The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1865

Chapter 1865 Two Requests

The new high-capacity neural interface was powerful. In the right hands, employed in the right mech, this single change could result in far-reaching effects!

The difference was as clear as day as the Deliverer zipped in space with much more gusto than before!

Though its performance parameters hadn't changed, its third eye glowed brighter than ever before! This signified that the bond between the mech, mech pilot and design spirit had reached a greater degree of integration than before!

Joshua, though not a believer, managed to take advantage of the new high-capacity neural interface to take his control to the next level!

"I thought he was already good. It turns out he's even better!" Commander Melkor uttered.

Ves grinned. "A single component can make all the difference."

As Joshua was one of the most promising mech pilots of the Avatars, how could Melkor not be present?

After hearing what Ves was up to, Melkor demanded to accompany Ves to the space station in orbit. He wanted to see the results for himself!

Though the Avatar Commander expected some changes, he never heard of a situation where switching out a neural interface led to such a drastic boost in performance!

"Mr. King has already reached the upper limits of standard neural interfaces." Ves explained to his cousin. "He sits in the awkward position of sitting between regular mech pilots and expert candidates. While he's not as skilled as Jannzi and Tusa, Joshua is clearly a cut above the rest."

"So the old interface in his mech acted like a bottleneck that constrained any further improvement?"

"Not exactly." Ves shook his head. "I'm sure that Joshua continued to improve as a mech pilot. It was just that his mech remained stagnant. With the same neural interface, Joshua eventually hit a ceiling where any further improvement could no longer be expressed through the neural interface."

"And you raised his ceiling with your fancy new gizmo, is that right?"

"In a nutshell, yes. It's a bit more complicated than that. Swapping out neural interfaces is a delicate matter. I could have screwed up. This isn't necessary since most mech pilots are able to do fine with standard neural interfaces."

In other words, as long as the other mech pilots failed to approach the ceiling, the argument to swap out neural interfaces became weaker.

That said, even if the high-capacity models weren't particularly better, they still insured a stronger bond between the mech pilot and the design spirit. Regardless of the skill of the mech pilot, everyone who interfaced with an LMC mech had a chance of developing a relationship with a design spirit!

Though the distance between the testing station and the testing ground was rather great, Ves could still perceive how vivid the man-machine connection between Joshua and the Deliverer had grown.

Relief, exhilaration and excitement suffused their bond as they continued to snipe target dummy after target dummy with the Executor rifle! Joshua wasn't even drawing on the support of Prophet Ylvaine to hit targets that his fellow Avatars would miss seven out of ten times!

"It's a shame Joshua hasn't managed to become an expert candidate yet." Melkor sighed. As a rifleman mech specialist, he felt a bit ashamed that someone else managed to outperform him on his own turf! "Joshua trains harder than everyone else. His commitment to you and the Avatars is insane. He's a good kid."

Ves chuckled. "You say that like you have a couple of decades on him. Heh. It seems you have adapted well to your role."

"I have to. We continue to expand, and I have to keep up if I want to remain in charge. I work just as hard as Joshua in the aspect of command and management."

"Well, you are a bit young and inexperienced for your position. I didn't expect to expand my Avatars so quickly. My ambitions have grown, and so have my intentions for my Avatars."

"Do you regret putting me in charge of the Avatars?" Melkor asked.

Ves glanced at his visored cousin. This was a rather loaded question.

"I don't regret it, at least for now. From what I see and hear, the Avatars are doing well. Discipline is good and cohesion is high. There is no doubt that the Avatars will follow my orders to the letter. If there is one issue that is of concern, it's your ability to lead so many men in a crisis."

"I've survived the sandman. I'm confident I can handle the pressure. I have a general staff and many experienced Larkinsons backing me up. I'm never alone."

Ves smiled. "Confidence is good. Just make sure you have the competence to back it up. I hope to see you in charge for many decades to come."

There were times when Ves considered the idea of replacing Melkor with another, more qualified Larkinson. There were several mech pilots with command experience in his clan. Magdalena Larkinson was just one of the more notable ones.

Some of the reasons that caused Ves to elevate Melkor over other Larkinsons were moot now that he had reached this point.

He was not a young and junior Larkinson anymore. He was a Journeyman, a galactic citizen and the effective leader of the Larkinson Clan! Many of the Larkinsons who joined his clan became his loyalists by default! With the Larkinson Mandate binding them to a spiritual accord, Ves obtained even greater guarantees of their commitment to him and the clan!

Yet... Ves did not do so in the end. Some of the Larkinsons qualified to command the Avatars were geezers in the same generation as his grandfather. They were too old and stuck in their ways to adapt to the rapidly-changing circumstances of his life.

More than that, all of their experience bore the strong imprint of the Mech Corps. Ves had no doubt that if these veterans got to be in charge, they would shape the Avatars in the image of the Mech Corps!

Something like that had already happened to the Living Sentinels. Under Commander Magdalena's leadership, the Sentinels developed into a more casual imitation of her former service!

Was that bad? Not necessarily. The Mech Corps was a well-run mech military and Ves had few problems in how they set their rules.

However, Ves wanted to diverge from the Bright Republic. If he adopted the laws and the customs of his home state to the letter, then his grand expedition might as well be a Brighter colonization fleet!

As the tests eventually wrapped up and the Deliverer flew back to its berth, Ves and Melkor stepped away from the control center.

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