The Mech Touch

"Well, that's it about the Diplomacy Plan." Ves concluded his perspective on the Xenotechnician's proposal. "Given how terrible it is, you might assume that I wholeheartedly embraced the Deep Strike Plan. You would be wrong. It is marked by its own flaws. As a plan devised by a god pilot, it should be no surprise that it is just a more sophisticated way of telling everyone to go out and kill as many aliens as possible. The only clever parts about it is that it provides incentives for people to play along and adds a strategic outlook that seeks to strike where the aliens are weak. Other than that, this plan rests on incredibly shaky grounds. It relies on assumptions that might not come true, such as being able to convert the greater beyonder gate into a deep strike delivery mechanism."

After more than an hour of explaining his thoughts in a remarkably candid manner, his lecture had thoroughly shocked his audience.

The students all did a good job at maintaining a proper image, but Ves could easily tell that many of them were shell shocked by how much direct criticism they heard against the faction leaders of the Survivalist Faction.

The fact that Ves did not intend to let off the Fist of Defiance that he supposedly backed after ruling out the other alternatives was yet another shocking development!

Ves knew quite well what he was doing. He did not really care at all whether his words crossed a few lines.

He had become way too important to let inconsiderable remarks be the cause of his downfall.

He gave up on a lot of exclusivity when he presented innovations such as companion spirits and the transcendence glow to the Red Association.

However, the tradeoff was that the mechers intended to rely so much on his work that he had become an indispensable figure in their eyes!

What also made him feel at ease was the knowledge that the faction leaders were not narrow-minded enough to punish Ves if he insulted them in any way.

They were far too famous and prominent to avoid criticism. Just because most people had the sense not to say nonsense did not mean that everyone abided by this wisdom.

Still, even a tier 3 galactic citizen like Ves could get away with remarks like these because the top leaders of red humanity had better things to do with their time.

What Ves was doing amounted to more than voicing his displeasure at the leaders of the Survivalist Faction.

One of the reasons why he did not hesitate to talk critically was because he wanted to make clear that he had not fallen in lockstep with the Survivalists and the mechers.

He needed to convey a clear separation between himself and the Red Association without being too direct about it. He also wanted to communicate to the Terrans and hopefully the Rubarthans that his agreements with the mechers did not prevent him from cooperating with others.

Voicing his criticisms was a good way to send this multi-layered message. Ves had no doubts that the full recording or a transcript of it would spread around and fall into the hands of a lot of interested parties.

These people should all be clever enough to figure out his true intentions. That should hopefully lay the groundwork for future cooperation.

Of course, just because he had ulterior motives in mind did not mean he neglected the actual lesson. He truly wanted these students to derive useful insights from his critical analysis of all three plans.

"The Deep Strike Plan is not a good plan in my opinion." Ves plainly said. "Others might say otherwise, and that is their right, but I see it as the least-bad option out of a collection of awful options. This is reality. Ideal solutions are all too rare. The only way you can cope with a problem is to settle for the most acceptable compromise. The Fist of Defiance at least managed to get that right, which is a remarkable accomplishment considering that for all of their intelligence, the two Star Designers dragged down their own plans by making awful and outright unacceptable tradeoffs!"

One of the biggest reasons why Ves had lost a lot of respect for these amazing designers was because they were insufferably arrogant about the fact that they were right.

"I will let you in on a little secret. Even the greatest designers among us can still make mistakes. Human behavior is one of the most complex subjects that you can model. Only a truly omniscient being can properly account for every variable. For all of their awesome power and design capabilities, the Xenotechnician and the Polymath are still too far away from reaching this point. Their calculations are all based on incomplete data and faulty assumptions. Even Star Designers cannot escape the concept of garbage in, garbage out. The Polymath is especially prone to this kind of mistake."

Nobody in the lecture hall knew the Star Designers well enough to determine whether these words of criticism were true.

They weren't really interested in investigating any further!

Ves inwardly shook his head at the sight. He felt a little disappointed that none of his students exhibited any courage at this time. They were all thinking about how to avoid as much trouble as possible.

While Ves did not blame these students for trying to minimize their own risks in a society where a single mistake could doom their entire careers, he still found it sad that they couldn't freely share their own opinions.

Oh well.

"...I am sure you understand the flaws and shortcomings of the Deep Strike Plan well enough now." He continued his lecture. "What makes this proposal a little more acceptable than the others is that it aligns with the human heart and that it does not unreasonably invest too much power in a small group of people."

A student raised a hand.

"Professor, what do you mean by 'aligning with the human heart'?"

