The Mech Touch

Accidentally inventing a brand-new weapon of mass destruction was not that big of a deal in modern society.

Any microbiologist could formulate a killer virus that could take hold in the bodies of many humans and spread death on a large scale.

A physicist with enough resources and no scruples could secretly create a homebrew anti-matter bomb and detonate it on a planet and kill off an entire population.

A captain of a capital ship could hijack total control of a kilometers-long vessel and crash it straight into a bustling metropolis, thereby inflicting untold ruination.

In short, there were so many different ways to rerun the darker days of the Age of Conquest that it was quite remarkable how many people showed restraint in modern times.

The Big Two played a major role in making sure that a lot of smart and powerful people continued to abide by the rules.

The MTA and CFA were so powerful that few if any people dared to violate their bottom lines!

If the transcendence glow indeed turned out to be an effective weapon of mass destruction as Master Dervidian speculated, then Ves as its inventor might not immediately be in trouble.

As long as its existence and usage remained restricted, the threat to human society would not be great.

Besides, a weapon that was deadly to humanity could also be deadly to many different alien species. The Survivalist Faction would probably love to obtain a trump card that it could pull out if the fate of mankind was at stake one day!

All of these reasons and more granted a bit of reassurance to Ves. At the very least, he became confident that he could still negotiate with the MTA.

Besides, despite its considerable threat, the transcendence glow could also be a great boon to the mech community.

If nothing else, its effects on mech pilots was likely very real!

Controlled use of the Aspect of Transcendence and its glow would allow any mech force to multiply its roster of expert pilots by at least ten times!

The chances of ace pilots emerging over time would also skyrocket!

Ultimately, this would also increase the amount of god pilots that were active in human space over time. This was a huge priority to the Mech Trade Association and one that was critical to the interests of the Transhumanist Faction!

As Ves studied Master Dervidian, he tried to figure out the powerful mecher\'s intentions.

Master Mech Designers were too powerful in a spiritual aspect for him to read. This was especially when they received training on how to hide their thoughts and intentions.

High-ranking mech designers were completely unlike high-ranking mech pilots in this regard.

The latter were honest to a fault due to their single-mindedness.

The former were much more complex due to the need for elaborate thinking.

However, all of the time he had spent in Master Dervidian\'s company was not in vain.

Ves gained a more thorough understanding of the prominent Transhumanist and did not believe the older man was rash enough to overreact.

Master Dervidian made his name within the Association as an innovator and a visionary.

This was a familiar mindset to Ves. The MTA Master could even be regarded as his older brother in a sense!

People who engaged in groundbreaking research tended to look down on problems that others found difficult or intractable. That was because inventor types like Ves and Dervidian never settled for the status quo and always tried to solve any issues with new solutions!

Ves relaxed when he figured out that his situation wasn\'t as precarious as he feared.

That said, the support of benefactors within the MTA became more important than ever!

If the Survivalists and the Transhumanists both decided that he and his inventions were more trouble than they were worth, they would probably agree to get rid of Ves in the name of safeguarding human civilization!

"It would be too exaggerated if the transcendence glow can be used to kill a lot of people." Ves stated after he quickly came up with a coping strategy. "I truly don\'t know whether it can be utilized this way as I have never used it in this fashion. I think that if it can be used this way against humans, it can also be utilized against aliens."

"That does not absolve the fact that it can do much more harm to our own society before we ever begin to deploy it against alien societies." Master Dervidian retorted.

"That is because you don\'t know how to defend against it." Ves quickly replied. "I have already developed various means to protect my own mech pilots against any of the adverse glows that I have implemented. There are several design spirits that are particularly good at offering protection. In fact, I think that my living mechs as well as all of the other design spirits are able to shield mech pilots from the adverse or deadly effects of the transcendence glow."

"Do you have any proof to back your assertions?"

"No, but it makes sense according to my theories."

Master Dervidian looked pleased that Ves already had a way to protect people from dangerous glows. At the very least, the existence of a counter meant that a potential threat wasn\'t as difficult to resolve.

Nonetheless, if the only counter to the transcendence glow was another glow, then that turned Ves into an even more important individual than before!

"Aside from this transcendence glow, how easy is it for you to harness another glow that can also damage or kill other humans?"

Ves thought about it for a moment. "An effect that can outright kill people is rare and difficult to obtain. The transcendence glow only kills individuals by accident because it produces a runaway effect. There are other glows that can inflict serious debilitation and trauma to people if they are exposed to it, but they are much easier to guard against. Well-trained and strong-willed mech pilots are able to resist them easily enough. I think that people can also be taught how to resist the deadly effects of the transcendence glow if they know what it does and how to best prevent themselves from going too far. There should also be other ways to defend against adverse glows."

