The Mech Touch

Ves and Gloriana could not wait to make use of the SF-02. They eagerly awaited its delivery and felt that each day without it made their work slower.

The two had never noticed the shortcomings of their current processor banks in the past. They were aware that they did not enjoy the best, but they were otherwise happy with what they had at their disposal.

The amazing performance of the Red Fleet’s latest advancements in computing and AI systems changed their perception.

Now that the pair had become aware of how much faster they could process data, conduct simulations and perform a huge number of mathematical calculations, everything else suddenly became inferior.

This must be what people felt when a mech company released a newer version of a mech model that was already in use.

Even if their performance remained exactly the same, the awareness that there was a superior version available instantly changed one’s perception of the previous version.

Ves tried to shrug off this perspective, but he failed to do so. The difference in performance between his existing means and his future means was too great.

Before the SF-02 arrived, Ves and every other mech designer had to spend a few hours of their time to read portions of the manual that the fleeters had thoughtfully sent ahead.

There was a lot of reading material to go through. For now, most of the mech designers could only skim through the basic operations. There was no need for them to learn how to operate the more advanced functions for the time being.

It was different from Ves and his wife. The two of them needed to master the use of the SF-02 as quickly as possible in order to get full value out of its powerful processing capabilities.

Gloriana proved to be a much better study in this regard. Her Mentalist Crystal-augmented cranial implant suite massively sped up her learning rate. She pretty much figured out most of the advanced operations in less than half the time it took for Ves to gain the same degree of understanding.

"I can see now why you have taken a strong liking for the SF-02." She told him when she dropped by his design lab. "Its smart AIs are truly similar to artifact spirits. The differences are that smart AIs can not only be programmed in advance, but that they can be shaped to a much more extensive degree while they grow up. They are enormously predisposed to adaptation through external stimuli. They are similar to children in that sense. The way we raise and treat the smart AIs will dictate their personalities as well as their approach towards problem solving."

Ves nodded in understanding. "In short, this will be our version of piloting a living mech. If we want to turn the SF-02 into a productive tool for us, then we need to teach it what we want. However, I don’t want other people to exert undue influence in the development of smart AIs. Have you found out how you can prevent that from happening? I do not want to restrict access to the SF-02 too much just to prevent a low-ranking mech designer from defining its personality."

"I do recall that such settings exist. You can configure the SF-02 to assign scores or ranks to every user. We need to put ourselves on top and everyone else far below. The SF-02 will benefit our clan the most if it is specialized in complementing our distinctive design work. According to the manual, the smart AI based on the ARMOR POLISHER template will provide the greatest assistance if it is dedicated to serving a single mech designer. Letting it serve two mech designers will reduce its efficiency, but may also led to the creation of interesting hybrid solutions."

That caused Ves to grow intrigued. He hadn’t read that part of the manual yet. He could see why his wife developed an interest in this mechanic.

"I see." Ves said. "Combining design work based on 2 different design philosophies is still relatively simple. The smart AI will become a lot more confused if he has to juggle between 100 different design philosophies. Without enough processing power, it will only ever be able to develop shallow combinations. Depth will be entirely absent from the smart AI’s output."

The more design philosophies the smart AI needed to master, the less it could comprehend the nuances and higher principles of each of them. Providing more processing power certainly helped, but there came a point where a sentient smart AI reached its limits.

Only sentient being that had proven the capacity to juggle an astounding amount of design philosophies without reaching a limit was the Polymath!

It was blasphemy to think that a mere smart AI could equal the feats of a Star Designer!

In any case, both Ves and Gloriana agreed that the smart AI based on the ARMOR POLISHER template should evolve into a reflection of both of their works.

This not only ensured that it will be able to provide the greatest level of assistance to any of their important collaboration works, but also make sure that other workers had access to design solutions based on the style of the two most important mech designers in the Larkinson Clan.

If anything happened that caused Ves or Gloriana to disappear and become unavailable to assist in any mech design projects, then the smart AI may be able to make up for their absence.

Ves had actually begun to wonder whether a smart AI possessed the qualifications to become a mech designer.

Would the Red Kingdom be able to recognize the smart AI’s knowledge and mech designs?

Was a smart AI able to form its own design seed and later on a domain?

Perhaps not, but what if he merged the smart AI with a human somehow?

This may be enough to spoof the Red Kingdom and cause it to mistakenly promote the smart AI into a Journeyman Mech Designer!

If that happened, then Ves would definitely keel over and laugh!

Letting a smart AI originally developed by the Red Fleet gain recognition from the Red Kingdom would definitely drive the mechers nuts!

He chuckled but quickly wiped the crazy idea from his mind. There was no need for him to go this far.

