The Mech Touch

Ves very much deliberately chose to host a virtual meeting with the representatives of different faiths in a very sterile gunmetal gray chamber.

Many dignitaries were accustomed to holding meetings in beautiful and impressive virtual vistas such as palaces, star gardens and inside priceless monuments on Old Earth.

Though it would have been nice to talk in a place with a beautiful backdrop, Ves was not here to entertain the representatives.

It was also far too easy to trigger these religious dignitaries by displaying a tree or putting them inside a stone structure or whatever.

Though Gavin and his team had meticulously studied the preferences and requirements of every major religion invited to the meeting before setting up a detailed plan for the meeting venue, Ves only skimmed through it once before discarding it like junk.

"You are missing the point of this initiative." He said. "We are not here to serve their whims. We are here to form a coalition to make their voices heard at the highest level of human civilization. They should be honored to become a part of these talks and eager to turn this coalition into a success. They aren't to raise a stink because we did not obey their imaginary rules."

Gavin frowned. "With all respect, that has not been our experience, boss. Even if the representatives that we have talked to sought to test our bottom line, they still expressed their own red lines on what should or should not be allowed. Many of them WILL complain if they end up in a venue that is far different from what they have requested."

"No they won't." Ves firmly shook his head even as he stroked Lucky's back. The cat looked a little grumpy for remaining stuck on a boring planet for so long. "Any religion that is successful enough to reach the top 50 in terms of membership and worshipers is a well-run organization. They may have plenty of fanatical and dogmatic believers among them, but these churches must also adapt to the cultures and jurisdictions of many different states if they want to expand their influence. They definitely have diplomats and relations managers among them who can handle all kinds of circumstances. We should keep it simple and neutral in order to send a message. Two messages actually."

The personal assistant tried to guess the motives.

"The first reason must be to show who is in charge. You want to make a power play in order to establish an immediate hierarchy in the virtual meeting."

Ves nodded. "I know what these religious nuts are like. If you give them any space to express their stupid desires, they will run wild and likely say stuff that will offend the others. My plan is to adopt a tough attitude and not let anyone screw around."

"Are you not afraid of driving the representatives away?"

"I am expecting it. I am sure there are people who try to play clever games in order to secure greater concessions for their churches, but that is why I need to make an example out of them. It is better to drive away the worst of the bunch right at the start than to tolerate their nonsense throughout the virtual meeting. Doing this will hopefully set a firm example and keep the remaining representatives well-behaved."

"What is the other message that you want to convey?"

"We cannot tolerate division. Unity is paramount. None of us like each other, but we must band together and pool our strength by necessity. Every church that has existed long enough has built up vendettas and hatreds against their religious rivals. I don't care about their old disagreements. They can continue to fight and kill each other for all I care. It is just that when they sit at the table of the coalition, I expect them all to bury their hatches and behave. They all need to acknowledge the basic truth that all of their existences are at stake in the Red War. If they continue to prioritize their vendettas over the basic need to unite and help red humanity survive, then they clearly do not deserve a seat at the table."

Gavin nodded in understanding. "I see. It is a good plan, but if you want to cow and deter the representatives, then you must have conditions to back up your voice. Many of these churches are not easy to deal with. You have the Diocese of New Rome, which is not only old, large and wealthy, but also boasts strong internal cohesion. Oh, the DNR may sound stuffy, but it is filled with politically savvy operators. Then you have the Seekers of the Promised Land, which is currently the most dominant strain of the most persecuted faith in human history. The SPL and its related strains have waged war at least several times with many of the other churches. Do I need to go on, Ves?"

"I have no interest in learning about their historical conflicts." Ves decisively stated. "Once I go down this road, I won't be able to extricate myself from these messy disagreements. As far as I am concerned, none of the grudges preceding the Age of Dawn is relevant to us. These guys need to get over what has happened in a different galaxy and age. If they can't do so, then they at least need to settle their fights away from the coalition that I am trying to build."

"You cannot persuade them by appealing to logic and mutual understanding alone, boss. There is a large chance that the representatives will not listen to you at all and attempt to diminish your authority. You will need greater muscle if you want to command all of their attention. My suggestion is to approach a handful of the larger churches in advance and negotiate deals with them in private. So long as they make a firm declaration to back you up during the virtual meeting, you have already won half the battle as far as I am concerned."

Ves chuckled. "I don't need to do that. I already have a few religions backing me up. They are not as big and influential as the DNR. Some of them can't even get anywhere close to the top 50. It shouldn't matter too much as they have their own reasons to stand out from the crowd."

His personal assistant looked puzzled. "You will have to explain that to me. What exactly do you intend to do during this inaugural virtual meeting?"