"I am talking about morale. People are not unfeeling automatons that will automatically do what they are told to. Their performance is largely affected by how much confidence they have in their society, their leaders and their chances of winning. This is a quality that is all too often underestimated by insular decision makers who have never ventured beyond their ivory tower. The Fist of Defiance is a god pilot, which means he is able to learn the importance of morale over the course of many battles. What is also important is that he believes that human power can overcome every opposing force, especially in the Age of Dawn where exotic radiation can make many dreams come true. There is great potential in all of us, and the Fist of Defiance is the only leader who expressly relies on this advantage to chart a course towards victory."

There was nothing better than to throw soldiers into the meat grinder while telling them that their escape route was no longer available!

Whenever mech pilots got cornered while being subjected to intense pressure, their chances of breaking through shot through the roof!

"However, the other major advantage of the Deep Strike Plan is that it largely preserves the autonomy and the division between different states and organizations. Of course, the New Elites Program significantly complicates this situation. The Fist of Defiance is gracious enough to let everyone keep their autonomy and most of their rights. The demand he has made on all of us is that we step up and seriously participate in the war against the native aliens. I don't mind this because it is a necessary measure. If no one is forcing us to fight against a large number of enemy warships, few of us would have volunteered to fight. At least this plan allows us to muster up our forces and choose what kind of action we want to get involved in by ourselves."

That made it a lot more tolerable. People could even choose to reject this obligation outright!

Of course, these cowards would have no recourse if braver warlords came and took away the majority of their holdings.

Much of the resources of red humanity had to be spent on resisting the native alien races. If any groups refused to do so, then they needed to vacate their assets and allow others to come in and leverage these resources better.

Suffice to say, this threat did not go well with many parties. Their existing power bases and expensive investments all came under enormous risks if they failed to dance to the Fist of Defiance's tune!

It just dawned on Ves that this was another form of coercion. While it was not as direct as an outright takeover, it was still a threat that forced unwilling people into action!

However, Ves recognized that it was a necessary and even justified act. When the lives and safety of so many people were at stake, the people had an obligation to take up arms and fight no matter what they thought.

"I think the Fist of Defiance actually possesses the greatest understanding of people out of the leaders of the Survivalist Faction." Ves said. "Does that mean he is an ideal leader? Hardly! He is a god pilot! If such powerful figures are anything like expert pilots and ace pilots, it is that he is incredibly stubborn about the matters he cares about. It is nearly impossible to compromise with these stubborn fools. Everyone else constantly has to be careful about getting dragged into a powerful warrior's personal crusade. Is the Deep strike Plan truly about saving humanity by going on the offensive, or is it just a half-baked excuse for the god pilot to throw the strongest punch at the native aliens before we inevitably succumb in this impossible war? I think the true answer lies somewhere in between."

Ves knew that the Deep Strike Plan was actually a desperate throw at ramping up the power of red humanity against a more distant threat.

If defeating the locals of the Red Ocean Dwarf Galaxy was the only concern, then the Fist of Defiance didn't need to go that far to push so many mech pilots to their limits.

The actual threat in his eyes originated from the distant golden glow that was visible in many different skies!

Ves began to wrap up his lecture now that he had shared his thoughts on the Deep Strike Plan. He did not reveal much about his personal involvement in the proceedings. There was no point in giving his students a more complete accounting on what occurred on that eventful day.

Clap!

"Alright, that wraps up my lesson today. Do any of you have any questions? You can ask about anything you like, though I cannot promise that I will satisfy your curiosity."

For a moment, silence ensued as the students were all afraid of making a mistake. The topics brought up by Ves had put many of them on edge. Who knew what kind of trouble they might step into if they made the wrong step?

Ryan Shuku eventually showed greater courage and initiative than his peers by asking the first question.

"Professor, at the end of the conference, you cast your vote in favor of a plan that implicitly and explicitly empowers god pilots at the expense of Star Designers, councilors and many other existing authority figures. Doesn't this contradict your own rules? You are entrusting a large part of your future on the decisions of the Fist of Defiance and other god pilots who do not possess any advantages in politics, administration and statecraft. This sounds... counterproductive."

Ves looked impressed. This was indeed a factor that caused him to consider whether he had made the right decision at the time.

"You are correct about this. I wouldn't have been as enthused about this plan if not for two reasons. First, I think that a lot of mech designers have amassed a lot of power without being able to wield it responsibly. I felt the need to rein them in before they misused their authority at my expense. Second, there are other factors that strongly lean on the other side. The status of warlord is not limited to mech pilots. People like myself can earn this status as long as I put my skin in the game. What matters is that this plan offers the most agency to me and anyone who seeks to gain more power and control. That largely aligns with the rules of Frontier Wisdom. If I have to choose between leaving my fate to others or taking matters in my own hands, I will always favor the latter!"