Days passed by as Ves and his wife continued to wait for the shipment to arrive.

All the while, Ves continued to split his time between the Minerva Mark II Project and the Final Glory Project.

Even without the much-anticipated SF-02, he was making excellent progress in both projects.

"The Minerva Mark II Project should be done in a month if we account for the productivity gains from the SF-02." Ves judged. "We can complete it even faster if we allocate all of the available processing power to this project. We don’t have to wait long before we recall the Saint Commander from the frontlines."

"Do you think she will agree?" Gloriana questioned. "She has a strong attachment to the soldiers of the expeditionary fleet. She commanded them and fought alongside them for multiple years. Once she departs and receives the Minerva Mark II, the rules set by Human High Command obliges her to fight to defend the Upper Zones. Saint Tusa and Saint Stark may not have a problem with that, but the Saint Commander cares too much about ’her’ men."

Ves frowned. His wife made a good point.

Many people relied on the strength granted by the Saint Commander. The absence of the Minerva Mark II would significantly reduce the combat power of the expeditionary fleet.

This was quite a serious absence in a time where the fifth defensive band was under threat!

However, the Minerva had to be upgraded. The difference between the Mark I and the Mark II was too great.

Ves knew that the Saint Commander ultimately wouldn’t be able to make much of a difference.

HHC had effectively abandoned the Middle and Lower Zones.

While it was still important for second-raters and third-raters to fight as hard as they could defend their homes and their people, their main purpose was to stall the aliens and provide a lot of stimulation to peak ace pilots.

Now that Ves had found out that the higher ups regarded the near-certain fall of these zones as necessary sacrifices, he did not want the most important ace pilot of the Larkinson Clan to fall victim to this scam.

"I will talk to her and try to convince her of the necessity to defend the core of human-occupied space." Ves said. "With her strategic acumen, she should understand that none of us stand a chance if we lose more than half of our Upper Zones."

Red humanity was too fragile in the face of a hostile dwarf galaxy.

Ves subsequently called the Saint Commander and had a very tense discussion.

Suffice to say, she did not look happy.

"This is unacceptable, patriarch." Casella Ingvar spoke while her firm willpower tried to pin Ves directly across the communication link! "The expeditionary fleet is one of the main forces that is trying to save the Krakatoa Middle Zone from getting overrun by murderous alien fleets. Though our strength is diminishing, we are still able to make a difference. That becomes much more difficult if I leave. The expeditionary fleet will become lesser in my absence, and is guaranteed to suffer greater casualties."

"I understand your objections, but we all have to make sacrifices in order to preserve our race and civilization. The expeditionary fleet… needs to get rid of its dependence on your Command Field. Your power is much more useful when you Commandeer and Enfeoff are genuine first-class mechs. There are so many powerful first-class warships crashing into the defensive lines of the Upper Zones. Your upcoming Minerva Mark II can make a massive difference. The more ships you are able to break through your intervention, the faster the Red Tide Offensive will stall. Once the native aliens have suffered so many material losses that they cannot sustain their assault on the Upper Zones anymore, the attacks on the Middle and Lower Zones will also diminish."

"..."

Ves reached out with his hand. "The longer you pilot your horribly outdated mid-tier expert mech, the more you constrain your own strength. You are not doing yourself nor your living mech justice by insisting on fighting on a battlefield that you have outgrown. As an ace commander, you must bear the responsibility of protecting red humanity, not just the members of our clan."

"Who will look after the soldiers of the expeditionary fleet after I depart?" Saint Commander Casella softly asked.

"There are plenty of Larkinsons that can try to fill your shoes, Casella. When it comes to hard power, I have heard that Venerable Joshua is doing really well. Venerable Jannzi also appears close to making a breakthrough. Your troops will be fine under their protection. Besides, even if you leave, you will still be contributing to the protection of the expeditionary fleet. You fight to preserve the society that our clan is dependent on. If our civilization collapses, we will all turn into homeless dregs."

"...Very well. I will depart for New Constantinople, but only when you are almost ready to upgrade my machine. I want to stay with the expeditionary fleet as long as possible. This will also give me more preparation time. The transition needs to be done as smoothly as possible to prevent morale from sliding."

"Understood." Ves nodded. "Do you require anything special?"

"No. I have what I need. Sir… do you truly think my assistance is necessary to hold the Upper Zones?"

Explore more at

That was a difficult question to answer. "I am just a mech designer, Casella. I am far removed from the frontlines. I read a lot of reports, and I watch the battle footage like everyone else, but my opinions probably matter less than the soldiers who are fighting at the front. I suggest you contact Saint Tusa and Saint Stark and ask what they think."

"I shall do so, though I fear their opinions are too narrow for my liking."

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!