Glows were still too new. Aside from the Yeina Star Cluster, his work had yet to penetrate other parts of human space on a wider scale. This meant that there weren\'t a lot of people developing counters to his glows and living mechs.

This would undoubtedly change as his products continued to proliferate. Ves had no doubt that even Star Designers would allocate their time to develop their own clever solutions against glows if the need was great enough!

Master Dervidian was probably thinking in this direction as well. The MTA\'s research prowess was too great and hardly any threat stumped its many top researchers and mech designers for long!

"Thank you for being forthcoming about the danger posed by your glows." Master Dervidian said. "This unwelcome but necessary revelation forces us to alter our plans. It is good that you have related this critical piece of information to you in this secure chamber. As of now, I do not want this information to spread any further. While I am obliged to pass what I learned to my superior, I can promise you that it will spread no further for the time being. The rest of the Mech Trade Association simply is not ready to learn about benefits and risks of your transcendence glow. How many people are currently aware of its effects?"

Was the MTA Master asking this in order to determine how many people needed to be silenced on a permanent basis?

This was a terrifying possibility!

Ves could not keep his mouth shut, though. At this point, the only way for him to get out of this serious predicament was to cooperate with his backers within the MTA.

"I am sure that the mech pilots that participated in the battle suspect what is going on, but they shouldn\'t know any details. Even if they do, they will not spread our secrets around. Aside from that, Venerable Joshua Larkinson and Madame Ketis Larkinson probably understand the Aspect of Transcendence\'s glow on a deeper level."

In fact, there were more that were aware of the truth as well. Many of his design spirits such as the Golden Cat and the Superior Mother probably knew about this aspect of Lufa.

Then there were all of the living mechs that participated in the previous battle. The nature of their existence meant that they shouldn\'t have been blind to what the Everchanger had done.

Ves even speculated that the transcendence glow had also affected his living mechs!

Anyway, there was no need for Ves to mention these extra entities. Master Dervidian specifically asked how many \'people\' knew about the transcendence glow.

"I see. The spread of any news can be contained if this is the case." The older man looked a bit more relieved. "No secret can remain hidden forever, but we can buy as much time as we can to lay the groundwork and prepare sufficient protection against these possible threats. As long as you cooperate with us and advance to the rank of Master Mech Designer as soon as possible, I expect that we can harness this great invention of yours as a gift to mankind as opposed to a scourge to our civilization."

Ves smiled. He was right! Master Dervidian and his group wanted to deal proactively on this issue. This was the kind of far-sighted approach that the MTA had often exhibited in order to advance its long-term interests.

"I will try my best to increase my understanding of this phenomenon and develop better and more convenient methods to guard against its potential dangers. I can already supply you with a range of solutions, though they are all derived from my own work. Better yet, I can tweak and alter the transcendence glow so that any manifestation of it will be subject to numerous restrictions."

"That is good to hear, Mr. Larkinson. We can explore all of these potential measures at a later date. For now, we need to formulate a new action plan to prepare for the time when we are finally ready to make widespread use of your transcendence glow. Absent any alternatives that are either safer or more effective, the benefit your invention provides to the mech community is too great for us to ignore. If the risks are still considerable, then we will confine its usage to our Association and no further."

"I can make it so that only authorized people can activate this glow."

This was a relatively good way to handle the risks, although a lot of mech pilots in human space would feel left out. This would generate its own fair share of problems.

"One more question. Can other humans or aliens reproduce the transcendence glow or develop similar versions of it to use as a weapon?"

This was an important but difficult question. Ves slowly shrugged.

"I truly cannot say as I do not know what others are capable of. In my opinion, the source of this glow is a rare and unique existence and it is extremely unlikely for a similar entity to arise. However, I believe it is possible for entities or purpose-built weapons to arise that can harm or kill humans through similar means. Those who wish to create them just need to possess the right knowledge and expertise."

"So the rise of these threats cannot be stopped, is that what you think?" Master Dervidian asked.

Ves had every incentive to say yes! If there were more people and aliens that could kill people through similar means, then his cooperation became all the more essential to the MTA!

Perhaps this was the Transhumanist\'s deliberate attempt to give Ves an extra lifeline.

Ves responded with a grin. "In my opinion, the threat has already arisen. Those who are versed in the same fields as myself may have already built up an arsenal of killer weapons that are difficult to defend against. If my guess happens to be true, then it is imperative that we develop and propagate solutions that can protect humanity."

"And you just happen to have a solution at hand?"

"As I have already stated earlier, I recognized the need to defend against my glows a long time ago. Have you ever heard of my Sanctuary models?"