The Mech Touch

The old man talked like he was an angel investor who was taking a huge bet on Ves' future accomplishments as a mech designer.

Though the Voiken Patriarch had missed out the earliest and best period to invest in the unorthodox mech designer, he could still use the current collaboration opportunity to form a solid chain of interests and profits between the Larkinson Clan and the Voiken Family!

This was quite a gutsy choice to make for any investor, much less a Master Mech Designer who could put his money and resources in many other promising business ventures.

Someone who had lived for over three centuries must have come across a huge amount of mech designers!

Why did Master Barnard choose to put his money on Ves instead of other candidates that were more ideologically aligned to him? It was too absurd to believe that such an impressive and well-connected figure was lacking in choices!

Perhaps Ves had been a bit too obvious in revealing his puzzlement, because the old man eventually chose to address this topic.

"Times are changing, young man." He voiced an opinion that Ves heard from an increasing number of people. "No matter how hard we try to maintain stability, there are too many internal and external factors that seek to push human civilization in a new direction. As our society changes, so must we, or else we will be swept in the dustbin of history. In light of these changes, I have a responsibility to guide my family and my descendants through the chaos and uncertainty that will sweep throughout our society."

Ves frowned yet again. He felt as if Master Barnard was teasing at something that only the upper echelon of human society were aware of. What kind of dangers were they anticipating?

"All of that sounds nice, but what does that have to do with our collaboration?"

"The changing trends of human civilization and its surroundings are highly relevant to the work that you and Professor Taigen Voiken are about to produce." Barnard steadily replied. "The greater the turmoil, the greater the need for tools that can restore order in our society. A single product such as the Pacifier Project has the potential to be one of the best and most efficient peacekeeping tools to the states that must keep a restless population in check. I have studied your work and your design approach extensively. Your glow applications have great potential, but up until now you have spent too much time, resources and effort on showering your own men with your designs instead of utilizing them to better our society."

"I… see."

Though Ves had vague aspirations to develop commercial solutions that could make a positive contribution to society, he felt it was way too premature for a Journeyman like him to entertain such grand thoughts.

He first needed to make sure that his products could get off the ground and capture a sufficient amount of market share before he could chase after other priorities!

Ves had to admit that he had only been looking at the profit potential and networking opportunities of his potential partnership with the Voiken Family. These were primarily selfish priorities, but he could see how the Pacifier Project could play an extremely helpful role in stabilizing many human settlements during more turbulent periods of time.

In fact, he bet that Master Barnard was underestimating the value of the Pacifier Project. Lufa's glow was a powerful force that could not only calm people, but also negate a lot of spiritual shenanigans!

If the Pacifier Project was able to meet the Master's high expectations and become the dominant model in the market for law enforcement mechs, then many human planets would invisibly gain a lot of protection against the more unfathomable enemies of mankind!

However, as much as he was optimistic about the Pacifier Project's future prospects, he did not think it could reach this level of ubiquity in the short term!

"I am not comfortable with planning this far in the future." Ves plainly told the Master. "While I am honored that you think my work is promising, I am not confident my work is ready to take on so much social responsibility. I am already happy enough to service the needs of individual customers. Thinking about accomplishing anything more than that is a bit too premature."

Master Barnard shook his head. "It is never too premature for mech designers such as ourselves to consider the impact of our work on the society that we live in. As a developer and seller of war weapons, you have assuredly thought about their negative impact on the lives of many people. Does it not bother you that we are actively perpetuating a cycle of continuous violence and destruction?"

Not really.

"Uhmm… I am just trying to earn a living. As long as there is a demand for mechs, I will do my best to meet it." Ves lamely replied. "I apologize, Master, but I am of the opinion that I am not a suitable target for your philosophical sermons. As a fellow mech designer, you must surely understand that our time is precious and valuable. I have many projects on my plate that I need to be working on, sir."

Master Barnard did not look amused. He directed a judgmental gaze at Ves.

"You can always make time for a valuable lesson. You may be of the opinion that you do not need to consider the social impact of your work, but it is never too soon to think about the influence of your work on people's lives. By the time you have become a Master and achieved the success that you have tried to attain, it is already far too late."

"Errr…"

If the Voiken Family hadn't been generous enough to offer a readily available large-capacity combat carrier to the Larkinson Clan as a gift, Ves would never be so patient and tolerant of Master Barnard's annoying subjects!

Why couldn't they talk about the more relevant and interesting parts about their collaboration?

He chose to pursue a career in mech design because he loved making cool war machines!

Never in his youth did he ever think about the potentially negative impact of his work on human society.

Though he did dwell on the subject at times after he started to practice his craft, he never made a fuss about it because he already concluded that whatever his customers did his products was not his responsibility!

As far as he was concerned, that was enough to settle his moral and ethical responsibilities!

Master Barnard clearly thought that this was insufficient. This wasn't necessarily a big deal as people always had disagreements with each other.

The problem was that this old fogey simply couldn't shut up about trying to do what was right!

No wonder a lot of people thought that the Preserving Order Faction and those who aligned with it were annoying, sanctimonious bastards.

Which Journeyman had the luxury to think about the profound social consequences of their work when they should all be trying their best to realize their design philosophies?

Perhaps it was natural for an old Master like Barnard Voiken to entertain these thoughts, but he should at least wait until Ves advanced to Master as well before holding a proper discussion about this heavy topic!