"It's quite simple…"

After Ves briefly relayed his plan, Gavin felt ambivalent about it. There was a chance that it could work, but there was also a chance that it would backfire!"

Nonetheless, it was realistic enough to work, and that was enough.

"If that is the tone you want to set for the crucial first meeting, then I suppose you can try. It may cause a lot of division and… other consequences."

"I can handle the consequences." Ves confidently said. "The important part is to establish enough unity to form a power bloc in the future Red Collective. I am tired of serving as the pawn of the Red Association and other groups. I didn't ask to assume a leading position in the Red Collective, but if I have to do it, then I should play the game properly."

Ves and Gavin continued to confer with each other in order to finalize their plan for the crucial meeting. Time was short, so there was not much time to engage in any thorough preparation or private negotiations.

This was actually good. The less time the other groups had, the lower the chance that any of them would come up with a tricky scheme.

Though Ves refused to engage in any backroom dealing with the groups he was about to meet, that did not mean that the other side adhered to the same principle.

Over a dozen of them sought to contact Ves in private to forge one agreement or another.

Most of those requests never got past Gavin. The personal assistant acted in his capacity as gatekeeper and kept out all of the requests and proposals that Ves did not want to hear.

There was only one exception. The Pantheon of Modern Gods was one particular 'church' that Ves and Gavin found difficult to refuse for one very clear reason.

The PMG was the largest and most dominant church that worshiped the god pilots of human civilizations as literal gods!

It was fairly new in that it had only been founded during the Age of Mechs, but its membership had ballooned during those glory days as god pilot after god pilot continued to bedazzle humanity with their god-like feats!

Even though the Mech Trade Association and later on the Red Association clearly discouraged the practice of worshiping god pilots to such extremes, the mechers could not stop people who wanted to seek spiritual comfort and certainty from the only 'gods' they knew that were real and tangible!

It was precisely because there was overwhelming empirical proof of the existence and the reality-defying might of god pilots that so many people came to worship the likes of the Chosen Human and the First Flame as bonafide gods!

After all, the word 'god' was in their job description. It shouldn't be more obvious that they were true deities that had earned people's worship!

The ambivalence of the mechers aside, the PMG had risen quickly to become one of the most influential faiths of the Age of Mechs.

Its power did not wane at all after the transition to the Age of Dawn. Red humanity was forced to rely much more extensively on the protection of the few god pilots in the Red Ocean, and that drove worship of the mighty 8 even further!

All sorts of official and unofficial worship of red humanity's god pilots had spread across every corner of human-occupied space.

For whatever reason, the Red Association did not condemn and suppress these activities as much as before. This gave the Pantheon of Modern Gods a surge of momentum, which it eagerly used to expand its influence as well as its physical holdings.

Though none of the god pilots had ever stooped to get involved with the PMG, the church implicitly used and abused its 'connections' to these high-and-mighty beings to twist deals in its favor.

Ves accepted a call from the PMG because he did not know whether its backing had increased since the Great Severing.

Who knew whether one of the god pilots had changed his or her stance towards the PMG and chose to back it for political purposes!

Soon enough, a projection of a robed figure wearing a high ceremonial hat appeared in Ves' office. The older-looking man boasted dark skin that contrasted nicely against his white beard and ceremonial outfit.

Soon enough, a projection of a robed figure wearing a high ceremonial hat appeared in Ves' office. The older-looking man boasted dark skin that contrasted nicely against his white beard and ceremonial outfit.

"In the name of the Eight that shall become more, I greet you, the Son of the She-Devil."

"...You can call me by my actual name and professional title."

"Professor Ves Larkinson, then. I am Temple-Commander Oson Jackarie. The Pantheon of Modern Gods has appointed myself to act as its voice during the upcoming proceedings. I have been granted many allowances to negotiate agreements with you and others for the purpose of spreading and securing our collective faith in the divine protectors of our sacred race."

"That is informative, temple-commander, but you have not told me why you insist on meeting me when it won't take long before we both sit at a virtual table."

"That is because my message cannot wait. My primary intention of contacting you is to inform you that you can expect to receive near-full support from the Pantheon of Modern Gods."

Ves blinked. That was an extremely powerful statement!

He tried to guess why this was the case. He could think of a few reasons, but he was not too sure about which of them were true.

"Why?"

"The office of the Destroyer of Worlds has conveyed an instruction from the Rubarthan god pilot herself." Temple-Commander Jackarie announced. "Though we are not fortunate enough to hear her holy voice directly, we have verified the validity and sanctity of her word. We shall obey her directive without question… so long as none of the other sacred protectors contradict her will."

This… was a pleasant surprise… maybe. Ves was not too sure whether he should welcome this surprise.

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