The Mech Touch

5968 Ultimate Invention

After several hours of theorizing and puzzling, Ves finally completed his latest theoretical framework.

It lacked empirical support, but that did not stop Ves from appreciating it for its amazing potential.

He also thought a lot on how to label every new concept and variable. Using the term 'Ascension Runes' to describe the ones applied to the advanced hyper module could easily lead to confusion and misinterpretations.

Aside from that, the term 'advanced hyper module' no longer fit his latest project anymore. It had gone far beyond the scope of a conventional application of hyper technology.

If he wanted to do his invention justice and make it clearer to his customer base that this feature was powerful beyond comparison, then he needed to match it with an appropriately grand-sounding name!

By the end of the work session, Ves visited his wife's design lab and presented her with his recent progress.

Gloriana raised her eyebrows as she took in her husband's fantastical ideas.

Hekkel was not present at this time, so she did not bother to wear her Archglove at the moment.

Instead, she kept her hands busy by scratching and caressing the intricate archemetal exterior of a certain pampered gem cat.

"Meow~..."

Gloriana continued to utilize her processing power to go over the implications of Ves' latest design application. She quickly recognized how it could dramatically boost the combat power of every high-end Larkinson mech, but only if it actually worked.

"I will not comment on the viability of this idea of yours. I trust you enough that you will not present this to me if you are not confident in your own work." She spoke up. "I agree with you that if your advanced hyper modules have so much promise, then it has earned the right to carry its own name. You have already proven with your Fey Fiannas that mechs can become more powerful by forming their own versions of companion spirits. I have a question, though."

"Ask away."

"Do you really have to call them 'Ultimate Modules', complete with capitalization?"

Ves grinned. "I do. It sounds awesome, doesn't it? I do not use the word 'Ultimate' lightly. I truly think that the power of my proposed invention will live up to this word. Even if it isn't obvious at first, just give it a few years. As long as it can grow and accumulate enough Ultimate Runes, it will one day grow powerful enough to defeat mechs an entire tier higher! Standard mechs can defeat expert mechs! Expert mechs can defeat ace mechs!"

That was an incredibly bold statement!

Though Ves had made this claim before in relation to other design applications, he firmly believed that this was the most effective implementation to date!

Gloriana scratched Lucky's chin and tried to determine whether Ves was right.

"Can Ultimate Modules truly elevate the power of living mechs to this extent?"

"They can. The key is E energy radiation." Ves emphasized. "A stronger spiritual foundation is not a curiosity anymore. Starting from the Age of Dawn, a stronger spirit can directly influence the power of heaven. Do you realize the significance of this, Gloriana? This is probably the most concrete and physical manifestation of the benefits of growth! Previously, a living mech that experienced growth isn't obviously stronger than ones that are still young and fresh. The guidance, piloting experience and certain spiritual abilities have all become stronger, but the performance parameters of the machine have not really changed all that much. The addition of Ultimate Modules changes that. Older mechs can readily crush younger mechs by properly utilizing their stronger spiritual foundations!"

"No wonder you think that this is good enough to form the basis of your sixth generation living mechs." Gloriana recognized the significance of his invention. "One of the shortcomings of your design philosophy is that it is very hard to affect a mech's material performance. It is well-established by now that the vast majority of benefits brought by your living meals are intangible and impossible to measure. Ultimate Modules invalidate this assumption. There will be even fewer reasons for customers to prefer products designed by other competitors. How difficult will it be for other mech designers to match or exceed your Ultimate Modules?"

"It's not impossible, but it will be difficult. No ordinary mech designer can rival my work." Ves stated. "My living mechs have accrued too many advantages over the years. Each generation of living mech adds a useful new feature. When multiple of them are in a single machine, they start to add up and synergize with each other. Ultimate Modules do not exist in isolation, but are supported by other useful features such as third order living mechs and active mech cultivation."

Ves acknowledged that it was theoretically possible to come up with a hyper system that enabled mechs to manipulate E energy on a wider scale, but such machines should not be cheap or easy.

Ultimate Modules were different because they combined hyper technology as well as E-technology to produce an affordable combination that could deliver exceptionally strong results!

As Gloriana went over the documents shared by her husband, her expression shifted multiple times as she read his theories and assumptions.

She began to pick apart certain details about Ves' latest theoretical framework.

"The notion of creating companion spirits for your living mechs to empower your Ultimate Modules is a brilliant idea. Why have you opted to label them as 'Ultimate Seeds'?"

"I needed to distinguish them from the companion spirits that we are familiar with. The reason why I call them seeds is that they will all start out weak to the point where the Ultimate Modules of my living mechs won't display much power at first. The mech pilot of the living mech must put effort into nurturing the seed before it can begin to show its power. Each Ultimate Seed will grow more powerful when they accumulate more Ultimate Runes."

