The Mech Touch

As Ves talked with the Xenotechnician about the details of the Deep Strike Plan, he found it odd that the much older mech designer sang a very different tune these days.

The adaptability of the Survivalists was impressive. Even its oldest and most authoritative figures were skilled at turning around in a matter of seconds!

It made a lot of sense for the Xenotechnician to drop any further ambitions to promote greater cooperation between red humanity and the native alien races.

The Xenotechnician may have been the primary proponent of the Diplomacy Plan, but he had his chance.

The Survivalists ultimately made a different choice that did not go in his favor. In order to avoid sowing any further division, the Xenotechnician had to take the lead in cooperating with the winning side.

So far, it appeared that the wiley old Star Designer sincerely abided by his promise and did his best to support the implementation of the Deep Strike Plan.

As the two addressed the topic on how to make use of kinship networks to support the deep strike operations, they were faced with many possible choices.

"I think the first question that I should ask is what your intended target audience will be." Ves spoke. "Will you solely limit the use of kinship networks to the new class of warlords and warfighters, or does the Deep Strike Plan also call for expanding it to other groups of people?"

The Star Designer sitting on the other side of the desk tapped his finger. "There are talks of such, but any additional plans will not be finalized in the short term. We will open up another dialogue with you if we demand another kinship network for a specialized purpose, but that is a matter for later. For now, we should limit our consideration to the individuals who qualify as warfighters and especially warlords. Their growth and development are of utmost importance. One of our most persistent fears about transferring more power and authority to potentially traumatized soldiers is that they will become much more prone to make erratic decisions."

The man looked pointedly at Ves as he spoke those last words.

The mechers were right to be worried about this dynamic.

Although Ves had grown to despise the schemers and cowards that tried to pull all of the strings while remaining in complete safety at the rear, he had to admit that these incredibly clever statesmen and politicians were good at administration and all of the other boring but necessary stuff.

Ves already had a real example of what would happen to a society if strong mech pilots began to take over. It would be like the Garlen Empire but on a much greater scale!

The mechers weren't stupid. If Ves could foresee this outcome, so could they. This was why the Deep Strike Plan had to include enough measures to prevent warlords from causing human civilization to degenerate in a collection of tribes that diverged increasingly more from each other with each passing generation!

"You intend to use a kinship network to impose greater unity and understanding between all of the warlords and warfighters?"

The Xenotechnician nodded. "Indeed. We have studied your Larkinson Clan as well as the Hex Federation carefully. Both are marvelous examples of how kinship networks can benefit large groups of people that should otherwise be struggling. You clan shows a remarkable capacity to assimilate disparate population groups and establish genuine camaraderie among wildly different cultures. The Hexers are much more homogenous, but they have suffered great trauma after losing their sector-wide war with their chief rivals. Such a devastating loss would have broken the backs of many losing groups, but a highly suitable kinship network has allowed them to preserve their morale and maintain solidarity with each other."

These clear and obvious results was exactly one of the reasons why the Survivalists brought up the topic of kinship networks when Ves originally did not intend to showcase them in the first place.

If he had managed to produce these impressive results at a smaller scale, what would happen if he applied his kinship networks on a much larger and more important group of humans?

Ves couldn't help but smile in pride. "The operation of my kinship networks is not that complicated. I think the greatest sticking point is to select the nexus. Each kinship network is centered around an energy-based life form of my own creation. You probably know a lot about them already, so I won't say much. Does the Deep Strike Plan demand that I create a new kinship network based around an entirely new 'spirit' or make use of one of my existing spirits instead?"

The answer to this question had enormous implications about the future of red humanity. Given how much influence a kinship network could exert on large populations, it was literally a way to brainwash people into behaving in a specific manner!

Although this description alone was enough to raise a lot of red flags, the mechers had already indicated that they were willing to ignore all of the warning signs in the name of expediency.

If Ves was willing to make use of kinship networks himself and the people he cared about the most, then they had to be alright... hopefully.

The mixed expression on the Xenotechnician's face betrayed how much contention this topic had generated behind closed doors.

"There are voices in favor of creating a specialized new kinship network that is centered around a new energy-based life form of our own design. Do you have any comments on the viability of this possibility?"

Ves rubbed his hairless chin in thought. "Well, I can create a new kinship network along with an accompanying ancestral spirit easily enough. While I am sure that you have a lot of talented and capable people who can design a completely new life form, I am not sure whether they can actually breathe life in their creation. I can lend a hand to make this happen I suppose, but I cannot guarantee whether the spirit in question will perform according to expectations. You should also take into account that newborn spirits need time to grow into their power. They will remain weak and highly susceptible to different mental influences when they are still in their juvenile periods."

