The Mech Touch

Ves spoke a bit further with Eliza Mo Ragadan at the Astral Octagon.

He also evaluated the qualities of his new political assistant. She possessed the typical confident and highly competent bearing of a first-rater, but she lacked the arrogance of a citizen of the Greater Terran United Confederation or the New Rubarth Empire.

She likely originated from a smaller first-rate state that may have served as a buffer between the two giants. Those locations tended to raise people who knew that good diplomacy was a necessary trait to survive and thrive in a galaxy dominated by giants.

Her middle-aged appearance made her look as if she was around 40 to 50 years old, but Ves already knew that this was just an illusion.

Life-prolonging treatments and designer baby genetics meant that Eliza was probably closer to 100 to 150 years old.

She certainly possessed the demeanor of a woman who had lived long enough to lose the impatience of youth, yet did not gain the gravitas of an individual who had lived for over 2 continuous centuries like Talas Redmond.

In fact, compared to other remarkable people that Ves had met in the past few years, Eliza Mo Ragadan did not actually demonstrate excellence. She lacked the spark of brilliance that separated geniuses from ordinary folk.

There was nothing with that. Ves had met late bloomers once before who made steady progress yet never stopped improving where many others eventually hit a wall.

Ves also liked the selection that Gavin had made on his behalf. Eliza Mo Ragadan might not possess any exceptional talent or intelligence, but her current position did not require her to possess these traits.

Instead, it was important for his chief political representative at the Astral Octagon in his absence to remain stable, reliable, competent, discreet, flexible and good at social maneuvering.

Eliza scored well in all of the right traits. She probably did so deliberately in order to reassure her employer that she could represent him when he returned to New Constantinople.

All in all, Ves was satisfied with her so far. Combined with the fact that the Golden Cat accepted her entry into the Larkinson Clan without any hesitation, there was no chance that she was an agent of another player or a hidden cosmopolitan.

No method was foolproof, however. His kinship networks may work well, but they were only great because red humanity lacked anything similar. His creations were quite simple and even rudimentary in many areas.

Ves felt it was overboard for him to retain his paranoia towards Eliza. Distrusting everyone on sight was a good way to turn into a hermit who surrendered all of the initiative to others.

For the sake of his multiple ambitions, he needed to accept this new circumstance and place his trust in the chief of staff that had passed all of the tests up to this point.

"Professor Larkinson, regardless of how many or how few norms will choose to become Carmine mech pilots instead of cultivators, the fact is that many members of the RC are not pleased at all that you have introduced this complication on the eve of the founding of the Red Collective. You have granted an immense boon to the mech community and the Red Association.

The existence of Carmine mechs directly strengthens the RA's hold over human civilization, possibly to the point of growing larger and more powerful than the RF and the RC combined."

Ves patiently listened to Eliza's thoughtful analysis on the political consequences of unlocking mech pilots to the rest of the population of red humanity.

He had to admit that he had not dedicated enough time on how the introduction of Carmine mechs could mess up the balance of power and distort human society to such an extent.

"You may have a point about the fact that Carmine mechs will lure away a lot of potential cultivators, but so what? Suppressing progress, especially when it promotes the survival of red humanity, is stupid and maybe even treasonous. If we want to make the Red Collective successfully, we need to subject it to all of the pressures of reality.

If the RC cannot offer strong cultivation methods and turn cultivation into a genuinely attractive means of attaining power, then it has no reason to exist and take up so many resources. Competition is the engine of progress. I think it is better that the RA has become so much more of a threat than before.

I hope that will mean that our Collective is more willing to permit the practice of more effective cultivation methods."

"Those 'effective cultivation methods' are heavily debated within our halls for good reasons, sir." Eliza reminded her superior. "They are mostly adapted from preserved scriptures with old but also dubious provenances. Their long-term stability and viability is anything but guaranteed. Their translated texts are too abstruse and difficult to understand with a modern mindset.

What is worse is that the cultivation methods that promise the greatest power not only have a high demand for talent, but also impose a high drain on special resources."

Ves crossed his arms. "These are all problems, to be sure, but none of them sound insurmountable. There are always risks in everything. If you haven't forgotten, we are in the middle of a war, and we are not exactly doing well. Safety and stability shouldn't be our highest concerns anymore.

As long as you clearly communicate to the prospective cultivators of all of the potential risks and dangers, then let them make the decision. Perhaps half or more of them will crash and burn, but there will always be lucky, talented and hard-working individuals who will succeed. As for the resource issue, that is also a simple issue to resolve.

We should just charge a high price on the most expensive scriptures. That way, only a small group of financially strong individuals will practice them. They should not have too many problems affording the necessary elixirs and other resources."

