The Mech Touch

5784 Collective Vision

A lot of people looked confused when Ves insisted on making the third organization inclusive.

They did not understand what it meant or how it would play out over time.

To be fair, not even Ves was able to predict what would happen if a bunch of powerful stakeholders from multiple competing groups all joined the same organization!

This was a problem, because bad governance could easily doom the best of intentions.

"I am sure you are wondering who will get to be in charge of this new cultivation organization." Ves said. "I cannot understate the importance of selecting its initial leaders. These are the visionaries who must define the new association's mission, establish its enormous organizational structure, bestow a lot of subordinates with important responsibilities and formulate impactful policies."

He turned towards the physical projection of the Evolution Witch. The god pilot had crossed her arms and seemed content to listen to his pitch.

"While I envision that the new cultivation organization be led by multiple tier 1 galactic citizens at first, I recognize the need for a single guiding voice. This powerful individual must be responsible for keeping everyone on topic and ensure that a permanent gridlock will not cause the association to become impotent. He or she is not supposed to be the sole decision maker, but must carry enough respect to push an agenda forward. Red humanity cannot afford to remain stagnant on cultivation. If we want to win the Red War, then we must leverage the power of cultivation as productively as possible in the following few years."

He gestured towards the physical projection of the Evolution Witch.

"I can think of no better candidate to become the chairwoman, president or whatever of this new cultivation association than you, Your Holiness! You are one of the eight principal protectors of red humanity, which already speaks to your character and your sense of responsibility. You are powerful enough that no one can disregard your voice. You are young enough to be open-minded towards new possibilities while evading any of the destructive biases that clouds the judgment of elders who lived through the end of the Age of Conquest. More importantly than that, your well-

known interest and expertise on genetics and human evolution makes you more qualified to set the agenda than any other human leader!"

Ves may be overdoing it a bit, but he was genuinely sincere about putting her in charge, at least at the start!

Despite how favorable this recommendation may be, the Evolution Witch did not accept it right away.

"<nullb>THIS IS YOUR VISION, YOUR GRAND DESIGN. WHY NOT PRESIDE OVER THIS NEW ORGANIZATION YOURSELF?"

Ves almost coughed. "I do not believe I am qualified to lead this organization! I am just a mech designer, Your Holiness. As invested as I am in many other aspects of cultivation, my initial and most important vocation is designing mechs. I will still need to rely a lot on the Red Association to further my personal career. As tempting as it may be to lead this new cultivation association, it will only slow down my personal ambitions. I can make far greater contributions to our society if I continue to design living mechs. Besides, I doubt that enough decision makers are in favor of elevating an abnormally young tier 3 galactic citizen such as myself. You are a far better candidate, though there may be other qualified candidates that I am not aware of at this time."

A short pause ensued as the Evolution Witch seemed to ponder over this crucial issue.

Her physical projection eventually issued a succinct reply.

"<nullb>LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE CAN BE DETERMINED LATER. THE MAIN SUBJECT FOR CONSIDERATION IS WHETHER TO ESTABLISH THIS NEW CULTIVATION ASSOCIATION. DO YOU INTEND FOR THIS TO BE ITS NAME?"

Ves shook his head. "Not per se. I do not have a recommendation for it. I suppose that if you want to join the existing Red Two, its name should start with the word 'Red'. I think it is a great idea if we can call it the Red Cabal, but… the aliens have already taken that moniker, if in their own native languages. Maybe we can call it… the Red Collective."

The Evolution Witch along with everyone else considered this name.

"<nullb>EXPLAIN YOUR REASONING."

"The word 'collective' emphasizes inclusivity." Ves elaborated on his choice. "I envision the Red Collective to welcome all human cultivators whether they are mech designers, mech pilots, swordmasters or simply ordinary people who happen to dabble in cultivation. I do not believe it is a good idea to turn it into an exclusive organization like the original Red Two. Cultivators can do a lot of damage to themselves and other people if they are isolated and left to their own devices. It is better to be tolerant towards deviants and provide them with a welcome and mostly nonjudgmental platform to allow them to engage in cultivation in a constructive manner."

That… was an entirely different sort of organization than the Red Association and the Red Fleet!

Opening its doors to anyone meant that there would be no distinction between members and non-members.

The lack of division would make it harder for a small but incredibly elite group of members to lord it over the space peasants.

On the other hand, the overly generous entry conditions meant that a lot of trash and freeloaders would become a part of the Collective, making it more difficult for this new organization to develop a strong and cohesive image.

That was actually what Ves really wanted. The messier and more divided the Collective, the greater the chance that it would leave him and his works alone!

The last thing he wanted was a strong and cohesive authority that frequently imposed all kinds of restrictions on his living mechs!

Ves made a brief bow towards the Evolution Witch. "Of course, this is just my personal vision. It is not up to me to set the name and the membership criteria of the Red Collective. You and anyone invested with the responsibility for setting up this new organization can make these decisions yourselves. I can only add that the ubiquitous availability of E energy makes cultivation so accessible to every red human that you cannot regulate it as strictly as you do with mechs and warships. I think it is much better to extend a welcoming hand to everybody than to deny its benefits to everyone but a select few."

