Designer in front of another person. There had to be some sort of taboo against disparaging such a powerful and high-ranking figure in this situation!

There was no way that Ves wanted to step into this particular minefield. The old man may be able to talk like this without suffering any consequences other than pissing off his junior, but Ves might attract the collective hatred of all of the supporters and sycophants of the popular female Star Designer!