His chief of staff noted down all of his suggestions before nodding. "These solutions have already been proposed by other collies. It is still important to clarify your stance and reveal how you wish to address these issues. I will convey your opinions to the relevant departments and officials so that they are aware of where you stand.

From what I can surmise so far, you are not hesitant about letting cultivators suffer or even die due to their own misjudgment or incompetence. That is… a harsh and cruel stance to take. Your public image may suffer if this becomes known."

Ves nonchalantly shrugged.

"Then let it be known, Eliza. This is who I am, and I do not see the need to pretend I am otherwise. My reputation has already hit a peak after becoming the Father of Carmine Mechs. I can take the hit. People need a good dose of reality at this time. Trying to downplay the dangers of cultivation and denying them a chance to attain greater power is not beneficial.

However, that does not mean that we should ever force people to practice dangerous methods. Choice and transparency must remain paramount. We should provide clear information about the risks and benefits of practicing cultivation methods certified by the Red Collective so that people know what they are getting into.

It should ultimately be their choice whether they want to practice a low risk, low-reward option or a riskier alternative in the hopes of attaining strong or rare capabilities in the future."

The chief of staff nodded in understanding. "You are applying an identical stance towards the Larkinson Clan to the Red Collective. I can understand why you prefer this approach, but not everyone will agree with this. Information is dangerous. Disclosing too much information to individuals who cannot handle it may lead to accidents.

However, if this is what you believe the RC should do, then I will relay it to the Cultivation Method Department."

The Red Collective already set up an exhaustive number of departments. Their names may be unimaginative and straightforward, but they already managed to recruit hundreds of thousands if not millions of eager and motivated workers.

Ves actually proposed the formation of a number of these departments. This also gave him the confidence to arrange for the formation of the Spirit Warship Department proposed by his fleeter partners.

He talked a bit more with Eliza about the availability of cultivation methods and other subjects.

"Has the Hunting Association given any indication of a response as of yet?" Ves asked as he took note of the time.

The woman shook her head. "None so far. Your guess is likely correct. You have generated ill will between yourself and the Hunting Association. The latter is likely to wait until the last minute to give out a response. In the worst case scenario, the HA may decide to ignore your deadline entirely and snub you out of spite.

This will be detrimental to both of you, but it may be worth it to these unruly Hunters."

That sounded like a very real possibility. Ves needed to take the less ideal scenarios into account.

"If the HA refuses to bow to the pressure coming from their own member base, then so be it. I will archive my plans to design a Mergewater mech and think about designing a different elemental Carmine mechs that has nothing to do with Hunters." Ves shrugged. "I am not desperate to collaborate with the Hunting Association.

It should be the HA that is supposed to be desperate about forming a collaborative relationship with me. If the arrogant and selfish Hunters cannot recognize that, then they are not worth interacting with. They will have to carve out a place in the Red Ocean on their own."

It would be bad if the HA failed to accept his offer, but Ves judged he could bear the consequences of failure. It was not as if other people could do any better. The root of the problem still lay with the Huntsman and his inscrutable plans.

As Ves settled into his seat and continued to stroke and play with Lucky, his chief of staff brought him up to date on other important affairs.

There was far too much to talk about, but Ves did not have much interest in spending too much of his attention on issues that distracted him from his true passion.

As the founding ceremony drew closer, the time had almost come for Ves to depart and make his way over to the ceremonial hall where the event was about to take place.

"Will there be any god pilots or Star Designers present?"

"As far as I am aware, several Star Designers have agreed to attend the founding ceremony in person. They have informed us that they will strictly be present as observers." Eliza answered Ves as they rose to their feet. "One god pilot, who is most certainly the Evolution Witch, will be present to provide absolute security at the Shrine of Light.

No one should be able to disrupt the ceremony within her God Kingdom."

The mention of the Evolution Witch caused Ves to grow both excited and apprehensive.

He really wanted to have a good word with her, but he knew that she would probably ignore his wishes until three more days had passed.

That was the date where she intended to broadcast her own announcement.

Until then, Ves had to muddle through while hoping that the volatile god pilot did not object to his actions up to this point.

"I will be glad for the protection of any god pilot. My luck has not been good so far. Violent incidents always tend to happen when I am around."

A certain kidnapping event on Davute came to mind.

"The god pilot is not only responsible for providing security, sir. He or she is also tasked with discerning the loyalties of every high-ranking guest or official with the help of her God Kingdom. We are aware that it is not a foolproof method, but it should deter or catch all but the best infiltrators.

As for the individuals that have slipped through the net, our new kinship network should expose the remainder."

Ves grinned when he heard that. "Good. The cosmopolitans need to be flushed out of our administration before they can rot our Collective from within."

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