Those were good suggestions, but they still left a lot of open questions.

Ves did not want to overstep his boundaries. He had to be careful about giving enough direction to inspire the public, but also reserve enough room for the actual leaders such as the Evolution Witch to put their own stamp on the idea.

The god pilot in question slowly nodded in approval.

"<nullb>I APPROVE OF YOUR VISION. I AGREE WITH YOU. CULTIVATION SHOULD BE A UNIVERSAL RIGHT FOR RED HUMANITY. EVERYONE DESERVES A CHANCE TO OVERCOME THEIR WEAKNESS."

This was to be expected from the Evolution Witch. Her difficult life journey where she constantly had to break through in order to outpace her congenital ailments had fundamentally shaped views towards human evolution.

Even if other forms of cultivation were not identical to her own, they still possessed enough similarities for the Evolution Witch to support them on principle!

The other god pilot who had shown up voiced her opinion in a much more direct manner.

"<nullb>MIEW."

That was clarifying.

The time for elaboration had come to an end. Ves had already sketched a basic layout on a canvas. It was up to the real movers and shakers of human civilization to decide whether to agree to the formation of the Red Collective.

Passing this proposal would lead to drastic changes throughout society.

The implications were massive.

Red humanity would diverge even further from original humanity that resided back in the old galaxy.

The Red Two would eventually morph into the Red Three as the newest entry was bound to become an intimate part of people's lives!

A huge sense of weight descended onto the Dragon King's Palace. The destiny of the human race in the Red Ocean was at stake. Every tier 1 galactic citizen in the dwarf galaxy had directed their attention to this highly consequential event!

Ves decided to give this matter another push.

"Earlier, I asked the members of the public whether they are in favor of my proposal. While I do not have the ability to poll every single human in the new frontier, I would like to ask you to stand up and voice your support if you agree with my proposal. So I ask of you again, ARE YOU WITH ME, RED HUMANITY?!"

The vast majority of the 100,000 people who were fortunate enough to witness this historic event inside the grand hall all rose from their seats and issued their reply!

"WE ARE WITH YOU!"

Their thunderous reply rippled through the water as well as the still-existing pocket of air centered around Ves!

Their voices transmitted over the broadcast and into many other homes and workplaces!

What was remarkable was that a lot of people on the other end issued the same response!

No matter whether the Red Association or the Red Fleet was able to precisely track the exact responses from every single individual, it was more than clear that there was a comfortable majority of people who were in favor of the establishment of the Red Collective!

How could they not? It not only promised to teach people how to harness the power of cultivation, but did so while presenting far fewer barriers of entry compared to the existing Red Two!

The proposal clearly provided a lot of benefits but very few downsides to ordinary people.

Neither the Red Association nor the Red Fleet could possibly be as generous towards them. Ordinary space peasants had a long history of getting screwed by the mechers and fleeters.

The masses clearly relished the chance to stick it to the Red Two and gain power in a way that fell outside of their direct jurisdiction!

Ves smiled. He felt a lot of relief that the public was willing to play along with his charade.

Unfortunately, public support alone was not enough to force such a radical change on human society.

The existing powers needed to assent as well in order to turn this whimsical idea into a concrete reality.

He turned back to the Evolution Witch while gently stroking Emma's delectably soft and furry back.

"The public has spoken. Now, I would like to invite the leaders of the Red Two and the first-rate colonial super-states to share their stance on this proposal."

"<nullb>MIEW!"

Naturally, the Destroyer of Worlds supported this initiative, and not just because she wanted to do Ves a favor.

Given her ambitious plan to speed up her cultivation to the unprecedented rank of god king pilot, Divine Irene Mox could surely leverage the support of a friendly institution!

"<nullb>AS I HAVE STATED BEFORE, EVOLUTION SHOULD BE A UNIVERSAL RIGHT TO ALL RED HUMANS. I APPROVE."

The support of two god pilots was already enough to form the Red Collective. It was not as if anyone was willing to stand in their way if they really insisted.

The greater issue at stake was acceptance and legitimacy.

Ves did not want the Red Collective to turn into a niche organization with huge limitations to its scope like the Hunting Association.

It had to be a large and strong enough group to rival the existing Red Two in power one day!

In order to make that happen, it was crucial for the proposal to gain a lot more backing in high places!

This was the most important moment for Ves. Had his pitch won over enough influential leaders to build a broad base of support for the Red Collective!

"I approve!" A relatively weak voice broke the silence from below! The fleeter captain wearing his dress uniform boldly attracted everyone's attention. "My standing in the Red Fleet may not be impressive, but I have seen its rot and stagnation. Far too many colleagues of mine are trapped in the web of outdated traditions and willful ignorance. We cannot ignore cultivation forever! If we do not embrace it, we will get overtaken by it! Technology does not have to resist cultivation. It can coexist alongside this new force!"

Though Sigrund was definitely not a bigshot, it was still a highly symbolic move for an actual captain of the Red Fleet to publicly support this radical initiative!

"Thank you, Captain Reze. Who else agrees with my motion?!"

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