There were ways to quickly overcome these disadvantages, but Ves did not feel charitable enough to mention the possible solutions. He was personally opposed to creating a specific kinship network that was especially designed to make people more loyal to the Red Association.

"Understandable." The Star Designer responded. "The proposal to rely on a newly created kinship network is an attractive prospect, but we do not live in an ideal reality. The aliens will not give us time to develop a new 'spirit'. We need to make use of more mature and readily available alternatives in order to make a greater difference in the short term."

"Why the haste?" Ves curiously asked. "The greater beyonder gate will probably take years to modify. It will take at least that much time for the deep strike fleets to prepare for their massive undertaking."

"You may be correct, young man, but the bulk of our forces are still responsible for resisting alien incursions on the frontlines. The original Deep Strike Plan did not properly account for them, but we are considering whether we should establish another class of humans known as linefighters to recognize these brave troops and reward them for their contributions."

"That sounds like a good idea, actually. Not everyone is cut out for deep strike operations. I think that the vast majority of our forces will be needed to defend our own territories. We shouldn't leave them out of consideration."

"We agree. Hopefully others will see the merits in this proposal as well. The need to fortify and encourage our linefighters for many crucial years. The pressure that they will endure will only grow greater in the near future. While we believe that their professionalism will keep them strong, it is best to employ additional measures to stabilize them further. We have made an investigation and found a suitable candidate to form a kinship network around for this specific purpose."

The Xenotechnician called up another virtual document and tossed it towards Ves.

The contents of this report centered around one of the oldest design spirits in existence.

Ves couldn't help but raise his eyebrows as the mechers collected a huge amount of information related to the Solemn Guardian!

From its initial emergence with the release of the original Desolate Soldier model, to its rapid proliferation as both third and second-class versions of this mech line sold like crazy, the mechers definitely did their homework!

They even devoted entire sections of their research towards studying the effect of the rather unassuming Hymenoptera industrial mech model on many workplaces throughout the middle zones!

The intention was clear. The Survivalists wanted to use the Solemn Guardian as the base of at least one important kinship network!

"I can see why you would choose him as the nexus of a kinship network. Inspiring duty is one of the most helpful ways to strengthen morale among masses of friendly troops." Ves commented. "While he is not designed for this purpose, it is not that difficult to set him up for this task. Are you sure you want to rely on him to bolster the morale of our linefighters, though?"

"Is there a problem, Professor Larkinson?"

"Many of the mech armies deployed on the frontlines are already highly professional. You told me that yourself. Even if they are embroiled into years of grueling combat, I do not think they will give up that easily. This should be valid to both your own troops and that of third-party forces. Exposing them to the Solemn Guardian is largely redundant in my opinion. This spirit is also one of my earliest works of this kind. Compared to my later creations, the Solemn Guardian is a bit too... simple."

Though the Xenotechnician acknowledged these arguments, he did not look swayed.

"Simple is not necessarily detrimental. We specifically selected your Solemn Guardian because he is lacking in complexity. We understand who he is and how he operates. Compared to your more complex spirits such as the Superior Mother, we vastly prefer to work with stable, reliable and predictable variables. Will you be able to meet our request to create a kinship network based on the Solemn Guardian?"

Ves slowly nodded. "I can do it right now if you want to. The cost and difficulty of this job is not high. I could make the Solemn Guardian stronger or add extra properties to him if you wish, but I will need a lot more time and resources to accommodate any additional requests."

"That won't be necessary. It is good to know that you are readily willing to meet our demands." The Xenotechnician smiled in approval.

"I do have to warn you that the Solemn Guardian is probably not the best choice to boost our warfighters. In our own experiences, his influence is mostly helpful in defensive combat. It would be a lot better for our warfighters to fight under the influence of a more proactive or hotblooded spirit."

The Star Designer clearly thought about the same idea. "Your argument has merit, but the choices are not as obvious this time. What is your recommendation?"

"We can select from a number of different spirits if you find it acceptable to employ multiple kinship networks operating in parallel. Zeigra should probably be particularly suited for raiding operations, though it may also make the warfighters a bit too aggressive outside of combat. The Superior Mother is multifaceted and provides enormous boost to females, though I do not recommend exposing her to any males. Helena can make our troops a lot deadlier and more tolerant towards heavy losses. Titania can boost the leadership skills of warlords. Personally, I recommend you just use kinship networks based on all of my design spirits. They have already been helping out the mech pilots of my products for a varying number of years. There shouldn't be any risks to letting them do the same through a different method."

That was a bold suggestion! It probably went too far for the Red Association, but Ves would already be happy if the mechers accepted half-a-dozen options.