"...Your work has great potential, Mr. Larkinson. As long as you do not suffer an accident, I am confident that it is only a matter of time before we can speak to each other on a more equal level." Master Barnard steadily rambled like a teacher who was way past the point of retirement. "Attaining more money and power should no longer be your primary goals. As you approach a state where you start to question the purpose of your work and the nature of your place in our great but flawed society, you must think about the legacy you wish to leave behind as you mark your passage through this period of human history…"

Ves was less than 40 years old. He was way too young and early in his career trajectory to think about a topic as weighty as his legacy!

Had Master Barnard gone senile? Did he mistakenly assume that Ves was over 300 years old?

The gift that Ves already considered as his possession constantly weighed on his mind as he allowed the 'respectable' Master to indulge in his desire to pass on his wisdom to a member of the younger generation.

This was not the first time that Ves got cornered by an older mech designer who wanted to teach him a lesson.

Unfortunately, this was definitely one of the worst instances!

Ves had to bottle up his impatience and frustration in order to maintain a polite facade. He was done with trying to show that he was patient, but he should at least show at least a basic level of decorum in order to ensure the cooperation between their two organizations would go without a hitch.

He was quite clear that Professor Taigen Voiken wasn't calling the shots in this matter!

Only Barnard had the power to approve or deny this lucrative collaboration opportunity!

After fifteen minutes of moralistic rambling, Ves suddenly became a lot more interested when Barnard shifted to a much more relevant topic!

"You may not notice it yet, but the MTA factions that we have chosen to associate with will play an increasingly more important role as you continue to develop and expand your business network. For example, cooperating with us will provide you with a friendly point of contact to the Preserving Order Faction, but that does not mean you can blindly reach out to it. Both the Survivalists and the Transhumanists have opposed the Preservers many times. This is the main reason that no matter how much we develop our relationship, we can never exceed a boundary in our cooperation."

Ves furrowed his brows. "Do factions truly play that big of a role in determining the extent of relationships like ours?"

"You have no idea." Master Barnard smiled and shook his head. "The Mech Trade Association has long lost the unity and sense of common purpose in the past. I would not say this to anyone, but the MTA has grown too large and too powerful to maintain a united front."

"How much better was the MTA in the past?" Ves curiously asked.

"Back in the first century of my life, the Association had not deteriorated to this extent. We were still united by the common goal of rebuilding human civilization from its near-extinction crisis and building a better future for our children. Now, there are less and less mech designers left who are content to pursue such a basic but precious goal. Only greed and ambition has overtaken their common sense. How else did the Expansionists succeed in their attempts to persuade so many decision makers to invade the Red Ocean? To the like-minded people in our generation, we only see the same hubris that had once overtaken our admirals and heads of state in the past. As humanity continues to drive deeper into alien and foreign territory, our internal divisions will continue to worsen."

Unlike the Master's earlier ramblings, Ves took these words a lot more seriously. Not only was it relevant to his own future and development in the Red Ocean, he also suspected that Master Barnard was in the possession of a lot of insider news that could help him navigate the coming years!

"What major fault lines are you worried about the most?"

"There are too many to count, which is a problem in itself." Barnard helplessly sighed. "Some of us have tried our best to solve these divisions, but our voices have grown smaller over time. In my personal judgment, there are two notable fault lines that you must pay attention to. The first is the growing tension between the Big Two and the first-rate superstates."

"Do the latter really think they can topple the former?"

"They do, Mr. Larkinson. I will not say more about this as this is a sensitive topic. The second fault line that you should pay note to is the escalating rivalry between the MTA and CFA. Though the two have long existed alongside each other in peace, there are an increasing number of mechers and fleeters who are no longer satisfied with that. Have you heard rumors about the possibility of granting pioneers the right to field warships?"

"I did." Ves confirmed. "It doesn't look like it's going anywhere, though. It is too drastic of a step to take. Pioneers don't even need all of the firepower. The only serious alien threats we need to watch out for are scattered alien fleet remnants."

Master Barnard chuckled. "Hehehe. Even at this end of human space, I have already received word that the MTA and CFA's discussion on this controversial proposal has advanced much further than you thought. In my personal judgment, there is a 30 percent chance that pioneers will soon be the first humans outside of the Big Two that have regained the right to field armed warships. This may even happen within the current generation."

"What?!"

If Master Barnard's predication actually came true, that would lead to a massive and chaotic change in human society!

"In the event this drastic policy change takes place, the Big Two will not open the floodgates at once." Barnard stated. "The new rules will only apply to the Red Ocean. There is no need for privately-owned warships in the Milky Way. Also, the warships that pioneers will be allowed to obtain and field must be subject to heavy restrictions concerning their size, tonnage and maximum firepower. Even the fleeters understand the need to take baby steps to reintroduce humanity to greater war weapons."

Ves became increasingly more dismayed. Though this still sounded a bit too uncertain at the moment, he had a hunch that the CFA was truly serious about pushing for this proposal!

Since multiple different sources had already brought up this topic, Ves believed that the Big Two deliberately spread the news to certain people in order to prime them to this drastic change ahead of time!

What Master Barnard talked about earlier also made more sense at this time. What he was also trying to say to Ves was that he needed to pay more attention to whether his mechs would still remain relevant in an age where privately-owned warships had made a resurgence in human society!