It did not take any explanation for Gloriana to understand that Ultimate Runes were simply Ascension Runes that Ves renamed for his Ultimate Modules.

The runes still worked the same, but they acted on different aspects of a living mech.

"If my guess is correct, an Ultimate Module will only function properly when one of your products has evolved into a third order living mech. That means that there is a time interval where the module is a burden to the machine in question."

"That is true, but it doesn't take too much time for a second order living mech to reach full sapience. According to the data collected by the LMC, it can take 6 to 12 months for a typical living mech to reach the third order."

Ves was not too worried about this. Weak performance at the start of a mech's life cycle was a well-known issue with living mechs. Most customers who appreciated them already knew that they needed to give these living machines enough time to mature before subjecting them to serious battles.

His wife pointed out another issue.

"If Ultimate Runes function as a programming language, then it does not make sense that they can incrementally increase the effectiveness of an Ultimate Module. The destructive phasing module that you proposed not too long ago is based on a sequence of complicated operations. How can the Dark Zephyr engage in destructive phasing when his Ultimate Module only has a handful of runes?"

"Runes work differently than you think." Ves retorted. "Even a single one can carry a full and complex meaning. It's difficult to explain, but trust me that the Dark Zephyr with a functional Ultimate Module can already pull off destructive phasing without needing to collect a lot of Ultimate Runes. It will start out relatively weak at first, but the advantage of my work is that it can always grow and exceed its original limitations."

"Yet can a growth process that is completely happening outside of anyone's direct control truly enable an Ultimate Module to improve its capabilities in an effective manner?" Gloriana pressed.

"I believe that intent, desire and other strong thoughts and emotions will cause the right Ultimate Runes to form." Ves confidently replied. "I have made sure to modify the implementation of Ultimate Runes in order to facilitate this process. This is one of the many areas that set them apart from Ascension Runes."

In general, third order living mechs were able to select their own Ascension Runes that represented different kinds of enhancements. They usually made their selections by listening to individual preferences of their mech pilots.

The growth of Ultimate Runes needed to happen without any direct intervention from mech pilots. Only indirect influence was necessary to ensure that a living mech's Ultimate Module evolved in a direction that best suited the circumstances.

"If this is the case, then many Ultimate Modules will diverge in performance over time." Gloriana remarked. "This will make your living mechs less consistent with each other. Maybe one ranged mech is able to leverage its Ultimate Module to fire an energy beam that can bypass transphasic energy shields. Another ranged mech can use the same initial version of the Ultimate Module to fire an energy beam that splits into three beams. The same hardware produces radically different results."

Ves smirked and crossed his arms. "I don't see a problem with that. Every mech pilot is different. Every living mech is also different. Consistency is not important as power in this new era. I do not mind sacrificing uniformity if my products end up winning more battles as a result of my work."

His wife was not comfortable with this idea, but she knew it made sense.

The two continued to discuss the theory behind Ultimate Modules.

The existence of Ultimate Runes confused Gloriana for a time, but Ves did a decent job at explaining his underlying theories and assumptions on how they were meant to be used.

"I have another question, Ves. Let us consider a scenario where a mature third order living mech has fought against a powerful energy and returned to its mothership with heavy damage. One of the more serious blows is the complete destruction of its Ultimate Module. How feasible is it to restore its functionality on the damaged machine?"

That was indeed a tricky scenario. Fortunately, Ves already thought about this possible outcome.

"It will be similar to the replacement of fey." Ves replied. "The physical fey are expendable because their destruction or removal will not affect the state of the subordinate spirit. The Ultimate Seed will temporarily lose its home and will have to stay in another part of the mech for a time. Once the living mech is restored, the previously homeless Ultimate Seed should easily be able to inhabit the newly installed Ultimate Module."

That was a convenient setup. It also ensured that the growth of the Ultimate Seed did not get lost with the destruction of its hardware counterpart.

There was one more important question on Gloriana's mind.

"Each Ultimate Module design is different. They all demand different combinations of Ultimate Runes based on different elements and concepts in order to fit the function of the module in question. Is it possible to replace one type of Ultimate Module with another type of Ultimate Module and retain full functionality? For example, let us consider the Dark Zephyr Mark III. It originally carries the destructive phasing module, but later on gets replaced by a 'super invisibility module'. Will the latter perform to the same level as the former, or will there be a loss in effectiveness?"

That was a scenario that Ves did not consider as much. He frowned in thought.

"It depends on the adaptability and versatility of runes itself, but… the greater the differences in Ultimate Modules, the lower the effectiveness of the newer module. Some runes won't fit anymore while others operate at reduced effectiveness. I think that this outcome should be avoided as much as possible. Once a living mech has gained an Ultimate Module, it should stick to the same type. At most, we can design updated versions of the hardware that still retain the same functionality but simply offer superior performance."

"I see. You should test that, Ves."

"It is already on the list."

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